I think I made a mistake buying XJ8
#81
03-07-2010, 07:03 AM
Member
I have to say the decision for owning a Jag was simple. I got a used XJ8 for $22k, with less than 30k miles. I figured that if I spend $10k in repairs it would cost about the same as a brand new loaded Honda Accord; but still less than a new and loaded up Nissan Maxima. IT'S A NO BRAINER!!!! This shouldn't even be a discussion. If you don't want expensive repairs then Honda has a really nice Civic for sale (they throw in the plastic interior, road noise, and Matchbox car like ride for nothing). No offense to Civic owners.
#82
03-07-2010, 11:39 AM
I have to say the decision for owning a Jag was simple. I got a used XJ8 for $22k, with less than 30k miles. I figured that if I spend $10k in repairs it would cost about the same as a brand new loaded Honda Accord; but still less than a new and loaded up Nissan Maxima. IT'S A NO BRAINER!!!! This shouldn't even be a discussion. If you don't want expensive repairs then Honda has a really nice Civic for sale (they throw in the plastic interior, road noise, and Matchbox car like ride for nothing). No offense to Civic owners.
I got mine with 60% depreciation and 30,000 kilometers on the clock! Immaculate and like brand new!
30,000 kilometers later, the biggest expense so far has been new tires and new wiper blades!
#83
03-12-2010, 06:06 PM
Way to much pissing and moaning here IMHO. No matter what issues these cars may have if you didn't to your diligence and research the vehicle before purchase then you are not too bright. You need to look at overall reliability and annual cost of ownership. I figure $1000-1200 per year is about right for most luxury cars. And if that's too steep then purchase an extended warranty or drive a Honda Accord. Oh and by the way, these break down as well....................
#84
03-19-2010, 02:01 AM
This is an interesting thread with many different perspectives. I really do wish the prices of cars over here in Singapore are like what you have in the US, or in Europe for that matter. I would have loved to have picked up a good working order 04 XJ8 for US$13000. Instead we have to put up with an almost 200% tax on the price of the car, due to our tax system. If you want to have an idea of what it's like regarding the cost of cars over here, do have a look at the on-line used car sales site below. The prices are in Singapore Dollars, and US$1 is about $1.40 Singapore dollars.
http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/index.php
My colleague was just quoted for repairs to the inflatable lumbar support for the seat of his 4 year 11 month old Lexus GS300 (or GS350 I forget which) and it was for approximately US$12000 (not one thousand, but twelve thousand) for the replacement of the seat as the seat apparently doesn't have individual spare parts available that can be replaced, according to the sole dealer in the country. Fortunately it is still within the 5 year extended warranty and the replacement is free. My colleague is now considering selling the car as the costs of repairs after the warranty expires is a significant issue. As such, I'm not so sure that switching to a Japanese car would be any better as far as repair costs go. The bottom line, unfortunately, would be that luxury cars have luxury prices for repairs and that sadly is the price to pay for buying such used cars, whether they be US, European or Japanese.
http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/index.php
My colleague was just quoted for repairs to the inflatable lumbar support for the seat of his 4 year 11 month old Lexus GS300 (or GS350 I forget which) and it was for approximately US$12000 (not one thousand, but twelve thousand) for the replacement of the seat as the seat apparently doesn't have individual spare parts available that can be replaced, according to the sole dealer in the country. Fortunately it is still within the 5 year extended warranty and the replacement is free. My colleague is now considering selling the car as the costs of repairs after the warranty expires is a significant issue. As such, I'm not so sure that switching to a Japanese car would be any better as far as repair costs go. The bottom line, unfortunately, would be that luxury cars have luxury prices for repairs and that sadly is the price to pay for buying such used cars, whether they be US, European or Japanese.
#85
03-19-2010, 02:25 AM
#86
03-19-2010, 04:34 AM
Veteran Member
This is an interesting thread with many different perspectives. I really do wish the prices of cars over here in Singapore are like what you have in the US, or in Europe for that matter.
...
