My 2021 R, which is BRG with tan interior is coming up to the end of its 36 month lease in May. This is my third F Type which is a clear indication of my passion for the overall package. However, I'm hearing that little voice reminding me that, "variety is the spice of life..." The economics (I believe) make a reasonable case for paying her off. The residual at the end of the lease is $59.050.00 and naturally tax on that amount. The car has 17K on the clock and the maintenance as well as the 5 year or 60K bumper to bumper is good until May 2025.

Alternatively, like some on this forum I've been researching the C8 Corvette (I own a restored 66 Corvette) and a LC 500 Lexus. While I like the Bentley Continental, I know that passersby's will give me the stinky eye. To summarize, unless I'm overlooking a brand, there doesn't seem to be too many choices that provide the looks and the fun of the F Type. That's the conundrum as such, any input will be greatly appreciated!

Dave .

 

Off the top of my head:

Aston Martin Vantage
Ferrari California/T, 360, and 430
Audi R8
Acura NSX
McLaren 12C
Mercedes GT

 

Jay puts up a good list, but my prediction is you'd miss the cat and want a 4th life. Regardless, I agree that buying out the lease is the way to go.

 

The resale or trade-in value exceeds the lease buy-out.
A no brainer!!
No need to even decide on next car yet.

 

It depends on what you value most. The Corvette is an impressive car, that's for sure. I think the Jag is more fun.

 

And much rarer.

 

And the Jaguar is far more beautiful.

 

I have owned many Vettes and loved the C8 design when unveiled but they (because they are a great bang for the buck) are already all over the streets. I see about a dozen every day and rarely ever see another F Type. Imagine how many will be on the streets once they are actually available on a lot for MSRP! Have you considered a R8 or a Lotus Emira?

 

I've been fortunate enough to have a 67, 81, 2015 and 2018 Corvette and a 69 E and a 2017 manual trans F. The 67 and 81 were traded in for the 2015, and we upgraded trading the 2015 for the 2018. When I first saw the C7 body style, OMG, what IS that car!
The 2018 has improvements over the 2015.. rear AND front camera, Long Beach Red vs Night Race blue.

Compared to the F, neither really comes out on a feature by feature basis, but I am just prejudiced towards Jaguar.

The corvette has heated AND cooled seats, the F only has heated seats, but it has a heated steering wheel

The corvette has front/rear camera, the F has only rear camera, but it has the Vision Pack with side and rear warning system.

The corvette has power steering, the F has electric assist steering which really makes a difference.

The corvette has a really nice sound system. The F has a sound system (770 meridian) , 'nuf said

The corvettes road lighting is really good, the F has auto dimming and directional and is really good.

Stuff like that...

There are plenty of c7 and now c8s running around. We kept our C7 because it's a 7 speed and that is no longer being made.

The F is just a stunner, definitely the spiritual successor to my E (which I still have).

If you can go drive the ones you're thinking about, that may help. Check with insurance companies. A friend wanted a California but the ins. co said NO WAY as he had no experience driving a high performance car.

So maybe you do the buyout, keep it for a bit while you have some time to consider options, then maybe sell, or not

 

Hi Valerie:
My F-Type has heated and cooled seats.
The cooled seats are great on a longer drive in the Summer.
I love it, but my wife keeps her seat heater on no matter what!!

 

Thanks to all! I greatly appreciate the feedback and it will be useful when May rolls around.

Dave

 

You’ve got some problems that many would be happy to be saddled with ;-0

In all seriousness, if the Bentley is truly calling you and you can afford it, be damned with what others think. I personally don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what others think. Do you I say, but that’s just me. Life is way too darn short to not do so.

Saw a Lexus LC500 in the flesh for the first time a week ago. This thing looks far better in person than in pictures. It was impressive. It doesn’t grab me as much as an F-type does on the emotional side of things but man o man it is impressive. I have never driven one. Just saying this based on seeing it in person, hearing it start up etc…

Corvette. The market conditions around that car are just too annoying for me. All the gouging really turned me off. I saw 2 in person a week ago for the first time. I must admit, they were also more impressive in person than in pictures. Despite the fact that I’m sure they ride amazing, for me they are a little too over styled. My opinion only, but you know what they say about opinions. It definitely is an immense amount of car for the money, assuming you’re not getting gouged and can achieve MSRP. The value for money is there for sure. These 2 cars were on the floor of a new car dealer here in Ontario Canada as “used” cars. The cars had 30km on them. Bunch of BS. Selling 40k CND over MSRP.

