Hello everyone, so here is my story about how I recently got my first Vanden Plas , My car was fine but I found this post on craigslist that this old lady was selling her 2004 Jaguar Vanden Plas, and it ONLY has 15K miles on it!! I looked at same car on eBay and saw that they were posted for about $14k-$16K and had ~90k miles on them. However, I did not check KBB value and rushed to contact here and tried to buy it. I am a part time student so I was looking for a quick flip to make a little profit. I ended up paying $17K for it because she said she hasn't even pushed the sunroof button yet. She got hip replacement soon after she bought the car from the dealer with 24 miles on it back in 2004 (Title shows, one owner), and been using a SUV since. The car is definitely brand new, everything works like it should and the air vents still has the new car smell when AC is on. But when I got the tag for it this week, the DMV valued it at around $9K. Then I went and checked KBB and it pretty much says about the same .. I mean that's good in that I don't have to pay much tax on it yearly, but not good in trying to sell the car haha. That's like half of what I paid for it though . I am actually in love with the car now, just a new world when you are inside. Of course, I knew that the Vanden Plas is the fully loaded model with all the automatic everything, mine however, does not have the navigation or the headrest TVs which I don't care much about anyways. So did I really pay too much for it? How much do you guys think it's worth at 15k miles? I am sure that a fully loaded car with 15K miles and brand new condition with heated steering wheel doesn't go for 9 thousand like the KBB suggests. If I drive it for 8k miles in the next 10 months (23k miles total on car) how much do you think I could get for it? The color is red, exactly like one of the previous users have posted here who bought it for his wife and white leather. Thanks for the input guys, appreciate it. If I paid too much for it then I'm probably going to end up driving it and run it into the 100K miles, but if I can get a sweat 5k profit on it (which is why I bought it) then I'll probably sell it.

Sam

 

I think you may be looking at it the wrong way. You are essentially driving a $70k that you paid $17k for.

 

Just what I was thinking !

Run the car and enjoy Jaguar motoring at a cheap price. Whilst you probably paid top book price, a car with that mileage and in that condition has to be worth what you paid for it regardless what the "motor trade" may say. Some times it is value not cost that one must consider. Of course if you're wanting to be a motor trader, you need to learn the answer to the question - what does 2+2 add up to ? Reply of a trader will always be - "are you buying or selling ?"

 

haha, , never heard that saying before !

 

You can enjoy your car or you might just trade dollars and hope you get your 17k back.

 

Enjoy the car. Driving a pretty much new Jaguar with Used Camry and/or accord prices. The red is my all time favorite.
$17K plus tax and license would bring it near $19K plus the tires replacement. There was a 2005 VP with 17K miles from a Ford dealer in Nashville and they were asking for $15K.

 

If you look at a number of "books" you'll see various values. I am selling a 1997 VDP with 60K on it. When I bought it and listed it I looked at Edmunds/NADA/ and KBB - The range was $3900 - $7200. I paid closer to the higher end and it was valued at my registry and on my classic car insurance as that value also. If I cant sell my car for about 10% of what it cost in 1997 I'll just continue to drive it. The car cost $58K in 1997 ... think about that ... think about what you have in todays dollars. You got a deal... if no one appreciates that - drive that cat.

 

Hey guys, thank you for your input. Sorry I was busy this last week and just got a chance to check all this and respond. Coldpad1 that's exactly what I am doing right now. I have really fallen in love, my cousin who owns a car shop has a 2002 S class and when he drove it he said that it has the ride of the Mercedes with the handling of the BMW. His dad just got a 2006 XK, mine and his got the same exact engine. Of course his's probably faster lol. I get compliments wherever I go, gas station, parking lot. Especially with that candy red color, so that's what I am doing. Driving it until someone sees the value and I can maybe make a grand or two on it. The only part I hate is when I drive either on a cold day (Air suspension fault) or rainy sometimes with a (DSC not available) warnings and I get mini heart attacks wondering what's wrong haha, then I come home research and find out it's not big deal. Of course, those warnings only come on when its really cold and I've only seen the DSC only twice in the rain, but it has rained like 5 times so it has only popped up twice. That's the only part I'm scared of, the rest of the car is exactly how I want the car to be inch by inch. The detail, the leather, the classic look, the power, the comfort, everything. I have attention to detail, couple people told me it was old people car. I ignored them because I know they are immature and don't see real beauty. I'm an artist lol, I know when something looks good haha.

 

Jags are a mature persons car ....

 

and also bought by people with taste and discrimination.

 

Nothing worse than buyers remorse. Might as well enjoy it for what it's worth. At the end of the day, a guide is just a guide. There are always deals to be had depending on opportunity and hard work. But you paid a price that both parties felt was fair so best to just be happy with that and don't look back at what ifs.