If you want to have an idea of what it's like regarding the cost of cars over here, do have a look at the on-line used car sales site below.
...
http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/index.php
...
...
If you want to have an idea of what it's like regarding the cost of cars over here, do have a look at the on-line used car sales site below.
...
http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/index.php
...
I went to see a 2003 XJR in January that had been imported from Singapore and was for sale for $44,000NZD. Adding on the dealer margin and shipping he probably bought it for $35-38,000.
The same dealer has currently got a 2005 Super V8 for $50k and a 2003 4.2 for $44k, both imported from Singapore.
#87
03-19-2010, 08:57 AM
Senior Member
1. Stop being such a crybaby.
2. Don't buy a Jaguar if you can't accept some "issues" now and again.
3. Jaguar's cars from 2002 and on are on par with other carmakers in terms of reliability and was tops last year. Yes, top of the list.
4. There are TONS of Jag guys that can work on your car on the side for 1/2 the price of the ***********s.
5. This forum pretty much covers any issue you will come across and has good info on where to buy parts, how to install them and what it should cost you.
Just relax and enjoy the car. I got my 2003 XJR with 40k in 2006... since then it's been in the shop 5-6 times and the worst was the coils in the engine(I think the mina intake screwed me up) at 95k miles. $1100, covered by my extended warranty though. Other than that, its been rock solid(knock on wood).
2. Don't buy a Jaguar if you can't accept some "issues" now and again.
3. Jaguar's cars from 2002 and on are on par with other carmakers in terms of reliability and was tops last year. Yes, top of the list.
4. There are TONS of Jag guys that can work on your car on the side for 1/2 the price of the ***********s.
5. This forum pretty much covers any issue you will come across and has good info on where to buy parts, how to install them and what it should cost you.
Just relax and enjoy the car. I got my 2003 XJR with 40k in 2006... since then it's been in the shop 5-6 times and the worst was the coils in the engine(I think the mina intake screwed me up) at 95k miles. $1100, covered by my extended warranty though. Other than that, its been rock solid(knock on wood).
Last edited by princemarko; 03-19-2010 at 09:01 AM.
#88
03-19-2010, 09:37 AM
Yea, we've got really limited land area so the system is designed to reduce the number of cars on the road by significantly elevating the prices, so there's massive tax on all aspects of car use and ownership. For a start, we have a huge import duty and registration tax on cars (about 150-200% total, sorry, I can't remember the exact figure). Then we have a limited availability, up-front road tax that is valid for 10 years (It's called a certificate of entitlement or COE. A limited number of these certificates are available every 2 weeks and the number is dependant on how many cars were deregistered or taken off the road over a defined period in the past. One is needed for every vehicle on the road (new or old) and you have to bid for them in order to buy a car/bike/truck. It started off at $1 almost 20 years ago and quickly rose by leaps and bounds. At its peak, it reached more than SGD$100,000 for this piece of paper, before we even talked about the car and the import duties / registration fee and the value of this certificate depreciates in a straight line over 10 years to zero when the car reaches 10. Last year was good due to the recession, so the prices of everything fell signifcantly. At this point in time, the cost of a COE is about SGD$20,000 and rising and we're concerned that it's going to increase yet again as the numbers of COE's are being reduced in the coming months to control vehicle numbers further. If you deregister a car before 10 years, the balance of the unused COE is refunded together with a portion of the registration fee. We call this the scrap/export value of the car. This value is lost if the car is allowed to exceed 10 years of age, which is why we export many cars that are relatively young as the owner would get back the export value of the car and whatever he could sell the car for overseas. Even if a car is a total loss from an accident, this value is refunded. With this sort of pricing for our cars, cars are generally very well looked after as they do really cost an arm and a leg (and a house in many countries)....
For cars that you want to keep past 10 years, the COE will have to be renewed, at the average going rate at that time, but the scrap/export value is lost overnight (and this can be a significant amount of money, say for the XJR, about $50,000+ overnight from 9 years 364days to 10 years age, hence few cars are kept past 10 years).