I’ve been shopping some of the same cars as you lately. These r good problem to have. My head says LC500. My heart says F-type R (in my case).

Good luck

 

If you’re looking at the C8, I would only be considering the Eray myself. Else I would keep the F-Type.

 

I've decided to keep the F-type long term and hold funds and see where EV's go. And the real plan is to keep it long term (forever, whatever that means).

Old, well maintained sports cars are special things. Never met anyone who said "glad I sold the E-type."

 

I had the opposite reaction to seeing the C8 in person than DMeister did, when I saw one parked somewhere and did a walk-around I thought it looked like it had been designed by a 6th grader with a computer program that was told to make it look like a race car and add every cliche'd design feature he could think of. And the interior was equally hideous.

Certainly they perform well but they lack the grace that the F Type has. And I see them almost every day now, while the F Types remain pretty scarce.

 

That's kinda what I meant by saying I found it a bit over styled I guess. I was still more impressed with it in person than in photos and videos. All that means is the style wasn't as bad as I thought it would be in person, so I'm not exactly singing the praises there ;-)

I have no doubt it is probably the better sports cars vs an F-type? That would be my guess based on everything I have researched around the car...How much you care about that depends on what your goals are. I'm heading towards 50 years old. My goals are not to feel "boy racer"...That is the vibe I get off of those new C8s. My opinion only, and that is not meant to offend anyone of my vintage that has one ;-) There are elements about the car that are of interest to me despite it not ticking all the boxes for what I am specifically looking for in a car at this stage of my life.

All this said, the overall value for money with the Corvette is pretty hard to beat. In theory. That would be completely true if not for all the sales madness going on with them, so in reality the value for money is less than it could/should be.

The F-type is for a different customer I think, and its design language is just so much more classy.

The other aspect of a C8 that would concern me slightly would be the dealership experience. I don't necessarily trust this aspect of things would be all that satisfying. That is my feeling. I could be wrong.

 

It's funny what the perceptions are of different cars by both owners and the general public. The Corvettes are impressive performers no doubt but to a lot of people, they see them and think a "mid life crisis" was the impetus for the owner. I used to see a lot of older guys with bad toupee's and Elvis sunglasses driving Corvettes back in the '80's and '90's and don't know if that has changed much. There is also the statistic that more Corvettes are involved in single vehicle crashes than any other. Although if you watch YouTube there sure are a lot of videos of Mustangs pulling out of parking lots and getting away from their owners and hitting the curb or a parked vehicle. Lack of skill and maturity perhaps ?

On the other hand I think Jaguars are seen more as a "gentleman's sports car". They perform well and also have a long racing history but don't scream "look at me" like some sports cars do. I'm a silver haired guy approaching age 68 now. I have owned pretty much nothing but sports cars or sports coupes all my life and always enjoyed the driving experience. I have always admired Jaguars and had reached a point in my life where I could afford a second car as a toy and a car that cost as much as my first house. So an F Type it was. After almost two years of ownership I still get comments like "nice car", "I love the color" or "what is it ? A Jaguar ? Cool ! " every time I stop somewhere. They are uncommon for sure.

 

I thought they were "hooligan" cars from reading some of he posts
At 76, I still have a hooligan streak!!

 

Dave,

You don't have a wrong choice. I was recently in a similar dilemma. I do not have a classic corvette, so I need one car for everything, Working from home, I don't put on many miles and my wife has an SUV, so I can have a pointless car. I was really drawn by the M850i as it is a lot of car with many great features. I actually liked it more than the M8 as the AWS and some other touches made it a much better street car. The c8 'vette quickly fell off my list for no reason other than they are so common. Great car, great value, great support, just not me. The AM was too much money for what it was. Don't get me wrong, it's drop dead gorgeous and a great car, it just wasn't that much better and if I'm honest, I like how the Jag doesn't carry some of the stigma that the AM and Bentley do. I didn't even consider the Lexus because the Lexus never really grabbed me. The Continental GT...I looked at a convertible and ruled it out after about 2 minutes. For such a big car, it had small back seats and if I'm getting a car that big, I want more from it. I also have a fear of maintenance on that thing.

In the end, I'm right back where I started, just with a convertible. If I had to drive to work everyday or longer distances, I think I would have gone with the M850 because there were so many more creature comforts, but that's not the role I needed to fill.

 

IMO, I like driving rare vehicles than you don't see too often. The corvette is a dime a dozen and I think the base is ugly. The proportions are off. However, I'd go for a ZO6 in a heartbeat if they weren't so difficult to get. Also, Aston Martin Vantage is just gorgeous and a more exclusive marque.