Proud owner of 2012 XJL Supercharged with 60K miles. Pains me, but with COVID and repairs needed, I must say goodbye. Am going to have to replace with something more practical unfortunately and wondering if I would get more value on the trade in to a non-Jag dealer or with private party. I’m thinking the latter, but with $7k in repairs and KBB in the $15k range, Questioning whether the dealer will require repairs. TIA!!

 

Private party almost every time will net you more money. I think you are mistaken on the dealership wanting repairs. All they are going to do is mark down the price of the car that much more. I would go into a dealership and see what they will offer you for the car. If the repairs are not necessarily obvious, you might get lucky. But, most dealerships are going to low ball you really bad.

 

I had a 2004 Audi A4 that was having some engine issues. I was able to trade it in w/o having to make any repairs. That was several years ago [and back in MN]. I'm curious......what kind of repairs are you needing that are in the $7k range? With only 60K miles, that doesn't seem fair? I just purchased a 2017 Jaguar XJL (Supercharged) with only 18K miles from a dealer in AZ. I still have 2+ years on the original factory warranty, and DID purchase an extended warranty (72 months / 100,000K) for a reasonable price. Without the extended warranty, I wouldn't have pulled the trigger on the "Cat".

Good luck! I hope everything works out for the best.

 

I think you will probably do better with the dealer. First you get the tax value of the trade in difference. For example if you get $10,000 trade in and your state charges 7% sales tax that is a $700 savings vs private sale right off the bat. Next most private sales will want a mechanic to check it out and that will reveal the repairs you know about and maybe some you don’t. These will either drive the price down further or scare away a potential buyer. Most dealers are only looking for the painfully obvious mechanical repairs and a relatively clean Carfax.

In addition to the above in this crazy world you don’t know who is coming to test dive your car. Do you take a test ride with them and risk a possible assault or give your keys to a stranger and risk something else. Also these are not the fastest moving cars so you could have the misfortune of needing a new repair while trying to find a buyer that would easily exceed the extra money you might make selling it yourself.

I wish you luck whatever you decide but in my experience arming yourself with solid market knowledge and tough negotiation skills makes trading in the wisest decision.

 

An up-market car with limited sales potential and needing a load of repairs is going to be dead in the market unless you accept a lot less than you think it's worth. Traders want cars they can sell-on immediately. Minor stuff will be done, but they won't want to do a load of repairs. A private buyer will not want a car with a load of work needing, so maybe auction the car.

 

With that level of repair needed and you not able to do any of it. You will just have to take the hit and move on.
I think you will be lucky to get $15K?

Can you post what is wrong with the car? $7K is a lot?
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Dealers offer utter garbage for cars like these and expect you to think they're doing you a favor.

However, if your car needs major repairs, then this might be the rare case the favor might be true. You don't want to deal with a private buyer calling back after a sale.

If your XJ Supersport was in great condition, the last one with your miles on Bring A Trailer went for $25,000 I believe.

 

Also, KBB values completely fall apart if the car has any kind of enthusiast value whatsoever. I am not sure the X351 is there yet, but it certain models may be getting close.

 

Edmunds TMV (true market value) tends to be more accurate than KBB.

 

I bought my 2010 supercharged with 70k miles two years ago so I think it’s fairly similar to your situation now.

The car had a lot of option packages (including rear entertainment, adaptive cruise control...etc) and it only had a cracked, but non-leaking, rear windshield wrong with it. I paid ~$18k. As you also need repairs, you will probably fetch less than that.

Shortly after I bought my car I needed numerous repairs/ maintenance. All I can say is $7k on an early model X351 is nothing, especially if you use the dealership. Good luck!

 

When we blew a head gasket (for the second time in about a year) while out of town, my wife and I made the decision to ditch our 2011 XJL Supercharged. We traded it on a new Cadillac XTS. Obviously, we didn't get top dollar for our trade-in but it didn't seem unreasonable to me. The car was low mileage, essentially flawless inside and out, and had been meticulously cared for and that actually did figure into the deal. The Cadillac dealership determined the trade-in value based on the car's overall condition and ignoring the mechanical problem, then deducted the estimated cost of engine repair, and tacked on a nominal fee for the thirty days they estimated they would have to wait before being able to offer the car for sale. Had I chosen to cover the cost of repairs myself and then trade the car afterwards, and accounting for continued depreciation during that process, I doubt I would have come out much, if any, better. Sure, I took a hit on it, but that was a given regardless how I proceeded because of the public's declining interest in sedans and consumer wariness about Jaguar reliability. They still allowed me a little dickering room on the Cadillac and we left there satisfied that we'd been fairly treated. We drove that Cadillac for two years with absolutely no issues and traded it a few months ago on a Lincoln Continental primarily to get a higher level of comfort. The Cadillac XTS's seats were, to me, a bit disappointing. The Continental's 30-way Perfect Position seats rival the ones in the Jaguar and the ride is smooth and civilized. Bottom line, be realistic about what your car is worth and then find a dealership who is willing to work with you. I'm well aware we could have had an entirely different outcome had we broken down anywhere other than where we did. We got lucky.

Dwayne