JAGU XJL BASE


Really miss this car, so sad to see it in this condition.............

 

Looking at those pictures was painful! Judging by the damage, I'm surprised that the airbags didn't deploy? Put up some pictures of your '16. We'd love to see what you replaced your '12 with!

 

Part of the problem, with looking at those pictures, is somehow, the car wound up with about 1/8" of dust on it, which it didn't have when it left western NY, which makes it look a lot worse. Then in determining the extent of the damage, they started removing "stuff", then never put it back.


The front end didn't appear to have much damage, initially, as the only visible point of impact was the RF corner, the grill wasn't even damaged. However, after they removed the fascia, they found the radiator support was cracked, but then left the fascia off. It makes the car look worse. Their "salvage ad" also reads "zero miles, actual miles undetermined", and I don't understand that at all. I would think that listing the actual mileage, 12,500, would make the car worth more......maybe they screwed up something electrically, when they started pulling stuff off, and the instrument panel no longer illuminates.




Anyway, here's the '16...........

 

As one who has lost his last 2 XJs to "totals" I can commiserate with you, but on the bright side you have a brand new XJ with all the updates and you got more for your old XJ than you could have gotten any other way and you talked your better half into getting another Jaguar XJ.

 

It IS sad to see the photos of your 2012 but, even more than before, I'm convinced you would have never been happy with it if the damage had been repaired rather than totaling out the car. All things considered, I think you came to the best possible resolution of a bad situation. I hope, in time, you'll love your new XJL as much as you did the one it replaces.

Dwayne

 

I've lost two Jaguars in accidents. The first was a Daimler Vanden Plas Series 1 rear ended at traffic lights and the second was an XJ40 side swiped at a junction when the other driver came through a red light.

Loved both those cars but didn't want to see either again after the incidents. It would have been too depressing to see them like yours.

Graham

 

Thanks for the emotional support, guys!!


There's no question that we wouldn't have been happy if the '12 had been repaired. We were already discussing what we were going to do with the car when we got it back, at the point where the damage estimate was "only" $19,000. After we got word that the damage estimate had ballooned to over $30,000, and the car was being totaled, we were sort of relieved, in a sense, as it took any uncertainty out of the equation, and that we'd have to get another car.


While we like the '16, and it's usually exciting to get a new car, there are a few things that leave us missing the '12. First and foremost, is the engine. I miss the V-8!! While the supercharged V-6 may have almost as much horsepower as the NA V-8, and the V-6 is supposedly somewhat lighter, there's no question that the new car doesn't have the low-end grunt that the '12 had.


Secondly, the new touch screen unit is WAY overcomplicated, with "stuff" we'll never use. In our '12, there were two "home" positions for the touch screen, either the climate controls or the audio controls. We could pick one or the other, and it would stay there forever. Unless I'm missing something, the new car has about 4-5 pages that I seem to wind up on, accidentally, and then it's a scramble to get to the one I'm looking for. (and yes, I could turn the screen saver off, which I think I'm going to do...)


Yeah, I know I sound a little "whiney", but I find it ironic that when I turn on the car, I initially get a screen that warns me about distracted driving, then tunes me into a somewhat complicated device. It's even more frustrating, because this car isn't a daily driver, so we're not using the screen every day.......and it's different from our XF, and different from my Jeep.

 

UPDATE......it's appears that our wrecked '12 sold for $9000. I don't know if that's a good deal for it's purchaser or not.............

 

I've seen a few of these things go for around this price, although this one seems a little lower than others. I can't help but think a very, very simple part out would net way more than the $9,000 it sold for, even if you do an absolute fire sale on everything. Wheels, seats, interior trim, that's not even including transmission/engine....

 

Assuming the buyer is planning to part it out, I think they got a great buy.

Dwayne

 

I suppose it's a little foolish, but my wife and I considered the '12 XJ a member of the family, consequently I've made a "hobby" of tracking it. It's now at a used car dealership in Brooklyn, NY. They're asking $23K for it.


Here's the real crazy part....they're advertising it as a car with "minor damage, that can be easily fixed with parts that we can help you obtain"....


State Farm's adjuster did the repair estimate....$21K in parts and $15K in labor. That's "minor"??