Then we also have the annual road tax.... which is based on cubic capacity of the car's engine (to discourage large capacity cars...). The cost is variable but roughly between 60 cents to $1 per cubic centimeter of engine capacity (cheaper for small cc cars). So the 4.2 litre Jaguar's annual road tax works out to be approximately SGD$4200 a year. All the details of our taxation structure can be found on our LTA (Land Transport Authority's) web-site... so if anyone wants to do a thesis on vehicle control and income from the taxation of vehicles, this is the web-site to look at... We all dream of the prices of cars overseas.. and we're actually looking forward to taxation on use (via possibly GPS tracking) if this will enable the reduction of the purchase / registration / COE taxes so that we can own a few cars but only be taxed on the use of one if only one car is used... dreams...
For all those cities that are now coming to grips with restricted access downtown business districts (like London, UK), it started with us too I believe, in the mid 70's..... fun stuff...
For cars that you want to keep past 10 years, the COE will have to be renewed, at the average going rate at that time, but the scrap/export value is lost overnight (and this can be a significant amount of money, say for the XJR, about $50,000+ overnight from 9 years 364days to 10 years age, hence few cars are kept past 10 years).
Then we also have the annual road tax.... which is based on cubic capacity of the car's engine (to discourage large capacity cars...). The cost is variable but roughly between 60 cents to $1 per cubic centimeter of engine capacity (cheaper for small cc cars). So the 4.2 litre Jaguar's annual road tax works out to be approximately SGD$4200 a year. All the details of our taxation structure can be found on our LTA (Land Transport Authority's) web-site... so if anyone wants to do a thesis on vehicle control and income from the taxation of vehicles, this is the web-site to look at... We all dream of the prices of cars overseas.. and we're actually looking forward to taxation on use (via possibly GPS tracking) if this will enable the reduction of the purchase / registration / COE taxes so that we can own a few cars but only be taxed on the use of one if only one car is used... dreams...
For all those cities that are now coming to grips with restricted access downtown business districts (like London, UK), it started with us too I believe, in the mid 70's..... fun stuff...
#91
03-20-2010, 07:38 AM
#92
03-20-2010, 07:47 AM
Hahaha, thanks. Yes, many of our people retire overseas, Australia usually, Perth in particular as the quality of life is much better especially if you're living on your savings, and it's fairly close to home. (Perth is apparently closer to Singapore than it is to Sydney.) Singapore is nice if you can afford it (or if you don't care about cars or houses). It's relatively safe and crime free, with little racial bias and mostly, people are honest and the food is good and cheap compared to other developed countries. It's just expensive to own the car and the house... but you can walk down the streets and take public transport safely, even in the middle of the night.
#93
10-21-2010, 03:00 AM
Junior Member
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The OP has a valid point.
Years ago I went to buy a new Buick for a family car and drove off instead in a 2 year old Maserati BiTurbo - same price, same warranty - with 6,000 miles on it.
I "Italianized" it (un-EPA-DOTed) and it was a screaming little box.
Repairs were an absurdity, however. The warranty company went broke and I essentially dumped it. Basically gave it away.
The attitude of the *******s at Maserati was "if you can't afford repairs then you are too poor to drive a Maserati."
Jaguars are what I call toy-cars. Novelties. Rich folks buy what they want and us wanna-bees buy their used toys for pennies on the dollar. We don't have $80 to $100K to spend on a car. Or maybe just frugal enough to realize we can buy that same car - like new with warranty - in a few years saving months or a year's income doing so.
But if we are wise, we will treat it as our novelty car, not our necessary daily driver.
My wife has a toy car too, a 1970 Mini with a 92 motor and ac. Its been in the shop 2 weeks (again) now. Her daily driver? A 2004 Ford Ranger XLT stepside 4X4 with 100K plus miles on it. Because we have 5 vehicles, 2 of which are toys we are never grounded and our toys last longer and cost less to keep going. ALL 5 cost far less to buy than 1 new Jag would - and my 05KXR is superior to most Jags still or about anything new out there.
