What's your take on a buying a 2011 Jaguar XF 5.0 supercharged with 145K miles on it.

 

Seriously, I would question purchasing ANY car with over 100,000 miles on it. Too many "wear items" are probably close the end of their useful life....things like shocks, control arm bushings, ball joints, possibly transmissions, etc.


If you're a proficient mechanic, even as a hobbyist, and the car is really inexpensive, and you have access to maintenance records, it might be worth a shot...........

 

How cheap?

 

I found it on copart and was thinking of bidding for it for around 8K USD.

 

Don't do it! Read reviews on copart

 

I purchased an 2011xf v6 with 190k (118miles)on it. I have had it thoroughly checked by a Jag mechanic. Apart from brake pads and auto transmission oil and filter kit replaced, all is in A1 condition. In most cases with cars with longer milage you will find many aging parts have already been replaced. Obviously don't buy anything until you have it mechanically and electrically checked out.

 

Shadow999 May I please know your reason for your advise not to do it..

 

I could be wrong, but to the best of my knowledge, Copart sells damaged/wrecked cars, that were purchased by them (Copart) at insurance company auctions. After our 2012 XJ-L got rear-ended, last year, and the damage exceeded 75% of the value of the car, the insurance company declared it a "total loss", and it went to a Copart auction, where it was eventually sold.

 

OP, I got curious, and looked at the Copart site. Are you talking about the silver XF, that's in Detroit? I'd be suspicious, because even though they say "minor dents and scratches", and the pictures look good, they're still primarily an insurance auction house.


I would say that there HAS to be an issue with the car, otherwise it wouldn't be at Copart. Instead it would be at "Sleazy Joe's" corner used car lot, at a bargain price. Possibly it's a flood car, a bank repossession with possible damage, or a recovered stolen car, again, with possible, unseen damage, such that even a cheap used car lot doesn't have it.

 

At 145k, you should have $5-8k ready for repairs and this is assuming the car was well taken care of (oil changes on time, water pump already replaced, single owner, full vehicle maintenance history, preferably dealer maintained). What you're really looking at is a 15k car and many headaches - if you can afford it and have the time, hey why not if the motor is solid

You will definitely need (in order of cost):
- transmission replaced or rebuilt (unless previous owner did tranny oil changes every 70k, which I doubt since Jag claims they are "sealed-for-life)
- supercharger rebuilt (torsion isolater goes bad and makes marbley sounds)
- 100k tune-up: spark plugs, belts, injectors cleaned
- timing chain and tensioners replaced at 200k miles

You MIGHT need:
- brake pads, rotors
- radiator fan replaced
- battery replaced
- ac compressor replaced

 

You have to ask yourself why would an individual or dealer sell on copart. The dealers would use their traditional auction places. An individual would get more selling it.

If you read the reviews on copart, numerous buyers bought from there to only end up with more issues than described.

I was going to buy a car there, and paid for an inspection. The airbags had been blown and tucked back in, it also had crappy repair work. None of which was described or visible in pictures.

If you can view the car and check for codes.. But make sure the codes weren't recently erased and have reset.

 

Thank you all for your feedback. I am gonna let this pass because i live in Ghana and someone is buying on my behalf so the necessary checks as you guys have indicated may be missed. The import duty to be paid to customs to import that car into my country is over 15K USD which will be too much risk to take. I will look for a better one which has max 80k Miles. Once again thank you guys for your timely response. This is the best car forum i been to so far where you are not disrespected because you are a newbie. I'm gonna be back when I get my new cat.

 

You've got me curious, now.........If I understand what you're saying, if, for instance, you purchased the 2011 XF for $8000 from Copart, it would cost you another $15,000-17,000 to get it shipped and then imported into your country? In other words, a 6 year old used car, with 145,000 miles would wind up costing you $23-24,000??


WOW!!!!


Are there new cars dealers in your part of the world? Isn't the "import fee" somehow discounted and/or included in the deal, if you were to purchase a brand new car? What I'm getting at, is might it be more cost effective for you to consider a new car?


Please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to be rude, or anything like that, I'm just not aware of foreign countries' import policies.....

 

Alright let me help you understand the basic elements that go into the calculation of import duties in Ghana. The main elements are the original MSRP (in USD, EUR, etc.) when the car was manufactured, the age of the car, the engine capacity and the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Ghana Cedi (currently at 1:4.4).
The MSRP (regardless of the amount you bought it or whether the car is wrecked or not) is depreciated by 10% every year from the year of manufacture up to 5 years so newer the car less depreciation so you pay more.
Secondly freight and insurance are added to give you the CIF. They then use the engine capacity to calculate the duty after which the duty is added to the CIF again then VAT is derived from it. After which they apply the prevailing exchange rate and other charges.
Import duties change every week because the exchange rate keeps changing.
Over here over 90% of cars bought by individuals are salvage from auction houses in USA. We buy the parts since they are cheaper in USA and put them in the car and fix it over here since labour is very cheap here. The bulk of the money goes into the duty. A brand new car is out of the question since even a brand new toyota corolla will cost over 30K USD and a interest on bank loan is about 30% per anum. I will never spend 30K USD on a Corolla.
A brand new base Jaguar XF (3.0, Europe version) from dealership here will cost me over 80K USD which is alot. A 3.0 supercharged will cost me about USD 123K if i buy from dealership here in Ghana.
Build your XF - Nameplates

Check out the following articles / links you will understand it better:
https://www.ghanawebsolutions.com/se...-Cars-To-Ghana

https://www.ghanastradinghub.gov.gh/...D&VMake=Jaguar

 

I just finished customizing the 3.0 Supercharged check the price on the top right:
GHS 615,496 is USD 139,855

 

Those import taxes are KILLER!!!


If buying a damaged car cheap enough, from a business like Copart, then repairing it in your country, due to lower labor cost, is feasible, then it's quite possible that my wife's former 2012 XJ-L wound up in your country, and is now being repaired, as we speak.....

 

I used to work for Insurance Auto Auctions, Copart's bigger competitor.

A Jaguar XF supercharged with 145k has such a low value on the books that it could easily end up at the auction as either a theft recovery or a total loss vehicle.
This is copart, and they are pretty much scum of the earth, make sure you have pictures of EVERY single angle of the car. I saw them sell a honda odyssey once for 23k, car looked great from every angle except the one they didnt have an image for, from that angle you could see the car had been in a bad accident and the frame was just dead.

When I was with IAA we exported to foreign countries all the time. What makes a car salvage in the states is just a little fix in other countries. We had a company from africa come in and buy a container ship full of hurricane sandy water damaged cars, since the place they were ending up didnt really get rain, and they had spare parts for a decade or two.


Many countries that have massive import taxes on vehicles dont for salvage materials. So you buy a salvage vehicle that is "not working" so you dont pay vehicle import, take it to a local shop and fix it and there you have a decent car for a fraction of the normal cost.