 

Wow that's crazy. If I had your new '16 I would have said to the '12 "Good riddance!" but that's just me.

Time to let go and move on. As much as I love my XJ8L ultimately it's only a car... we're not talking about a pet or a human child here. Actually I'm trying to sell my car so I can get a XK, but due to low-ball offers I'm stuck with it for the foreseeable future.

 

I have to be honest.....in some ways, we liked the '12 better. It had a V-8 and a far less complicated touch screen.

 

So would assume that it would be a salvage title and not clear title.

 

So, what did you expect - an honest used car dealer in Brooklyn? Right. That dealer stated: "...easily fixed with parts that we can help you obtain". But what he really meant is that slightly used parts are available for cheap from our friends at Midnight Auto Supply in Brooklyn. Their motto: "Every Part You Need - You Shop It, We Chop It!"

I'll bet that if he doesn't sell your XJ in a month, you'll see lots of 2012 XJ parts for sale on eBay. dga57 is right - it's worth more $$$ parted out. But since time is money, a quick flip a a lower profit beats spending more $$$ to disassemble it and then not knowing how long it will take to sell those parts.

 

Correct.....








Just curious, if the 5.0 engine in this car, is the same one as in the later XFs. There is a Jag Forum member who's XF, a 2011, I believe, had the engine "go south", and is having trouble finding a suitable, somewhat economical replacement. If the Brooklyn "chop lot" winds up parting the car out, maybe the engine could go into it....

 

Don't you just love the way this dealer is trying to make a $14000 profit from a $9000 investment? I guess that leaves him a little room to dicker! lol

Dwayne

 

It will be interesting to see what the dealer can pull off......That car, previously pristine, with only 12,500 miles, was written off as a "total", obviously for a reason. I have the damage estimate in my file, and to repair that car PROPERLY, it will take $21,000 in parts, and $15,000 in labor, in other words, $36,000. The insurance company wasn't going to pour that kind of money into a car with a book value of $45,000.


Yet the dealer has his add reading "minor damage" to the front. Yeah, there's "minor" damage to the front, because the bulk of the damage is to the rear!!

 

If the dealer has other XJ's and, therefore, availability of used parts, you might be able to cobble it back together satisfactorily for a reasonable amount of money, but the Salvage Title would kill any chance at decent resale value. Personally, I wouldn't want it under any circumstances, having been damaged as severely as it was.

Dwayne

 

"Cobble it together" is the key phrase, here. I have a pretty good working relationship with my Jag dealer, dating back to 2001. In discussing this situation with them, before the car wound up being totaled, here's what they told me......


In order to be able to purchase new body panels, the newer, aluminum ones, I assume, a shop has to be "Jaguar Certified". The company wants to maintain the integrity of their cars, so they won't sell parts to just any "corner body shop". A shop has to have competence and tooling for aluminum repairs, and even many of the dealerships don't do enough work, to make the investment themselves. This is how my western NY owned car wound up being sent to Massachusetts for repairs (later declared a total).


The parts/repairs to the front, because they are "bolt-on parts", and don't involve the "structure" of the car, COULD be done by a good body shop, and the necessary parts could be bought new, from Jaguar, or stripped from another car. These parts would include a hood, RF fender, headlight assembly, radiator support, and front fascia.


It's the damage to the rear of this car, that gets tricky. The damage estimate called out a RH rear quarter panel, as well as trunk floor, which are "structural parts", therefore not readily available. The deck lid was also "tweaked", therefore called out for replacement, as well as the rear bumper support bar, and fascia. The RH muffler/tailpipe was also heavily damaged, and is surprisingly expensive. The air compressor and reservoir tank for the rear air shocks was also damaged, and called out for replacement.


This is why I laughed out loud, when I read their ad, saying the car had "minor damage, easily fixed with parts we could help you obtain". If it was that easy, or that inexpensive, the insurance company would have had it fixed, and stuck me with it...........OR the used car dealer could fix it, and sell it themselves.


What might actually happen, is something my Jag dealer's body shop manager said. It might wind up getting shipped to the Middle East, where repair standards might not be as stringent, and it indeed will get "cobbled together", and put back on the road.


Time will tell.