Hi Gents,

I open this second thread because I am looking for an XK from 2006 to 2008, and I love both models coupe and cab. I've had several cabriolet in the past years (bmw z3, z4...) but I live in Switzerland and therefore considering the coupé.

The thing is that I've heard and read that the cabriolet is the choice to make because it's a better overall (nicer exhaust tip), it bgins the fun fact to the car.

- Is it true that the exhaust note is not very present in the coupé?
- Which one would you recommend?
- What about re-sale value in a few years?

Thanks

 

The exhausts are the same. The coupe is a better looking design to me and is more useful. The coupe will be less money to maintain since the top and its associated parts are out of the picture. Coupe seems to be rarer by slight margin and CH has plenty of cold months too.

Is there a lot on autoscout24 for XK's? I was quite close to shipping my car to CH and selling. I have exported several cars from US to CH and know the whole homoligation process quite well.

Have you considered exporting a car as an option? The warranty has passed either way, so might as well save some money....

 

I would think a few things come into the decision process. I would think in this case the weather would be a key factor and if you have a lot of top down days then that would sell it for me. I think the coupe design and style is super and if I could buy a 2nd XK it would be a coupe. I went with the convertible as I wanted the my last fun cruiser to be open air. The additional sound of the exhaust with the top down is fantastic. I imagine the sound with the top up is similar to the coupe which is more muted. Then there is the extra room in the coupe to consider . As far as ride and body stiffness I don't think there would be to much a difference. I also don't have a good feel for the number of convertibles vs. the number of coupes but in the 6 months it took me to find a convertible I saw a lot more coupes for sale then converts. Also if you stick to looking at XK's instead of XKR you will get a larger mix of colors both exterior and interior. Good luck on your hunt and I hope you find something for you.

 

For resale Jag Convertible's always sell for a premium v's the Coupes.............I have always owned Coupes since 1959 (XK140, XKE's, XK)!
My wife has an XK8 convertible; IMHO, Coupes are MUCH better looking, go a little faster and they don't leak (except for the XKE's!!!).
In WW II I wore a tin hat too............So I'm a little bias.

Cheers, Adrian

 

I think asking whether a coupe or vert is best is too subjective for most to give another an unbiased opinion. When a guy loves the experience of open air driving a "special occasion" car he is probably a vert guy for life, a big city dwelling/commuting owner is more likely to embrace a coupe, and the guy who loves verts but chooses a coupe because he thinks it looks better should probably seek professional help

Look at the difference in coupe and vert prices to predict future values, and it's safe to consider that vert values will likely hold firmer as availability of good condition examples become more rare over time.

I found the vert's back seat to be particularly useful and accessible for carrying bulkier things with the top up or down.

Choose the model that fits your lifestyle, needs and preferences now, and you can get the other later if and when it makes better sense. Good luck!

 

I prefer the look of the coupe and also (with tinted windows) the anonymity (so that I can sing along to tunes without people pointing and laughing). The engine note in the coupe is pretty good but to make it better I had the centre muffler delete. I hear it from inside and it sounds great but it sounds better from the outside. That said, while the tinting was being done I had the (fixed in the coupe) rear windows out so the engine noise was coming straight into the car. It sounded far better than it does with just the front windows down. So the convertible is going to sound wildly better from the inside. It's a real shame that you cant put the windows down in the coupe, you can only slide them out.

 

Hello guys,
THanks a lot for the qualitative answers.
It is a though choice because I live in switzerland and we get a bad weather here 8 month out of 12. I used to live in the south of Europe (Spain) where the weather is very good and there I was a vert guy, but here I'm affraid a coupe makes much more sense.
Mzy worries were around the exhaust sound because I don't question the excellent looks of the coupe. But since this is a car I would buy for pure enjoyment and excitement, I wouldn't like to be disapointed by the exhaust sound inside the car.

My questions came after this road test from Tiff Needle:

 

If you look at the Ian Callum interview on from way back when the X150 was first designed, you will learn that Callum's first design (fresh after his Aston Martin classics) was the convertible.

Ian attacked the convertible design first since it was a complex shape and the silhouette was harder to get right (the coupe on the other hand with its simple taut skin on top and smooth lines became a natural extension of the convertible's design).

For this reason many people think that the 2007 XK convertible was the purest form (as a disclaimer I own one) with the cleanest lines and will hold its value better as a classic in the long run. If you care really deeply (many people don't) about roots you may want to keep all this in mind.

Either XK is stunning to look at- can't go wrong here one way or the other.

 

Is there a real and big difference between rear seats room in the coupe vs. vert?

 

No.

Vert may be easier to put stuff into the back with the top down.

 

I understand your dilemma. When I lived in Chicago I drove an 04 XJR. Upon moving to Southern California six years ago I traded the 04 for an 08 XK vert. I am now driving a 12 XK vert.

Two things. The weather in Chicago although not as cold or snowy as in the Alps is not conducive to convertibles. Point 2; It is my belief that the 12 XK is superior to the 08. Primary reason 5 liter engine as opposed to the 4.2 in the 08. I also think the overall build quality is superior in the 12 as opposed to the 08.

 

2010+ by all reviews is a big step up from the 4.2's, FWIW. Even an 2010 XK is on performance to the 4.2 XKR's.

 

I have owned an XJR with the 4.2 and then the XKR with the 5.0 (now the 5.0 FtypeR) and the 5.0 is the better engine for sure. Personally no reliability problems with any of them, but I have heard the latest versions are superior for reliability as well.
Lawrence.