Greetings all,

First time poster! I'm looking to get into the F Type family ideally in a ‘21 R. I’ve been monitoring the market for quite a few months now and I’m surprised at the super low amount of post-facelift R’s on the market (or really just ‘18 and newer). There’s currently only 30 used >’21 F Type R’s nationwide(!) Are folks holding on to them due to Jaguar pivoting to EV’s and the rarity of a luxury car with a V8? Are people getting hip to the bargain that a used f type represents? Whatever the case may be, if anyone knows anyone who’s selling or looking to sell. I’m looking for one in either a silver, blue, or green exterior color.

I’d also love to use this thread to pontificate on the values and relative rarity of f types 😃

 

We are holding on to the F-Types because we love them!

 

Agreed! What would we replace them with?

 

I purchased my F Type SVR convertible a few months ago. As a former owner of a number of sport sedans (Audi S7, Mercedes E63, BMW M5), I wanted to move to a coupe that still provided a thrill to drive without sacrificing comfort or style. I can't speak to relative rarity, but my diligence led me to believe that the F Type is a value relative to other cars that I considered like the Corvette, 911 and AMG GT. Time will tell regarding value when considering resale value and cost of ownership.

That said, the car is a blast to drive.

 

Welcome,

Yupper, these cars are a thing of beauty. From the day that these cars hit production 10 years ago I basically knew that I had to have one. It immediately went near the top of my list of cars of interest. In recent times when I finally found myself in a position to fulfill my car dreams the F-type became the obvious choice (all things considered).

I had considered a 911 Carrera S as well, amongst a few others. The 911 was the poster on my wall as a kid, but in the end I couldn’t resist the draw of the F-type R…At least for what I was looking for…I think the 911 is incredible in it’s own right…They definitely are. A good friend of mine has a 992 Carerra S. Awesome, but just missing something that I am looking for. I prefer the look, feel, and vibe of the F-type R. As an added bonus, how often does it work out that your preferred vehicle is the significantly cheaper one?!?! (At least here in Canada).

I think you are right. I personally really believe that the market for these cars is really going to tighten up over even the next few short years as these stupid government mandates almost inevitably continue to take hold. You would probably be wise to secure one as soon as you possibly can if you are really serious about getting one.

These really are special cars. I just adore these things. Every car enthusiast has a specific car that really rings their bell. For me it’s the F-type, particularly the latest generation look.

I also have a thing for Aston Martins but they are a little beyond my wallet capabilities ;-0

Cheers

 

I appreciate the response! Honestly I’m a huge Porsche fan but their pseudo rebrand to a Ferrari-esque car manufacturer by way of drastically increasing their prices has taken me out of the Porsche market. I had the pleasure of renting an f type a couple years back when my 996 was in the shop and since then I’ve been plotting on when to get one. It definitely has to be sooner rather than later with the lack of second hand cars, as I’m not looking to pay 6 figures for one. Hopefully the stars align before the market dries up!

 

Oh yes, the conditions around buying Porsches has drastically changed in a very short period of time. Steep price increase. They are definitely now playing the games of creating artificial demand for cars by producing less cars, which drives up prices, keeps them high, etc…Certain cars you can’t buy even if you have the money etc…You need to be in the secret boys club of having bought some magical number and type of cars from them previous to even be considered to purchase the “special cars”. In the US massive dealer markups, in Canada they won’t sell you a car unless you agree to a minimum of $30,000 in options (That’s their fleecing approach up here because it’s illegal to sell above MSRP on a new vehicle, but somehow forced options is legal).

All this stuff definitely took a lot of folks out the market for sure. It used to be that a reasonably well healed individual could consider a new 911 with a bit of planning. Now that is fast becoming less of an option, Porsche is a brand targeting the uber rich, etc…It’s a shame for the enthusiast, but if it makes sense in the cut throat world of business then I guess it does.

In the end with the F-type I wanted to go new. It will be a summer-only, low miles, pure enjoyment mobile that I do not rely on at all. I also liked the idea of having the last year special edition car for such an iconic vehicle (successor to the E-type and all that)…I plan to keep the car, it will go nowhere. Any new cars would get added, they would not be replacing. Because I’m holding the car, and I believe long term the values will hold and go up, I could care less about depreciation.

You have time, especially if you are actively looking, but I do feel things will tighten. There’s another thread on here that was posted concurrent to yours that would seem to indicate a possible beginning on the tightening of prices. Hard to say for sure yet.

Good luck in your hunt and keep us posted. We’re interested in your trials and tribulations ;-o

 

If you like 911's, consider buying a Carrera from the '84-89 series. To me [and many others], this was the peak of the 911 [although I had a wonderful '98 C2S which was incredible, but quite different]. The Carerra's from that era were still basic sports cars, simply designed and you had to pay close attention while driving. No electronics to bail you out.

