I don't do this kind of anti-social parking myself but I've seen a few high-end motors parked this way and I understand what she meant about why she does it. It discourages anyone with a car much bigger than a Fiat 500 to try parking to the left of her, reducing the risk of them bashing her passenger door - and gives her more space to open her own driver's door, which is good when you're getting too old to do the limbo-dance on your way out of the drivers seat.

There's a Bentley that visits that Waitrose from time to time and likes to park literally on the centre between two spaces. I once saw an irate motorist deliberately park up inches away from it just to make a point.

 

It's also a wonderful way to get a "Paint Modification" performed by any passers-by, using a key. There's no excuse for parking like an entitled a-hole. If you have problems getting out, then park at the WAY BACK where nobody else parks.

 

Another one people do which pisses me off is using the parent-with-child wide spaces.

 

Don’t have anything like that on this side of the pond, they just fling the door open, scratching the hell out of whatever poor soul’s car happened to be next to them, so they can get their precious rug rat out of the back seat. Guess they need some parent-with-wide-child spaces around here.

 

Windows tinted and wheels redone gloss black...calipers refinished.

 

2010 Cab in front of Reed College, OR

 

Man, that is a gorgeous shot! I'll have to try that location out. I moved to the coast last year, and I just picked up my 3rd XKR. I'd love to do a drive and get some fall foliage pictures soon if you're up for it. If we can get 1-2 more XKs as well, that would be awesome.

 

My new-to-me 2013 XKR with <20K miles!
Sadly, a few weeks ago I had to trade in my beloved white 2014 XKR because of the timing chains issue. To my amazement the very next day I found a mint 2013 in Stratus Grey with the aero kit and < 20K miles for ~$6-$10K under market value from a local seller! I made an appointment to check it out, had the PPI done and specifically had them oscilloscope the engine to check the chains, and it got a perfect bill of health. I knew I had to have it and after 3 weeks of waiting for my 2014's payoff to clear, I picked it up this past weekend!

 

 

Thanks for the compliment. A friend of mine took that shot. I’m always up for a get together if you ever come through Portland.

 

resident_fng you ‘traded in’ your car because of the timing chain issue, was it a lemon buy back or? Please explain.
Thenks, Steve

 

Steve, the newest of these cars is now 8 years old. The oldest is 16. Nearly old enough to get its own driver's license. 😄

There's no such thing as a lemon buy back on used cars in America, only new. By virtue of their ages, there is therefore no possibility of a lemon buyback on any non-current model year Jaguar here.

 

So you actually traded it in? Hopefully to an equally unsuspecting and unscrupulous used car dealer. More details please?

 

Well, technically I sold it to a dealer, as I didn't buy a car from them in return, but semantics.
You have to understand that the auto market and regulations in America are very different from the UK. In the US, on the used market, once you buy a vehicle, that's it. Unless the dealer extends you the courtesy of a short return window (ala Carmax's 7 days or 200 miles) you are SOL on any problems. No governing bodies regulate the condition of the cars, there is no one stepping in on your behalf if you were swindled. When I bought my white 2014, I bought it from the dealership I got my red 2008 XKR from. I had had a wonderful experience with them, the Carfax looked good, and the pictures looked good, so I bought it sight unseen and shipped it across the country. They apparently shipped it with the water pump broken and when it arrived many weeks later, the car was steaming and hit the high temp warning within minutes of delivery. That was $2,000+ to fix on a brand new-to-me car. There was nothing I could do about it. Lesson learned.

In America, the used automotive market is largely the lawless Wild West - you legally absolve the dealer of any issues by signing a document that says you are buying the car as-is, no warranty included or implied. And, I don't know if you've been paying attention to our market, but many dealers are charging insane markups ($10,000-$50,000) above the manufacturer's price on both new and recently used cars. So, there is no love lost for the dealers here.

