This has been discussed before, but I thought I would revisit this topic. An encounter at my gym brought this subject back to the forefront of my thoughts.

I am a gym rat, for those that are like me you know this story well. I am talking about the gym acquaintance, people that you have known for 10, 15, or 20 years but only by name and only from seeing them in the same gym. These people you talk surface stuff with but you do get to know them pretty well over that time, but they are not people I spend time with outside of the 4 or 5 days a week I see them.

For the majority of the week I drive my company car, a 2014 Chevy Malibu. It is a solid car, I have no problems with it and am not ashamed to be seen in this vehicle. Sometimes I drive the Jag (my Wife's daily driver).

I was pulling into the gym in my Jag, I saw an acquaintance who was driving a 3 series BMW, he also saw me exiting the Jag. I was warming up on the cardio when he came up to me, reality was he searched me out, to tell me that his 7 series was being worked on and that the 3 was just a loaner. He even went so far as to say that "how mortified he is to be seen in that low end car". Seriously??? How insecure must you be to come find me and tell me that the car you are in was a loaner.

Bottom line is that some people are really worried about perception. I am not. If you see me in the Malibu I don't care. I certainly would never roll up to tell you that I have a Jag!

 

Well stated.......

 

Appearance, unless you hear someone outside your field of vision, is typically the first thing people see.

I sometimes over hear people laughing and commenting their surprise when getting into my XK near out door restaurant seating. People do not expect the guy wearing low hiking boots, battle dress uniform pants, and a T-shirt to get in and drive off in the Jaguar XK.

The most amusing however, are the obvious metro ladies trying to ignore my existence as I walk by, only to have their brain do a back flip when I take off in the XK. Seeing the expression change in a mirror is something I get a very quiet laugh at when this one times out perfectly.

Some people are very defensive, and they notice "status" symbols. They build themselves up by comparing who they are better than, or what things they have that others don't. The opposite happens when they see someone with something nicer, or when some one does something better than them.

If it motivates them to improve, its not a bad thing, but I rarely see it work out that way.

 

Status/perception is a fickle pickle. I live in a neighborhood/area that allows me to see a parade of the manufacture's new high end models every year. I probably would fall into the lower 25% slot for income in the area. And as they go buy I think how nice it must be to be in a position to absorb that kind of depreciation every year.


I cycle my cars a couple times per year so they all come out of the shed and I line them up outside. This will usually peak my neighbors interest and almost each time somebody different stops in to comment on the fleet with their new, new-ish ride. Most will say in a round about way the same thing, "boy I wish I made your kind of money" ?? Most probably make at least double what me and the wolf bring in. And allot of the time I have less money into my 10 XJ's than they have in the their ride sitting in my driveway. Perception, status, fickle pickles. In the end... WHO CARES!

 

I have to ask, why do you have 10 of these? Is it a collection for future value?

 

I know from experience with my 944's, older cars, each one has a character, they are more engaging. At the price point, you can modify one to be faster, another more comfortable, pick which color you want to drive, etc.

When your buy price is a fraction of a new car, and you can do the work yourself(and enjoy it), why not?

 

Now that is cool, multiple of the same car to be used to accessorize. Match the color of the car to the outfit, match the performance to the mood.

I do that with my Wrangler and 1 Liter motorcycle. My need for redneck is assuaged and my need for speed is satisfied.

 

Good post.

I learned a long time ago in my business to "never judge a book by its cover".

The clients that came into my office in suits and ties, open unbuttoned shirts with gold chains around their necks never had much money to invest in the financial markets.

The client that came into the office in blue jeans, boots and cow crap on them, were the ones that had the money to invest and lots of it.

Keep wearing the boots, battle pants, and T-shirts. You're driving the Jaguar that everyone would want to own. I also think a lot of ladies like that look, but just won't admit it, when with others.

I can say as I get older, I really don't care what people think. I have never had a friend or relative, buy me food, pay my electric bill, or pay any other bill I had.

When I drive one of my premium cars and go out for dinner with another couple, when the check is delivered to the table they become silent, wait to pay the check, thinking I will pick up the tab. When I drive my truck, they are always willing to pay their own way quickly, but never offer to pay my check.

Oh well, life goes on.

..

 

Does he have the window sticker with him to prove how well optioned it is?

 

The dirtier the hippy, the larger their trust fund...

