Hey folks,

I'm pondering a listing for a 2003 XKR; the only obvious Achilles's Heel that is driving it's price down is the interior leather, particularly the driver's seat where the side seam is split pretty badly. See attached. I get the impression that these seats are pretty rare and replacement covers cost dearly. This is something I'd want to price into the cost of the car and have the driver's seat fixed right away. How much trouble is the buyer of this car getting themselves into?

The exterior of this car appears to be flawless sex-on-wheels, btw, its just the interior that lets this car down.

 

Wear such as cracking and splits on the side of the seat backs is regular on several Jaguar models and you are correct that the Recaro option is rare. That alone wouldn't put me off as an upholsterer could repair it.

However, the damaged centre console lid (cupholder assembly appears to be missing) would make me question whether the PO could be described as a careful owner.

Maybe it's just me but on a vehicle you describe as flawless, I'd have fixed those item before offering it for sale.

Graham

 

I wondered what was going with the center console.

Regarding the PO, since even the back seats appear to have some issues, I'm guessing the top was left open too much and the leather suffered for it.

What makes this car interesting is the Recaros and the price, which is well below market. There is another (very similar) '03 XKR available locally that appears to have been much better taken care of (at least in regard to the interior), but has the standard buckets and a $6K higher asking price. I've got that car ranked ahead of this one, but it's hard to completely ignore this car.

I want to pay close attention to driver seating position and comfort in my next Jag. That was one of my favorite things about the XJS; I could happily sit and drive in that thing for hours. The XJ8 VDP I'm driving now is super-comfy, of course, but I can't shake the overstuffed feeling when driving it.

 

Replacement covers for the other styles can be had at reasonable prices but I have not seen a set advertised for the recaro sets. But like Graham said, anything can be repaired.

If you really like the car, maybe the thing to do is call a local trimmer and get an estimate to repair or custom replace the cover. If you have the old one to use as a pattern, it may it be as expensive as you imagine.

Plus you can use those quotes as negotiation leverage. When I bought my car the brakes were shot and I did something similar with the rediculous prices for OEM Brembo hardware from the dealer.

 

They are only asking $9K for it and it has been for sale for months. It's a dealer and they are concerned about moving cars and not spending $300 fixing the cup holders on a car they just want to get rid of.

The Brembos, Recaros and low miles make this one a pretty good deal, but I would rather have the '01 BRG coupe for $6K on CL... if only it had Brembos and Recaros.

 

This car is already marked down into scary-cheap territory, the dealer is currently asking for $8,995. That isn't a cash-impulse-buy for me, but its in the postal code next door. So it makes you ask (or me, anyway), "what else it wrong with it?"
I found a listing for that '01 last night! That is a super-interesting car as well. I might start a separate shopping-topic to compare a few listings.

In regards to my seat question, I think the best hope is for a repair. If I decide to kick the tires on that one, I'd try get the dealer to let me get an estimate on that. Terry's appears to have the Jaguar Factory replacement covers, but they aren't cheap.

 

It's intriguing. I believe you can get the seat repaired for under 1K. I would run a carfax on it and see if there are any maintenance records. I like the price and mileage.

 

That dealer also has 1985 Nissan 300ZX with under 50K for about the same price. Wow. dig out an old version of Dallas Car Sharks. Martha has a guy that can fix that seat right up for you for a couple of bills. The console issues however will probably require replacement. i'd say it's worth it.....and go for the 2003 rather than the 2001.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I posted a new thread explicitly comparing this car against two others.

I'm still interested in opinions about the Recaro seats here, however!

 

I just had my driver Recaro recovered about two weeks ago.

I have used the upholsterer several times before, and it cost me $450. He did a good job on the seat, but said that it was a major PITA to do, and if he had to do another one, wouldn't consider it for less than $700!

So, it can be done for not too much money, but i knew this upholsterer, and knew that he would do a good job, i used some questionable people before i found this guy, im not sure i would want to be testing their skills on such an expensive seat.

I had him replace all but the headrest section, as i wanted to keep the embossed Recaro logo.

Forgive the armrest, i took this pic before i finally replaced it!

 

Thanks Ben!

The $450 was for the labor, right? Can you give us an idea what the new covers cost you?

 

$450 was total.

I think he said that the leather cost was right around $250. I have the name of the leather that he used if you are interested, and after seeing the inside of the panels he removed ( the pieces that haven't been sat on and attacked by the sun) the new leather was a perfect match.

I had seen full, already made leather covers on ebay a couple of years ago, but never in black, so these were fully custom made.

 

That was a great deal.

I saw this car today (and put some money down to hold it), and the seats look way better in person than in the dealer photos. Which is what I guessed, but it was nice to see.

So that seat is totally repairable, but someone previously took a DIY stab at it; check out the Frankenstein's Stitching on this thing, LOL!