Hello fellow Jag owners!

Question... Does anyone know the cost of purchasing a new 5.0 NON-supercharged engine?

Why am I asking?

Unfortunately I am the victim of a hit a run. Someone hit the rear end of my car while it was parked on the street (didn't leave a note) and the insurance company is starting to say that there is a high likelihood that the car will be "totaled".

They base this off the 75% repair cost calculation in my state of CA (ie will only pay up to 75% of car value for repair work). Its a 2011 XJL and according to KBB (with 45,000 miles) its valued at $30,000 in excellent condition (which it was)...

A year ago the engine exploded and was covered under warranty and I got a brand new engine from the factory. This little fact of getting a new engine is something that the adjuster is NOT taking into consideration yet in assessing the value of the car (because he doesn't know about it yet because I haven't told him about it yet).

Soooo... my thinking is... if I can prove to the adjuster that there was a new engine put in valued at $XXXX.XX then the value of the car goes up by $XXXX.XX and therefore the 75% cost of repair goes up... and hopefully I get to keep my beloved car rather than having it "totaled".

I know i know.... carfax, resale value goes way down, but i don't care about that. When I buy my cars I keep them forever. I just want to keep it and its at a great shop that is Jaguar North America approved and certified to work on aluminum frames/chassis. So I'm confident that the shop will do a great job on it and it will come back perfectly fine. I just have to convince the adjuster that the car IS worth more than 30K BECAUSE I had a brand new engine put in a year ago... Make sense?

Thanks ahead of time for all comments, thoughts, and opinions!

 

The now-one-year-old engine MAY affect the value of the car, but probably not by more than a thousand dollars or so. If it were my car, I would consider that its "forever" has come, I'd take the insurance settlement, and replace it.

Dwayne

 

Hi Dwayne,

Thanks for the comment and a big part of me agrees with you... Maybe Im still is a state of "shell-shock" of this hit and run and consequently I'm sure Im not using my "best judgement"... what can I say... my cars are like my children. Im just too attached because I love my XJL so much and I can't bear to be without her!

But unfortunately I can't afford to replace it at the moment. Just got a new house and a new job so new big purchases for me are not something that would be "responsible" decisions for me at the moment.

So I'm trying to do what I can to save the situation and basically make lemonade out of a boat load of lemons right now even though I could very well be getting into more headache down the road.

Hit and run drivers suck.

 

In my part of the country the insurance companies base the value on the NADA Book. and according to your description it is worth in Marina Del Ray $32,324, if you have B&W audio it adds $450.00. Also, your insurance company has to add sales tax to that value $2262.68 based on 7% sales tax. hope this puts you back into a sweet spot.

 

Actually, I failed to take into consideration your financial situation and simply surmised that since the car is five years old you probably own it free and clear. If that is not the case, the lien holder would have to agree to a repair anyway since, as you acknowledged, the value of the car will go down having been badly damaged. I had a Cadillac "totaled" several years ago and ended up getting considerably more out of it than I would have if I'd sold or traded it. If money is tight at the moment, I'd take the settlement and invest it back into a CPO used XJL; preferably one that has no history of accident damage. I love my car too, but I would ditch it in a heartbeat if it were damaged to the extent that the insurance company wanted to total it. No matter how good the shop, it will never be quite the same.

Dwayne

 

Based on the UK list price you'd be looking at somewhere around USD $15000 plus shipping & taxes for a new 5.0L naturally aspirated "long engine" which is everything from sump to cam covers, no manifolds or ancillaries.

£10,639.00 nett price in the UK

An exchange engine assembly is about 25% cheaper.

Don't forget the labour costs for swapping an engine, i'd guess it's a few thousand on top.

 

A car with only 45K miles on it would be presumed to still have it's original engine since they normally last the life of the vehicle (200K+ miles).

The additional value of having an engine that's marginally younger than the car is probably offset by the stigma of having a car with a non-original engine.

Find out what the repair estimate is vs. the value of the insurance pay out. If the difference from your pocket makes sense, go for it.

 

As others have said I don't think having the engine replaced a year ago adds value to the car. A consumer isn't going to pay more for your car if you are in a fender bender and the bumpers are replaced with new. The fear in either case is that the failure (or the repair mechanic) may have caused damage to other components that were not replaced, as well as the vehicle being branded as problematic.

There are lots of options for you. You can pay the difference between cost to repair and the insurance payout. You can have the car totaled and buy it back and do the work yourself, having a professional do what you can't. Or what I would do which is take the insurance payout and get yourself a similar, trouble-free, vehicle. I had a motorcycle that was totaled and I was surprised by the NADA value they gave me. I had the bike for sale at the time and I think they gave me around $5500 when I was asking $4500 for a private party sale. You may be able to get in to a newer or better optioned car with only the tax and title costs, if any, out of pocket.

If you have a lien that exceeds the current value of the car that would muddy the water a bit.

 

Rusnak in Pasadena has a 2011 XJ with 47,500 miles .... $29,998.00. I have purchased from them before and have been very happy. To me it would be a no brainer. Get the insurance check and replace it. (If you are not upside down financially in it) It will never be repaired as good as it was.