HERE IS THE REALITY...
Jaguars also are very limited production cars - meaning mechanics, people-in-the-know, new parts and even used parts are through the celling. For example, on parts someone is selling the 3 grill pieces for an 02 XK8 for $500 - off the $1200 dealer price.
I just bought a new (aftermarket) front bumper, grill, grill screen and logo for our old Ford Ranger for $just at $300 for all - including shipping.
It's a stepside (sport side), red, some kid has it before me so a loud exhaust, decent wheels, tires, and raise up a bit. Paid $2500 for it - gone 30,000+ miles with zero repairs (until I hit a pole at 5 mph zoning out while messing with putting away my laptop). Then it was a $300 do-it-yourself body repair. A couple years ago, I had a new V6 put into a 4X4 ranger by the dealer for just over $4K, including a 75K warranty on it.
BUT, no matter what I did to those Rangers or even bought a new one for $30K plus, they could never, ever equal a nice old Jag.
Jags are expensive cars. IF you need a car for utility (go to work, school, grocery store, kids to school), I suggest buying an American econ-to-midsize car. They're usually good to at least 150,000 miles and you can find them all over for around $2000-3000 with a clean body and interior in the 100K mile range.
Or maybe a little pickup.
Make THAT your daily driver. Drive IT to work. Put the miles on it. Run that one into the ground.
Then you have the utility... and you have your showboat Jaguar.
I DON'T daily drive my 05 XKR I just bought. Why? Costs of wear and tear. I drive on of three 3 old pickups we have (single cab ranger, 4X4 XL ranger and a chevy dually). I bought them cheap and I'll drive them into the ground - unless a repair is worth more than the value and then I'll junk it.
Unless you can sling money at a novelty car, it can't be your daily car. But nothing stops you from having 2 cars and that makes the most sense. A cheap, reliable car (I suggest American and common for easy of repairs and cheap parts), and then your special occasions car.
I do the same with boats. I run around in an old bass pro I bought for $3K, not my 100 mph picklefork.
So I guess I fully agree with your concerns. But I disagree that you can't afford to own and drive a Jaguar. Rather, I think you can't afford a Jaguar as your daily driver. You wouldn't pick between a Harley and a car. Instead, you'd take a lesser car to have the Harley too. Look at your Jag that way. It's like a motorcycle or boat. Then you can both have your utility car and Jaguar - meaning you can be "RICH" even though you're not. NICE.
That is the biggest plus of used, clean super costly cars. I can park next to an new $50,000 Escalade, or any other $40-60K new luxury car - and everyone looks at my $30K Jag and figures I'm the guy with the money. Same with a clean '98 XK8 for $10K. Same for your Jaguar. Park it next to an new Chrysler 300C hemi? Everyone figures your the winner even economically. That's their VALUE. Not as a practical daily driver. Rich people don't pour the miles on them anyway, it's poor people who do. Rich people buy them as toys.
You don't wear your finest clothes to work nor just have one shirt and pants. Why have just one vehicle? So instead of a $25,000 Toyo or whatever, why not a $3000 econo or midsized box or little pickup and your Jaguar too? I believe that is absolutely the most bang for the buck for us "not rich" guys. If you truly are "poor" get rid of the Jag while it's still working even if at a large lose. Hard to sell a broken car you can't afford to fix.
I suspect that a poll asking if their Jaguar is their ONLY vehicle, most will answer no. They're not that kind of car. Neither is a Ferrari or Lambo.
Years ago I went to buy a new Buick for a family car and drove off instead in a 2 year old Maserati BiTurbo - same price, same warranty - with 6,000 miles on it.
I "Italianized" it (un-EPA-DOTed) and it was a screaming little box.
Repairs were an absurdity, however. The warranty company went broke and I essentially dumped it. Basically gave it away.
The attitude of the *******s at Maserati was "if you can't afford repairs then you are too poor to drive a Maserati."
