I am driving to Cleveland this weekend, hopefully to purchase a 2004 Jaguar XJ8 with 93,721 miles. It is located at a dealer so I have freshened up my negotiating skills. I called the dealer who serviced the car, he verified all the items done to the car. They include air compressor replaced, thermostat housing, headlight assy., fuel filter, front and rear brakes, spark plugs, coolant reserve, and new wiper blades. The car includes what appears to be recently replaced Continental tires. I plan on examining the car and checking the battery and spare tire.

My previous Jaguar was purchased from a private individual and went very smoothly. The asking price for the car is $11,495 and was recently reduced by $500. The dealer told me the car is in "immaculate condition".

Can you provide any tips on negotiating the price with the dealer? Any other items I should look out for when inspecting the car?

Wish me luck this weekend. Oh, the car is a Quartz Metallic, beautiful!

Thanks for the help and advice.

 

Does it have NAV? Sounds like a premium price; better be nice. Good luck. That's a great color.

 

I will be curious to get your impressions on this car. Looks like the dealers has some money in the car - makes you wonder what they paid for it at auction or on the trade.

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

Make sure you know what other cars are going for price wise and put your poker face on. Be prepared to walk away if you are not satisfied with the final price. NEVER pay sticker price.................

 

Any suspension work done ? With that mileage, I would at least expect all four bottom bushes on the air spring units to have been replaced, and probably the lower rear wishbones (due to wear on one of the three bushes). Despite all the posts, the air springs generally last pretty well, our editor of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club magazine has his at 139k with original airsprings.

Check for filiform-type corrosion at: -

1. Leading edge of trunk lid - creeps round from the underside. When fixed, the screen seal lip should be cut off with a Stanley knife to stop it happening again
2. Above chrome trim at rear of trunk lid
3. bottoms of doors at the corners - usually creeps round from the rear face.

Cars exposed to a lot of salt with infrequent washing are the main candidates. Internet search will describe "filiform corrosion" on aluminium. Airframe maintenance engineers are constantly on the look-out for it.

This corrosion is not of a serious car-threatening type, it just looks ugly, and is fairly easy to fix, but the paintshop must know how to paint aluminium. Jaguar have a list of approved shops, at least they do in the UK.

 

The car has navigation, as I was only looking for XJ's with navigation.

Good point about the front end bushings, I will need to ask the dealer about that. He did not mention it when I spoke with him. I plan on stopping by the dealer and request a copy of the maintenance log sheet. I am hoping they give it to me.

I'll give you an update of buying a Jaguar in the dead o winter in Cleveland!

 

A few random remarks---

Some quick Googling suggests that the asking price leaves ample room for negotiation...unless, perhaps, the candidate is an ultra-exceptional example or an unusual and desirable color/trim combination... or something like that. I'm betting, though, it's an average '04 XJ8.

These are not rare cars so, as mentioned, be ready to walk away. Another one... maybe even a better candidate.... will come along tomorrow. Do plenty of shopping around to get a feel for what's out there and what the market is.

That said......

Finding the right car is more important than finding the right price...within reason, of course. Top money for a premium example is almost always "well spent". The internet of plum full of woeful laments from those who bought an average (that is, neglected) used Jaguar at "really good" price :-).

And......

Many times I've seen people walk away from a very nice car they *really* wanted simply because they weren't happy with a "good" price and insisted on grinding down to the "I stole it" price. In fact, I've been there, done that... and *always* ended up kicking myself. In the price range we're talking about here the "sting" of an extra $500 or $1000 will wear off immediately IF it's the right car and what you really wanted.


Cheers
DD

 

Yesterday, we ended up buying the '04 Jaguar XJ8 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The dealership was family owned and did service to the high end luxury vehicle. I offered $10k the dealer came down $500 and we settled at a price of $11,000 for the car. The car is immaculate condition, probably a 99+ car. We did leave the dealership when we were $500 apart and it was apparent he was not going to reduce the price any further. I tried waiting him out, etc. So we left to have lunch, not knowing if we would be back. During lunch I decided to call back and have the CEL checked on the car. It turned out to be the gas cap, evap leak. They agreed to replace the cap. We returned and purchased the car.
The dealership will deliver to car from Cleveland to Grosse Ile, MI and will do a complete 100k mile service to the car including oil change including synthetic oil The dealership was very genuine and I may use them for future service if my local mechanic runs into problems.
I remembered what Doug said, "Finding the right car is more important than finding the right price...within reason, of course. Top money for a premium example is almost always "well spent". Those words convinced me to agree with the slightly higher price.
I've attached pictures on the new addition to my Jaguar collection.

 

When you are enjoying your car 6 months down the line and beyond you will be pleased with your choice and the additional cost that you paid will be long forgotten.

This outlook can work with lots of things through life, many years ago I was buying some furniture and kept going back to the store and looking at a particular pair of sofas, they were really quite a bit more than I wanted to pay but I searched high and low for a cheaper alternatives, after a couple of months I bit the bullet and went back and got the original pieces, now 15 years on, I am still thrilled with my choice.
Your car pics look great.

 

Looks liker a great choice - although there are some who disagree, the best deal is one that both parties and live with. I also think that quality pays - those bargain basement cars oftentimes cost you more in repairs than getting one that has been well maintained.

I'm envious of your XKE - my favorite car style of them all. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending upon how you look at it, they weren't made for those of us who are 6'5" and 270.) Oh well, saves me money in the long run.

 

Super looking car from the pics, and nearly four times round the globe in miles too. I am sure you will enjoy owning and running this car. Superb cruisers they definitely are !! Were there service records with the car, and the Owner Handbook and other stuff in the big green wallet in the glove box ?

 

It dawned on me after we left I did not see any car manuals, the glovebox was empty. I am planning on calling Monday and see if they are available. I plan to show the car in Concours and will need the books.
The car came with a CarFax report that listed each visit to the Jaguar Dealer and the service performed. I plan on asking for those records from the Dealer as well. That was the most important information on buying the car as the major repair items had already been replaced. I did the same when I purchased the XKR and it continues to be an excellent car.
I plan on using the car for long trips to St. Louis, a 1,100 mile round trip. I am looking forward to excellent mileage and to ride in style.
Roviw was right when he said "When you are enjoying your car 6 months down the line and beyond you will be pleased with your choice and the additional cost that you paid will be long forgotten". Thanks for the comment.

 

I'm happy for you enjoy your purchase! Very nice looking car.... in the service papers did the air suspension get replaced/repaired?

Ikon

 

Yes, the air compressor was replaced at about 35k miles by the dealer. I think the air shocks are still the original ones. I do know that the front and rear brakes have be replaced, with the rears being done in August 2011.

 

Does she ride like new?

 

You scored a good deal , I wish you happy safe driving

You're exactly right on the finding right car , this is what I am doing right now

 

Good, so you've seen on-line service records, so that's OK, especially the compressor, these really should last longer IMO. Here in the UK we don't have such a facility, hence my emphasis on paper/book records.

If you can't get the original Owner Manual, and other books telling you how everything works, try an internet search. FWIW for my 2003 I got the owner manual, plus a book on the satnav, and another on the car phone. plus the service book, which also contains the warranty details, (for the first owner, of course !)

 

Congratulation on a great purchase. Thanks for sharing!

 

Good luck with your search too... I'm in a cross road in my search now! Either an 04 or an 03 for far less $! I love both......