I had a 2015 F-Type V8 S convertible w/31k miles shipped to me from Austin through Carmax and it finally arrived. On the website it didn't have any flaws pointed out. It did have 1 accident where the airbags were not deployed and I know nothing else about the accident. That's the only ding on the Carfax report. 1 owner. Car was bought in Austin from the dealer in 2015 and the original owner traded it into Carmax in Austin. I went to inspect the car today and there is a paint chip with spider webbing on lower bumper/"deflector."(I looked up the part and it's $130 in matte black/$270 gloss black). I'm not sure if this is normal wear and tear you will see with a 6 year old sports car. They also decided to drill holes into the front for a license plate (on the front black grill area with the bar across). On the site it was never drilled, so CarMax did this in Austin after the pictures went up.I brought it up and the techs said they could fill it in to look like new and they're looking at it tomorrow (my state only requires a back plate). It's listed for $38,900. KBB says $38-42k for "good" condition. Pics attached including the paint chip. Just want reassurance that I wouldn't be an idiot for going forward with buying it. Other than listed, everything was in very good to excellent condition. It appears garage kept as the convertible top has no fading and is in excellent condition. Would appreciate opinions. Sorry for the novel. I just couldn't believe they would drill into the front bumper for the license plate after it got listed. The picture on the bottom is the one I took today. The dirt in the pic is just because it wasn't fully washed after getting off the shipping truck.

 

Those defects are normal. The drilling on the front of the car is normal for Texas dealerships. Unless you request to not drill, they will drill because the law in Texas requires front and back license plates.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my novel! So you think the chip with spider webbing on the deflector is pretty normal for a car from 2015?

 

The chip is obviously not normal . It depends on how much it upsets you. I bought my car sight unseen second hand and it was perfect. Within the first week damaged the front valance as was not used to how low the front was and scraped/cracked it on concrete parking sleeper. I was gutted but havent even repaired it as likely to happened again. I wouldn't let it spoil the fun as the car is there to be driven.

 

With the relative rarity of the car.......not a big deal. Better to have the car with a very small defect than not have it!!!!

Small things can be fixed in the long run. Very minimal to be honest. Not a deal breaker for me....and obviously not for you

Also......I think you wrote about the warranty stuff. Jag owner for many many years, Other than my old XJ8 from 2000, never really had a problem with a Jag or Land Rover. If the car does not have coverage.....still not worried about it. Generally they are stout cars.

 

Since the deflector is normally gloss black, not body colour, the accident mentioned was probably at the front end. This perhaps warrants some investigation before purchase. It may have been very minor, but...

 

I consider imperfections on a used car as birthmarks...and every scratch and ding that I'm responsible for as scars.

 

I got my car from Carvana sight unseen and was very happy with the car. 2014 with 17,000 miles. I was glad they didn't put holes in the front for a plate. I found a plate holder that screws into the toe hook area!! I like the wheels on yours!!!

 

Good eye. I remember I was thinking this but I also wouldn't know how to go about looking into it without disassembling the front end... I assume they replaced the front bumper and the auto body shop messed up and painted all of it instead of leaving the deflector. I also assume it wasn't major damage since the airbags didn't deploy.

 

Good to know thanks! Yeah I'm leaning away from getting the warranty especially since it has a considerable deductible.

 

Definitely get the warranty, It saved my *** huge. I just purchased a V8s from carmax in December with 45k miles. Drove it for 2 months and the Engine and supercharger both blew. The carmax maxcare warranty saved me from paying for a new engine and S/C.

 

Did they determine what caused the engine to blow?

 

They didn't really tell me, they said engine oil was low. But i had checked it a week prior. So I'm not sure.

 

man, that is terrifying. I'm used to checking my oil periodically via dipstick but with the ftype I still haven't gotten into the habit of using the electrical dip stick function. Also strange that there was no low oil warning if that was really what caused it.

 

Well, I ended up buying it. Loving it so far! Carmax said they just did an oil change but don't know the specifics of oil used, etc since I had it shipped from another Carmax. I'm thinking of taking it into a Jag mechanic to make certain everything is kosher with fluids, etc... With 32k miles on it do you just have to change engine oil up until that point?

 

It would be a really good idea at this mileage to change the differential fluid - make sure that it is fluid for the LSD (the V6S has a mechanical limited slip differential)...and put some BG44K (or similar) in the fuel tank to clean the injectors.
Finally, if this is not a car to be frequently used, you should consider fitting a CTEK battery maintainer - these cars like full voltage to the many modules all the time.
And be prepared for lots of attention to this beauty!

 

Going to try and get some BG44K today since I've heard that more than once now. I actually might try and drive it a handful of times a week to prevent that battery issue. My gym is just a half mile away that I might drive it to. It'll make going to the gym less monotanous!

 

Keep in mind you’ll need to drive it more than 20 minutes to keep up the battery charge.

 

Yep, nothing but short trips is bad for the car, worse than not driving it at all.
Bad for the battery, bad for the engine oil, bad for the engine.
It needs a decent trip (50 miles at least) at least once a week.

 

Spitting facts. Condensation in the engine and oil pan needs time to evaporate with long drives and toasty engine temps.