Hi

First post besides my welcome one.

Today, I put a deposit on a 2013 Jaguar XKR. The car is in Alabama and I'm an 18+ hour drive away.

I'm looking for the wisdom of this group to help me out with what else I'm missing, what else I need to ask, and perhaps document the process as I go through it.

Why am I interested in buying this one and this far away? It's the color combo: I haven't seen an XKR with this combination of exterior, interior, and trim before. It really just speaks to me.

And I just lived with an F-Type convertible for 4 days (thanks Turo), and while fun, it made me want the XKR even more.

Summary:
- Indigo exterior, Ivory seats, Charcoal rest of the interior, Satin Elm trim
- 68K miles. I'm hoping that's not too many miles, and it definitely sounds like these cars like to be driven. The last owner drove it 18K miles a year for 3 years.
- 3 owners, but the last one owned it since 12/2014. No reported accidents.
- Listing
- Carfax

I ran the VIN through topix. The only two options I'd prefer that it doesn't seem to have:
- the performance exhaust, so I'll have to read more about the x-pipe modification
- a front parking sensor, but it does have the parking button -- I thought the roof console parking button meant you had both sensors? Oh well, not a deal breaker

I have a pre-purchase inspection lined up early next week at Jaguar Birmingham, which seems highly rated on Google.

There's no service records that come with the car. The carfax lists a bunch of records with Jaguar dealers which seems to show regular maintenance. I spoke with Jaguar Fort Myers (car was serviced there since 2015) and they remember the car. The previous owner seems to have multiple Jaguars and the service center said she was diligent and the car was very well serviced. But, they wouldn't give me the records, due to privacy laws. What they would tell me was a few highlights:
- the water pump and compressor was replaced in 2015
- the A/C condenser was clogged, and there was an expansion valve replacement in 2016
- coolant hose was replaced
- battery replaced may 2017

Is there a way to get the detailed service records, without directly contacting the previous owner?

What do I make sure comes with the car, other than two keys?

What do I have the Jaguar dealer look at, besides their typical PPI? Is an engine oil analysis useful? Anything else?

The things that are making me question whether I've done the right thing are that I don't have access to the service records and there are other cars out there at the same price or less with much lower mileage. Obviously I'll have more info once I hear back from the PPI on whether it was really taken care of mechanically.

I also question whether I should buy the service contract (extended warranty) or merely save the cash for fixing it myself. I've read plenty of threads on it and will likely re-read.

Last summer, I had an offer on a nearby XKR that fell through after it failed the PPI. That one was significantly cheaper, but was older (2010) and looked a bit more generic. The PPI explained why it was cheaper. It might pain me to do so, but I'd rather walk away than buy something that has issues.

Thanks for getting this far. Thanks for all of the various threads I've read over the years. There's a lot of really good info here.

Here are some pics. Tons more in the Listing

 

Nice combo and it looks good but you'll have to see what's under the covers here. As far as the service records ask the dealer to make a copy and redact the previous owners info. If you have to tell them it contingent on the sale. I must admit that 68K on a 2013 seems excessive but if things were taken care of it may not be to much of an issue. See what the PPI looks like and good luck

 

+1 on that.

I'd also add that you might just want the Jag dealer to do an oil change since you'd be starting out quite a distance from home. Check to make sure there is an owners manual included as well.

As to warranties, others can offer the best advice there since I do most all of my own work.

Beyond that, your gonna love this car and welcome to the vert club!

 

The two photos look great, I think it is a plus that the car logged 54K miles over the past three years. At least that shows you it did not spend excessive downtime at the dealership being serviced. See how much road rash has accumulated on the front of the car, and whether that bugs you or not.

I don't think that the Ft. Myers servicing dealership is the entity that is selling the car, so the dealership has no reason to provide the service records if they don't feel like doing so. The repairs performed seem reasonable considering the odometer reading.

If you are planning to rely upon Jaguar dealer service, it may be a good idea to obtain an extended warranty. If you can do substantial work yourself then save the money into your future repairs fund.

Good luck with your purchase decision. If it passes the prepurchase inspection and the price is fair, why not go for it since you like the color/trim combination. I guess it depends upon how highly you value the specific color/trim vs. a lower odometer reading.

