Trading M240i for F-Type 400. Am I mad?
 

Stumbled on this thread as I'm seriously considering trading in my 2019 BMW M240i for a 2018 F-Type 400 Sport as a daily driver.
On paper the BMW is a more sensible option; B58 motor reliability, practicality, better infotainment, and with a tune it's actually faster than the F-Type. As brilliant as the BMW is, it does very little for me emotionally and there is absolutely no sense of occasion driving it. Prior to BMW I had a Porsche Cayman and I miss driving something special.

The F-Type I'm considering has 75,000 km, is AWD , with every option that was available. There is some service history including a major 66,000km service by Jaguar, but few other records. As I'm buying at the dealership I have an option to purchase extended warranty with full coverage for CAD $3,000.

A Couple questions for the F-Type owners:

At 75,000km am I in danger of this becoming a money-pit? Is spending $3,000 for extended warranty advised?

Those who use F-Type as their main car, year round, how practical is it really?
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Prior to purchase the dealer will replace all tires, brakes, windshield, and do basic service with oil change. Anything else I should ask them to do?

Keep reading about how bad the infotainment is. Is it at all possible to get Android auto or Apple Carplay on those 2018 units?

Cheers!

If it has the 10" screen with no physical buttons down each side it will support AA and CP, albeit with a cable connection to the phone. If it has the 8" screen with physical buttons there are aftermarket options available, plenty of threads on here about them.

I have a 2014 V6S ‘vert, and love every minute in it. Something to be said for driving a rarity that never fails to turn heads. My car has ~55k miles. I’ve done rotors/pads and rear suspension bushings- nothing else. I’d say go with your heart. I do not have an extended warranty, will let others chime in on that.

I daily a V6S and think driving it everyday takes away the "special" feeling. It's a lovely car and a nice place to spend time, but it's two seats and some knobs, it's hardly earth shattering. It's far nicer than Porsche and far less annoying than whatever red LED nightmare BMW is pushing on people. The drivetrain is the same recipe as your current car (obviously supercharged vs turbo) but your BMW is leagues ahead in NVH, refinement, reliability and tuneabilty. I am likely way in the minority, but for me the "special" feel of the car was pretty short lived and what I notice now, more than anything else, is the overall lack of refinement in every single aspect of the car. It sounds like a diesel at idle with the injector noise (I know this is not limited to Jaguar but is a direct injection trait), with the valves closed the exhaust has a pretty awful tone, in the normal mode the throttle response is terrible, the rear hatch cover squeaks, the sound system is absolutely shockingly bad and the cooling system is apparently made of thin glass and hope.

The steering feel is wonderful and I think the car is really very good when pushed hard. The adaptive suspension is also really nice and is never too hard or too soft for me. The transmission is pretty good though I find it upshifts very quickly when you come off throttle and then gets weird if you try to get right back into it - like it has to shuffle and can't figure it out. I love the response of the paddles. The cabin is comfortable for me and I am 6'4" and about 175 pounds. Plenty of room and the seats are surprisingly comfortable. I was considering selling mine for an M240i BMW until I got to sit in one and then I reconsidered.

My buddy has an M340i that would completely embarrass my F-Type and has honestly got me thinking about selling. If something that ugly and gaudy and stupid looking can so vastly out perform a purpose built sports car while carrying two child seats in a week's worth of groceries then I don't really see the point of the F-Type. It's a beautiful car but pretty flawed.

Please provide the dealer's asking price, as generally speaking, dealers don't give away something for nothing. The F-type is not what most here would consider to be a practical car. Personally, I use my wife's Cayenne as an alternative for mundane purposes. There are a lot of folks who use use their cars as daily drivers and do well. I am sure you will hear from some. I've never really imagined my car as a concert hall, so the stock unit is fine for me. There are many who have upgraded, so that is available. The most important issue you need to address is the tendency for the water piping system [plastic] to leak and potentially cause catastrophic damage to the engine. There are now after market aluminum pipes available to fix the issue. There are many threads on this subject and I believe one that is still current. One more thing...if you think your Cayman was special, the F-type is MUCH more [everything]...and I am a big P-car fan.

Thank you for the sobering and honest insight! Perhaps exactly what I needed to hear.
The Jag will also cost about $20,000 more, for the same level of sporting performance. Once the lust and excitement of a "new" Jag have faded and the reality of daily life sets in, the refinement and practicality of the BMW might make more sense.

​​​​​​To be clear, I'm not anti- Jag, just trying to be objective. The fact is that I was very close to selling mine but I can't find anything else that interests me as much or offers the same performance vs cost. It's a great car, it's just not without it's own (significant) flaws.

[QUOTE=synthesis;2742153]Please provide the dealer's asking price, as generally speaking, dealers don't give away something for nothing./QUOTE]
I'm in Canada. They are asking $49,000 CAD for the 400 Sport and offering $32,000 for my BMW as a trade-in. So I'll be paying +17,000. The market rate for my car is about $39,000 so after-tax savings of trade-in it's about right, while $49,000 for the 400 Sport is about the cheapest I've seen.
I'm not sour on the BMW at all - it is the best car I've had from the driver's seat and ticks all the boxes on paper...I just don't look back at it when I park it. Hence why this is such a tough decision, albeit not a rational one.
I think it is safe to assume the BMW will hold its value more than the Jag.

