Hello all!

Over the weekend, I randomly test drove an 09 XF Supercharged (among other makes) and loved it. Only problem was that it was just too big for my taste. Queue the XKR. Started looking around at these and realized that I had to have one. Now I need your advice.

I found this 07 XKR and this 07 XKR. Both are still available. The former has 81k mi for $34k and the latter 68k mi for $34k, but with frame damage on the title. After reading some threads here, I realized that I may not be getting the deal I thought I was.

Is 81k miles too much? If not, should i be asking for a lower (much?) price? I am located in GA, so the second one is a 5 min drive whereas the first would have to be shipped or I'll be travelling the 650mi to get it. Any thoughts?

Hopefully I can find the right XKR and become a long time member of these forums.

Thanks,
Paul

 

I'm too new to Jag myself to give you good history, but the Red Jag has a title change and accident damage. My first fear would be a branded "totaled or rebuilt" title that will haunt you. I personally wouldn't even give it a backwards glance and keep walking.

The first car is Certified (I assume a "Select Edition") so you have a safety buffer for maintenance to begin with. Others here will have better advice than mine, so don't leap too quickly.

BOL
Vince

 

Yeah, upon further advice, possible frame damage on a convertible is a huge red flag. Plus, you're right, I don't want to have to deal resell issues having a big FRAME DAMAGE warning showing on the Carfax.

I want to leap! I know I need to do more research, but I think I will have more bargaining power if I try to get the sale in before the end of the month. I have tomorrow.

 

If someone else had written those words would you tell him to slow down, you're being impulsive, there's a lot of these cars for sale, if you don't see the perfect car listed this week just wait until next week, they don't sell over night, many have a lot less mileage than the ones you're looking at, why are you considering a wreck, and it's the vendor that should be more motivated to sell than the buyer?

Slow down, do that research (after 2 days you likely don't know the questions to ask, never-mind the answers), chill and take a breath. There are so many great threads in this forum to go back and read over. It's obvious you like the car, but do you know the differences between the '07, 08 and 09's, or the major changes introduced for 2010+ models?

Bruce

 

Hi,

Agreed don't be hasty be highly selective...

I'm new to the XKR but have been blessed to drive high pref euro cars for many years. The way the car was driven and cared for has a lot to do with its health and longevity. See if your can get a printout the the engine's history via the car's ecu, it will show how aggressively the car's been driven. No doubt the service history is also a highly valuable piece of information. Forced induction cars generally have high higher internal temps and or stress on the drivetrain so the aforementioned items are key.
Best of luck on your new cat.

 

I certainly hope someone else drops in here to advise you as they did me. There was a lot of great input to help me in my choice, but then I also pondered about 3 weeks before finally snagging my XK because I knew so little about them and had to study!
I know exactly how you feel right now, and it is gut wrenching to say the least.
Keep in mind that prices are falling on the 07's so this may not be your only chance... Also an XKR has most certainly been run hard (as they are bred to do), so for looking at a high mileage one, that Select Edition" certification (make sure that is what it has) goes a long way in ensuring it is pretty good mechanical condition...

Best of luck, hope to see you here more often.
Vince

 

Sounds exactly like my story. I too loved the XF and was about to buy one...until I saw an XK. Bought mine a month ago so, like some others here, am a new and first time Jaguar owner.

I first saw my car in early December '11 and it immediately was love or maybe lust or both. I wanted to hand the private seller a check right then but thought the better of it. My bias was toward the coupe and my preference in a car is black on tan. This one had all that. I spent a week researching XKs in general trying to familiarize myself with the options and packages that were available and how this car stacked up. I drove other XKs and realized that was the one I wanted. I made an offer and the seller said he wasn't sure he wanted to sell. Immediate tears.

I was hooked and had to have an XK (R) so I searched around the country and found one in Chicago that interested me. Finally, in early February the owner decided to sell the coupe to me. The tears dried up.

The car I bought had 34K miles, is CPO, does not have a mark on it and I paid less than $34K. In Georgia there is no state sales tax on a private sale, however I think the seller got a bit of it.

As the other folks have mentioned, take your time and do the research. The car you want is out there but it might take a bit of patience to find it. Best of luck with your search.

Regards,

 

Haha, yes, yes, live to fight another day and such. Thanks for the replies, glad to see this is a very active forum.

I know a small bit about the differences: iPhone hookup, new engine, facelifts, new antenna...but I can't really afford to go past the 07s unless I went with the XK.

Emailed the salesman earlier, he will get back to me tomorrow. I asked about the service history report (they said that the guy who traded it in had always taken it to that dealership, and they said he was a 70yo who kept it meticulously), a bunch of unlisted options (is there an auxiliary port in these? I know there's no iPhone hookup but I need to connect my Android for music!), financing and dealership fees, etc.