Having been an enormous 911 fan since '64 [although I would have to trade my F-Type for a GT2/GT3rs on principle], I like everything about the F-Type more than the 911, particularly how the car seems to fit around you. God only knows how many hours I spent sitting in my 911's [in the garage] just taking it all in, but it only took a moment to realize how special the design of the interior of an F-Type is. And of course, the exterior shape of the F-Type makes a 911 look like an ugly duckling.

If I were you, I'd get both.

 

I personally love the classic timeless styling of the 911, and that they carry it forward with smaller tweaks only. I think I like the look and styling of both the 911 and F-type equally for different reasons or something. I think they are both Iconic stylings/shapes.

As I mentioned above, I seriously considered a 911 instead of the F-type. In fact, I was quite ready to purchase at one point and had a specific spec in mind ready to go that I was directly considering against my current F-type R spec. I personally think the 992 looks incredible with the optional aero kit. Perhaps a little over the top for some, but I feel the aero kits gives a lot of interest to the car. The car on the exterior was going to have a specification identical to the one here in this YouTube video (It would have been this depicted white or Porsche Agate Grey)->


I was back and forth between the 2 cars and had the classic paralysis analysis problem going on ;-0. The more brutal vibe of the F-type, along with its sound, was more inline with my wants in the end. The 2+ year wait to even get an allocation on the Porsche was also a turn off, as was the minimum required $30,000 in upgrades. These Porsche availability problems aside, I still made the decision to go with the Jag. The availability problems for the Porsche simply added to making the decision even easier.

Even for the F-type, here in Canada I waited close to a year to get my allocation. Had a deposit down for something like 10 to 11 months. The States were luckier. It was a lot easier to get an allocation down there from what I gather.

If I could afford both a 992 Carrera S spec like in the link above alongside the F-type R it would definitely be in my garage. They sound a bit like vacuum cleaners to me these days, but everything else is fine. They are awesome.

 

After the demise of the air cooled 993's, things really got different. Although each series made incremental changes up to the 80's Carerra's, after that, the entire experience changed leading to the current luxo-personalized sports GT trophy car.

With Porsche deciding to go after the affluent market [SUV's], 911's became automotive currency. Not that they weren't great cars, mind you, but they lacked the soul that made them what they used to be...simplicity blended with leading edge technology. As the advertising right noted at the time, "911's were not made to be something for everyone, but instead, everything to somebody." In the end, corporate won out [as they have everywhere] and the 911 was reduced to a banal status symbol. They're a dime a dozen around here.

I believe the F-Type is much closer to what the original 911's were about. Whatever it is, I feel great when I am in mine.

Do yourself a favor and drive an 80's Carrera. It's not nearly as fast, and not fancy at all, but it's a great car that sounds wonderful and completely engages you.

 

Probably should drive an older one as you say. Would be a lot more approachable to purchase as well. Mind you, the values of nice examples would probably still be surprisingly high. That would be my expectation with the craziness in the car market that, to some degree, seems to continue.

And you should feel great when you are in that F-type! You have impeccable taste in vehicles if I do say so myself ;-0

 

I haven’t had the pleasure of driving any older 911’s than my old 996 C4S which absolutely adored. In my limited experience with f types they do lack the tossability of a 911, but that’s what’s happens when you have a 3900lb car vs a 3050lb one; you can’t beat physics. However the visual and aural experience of the f type is not to be underestimated. I also genuinely enjoyed the ZF trans from what I recall. The driving dynamics are significantly different given the engine placement but the f type is still a very stable and well-balanced car into oversteer (at least with AWD helping you out).

styling wise, the 992 is tough to beat. They nailed it on that one. I thought the 991.2 was too soft so the more angular design and references to the 993 really did it for me. That being said all “generations” of f type are gorgeous. I was torn with the facelift as we all were, but ultimately I do appreciate the more aggressive and modern design which is why I’m going for a ‘21 model. The slight suspension and engine revisions don’t hurt either. 😃

 

The new setup for the suspension is supposed to be more than just a small improvement over the previous generation car from what I gather. I have been in a previous generation car but have never actually driven one first hand. Not that this equates to it being more nimble than a modern 911 or anything, but you may end up being pleasantly surprised relative to your past experience in the older F-type gen.

 

I think that those of us who have really good examples of the F-Type more and more tend do hold on to them. As scm says, what do you replace one with? As mentioned, Porsche as a company has become way too fat and happy and their cars are arguably way too ubiquitous. One of the few options that possibly could be in the same ball park is the Lotus Emira. Don't know the US market but from what I've seen on the European market really good F-Types are pretty rare and sell quickly. Overall the F-Type can be a real bargain. How brilliant these cars actually are has probably been a bit of a well kept secret among those who dared to get one and really know them. I get the impression that used prices have been kept down thanks to many people being afraid of buying them because of ignorance. Above all in terms of fear of high maintenance costs and a fear of bad Jaguar reliability which is irrelevant since a couple of decades now.