 

I would put a deposit on the car, do a PPI and if you buy the car, take the PPI off the sale price. The seller should be fine with that. I see you are in Boston like me. I would also buy a 2nd set of wheels with snow tires. I drove my XK two winters on All Seasons. This car is fine in the winter in terms of handling.

I would consider about 3K in "catch up" servicing to ensure a smooth course forward. All fluids including transmission pan/filter/fluid. If you have money left over, save for the future.

Personally, I would put the money into servicing the car over an extended warranty.

Take to Samuels Jaguar in Brighton for the service.

 

 

Looks like someone dropped a deposit on it. Those "privacy laws" you hear mentioned from the dealer simply don't exist. They aren't medical records and this isn't HIPAA. As Jagtoes points out, the dealer can simply black out the name and address of the customer, even if for a fee.

Regardless of Carfax, Fort Lauderdale was hit by Hurricane Irma and water damage is a real possibility. Have and extensive PPI done with emphasis on flood damage. Sounds like you already have the smarts for that.

She sure is pretty and shiny. Proceed with caution.

 

You put money on it, buy it. Everything will eventually have problems. As said above, maybe ask the servicing dealer to redact the details. Luxury place selling it makes you wonder what was contingent on them buying it from an auction house. Too many miles for a new car dealer to flip sounds unreasonable.

 

I can't make relevant comments on cost or how easy/difficult it is in the US to obtain service records for a potential purchase. I would say you need to see redacted copies because service history is absolutely critical on any used Jaguar.

Don't worry about miles on a Jaguar. These cars respond to regular use and the last owner driving 18k miles a year for three years suggests reliability and proves owners just want to get out on the road with these cars.

When you inspect the vehicle, spend half an hour with the Owner's Handbook going through every switch and control. Seemingly minor electrical faults can sometimes be expensive and time consuming to fix.

Graham

 

Gorgeous color combination. I hope it meets your expectations, and that you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine. My comments are below, based on my review of the seller's ad and photos.

1. It is equipped with the optional sports seats, which are heated but not cooled.
2. It does not have Adaptive Cruise Control.
3. No photos of inside the trunk, so make sure it includes the spare wheel and tire and the foam tray with the jack and all the tools.
4. There are no photos or mention of the Owner's Handbook and other literature, or that it includes both Smartkeys. Make sure that there are 2 Smartkeys and that both work to remotely lock and unlock both doors, unlocks the trunk, and starts the car. Make sure that and each key includes an emergency key.
5. The Jaguar dealer that does the Pre-Purchase Inspection should use the CPO Checklist and provide you with cost estimates of any necessary and recommended repairs, including parts and labor. You should also have a body shop approved by Jaguar to do aluminum repairs do a PPI for any paint, body, and chassis repairs to insure that those repairs, if any, were properly done.

Enjoy the drive home!

P.S. Make sure it has the OEM Ipod cable

 

On these two points:
- The "performance active exhaust" issue is an easy permanent fix by removing fuse 19, for full-time four-pipe exhaust note song.
- It appears that this car does have the front parking sensors (both the buttons in the bumper and the console button.) Quite often TOPIx has incorrect info listed. (In fact my own car shows as front parking sensor delete, yet it does have the fully working feature with all buttons.) So this car most likely does have this feature.

 

Thanks!

To answer some questions and hopefully make my post a bit more clear:

- I put small hold deposit on this XKR from the non-Jaguar dealer (World Class Motors) in Alabama, so that Sale Pending sign is me. The deposit is refundable and contingent on the PPI and records
- The PPI is from Jaguar Birmingham, I'm paying for it -- worth the $190 piece of mind, from my point of view. Someone from World Class Motors is driving it there to help with the process
- The car was serviced for the past 3 years at Jaguar Ft Meyers. They aren't willing to give out the service records (but they will answer questions over the phone). They're not selling the car to me.
- Assuming things check out and I move forward with the purchase, the car is getting shipped to me
- I wasn't planning on flying to the car, but could choose to do it that way if I need to. At this point (a baby and a toddler at home) I'm prioritizing spending time with them over the cost to ship it back and forth if I had to, and I don't think an 18 hour drive will be fun with them right now.
- It's going to be my second car - my 2013 Audi S4 6MT is my daily driver now and will likely become my bad weather car. I have different wheels and switch between snow tires and summer tires on the Audi
- I drive 45 miles each way (1-2 hours, depending on traffic) and I absolutely plan on driving the Jaguar for my commute to Cambridge
- I will likely do some work on the car in the future myself (with help from all of you, no doubt). Having that second car certainly gives me some luxury of having downtime for the Jaguar. Considering my other car is an Audi, it will surely be the other way around too. I don't know what I'm doing at all, but I read instructions and can follow recipes. Sometimes, I have patience too.
- @Brewtech I hesitate with the best of them and easily fall into paralysis by analysis. I joined this site in 2014 when I first wanted to buy an XKR, when my question then was X100 vs X150. Then found out my wife was pregnant for the first time and I figured I'd have enough on my hands to worry about for a bit. I had an offer on a nearby 2010 XKR last year and decided against it after the PPI. At least I know I've coveted an XKR for at least the past 4 years.
- @mosesbotbol - Thanks for the tip on Samuels in Brighton! I see they're recommended in other threads too