On the list for my next email:
engine's history from ecu
Select Edition status

Question: Won't these things last hundreds of miles?

Calming down currently, heading to bed, thinking I should just wait this one out. I'll continue the search tomorrow and see where it leads me. Methinks this forum will prove invaluable.

 

Also see if the dealership will let you speak with the 70 yr old gentleman/former owner, all they have to do is ask him if it's ok and they will give him your number; it's a 50/50 chance but most definetly worth asking for.

 

Congrats, you will make good friends at these forums

 

Hi,

Welcome to the site, and to the world of Jaguar XK's.

Because these cars are so rare, it is quite common around here to see a post like yours - someone see one used model, is quite taken by the beauty of the thing, is surprised by the relative reasonableness of the price, and wants to pounce.

I imagine many people just do pounce, with the smarter folks deciding to stop by a place like this forum first.

You can get a feel for the pricing of these cars by looking at the Completed auction listing on ebay. Focus only on the few that have sold, not all the listings. Then go to Cars.com

With a few clicks you can get a list of XK's or XKR's all over the country and very quickly get a feel for the price ranges.

Also - and this is most important - many of these cars are Garage Queens -

they are driven rarely - some only on weekends and never in bad weather. The 15,000 per year rule of thumb is out the window. Sure an 07 XKR with 80,000 miles stills has plenty of life left to it, but you can so easily find one with 40,000 or find an 07 XK with 30,000 or even less. (A few days ago a number of people here posted what they paid for their 07. Read a lot of the posts here and find that one it might help)

Most of all - have fun looking. And try to keep calm. Remember time is on your side, depreciation works day in and day out, prices are always going down, not up.

Tony

 

Dealer said they have serviced it since it had 17K miles. Attached is the service history report. I don't know what it means.

I get the resounding feeling that everyone here thinks this is a bad idea. Sounds like a decent sign I should wait and continue looking seeing as the buyer for my current car just backed out this morning. I think I need to take a breath and wait for something else. I just can't buy a car without having test driven and inspected it. I wish I were more impulsive, but should probably be glad I'm not.

Maybe I'll use the weekend to drive up there (if they haven't already sold it) and test it out and trade mine for it if I take it.

 

Personally, I think you need to spend more to find one you won't regret. 40K is price you should be looking at or you could end up at 40K with repairs or just have a high mileage car. The engines can go the distance, but things do wear over time.

 

CleverName how did you know the red jag had accident damage, did you look on some database? If so, which one ?

Thanks
Ed

 

The seller has/had a link to the autocheck report.....

Vince

 

I actively searched for over three years for my perfect XK and still had to deal with a few surprises once the car was all mine...

But ohhhh, what a ride...

 

3 years! Not encouraging...haha

Update: I passed on that Jag. Received a reality reminder in the mail: Grad school acceptance papers. I deferred last year and completely forgot about it until now. I was pretty bummed about it all yesterday.

Good news, though! I just ran the numbers and I can still afford the added cost. I will be perusing the internets for my perfect XKR shortly.

Question: Is there a place on here where people post Jaguars they've found for sale elsewhere? Like a slickdeals for Jaguars. I've found a few that I think are really good deals, but they are just not the ones I want. But just because they aren't my perfect Jaguar, doesn't mean they aren't someone else's.

 

You know, they only make a few thousand XKs a year. That's both the good and bad thing. It took me about a month before I found mine. I was trolling autotrader, ebay, and others. You'll almost certainly have to look outside your local area if you have a specific feature/color combo you want. Shipping will be a couple k depending on how far away it is and whether you choose open or enclosed. On the plus side, finding low mileage examples seems really easy. Figure out what you want, and just start spending 15 minutes each morning looking for new listings!

 

Try Used Mercedes Benz | Jaguar | Land Rover | Texas Cars Direct, Dallas, TX or send them a "looking for" email. They are one of the biggest resellers of Jag's I have seen. Contact your local Jag dealers and I think the Jaguar lease returns go through Manheim, so if you know a used car dealer, you could bid on one of those.

 

I shopped for 3 months looking for new/ used /etc. I found several '07s with significantly less mileage than you are being quoted. I was very close to buying an XKR '07 black with 20' wheels and only 37k miles for $49k. It just happened to sell out from under me. I would listen to the advice above. There was a car that had "light" damage from an accident and I walked away. Even if you think you may only be in the car for a short period of time, you never know. Always think of your exit strategy . . . just in case. Good luck. Half of the fun is shopping anyway. IMHO you should walk out of the deal feeling excited and not fearful.