In the UK you guys also have the MOT, which guarantees certain standards of functionality and safety in the vehicles, which naturally applies to the vehicles sold on the second hand market. And, you have recourse if a car was claimed to have passed MOT and it's determined it was not suitable for that - eg, fraud. Here in the US, again, we have nothing like that. Most states check that the vehicles pass an emissions standard and have basic equipment like lights and mirrors, and that is it. Tires and tread are not even checked. In a few states if a car was claimed to have passed smog and it doesn't that is your option to turn it back in. If the engine blew while it was in your ownership due to an undisclosed issue? You're out of luck.

The net of this is that dealers are shady as Hell here, and people often get screwed. Even with a PPI performed, if the PPI misses something you're stuck and in most cases the PPI includes language indemnifying the shop who performed the PPI from any blowback. This is why many exotic main dealers no longer do PPIs - not worth the hassle or hit to their reputation if a customer raises a fuss about a missed item. Getting aftermarket warranties is also a difficult process of a minefield - in the case of European luxury marques like Jaguar, Mercedes, and BMW, plans cost between $7,500-$12,000. And that's if you can get one - I tried all the major warranty places and they wouldn't touch the car just based on brand and age (even though it was 8 years old). And even if you do get a protection plan, then you have all of the ambiguity and worry of dealing with a payout if you need to use it - these companies are notorious for their legal loopholes. So, you could be out $7,500+ and the cost of the actual work, depending on whether they'll honor your claim.

So, the dealers are shady, the buyer has no protections or recourse, and the government does not care in any capacity, and thanks to numerous strategic cuts to consumer protection laws, it is toothless anyway.

Thus, if you have a car with an issue, there is not much remorse selling it to a dealer, who almost certainly has screwed you or other customers, and let them try to either fix the issue at their expense, or sell it at auction, where it will usually fetch a much lower price and either be repaired, sold on at discount, or scrapped.

I refused to sell the car to an individual without disclosing the problem because I would not stick that on someone. But by letting the dealership take the same test drive, inspections, et al that they afford me and the rest of the public, and they then choose to buy it? Well, that's simply fair and really, just desserts given they tend to hold all of the cards and consumers are really at their mercy in the US.

Because of this dynamic, there are some dealership networks that trade in bulk sales and expect a number of cars to be not for resale to the general public on their lot, instead going to auction. They negotiate to give you bottom dollar, expecting that they may make only a little bit of money on any car traded in (or at worst net zero dollars), by way of expecting the majority to go to auction. They trade in great quantities, so a couple of thousand bucks profit on thousands of wholesaled cars per month is their profit model. The cars marked up and re-sold at traditional profit levels are icing on the cake.

Some of these have become infamous as dumping grounds for problematic cars, especially over the pandemic, because they have poorly trained staff and operate on this wholesaling model - notably Carmax and Carvana (the latter of which is facing bankruptcy right now for over-valuing cars during the pandemic). So, most car people avoid buying from them, but will sell them cars - these are the "we'll give you an offer and cut you a check same-day" places.

So, that's what I did. I took a huge hit in value vs dishonestly selling it private party at market rate, and I know that it's most likely going to auction, rather than an end user. In the end I cleared a couple grand positive equity instead of $11,500+ in work or being upside down on the car.

I took that payoff money, found another car with 40,000 fewer miles, had the PPI done and specifically had them borescope the engine to check for chain wear (a remote worry at the current mileage) and then added a few more grand and got another XKR at the same note I had before.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply, I see from pm you now realize I’m only several hundred miles N of you on the same coast…

 

Yes, I made 2 assumptions in my reply: 1) you'd be familiar with the markets here in the US and how trading in cars works, and by extension why that worked here, and 2) if not familiar you'd be one of our many European friends who may not be familiar with the dynamics.

Again, nice IRR XKR, it's the best combination in my mind. Shame they're so rare in the US.

 

 

With '55 plates these are press launch cars, maybe pictured in Spain. My screen isn't bringing out the colour of the coupe very well. Zircon Blue?

 

Thanks, I think you're right. I was seeing a green, like the Tideland Pearl Prius color, but probably just lighting and shadow

 

Not just my eyes/screen quality then!