Thought I'd start a thread to help others on the "market value" for a new XJL or XJ Supersport. I've done a decent amount of research, and finally plunked down my deposit after working with a number of dealers. Here are some of my notes, and I'd be interested to hear what others have found.

First off, the deposit IS refundable. If you hear otherwise, don't believe them. You can ALWAYS get it back if you need to for whatever reason. Second, I visited or called about ten Jaguar dealers over the past month. One said that I would pay sticker, and not a penny less. "There's so much demand for this car...it's exclusive..yada yada yada...special order...blah blah..." same old song and dance. Another gave me $4k off sticker. Another gave me $5k off, but they added $2k to the price for the rear entertainment package...it's supposed to be included in the original price on the Supersport (note that early builds where the rear entertainment wasn't available were supposed to get a $2k credit off MSRP). Then I got a quote for $5,900 off, and finally $7,000 off MSRP. I don't know if others will be able to duplicate my efforts, or if you can do much better, but I'd love to know. What I DO know, is that if you're told to pay sticker or close to it, run...don't walk, to the nearest exit.

As far as I know, there is no "trunk money" in the XJ series at this time, on any trim level. Keep in mind though that the dealers make money beyond the profit over invoice price. i.e. if you get a car at invoice, that doesn't mean they aren't making money. They get volume threshhold incentives. They also have to worry about allocation. If you buy from a small town dealer, you're more likely to get a good deal on an exclusive car because that helps them to get a larger allocation the following year. A dealer might take a loss on a car this year so that they can have a larger allocation from Jaguar Corporate of the high end models the following year. Also note that there are incentives that local dealers are allowed to offer, that dealers outside of your domicile radius are not. I don't know if it's a state by state parameter, or radius driven, but I know that dealers that are closer to where you live are allowed to provide incentives on pricing that dealers outside of your area are not. This is regulated by Jag Corp. to keep the business local.

Hope this is helpful, and I'd love to hear your experiences/thoughts.

 

I've seen the actual vehicle registration application for an XF (standard model) which includes the price that the dealer paid for the car (for some reason in PA it's on the application - perhaps for sales tax?). It was in the glove box of a car they gave me as a loaner. It was $34,652. That car has a sticker of around $53,000; so I've got to imagine the XJ has even more wiggle room than the XF. I was so shocked at the gap between their price and the MSRP that I made a copy of it. If anyone wants to see it I can scan it, however I have no idea how to get it in a message.

 

Are you sure there wasn't a trade-in involved that lowered the taxable value on that paperwork? I doubt very seriously that there is that much margin for the dealer--usually it's 5% - 10% of MSRP. You can look up invoice values on the internet and I know that there was about $8,500 difference between invoice and the $87,500 MSRP on my XJ Supercharged, which is a little on the high side. Of course, that doesn't mean that the dealer doesn't get some additonal rebates from Jaguar for volume, etc. I managed to get a $1,500 discount on mine, but I was also wanting the best I could get for my '07 Maserati QP trade-in. I might have been able to get another $1,000 off without a trade-in, but the 3 dealers I talked to were not very interested in letting their first XJ's go for much less.

 

I can't be sure there wasn't a trade involved however there was no mention of it on the form. It's the same form that is used in PA when I buy a car therefore the trade would be listed. I leased a Chevy Tahoe LTZ from a dear that was "new" but had 3,300 miles on it (the owner of the dealership was driving it). The lease was based off a sale price of $42,500; it was not a used car, GMAC did not do used car leases. MSRP was $53,000. There must be a large gap between dealer cost and MSRP for a deal like that to happen.

 

Getting a hefty discount on a car with 3,300 miles on it isn't strange at all. Doesn't really matter if it's called "used" or not. The warranty hasn't started, but they consider it a demo. The $20k off of the XF...just doesn't match reality. I shot you a PM with my email and fax #, but I haven't received anything...not sure if there was a mix-up. I think it's important not to spread misinformation on forums like this, so I want to better understand what happened on that XF before people start running out to dealers asking for 35% off MSRP and get a punch in the nose.

 

I just saw the PM; it's at my office so I'll shoot it over on Monday.

 

Mystery solved. Mike was good enough to send over the invoice, and I did some investigation. The purchase price was indeed $34,652 as mentioned. There is an incentive program offered by Jaguar Corporate to rental car companies and dealers. They provide some $12k or so in incentives. The stipulation is that the car MUST be used as a demo or as a loaner car by the dealership for a minimum of 6 months before they can turn around and sell it. There is no wiggle room in that 6 month timeframe under any circumstances...the owner of the dealership was very stringent on that point. Rental car companies can purchase as well with similar stipulations that it must be used for a 6 month (not certain on how long the rental companies must rent it for) period. So, this is not true profit in the car. When the dealer sells an XF to Joe Public, the dealer does not profit as if they bought the car from Jaguar Corporate for $34,652. They got the car from Jaguar Corporate for $46,652, and any profit above that is theirs to enjoy. So, lest you're thinking you're getting royally ripped off by the folks at Jaguar, the $34k is not what it costs the dealership for his/her inventory to sell to you. Hope that clears it up and answers any questions. Mike, thanks again for forwarding that invoice. Next time something thinks about buying a demo for a couple of grand savings...think again!

 

Demos are still used cars even if never titled and should be priced accordingly. You will always pay a premium to be the first to put miles on it.