I got mine in 2018 and "the reality of daily life" hasn't set in yet! It's a great daily car (for me) - why would you leave a Jaaag at home and drive something ordinary? :D

I use mine almost every day and I have a blast. Wait... what does "practical" mean anyway? :D

Jokes aside, where I live it's incredibly easy to rent a pickup or van from one a dozen places, or get an Uber, or hop on Turo for an SUV, etc etc.
Great transit system here too.
99% of the time there's nothing preventing me from taking my F Type, and on the odd occasion that it's not feasible for whatever reason, alternatives abound.
I absolutely hate driving boring vehicles (would honestly rather be a passenger or take transit), so I'm happy to drive the F Type as often as possible.

I can get away with this because my "practical" needs are pretty minimal and I live in a very convenient location.


I guess just be honest with yourself and do an objective evaluation regarding the balance between your needs and your wants?

Since the 400 Sport is a 2018 you want to check the coolant pipes. Late in the 2018 model year Jaguar switched from seamed coolant pipes that have a tendency to fail and leak to pipes without seams. Failed coolant pipes can lead to a ruined engine.

There are many threads here about the pipes. The best fix is to replace the plastic seamed pipes with aluminum aftermarket ones. Changing the pipes involves removing the supercharger.

As one of the longest owners on the forum I can say I still enjoy every start up and drive!

As one of the other longest owners - ditto. 87k miles, almost 11 years.

Look, I used to get bored of cars very quickly, it was rare for me to get past 2 years. I've now had my F Type since this time in 2016, 5 years as a daily and the last few years it shares duties with a manual Mustang, it is still feeling special every time I drive it That said, mine has had a few mods, it looks bloody good, sounds fantastic, and it is developing 450hp which in the RWD is oodles.

As a daily it is pretty practical once you take the spare out, I've had plenty of different things in the boot of mine including lots from the hardware. It holds 3 cases of champagne (6 bottle cases) and a carton of beer, with room left over for some packets of pork rind, so you wont die of starvation or thirst if it is the shopping car. The interior is very nice if it is a decent spec, there are some mods that can really improve it, personally I think forged rims and different rubber to the pzeros would be what I would look at first for the p400, they really transform the handling.

The infotainment would be a step back from the bimmer for sure but if you love a car for looks and sound I think it would get into your blood very quickly, after all the Jag infotainment is lightyears ahead of Astons of the same generation, and Aston owners are also able to overlook those foibles.

Not to take away from the 240, as it your gen of that car is really the only Bimmer other than the M8 that I think looks fantastic.

Had mine for 8 years now and its still a thrill to look at and drive.

I get that 40+ grand [even in Canadian dollars] is still a chunk of change, but approaching this type of car with the idea of preserving value is probably not a good strategy. This is a car to be completely enjoyed, and although it most assuredly will become coveted sometime in the future, now it's just a secret enjoyed by the few. It's probably just like it was in the early 70's when I had the opportunity to buy an absolutely stunning [and perfect] powder blue E-Type v12 roadster for USD12.5 and passed it up!

The bottom-line is that I have never had this type of affection for any car I have owned. It's THAT good and just gorgeous to look at and so much fun to drive. I get how good your M's performance is, but we are guys and looks count for a great deal! I don't only look back at my car, but I generally utter something like, "What the hell did I do to deserve something like that!"

Good points all.

My 2016 coupe perspectve:
1. double wishbone suspension that is designed to take a 45mph curb strike....a really nice feature on today's roads....
2. the jaguar gets thumbs up still...people consider it one of the best ever looking cars...car people and just normal people who don't care about cars
3. Coolant pipes, led lights, and carplay later - it lacks for nothing
4. adding VAP tune, pulleys, and tcu tune make it a dsg killing sledgehammer with e85 at 550hp (v6 3L mind you) and 475 on pump 93 (how I run it most of the time.
5. oil changes - dumb easy with a mighty vac- suction tube in the fill area and on top filter make in garage not lifted changed 20 minutes and 50 dollars every 3-5k miles
6. remove the cargo cover as needed and pretty good storage space
7. awd was amazing in snow!
8. conti tires in 265/305 in 20 are not that expensive and it doesn't wear tires very quickly relative to my past 993 and 996 experiences...
9. I protect my cross members and other steel parts on the bottom...had replaced them from surface rust (the only flaw in the car, later fixed, in my opinion). No rust as it is alu.
10. zf8hp is perhaps the best auto tranny ever...dsg like stock, tuned it is better than a dsg....vap does an amazing tune....


Unless you really track the car hard..it is what you live for....and then a miata or lotus are likely great choices, way better than high hp cars....., then this is about as good as it gets.

BMW's are not as good looking save the 3.0 CSL and e28 M5.

I traded a more or less brand new '23 M240i for a new 2023 P450 last summer. Haven't regretted it even once.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...b3b3bc415b.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...72b7990626.jpg

I traded in my FBO stage 2+ M235i for an F-Type. The only thing I really miss is that the Bimmer was xDrive and the Jag is RWD. Also, the BMW world has way more aftermarket support. The N55 is probably on par with the AJ engines as far as reliability, but the B58 is a beast. The F-Type definitely feels more special, if less practical. I have no regrets about the trade at all.

And only one of the cars in the photos above is beautiful. It isn’t the blue one.