Jaguars are what I call toy-cars. Novelties. Rich folks buy what they want and us wanna-bees buy their used toys for pennies on the dollar. We don't have $80 to $100K to spend on a car. Or maybe just frugal enough to realize we can buy that same car - like new with warranty - in a few years saving months or a year's income doing so.
But if we are wise, we will treat it as our novelty car, not our necessary daily driver.
My wife has a toy car too, a 1970 Mini with a 92 motor and ac. Its been in the shop 2 weeks (again) now. Her daily driver? A 2004 Ford Ranger XLT stepside 4X4 with 100K plus miles on it. Because we have 5 vehicles, 2 of which are toys we are never grounded and our toys last longer and cost less to keep going. ALL 5 cost far less to buy than 1 new Jag would - and my 05KXR is superior to most Jags still or about anything new out there.
HERE IS THE REALITY...
Jaguars also are very limited production cars - meaning mechanics, people-in-the-know, new parts and even used parts are through the celling. For example, on parts someone is selling the 3 grill pieces for an 02 XK8 for $500 - off the $1200 dealer price.
I just bought a new (aftermarket) front bumper, grill, grill screen and logo for our old Ford Ranger for $just at $300 for all - including shipping.
It's a stepside (sport side), red, some kid has it before me so a loud exhaust, decent wheels, tires, and raise up a bit. Paid $2500 for it - gone 30,000+ miles with zero repairs (until I hit a pole at 5 mph zoning out while messing with putting away my laptop). Then it was a $300 do-it-yourself body repair. A couple years ago, I had a new V6 put into a 4X4 ranger by the dealer for just over $4K, including a 75K warranty on it.
BUT, no matter what I did to those Rangers or even bought a new one for $30K plus, they could never, ever equal a nice old Jag.
Jags are expensive cars. IF you need a car for utility (go to work, school, grocery store, kids to school), I suggest buying an American econ-to-midsize car. They're usually good to at least 150,000 miles and you can find them all over for around $2000-3000 with a clean body and interior in the 100K mile range.
Or maybe a little pickup.
Make THAT your daily driver. Drive IT to work. Put the miles on it. Run that one into the ground.
Then you have the utility... and you have your showboat Jaguar.
I DON'T daily drive my 05 XKR I just bought. Why? Costs of wear and tear. I drive on of three 3 old pickups we have (single cab ranger, 4X4 XL ranger and a chevy dually). I bought them cheap and I'll drive them into the ground - unless a repair is worth more than the value and then I'll junk it.
Unless you can sling money at a novelty car, it can't be your daily car. But nothing stops you from having 2 cars and that makes the most sense. A cheap, reliable car (I suggest American and common for easy of repairs and cheap parts), and then your special occasions car.
I do the same with boats. I run around in an old bass pro I bought for $3K, not my 100 mph picklefork.
So I guess I fully agree with your concerns. But I disagree that you can't afford to own and drive a Jaguar. Rather, I think you can't afford a Jaguar as your daily driver. You wouldn't pick between a Harley and a car. Instead, you'd take a lesser car to have the Harley too. Look at your Jag that way. It's like a motorcycle or boat. Then you can both have your utility car and Jaguar - meaning you can be "RICH" even though you're not. NICE.
That is the biggest plus of used, clean super costly cars. I can park next to an new $50,000 Escalade, or any other $40-60K new luxury car - and everyone looks at my $30K Jag and figures I'm the guy with the money. Same with a clean '98 XK8 for $10K. Same for your Jaguar. Park it next to an new Chrysler 300C hemi? Everyone figures your the winner even economically. That's their VALUE. Not as a practical daily driver. Rich people don't pour the miles on them anyway, it's poor people who do. Rich people buy them as toys.
You don't wear your finest clothes to work nor just have one shirt and pants. Why have just one vehicle? So instead of a $25,000 Toyo or whatever, why not a $3000 econo or midsized box or little pickup and your Jaguar too? I believe that is absolutely the most bang for the buck for us "not rich" guys. If you truly are "poor" get rid of the Jag while it's still working even if at a large lose. Hard to sell a broken car you can't afford to fix.
