Hello, everyone! I am brand new to this forum as I am hoping to purchase a pre-owned F-Type within the next year. This would be my first Jaguar & my first pre-owned car since I was a teenager (I have leased all my cars for years).

I live in the US & I am already doing searches across the country to see what’s out there regarding F-Type inventory. My question is:

When looking for a pre-owned F-Type or any pre-owned Jaguar model for that matter, would you recommend purchasing directly from a Jaguar dealership, or would it be ok to purchase from alternate dealerships as well (Porsche, Mercedes, etc.)?

Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!

 

I was assisting in car shopping at CarMax and saw at least three F-Types there (this was 2019) that were all three years old. I assumed they were lease returns based on that. You might consider them or similar. They'll transfer cars from other sites, and if close enough for no charge. The transfer does not require commitment to purchase.

 

One thing to remember, if you purchase from a Jaguar dealer, you can walk out with an extended warranty or CPO warranty. If you purchase from a private owner, you can transfer any existing extended warranty or CPO warranty so you are covered from the time you take possession of the car. If you buy from some other dealer and the car isn't under the original manufacturer's warranty, you are not covered. If you want to extend the warranty, that will involve and inspection, fixing anything they find wrong, and then paying for the warranty, so you are not covered for anything that might be wrong when you take possession of the car.

 

I don't think it matters where you purchase a car from... It's more of how much due diligence will they allow you to do. i.e. if you want a pre-purchase inspection, will they allow that to happen? If it's remote, will they do a remote video session for you and have their camera show you every area of the car? Most car sellers will only picture their cars in the best ways and hide any imperfections.

IMO, I wouldn't worry about CPO or not. Warranties only cover something that fails before the manufacturer determined time. If the manufacturer says "it's part of aging" then a warranty wont' do anything. As cars age, there are fewer things that will fall into a warranty bucket (i.e. if they say a part should last 3 years and it fails on year 5, warranty or not it's not getting covered). CPO is a nice to have but I wouldn't focus on it.

 

Thank you for the feedback, everyone!

 

Donny,
If you bring in a car from outside your general area, I suggest that you first confirm that your local JLR dealer will agree to work on it. This is a problem around here. Claiming a lack of qualified mechanics and parts supplies, JLR dealers are refusing to service cars that were not purchased at that dealership. JLR corporate is apparently turning a blind eye to this practice. And getting a loaner? Forget it.
Having said that, my 1-year-old CPO F-Type has been solid and a joy to drive.

 

Welcome! And good luck in your search. I purchased a '14 F-Type earlier this year and continue to gain knowledge thanks to the massive amount of information on the Forum. If I were doing it again I would have familiarized myself with the "known issues" of the F-Type, which are well described in "Sticky Threads" at the top of the page, which would allow me to better inspect the car and the history to see what if any of the issues have been seen in the candidate car. If purchasing from a private individual with no warranty coverage and asking questions about the known issues will also be a good indicator of how knowledgeable the prior owner was with the make/model. The car I purchased was in the same family for most of the cars life and I had good historical records which has allowed me to do the back research and the results would not have changed my purchase decision. Love the car!

 

I've had great luck at Jaguar of Hartford. The dealership building itself needs some serious TLC, as it looks like it was a former Dodge dealership and all they did to the building was change the sign. However, the techs are great, service advisors are competent and helpful, and I can always get a loaner and I didn't buy my car there. I can usually get a service appointment in under 14 days too. Guess where I'm buying my '23 from?

 

Some dealers take great care to source clean used vehicles and handle any reconditioning to make the car as close to new - others trade them in, put them on the lot and do nothing else. Dealerships are independently owned and usually take on the personality of the owner and staff. I would focus on the car - condition-miles-history etc, not where you’re getting it from.

 

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I bought my ‘17 R in 2019 from a Honda dealer lol no issues at all since purchase…big things for me were clean carfax and a few years remaining manufacturer warranty…that way any pesky issues that popped up weren’t my problem (expense), and I could sell the car after a year if there were too many issues without taking a bath (still in the flat of the depreciation curve).

 

I second FtypeRick's suggestions. I was looking for a Manual trans F coupe and one that I could go see in person. Too many horror stories about getting cars shipped to you that were not as advertised. Went through the CarFax and ALL the threads on any issues that Fs had. CarFax was clean, though I was curious as to why the original owner didn't take it back to the dealer for its first oil change, and took it to one of the quick change services. Went to go look at the car and was prepared to walk if it wasn't what I expected. The selling dealer was one that also sold other high end imports and was familiar to me (growing up in Chicago) Illinois has some pretty strong used car selling laws. Took it for a drive and bought it. All the accessories worked and I had gone through the owners manual online so that I knew what all the switches and controls were used for. The car still had 18 months of factory warranty and the dealer also offered a 4 month warranty. I was also puzzled by the dealer's inspection that said they had replaced the clutch. On a 24K mile car?
On the way home, the low battery warning popped up.
I had an appt with local JLR dealer to sort that out. They replaced battery under warranty.
Read more posts here and was shocked to find the one about Clutch satisfaction. As it turned out, the selling dealer had replaced the clutch with the correct 4thG unit. 16K miles later, still running fine.
You can find any number of threads here on common issues..The major one is the old style 'flanged' plastic heater pipes. While these were only in the 'early' cars, my 2017 had them, being built late 2016. My dealer here also replaced those, along with the water pump and related parts. If not detected (check coolant level regularly) the coolant leaks drip down and damage any number of other components.. injectors, for example. You may not see a coolant leak on the floor as it pools in the undertray.
Also check out YouTube, lots of F type DIY videos, driver experiences, helpful hints.

 

^^^ all good advice.

I happened to notice this 2017 F-Type FS, at a nearby GMC dealer today. Looks to be a Base model V6.

https://www.sawyerlyonsbuickgmc.com/...a6at7h8k46254/

 

At that price and if you’re looking at 17s, I’d peek at the Rs…selling in low $40ks with reasonable miles.

 

Looks like an automatic version of my MT and may be a Premium like mine with the panoramic roof. The automatic climate control is great... Again, get the CarFax and also the Monroney sticker. The CD player is really interesting. It took me awhile to notice the tiny slot in the back of the center console. It's a 'virtual' CD changer. You insert the CDs you want to store. one at a time. (10 max) and then upload them. I couldn't figure out how to do it with the car not running, and it would shut itself down if I just had it on accessory for too long a time. You can 'erase' and load another CD as your preferences change.

https://monroneylabels.com/

Worthwhile to check out all the powerplants. the 6 was fine for me. PLENTY of go. Is having an 8 that may have been beat/tracked a concern?