hi all! I’ve been watching this sportbrake for about 8 months and will be going to take it for a test drive.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/bfdfccda-19c6-4ca4-b8d6-533cd68c942d?aff=share_other

I reached out to the dealer a couple of weeks ago to see if it was available. It was but the girl there wanted to ensure that it was spotless for me. A manager has been using it for the past couple of months. I believe the mileage has been up updated to correctly reflect that.
The car was cleaned and I was ready to go in only to receive an email from the same girl that a wheels was being sent out for refinishing. The wheel was done last week but now she said that the windshield was just replaced due to some chipping and that it would more than likely be ready to go next weekend and I could come by.
I just saw that the car had a nearly $4k price drop. At first I was excited about it but now I’m wondering if there was some sort or damage or accident possibly caused by the manager that the dealer could be trying to cover up.
This will be my first time around an xf. What should I be looking at? Can the dealer provide me service records if asked? Is there anything I should look at under the hood?

 

Looks clean -- I like the red inserts on the interior -- really brings life to the cabin.

I'd check the following:
- Uneven tire wear - particularly on the rears. Could be a systemic issue that is not as simple as an alignment. Air suspension in the rear complicates matters.
- Tire wear in general. The stock Pirelli P7s were not the greatest from the start, but an added expense worth considering w/ 40K miles already.
- May need paint correction - black is a terrifying color IMO... The shadow trim is particularly soft and prone to swirl. Make sure you see it on a dry sunny day!
- Sounds like the cooling system may be a weak point - particularly the plastic pipes running under the supercharger. Ask if they have been replaced yet. I'm guessing not, but something to keep an eye on.
- Brakes are probably a little soft by now too. I'd budget for new pads, unless you can get them to throw in new pads as part of the deal. Keep in mind that braking is a bit of a weak point for this car, again IMO.

Check panel gaps for evidence of impact or collision. I think $42K for a 40K mile 4 year old car is still a lot of money, but good news for me, I guess!

 

Thanks for the response. All good points.

-I’ll be sure to check the tire wear.
-the paint correction doesn’t scare me too much. Never had a black car before but I’ve got 1000s in griots garage stuff itching for a project.
-cooling system and brakes are good to know. I’ll look into those.
-at the start of the pandemic when I began looking at these they wouldn’t sell until the price dipped below 40k. Fortunately I see carmax (there’s one around the corner from this dealer) will offer me more than I originally paid for my 2017 clubman back in 2019. I plan to see if there’s any more wiggle room on price.

 

edit: also shared this video on the Reddit sub. Let me know what you think of the sound. Too much ticking? ChAin tensioner.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Jaguar/comments/tpb9yv/fell_in_love_with_a_sport_brake_questions_tho/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioss mf

took her out for a spin today and I fell in love. Absolutely wonderful car. All my boxes are ticked except for the go ahead from the wife. Hopefully she can be swayed. The last thing the SA I spoke with said was “please take it”, which suggested to me that they want it gone- which I’m hopeinf means that there’s some wiggle room in the price. I’ll cross that bridge when the wife gives the go ahead.

The car has new tires and brakes all around. All wheels were recently refinished due to some curb rash from the PO. The windshield will be replaced as something must have fallen on it and scratched it badly. That’s getting done this week. Didn’t see any other damage around it.

In the media system I’m found the dynamic settings and was playing with them.. I could feel the differences when adjusting the steering, gearbox and engine but I didn’t feel anything with the suspension. How obvious or subtle are the changes? If it should be obvious I think that’s something I’ll need them to look at.

I stopped somewhere and looked under the hood. All looked clean but I’m not at all familiar with the cooling pipes/hoses to know if these are the types that typically leak. I snapped some pics so hopefully someone experienced with the 3.0 v6 can comment. I also have a video- trying to figure out how to upload.

 

recieved these service records from the SA at the dealer. Can someone tell me what 103E and H225 are? From what I’ve gathered they could be regular service maintenance intervals but I’m not certain. Also does this service history look as little short?

 

hey man - sorry for the delayed response - swamped with work. Don’t have a code book to tell me what those service records mean, so I can’t really opine. Best I can tell ya is to drive it (drive it in dynamic) —good right?! Even better if it’s CPO w/ some warranty coverage. Get it up on a lift and poke around. Clean title I presume? Crawl all over that sumbitch. Try every switch. Pull the wheels off and look at the suspension and brakes - how much life left? Test that awful infotaintment system and make sure it still sucks. Bonus points, however, if one of those services was the software update enabling apple car play. Also, make sure they throw in the winter floor mats. Then buy it.

 

lmao if that’s not an enthusiasts response I really don’t know what is.
Drove it in all the modes and it felt great. I didn’t notice much of a change to the ride when I was messing with the dynamic settings on the suspension- might want them to take a look at that.

Yes for cpo I have a choice for either unlimited miles and July of 2024 or 100k and July of 2025. Think I’ll take the extra year.

Yes clean title- going off of car fax, didn’t see anything. Panel gap was good all around.

Tire and brakes are brand new I believe. Waiting for email to confirm.

Didnt mind the infotainment system. Thought it was going to really suck but I think I just need to get used to it. Yes, one of the updates was for CarPlay so I’ll be using that pretty much all the time.

Might hold off on the mats and try to lowball them- I think they want to just get rid of this thing.

Need to ask her how many more service intervals are included with the elite care.

thanks for following up. I’ll keep you updated. Only reason I wouldn’t get this car at this point is if the wife shuts it down.

 

Just got word that it was sold last night. I’m genuinely sad today lol.

oh well at least I have a reference point for selling price. Still praying to find another caesium blue.

 

Sorry man.
FYI for the future, "open" maintenance items are the still-available annual maintenance services. Surprising there were three listed. there should only have been two. You'll notice that 102, 104, 105 are "open" and 103 is listed in the section that lists work performed.
Since the car came with a five year warranty, you get four complimentary services (assuming the oil and filter in the new car count as the "101"). So if you bought the car you'd use them at the end of the first year, end of second year, end of third year, end of fourth year-- and that last one would carry you through the warranty period.