I suspect that a poll asking if their Jaguar is their ONLY vehicle, most will answer no. They're not that kind of car. Neither is a Ferrari or Lambo.
I'm pretty torn between a Volvo S80, CX90 SUV, or a Jaguar XJ8. I loved the test drive of the Jag. Liked the test drive of the Volvo. Also drove a Cadillac STS but I'm not sure how safe it is... sure was comfortable.
But man, the Jaguar was just niiiiiiice. I'm terrified of the repair costs, but like I said, comfort and safety need to come first.
#94
10-21-2010, 09:04 AM
Veteran Member
#95
10-21-2010, 02:37 PM
Veteran Member
Interesting thread. But is it just me, or is the OP complaining about a higher-mileage 2004 (first year) model?
I also find it curious that most of the people on this board will say, "I've had the car for 6 months with no problems at all!" 6 months? Is that supposed to impress anyone?!
Then again, I am very interested in a 2006-2007 XJ with about 40k miles. I am trying to be realistic about it, maybe a $24-26k purchase price (~$460/month car payment) and about $400/month for insurance and maintenance/repairs. However, I am wondering if this is really enough for this car. I will probably find an indie mechanic that can handle a Jag, but I suspect repair costs will still be high! Any thoughts?
I also find it curious that most of the people on this board will say, "I've had the car for 6 months with no problems at all!" 6 months? Is that supposed to impress anyone?!
Then again, I am very interested in a 2006-2007 XJ with about 40k miles. I am trying to be realistic about it, maybe a $24-26k purchase price (~$460/month car payment) and about $400/month for insurance and maintenance/repairs. However, I am wondering if this is really enough for this car. I will probably find an indie mechanic that can handle a Jag, but I suspect repair costs will still be high! Any thoughts?
#96
10-21-2010, 02:41 PM
Veteran Member
My situation is that I want the safest and most comfortable car I can find. I have no interest in buying a car for 3000, getting in a wreck, and dying or ending up paralyzed.
I'm pretty torn between a Volvo S80, CX90 SUV, or a Jaguar XJ8. I loved the test drive of the Jag. Liked the test drive of the Volvo. Also drove a Cadillac STS but I'm not sure how safe it is... sure was comfortable.
But man, the Jaguar was just niiiiiiice. I'm terrified of the repair costs, but like I said, comfort and safety need to come first.
I'm pretty torn between a Volvo S80, CX90 SUV, or a Jaguar XJ8. I loved the test drive of the Jag. Liked the test drive of the Volvo. Also drove a Cadillac STS but I'm not sure how safe it is... sure was comfortable.
But man, the Jaguar was just niiiiiiice. I'm terrified of the repair costs, but like I said, comfort and safety need to come first.
#97
10-24-2010, 12:38 AM
What kinda question is that? of course you did make a mistake by buying a Jaguar, but you know what you also did? you made a mistake by buying an automobile because they all break up; since Jesus didn't build them! seriously though , Jags are nice cars they just need a lil more attention than the other cars on roads, my next car is gonna be a Maserati and can't wait to see it breaks down, I bet they break down more than our jags haha
#98
10-24-2010, 12:48 AM
Damn you just hurt my Jag's feelings, FOR YOUR INFORMATION , X350 is one of the SAFEST SALOON SEDANS on the road, it has been crash tested many times and even after crashing into a wall doing 42mph front wheels didn't even burst, I have seen that video with my eyes LOL
#100
10-24-2010, 09:13 PM
I think I made a mistake buying XJ8
Hey Shaguar_fan are you looking at a new or used Volvo? I've worked on Volvo's at the dealership level 25+ years. I've owned Jaguars for the last 10 years a '94, '97 and now a 2004 XJ8. Volvo's are just as trouble some as any Jag and just as complicated in some systems as Jags. And when parked side by side the Jag is more distinctive to most people. Just MHO George.