Not to mention, they'd need to lighten the car considerably for a 4 cyl to keep the performance profile in line with the other cars. It would be interesting to see a 250+ hp 4-cyl Jag as a closer competitor to the Z4 2.8i and/or Miata/MX-5.

 

I think with the penned auto saver you have to borrow at least the value of the residual and since you are buying the car, I'm not sure the residual amount is as significant as with a lease, although you do want it to hold it's value.

 

40% is pretty high. I watched residuals on a number of cars and the Audi S5 was one of the highest among luxury brands at 56% residual (44% loss) after 3 years. Under 40% depreciation is very very good.

 

Huh? My point was if at the end of the 3-years your residual is $55k and the car is only worth $45k, you have to cough up the difference if you aren't keeping the car. With a lease, it's not your problem. Jaguars have always been pretty horrible in terms of holding value, so expecting the car to be worth more than 53% of list after 3 years isn't a sure thing.

 

Exactly my point. 40-45% depreciation after 3 years puts it in Porsche 911 territory, which is where I'd like to see it eventually end up if the resale market improves.

 

The PenFed residual value calculations are very conservative and based on individual car historic performance in resell, so unless there is a large shift in the market, the calculated residual will likely end up being fairly realistic. From what I've read, most folks find that they end up with equity at the end of the PenFed payment saver loan period because of that.

Either way, if you don't end up selling it at the end of the loan period, it won't matter anyway.

If the payment isn't an issue, you may be better off getting a traditional loan instead. That way you can capitalize on the current low interest rates (which are as low as 0.99% right now.) They're practically giving the financing away.