Their mechanical excellence aside, when it comes to the 911 styling I think I must be in the same odd minority as Jeremy Clarkson... I think they do look pretty good but that's it. My childhood posters were all Italian cars and I just never found anything exciting whatsoever about the looks of any 911 generation. To me it's just a very conservative evolution of a 90 year old VW design that was never exciting in the first place. I always just see a flattened beetle. Similar story to the last generation of the VW Scirocco that was just a flattened version of the dull VW Golf design.

By the way there's just one single generation of the F-Type. There have obviously been two facelifts and countless tweaks throughout the model years but it's all the same one generation and the same car at its core.

 

Regarding the "generation", fair, yeah I guess I might have floundered that, but others often use this same word to differentiate...Same fundamental car but with lots of tweaks (suspension improvements, revised parts to address problems, etc.) and styling changes (for the better in the later cars in my view, but that is individual and up for debate...To each their own...Saw the old and new cars side by side this past weekend at my dealer and, wow, does the older car look dated in comparison...It really does when you see them in the flesh side by side like that)...I like both variants though when it comes right down to it, and many will remind that only the original car is truly from Ian Calum (very true, and that itself has some meaning I think).

The only other significant change I guess is the higher spec materials in the cabin, and tech improvements (although many would complain it wasn't near enough...lol). Same basic cabin layout (which is incredible, why change that?), but the overall feel and materials is on another level to me. I just compared them this past weekend. As I mentioned, my dealer had a used pre-face lift car there alongside 2024s. To me there is no comparison for the interiors, my opinion only.

Many will disagree with what I've said here, which is completely fine. We all like what we like for cars. No crime in that. At the end of the day I'd be happy with any variant of the F-type v6 and above. Only line I draw is that I don't like the idea of a 4 in these car. Can't get my head around that at all for some reason.

I've always loved 911s and I probably always will. In reality they will probably get further out of reach. If I can only have one car it would not be a 911. If I could have more than one I would definitely have one. Precision machines to be sure, and when I see a 992 on the roads in person...Man, depending on the colour and spec I think they are pretty beautiful...The growing snootiness around the Porsche brand has generally really turned me off though...I don't like the direction they are taking the company...I really don't...

I looked at the Emira as well before purchasing an F-type. Lots of problems reported, no dealer in my immediate vicinity despite living in a major Canadian urban centre (classic Lotus), and frankly the car doesn't have enough road presence for my liking. Probably is a great car, but just not for me in the end. It's an Evora dressed up.

 

Fair point about the Emira. I have a dealer in town so it would work practically but I have no idea about how good they actually are. I really like its looks, think it's pretty close to the F-Type in many ways and it seemed really well received when it was launched but at the end of the day wouldn't replace my F-type with one.

Material wise I don't think anything has improved significantly in the interior during the F-Type's lifespan except the sticky plastics in the early cars. Tech wise the biggest jump came with the MY18 facelift and there have been no noteworthy improvements since 2018.

The bad plastics that go sticky over time are the single one significant internal material improvement and I think they finally ditched that around MY17. The standard interior door handles and surrounds were also dumbed down to matte black plastic around the MY18 facelift but that was just a minor thing and in cars with the interior black pack those parts looked better since they were gloss black. Everything else, as far as I know, has been the same material wise, with the same quality of soft touch plastics, leather etc. Then there's of course a noticeable difference if you compare a base interior with less leather to an upgraded interior. If you compare cars with the same spec, like a 10 year old F-Type with a brand new one and both have the full fat extended leather interior the materials should be the same. New better performance seats came with the MY18 facelift but I think the leather was of the same quality as before. The 2nd facelift brought some additional stitching, headrest leapers on the performance seats and a different glovebox button surround IIRC but no material changes.

Tech wise the biggest shift came with the MY18 facelift. The new lighter magnesium based heated and ventilated performance seats (if specced and if one considers that as tech!), LED headlights, the latest safety nannies, latest version of the infotainment etc were introduced. Since then the only noticeable tech changes have been the 10" screen since MY19 and then the digital dash and a more advanced version of the LED headlights with the 2nd facelift. The useless symposer was also removed a few years ago. If one like me doesn't care for the digital dash and matrix LEDs, tech's been practically same same since 2018.

To sum it up, when it comes to all the stuff under the skin I'd say the F-Type peaked around 2019. On some markets outside the US an exhaust particulate filter was also introduced after that, which to some people was a downgrade of the sound experience. I assume the OP is in the US and would recommend to get a MY18 or newer.

 

Random question, but does anyone know the difference between the regular "full leather" and the "extended full leather" option from factory? I can't find specifics anywhere and the only visual cue is the additional leather quilting on the door cards. Two cars are currently in contention for me, one with the extended leather and one without.

 

Mine was specced extended, I think it means it also has it on the passenger side of the dash but I dont really know. The covering in front of the driver doesnt seem to be leather although it pretends pretty well.

 

I thought extended meant also on the dash, and adding of the nicer pleating touches on the door cards.

 

I purchased the 2024 F-Type P450 R- Dynamic RWD because they went to electric.