 

I drove my XKR to Niagara Falls Canada summer of 2015 and stayed in a premium hotel. When I pulled up to the valet parking at the hotel, I asked the guy where he parked the cars. He said normally across the street, in a common lot. I shuddered, wondering how many dings would be in the doors when I got the car back and thinking that it was a bad idea to have cruised up from NJ in the jag, The valet must have seen me grimace and said, oh no, my car would be parked on the front deck. As I left him, I actually had to ask if he could also park my buddy's "lowly" Porsche next to mine. Funny to both my buddy and me, his car was new and he paid almost twice what I did for the XKR used.. Anyway, I stayed a couple of nights and took care of the valet guys and they bent over backwards to get my car a number of times per day and keep it safe. I don't usually get this treatment, but it was fun while it lasted. The snob appear or status, or whatever sort of worked for me this time, and I sure did find it amusing.

 

I am also a jeans, t-shirt and work boots kind of guy. My main ride is a 1977 Harley and I drove the same 1986 Mustang GT from 1986 - 2013. I don't flaunt and I sure don't judge anyone.

2 fun stories so far in the short time we've had the Jag:

I got the XK's sagging headliner replaced the other day and the guy at the shop said "I did one of these before. The owner was a doctor. You a doctor?" I said "nope". He replied "I thought you needed doctor money to get one of these."

My wife had to stop by the hospital last month and they had $2 Valet parking. When she came out to retrieve the XK, it was already right there in the front. She asked the valet how he knew she was coming out and he said "We always keep these kind of cars right up front, ma'am." She said he got a nice tip

 

When I bought my first one it was my XJ12 Sovereign of which they only made 19 LWB's. I was astounded that you could get Jaguars 1996 flagship model for pennies on the dollar when only nine years old and under
50,000 miles. So I started to look for more of the 19. None available but I started to run across cars in exceptional condition with low miles for basically what I felt was nothing. Before you know it, I had 10. That's when the wolf indicated that maybe I should be done.


I think the car is drop dead gorgeous for a sedan. Future value not much chance of retiring on these but if I hold on to them for another ten years I will be in a much better position than today. Ten years from now Jaguars 1996 flagship model be very hard to find in running condition, let alone find them under 70,000 miles. It's an addiction.

 

You are an educated consumer, my friend. Kudos!

 

Yes it is! But a fun one at that. I thought collectibles were 1/32nd scale models not full size vehicles... I find using my Jeep and motorcycle are a chore when I have the company car (free gas) and Jag (extremely fun to drive) from which to pick. I can only imagine having to rotate usage among the 10 cars so that they stay "lubricated" is a bit of work!

There is a common theme on here that people have an expectation that the drivers of these cars are "high end" folks. I also am a Levi jeans, t-shirt (albeit a decent shirt), and track shoes kinda guy. I don't own designer jeans, affliction shirt or ostrich skin shoes.

I rarely valet but when I do they make a big deal, it was the same with my 650. People at gas stations or stores will say something to me about having a nice car and I just say thanks, they are typically driving an SUV or car that if they bought it new they paid more than my used Jag.

 

It's pretty simple as cars are an extension of a persons personality. If it weren't true then none of us would own anything other then a toyota or honda or some american iron. We buy something different to satisfy our own ego's . In doing so we want to be seen as affluent types. A lot of folks just don't want to admit it. Just take a poll on what type of job/position we have/had and it usually puts you high on the list. How many here work as a garbage collector. Regardless of what you paid for your car or who works on it when you go for a ride and joe 6-pack sees you what do you think he is thinking. So enjoy and have fun as you only live once and you don't know what that clock says.

 

Could not have said it better myself. We must keep in mind while we do not know what the clock says... it is ticking.

 

[QUOTE=tampamark;1583004] I can only imagine having to rotate usage among the 10 cars so that they stay "lubricated" is a bit of work!]/QUOTE]


More than I could have ever imagined when I started. A couple things make this collection possible over the last decade with my bank account.


1. This forum and it's members, thank you, thank you, thank you!
2. When I first started collecting them the Jag Lovers forum came in handy.
4. Internet.
3. All cars where in excellent condition when I purchased.
4. When one car does not cooperate I have the ability to pull the offending part of another to insure it is the problem before I start buying parts.
5. Zen attitude, although I spect the wolf might have a different spin on that.
6. Mechanical aptitude. Although the electrical side of things still seems to elude me. Just goes right over my head.

 

This is why I go for Jags, if you buy the right one you can have for 10 to 30 percent of the original price close to 100% of the original experience.

 

This is why I bought my XKR. I paid less for it than I did for the Civic Hybrid it replaced and it is much more fun to drive. I never had a stranger walk by and say "nice ride" when I was at a gas station with the Civic. Though that may be skewed by the fact that I'm there more often with the XKR. Almost four times the horsepower means I went from 40MPG to 14MPG. I am having a lot of fun letting this kitty roar!

New Jag owners are still paying for, and used Jag buyers are benefiting from, the perception that these cars are as unreliable as they were in the 70's and 80's when the solution to an engine or electrical problem was to rip it all out and put in GM parts.