 

Water damage and paint work are the two biggies. You can make the car current on service if you don't have a receipt for anything.

 

extrabitter,

I was in the same situation as you...I was looking for a specific color combo and year (BRG w/ caramel interior, 2014/15) and spent about 5 months scouring ads looking for my car.

One came up for sale in December down in Florida...I waited a few days before contacting the dealer and before I called, the car had already sold.

Another came up for sale in Houston at the end of January...I called the dealer that day and after a few back and forth calls to confirm condition, put a deposit down that afternoon, contingent upon PPI and CPO certification. I was especially nervous about the car being in Houston (flood damage from Hurricane Harvey) so PPI was an absolute necessity.

Bottom line, do your homework, make sure everything is in order, call the seller with any question you have. You've receiving some excellent advice throughout this thread.

My advice and to answer your first question...don't hesitate to buy the car. Do you homework, but don't hesitate if its the car you're looking for




P.S. I picked up the car in Houston and drove it back to Philadelphia...1600 miles is a hell of a test drive

.

 

I have purchased several cars out of town/out of state. When I fly in, I have always found one of two things. The first is that the car is exceptionally clean as described. The second is that the car has lots of problems and the seller was lying their asses off. It is astonishing to look someone in the eye who has so clearly lied to you.

I recently looked at three cars from three different sellers and in each case the seller emphatically stated that the car "immaculate". They said it with conviction. In each case the cars were a mess.

This has happened to me with new car dealerships, used car dealerships and individual sellers.

My advice is to get on a plane and see the car before purchase. I always do.

That being said, it does look like a clean, well maintained car.

Biff

 

Amazing color combination and looks to be very clean. Follow Stuart S's advice and you can't go wrong. Other than that, if it were me, I would go pick up the car and drive it home. that is a great way to get to know your cat.

 

Besides the rare and beautiful color combo, that car also has some nice cosmetic options you don't often see, like the colored brake calipers and upgraded hood louvers. The sport seats also seem pretty rare, as I never came across any when shopping for my car.

If anything, the mileage may actually be to your benefit since you're going into it with a fresh battery, water pump, and HVAC. I negotiated an extended warranty into the price of my 2013, and in the 15k miles I've logged, the warranty has almost paid for itself on the water pump and some other known issues that appear to have already been replaced on your car. So maybe you won't get as much out of a warranty as I have.

Shameless plug: If you do buy the car and want a set of winter wheels, I have a set of rims for sale in the classifieds. Same style wheels except they are the factory polished version that came with the Portfolio Package that year.

 

Just a question here for those with a 2013 R or newer. I noticed on this car it has a chrome grill insert both top and bottom. Was this an option or is my 2012 with black grills and chrome surround an option.

 

I have driven my XK from 48,648 miles at purchase to a higher number than is on that car.

The car does not feel any older than when I bought it.

These cars seem to have a long lasting design.

I would not hesitate based on mileage alone.

I would, if you have no record change all fluids, including transmission and rear differential.

I hope the inspection goes well, that is a great color combination.

 

To the OP, beautiful color combo!. Depending on price and knowing what I know now I would be scared of the mileage. Other the normal items to check out I would add and inspection of ALL tie rod, control arm, and sway bar link rubber boots, I would guess they are all dry-rotted, especially in the Florida heat. That is gonna be a big hit to replace all of those components. Also check the driveshaft for play, a simple quick stab and release of the go pedal should give you an idea of it's condition. Best of luck!

Cheers,

Dave