Well, welcome aboard, Dave.

 

Thank you , got foul weather here again this weekend so no pics yet !!
Dave.

 

The more I look at that car, the more I like it, and the more I'm convinced that it's lowered. I'm close to taking a trip over there to have a gander at it, if nothing more, to see how it's been lowered.

My only issue with that is that I'm seriously afraid that I'll trade mine for it, and that would be colossally stupid of me to do at the moment.

 

A friend found this thread as they knew I was looking at the very car in question. I ended up taking it for a drive - the people at eCarOne were very friendly and professional, allowing me to drive it as long as I liked, having made an appointment in advance to look at a couple of their cars.

Disclaimer: I am not a Jag owner, this was my first experience behind the wheel in one.

So, it goes like the wind, obviously. Great sound to the engine. Bags and bags of power. Very comfortable, obviously impeccable paint and body - no surprises in person that I can recall, although some of the aluminum trim (?) around the driver's side was becoming opaque in spots.

Rode smoothly, but the really odd thing to me, was the almost violent feedback to your hands from the steering wheel. It was as if every pebble caused it to jerk. There wasn't any slop to the steering at all, you just felt every nook and cranny through your hands despite the rest of you (and the passengers no doubt) being blissfully unaware the world around them existed. On roads with a cut groove in the direction of travel, it would sling the entire car sideways when the front tires hit them like a slot car getting put back into its groove.

The wheels are understated as possible for their 20" size, but the tires were 35-series IIRC. I priced them at conservatively $1,200 per set.

The telematics were a real disappointment. The audio system relative to the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus or the LOGIC7 system in Mercedes-Benz is simply inferior, no two ways around it. The navigation, Bluetooth paring process (never did figure it out), etc...all were clunky and seemed like relics from 1998. I'd sooner not have them.

The wood trim was gorgeous, and the seats, etc. were in great condition. There were small signs of wear around the driver's door, but it was otherwise pretty clean. I did notice that the plastic trim around the bottom of the rear driver's side seat was coming loose - looks like a clip broke somewhere.

Size-wise, it was best-of-breed. The back seat could sit someone 6' 6" or taller, behind a driver that height, and they would be able to use a laptop or tablet on the picnic table (which is a bonkers feature and more cars should have them).

I'm not sure if the steering feel is normal for that model, or if it was the painted-on rubber plus the enormous rims that ruined an otherwise good car. I couldn't bring myself to do it, despite the obvious outward appeal, and never even made an offer.

All that simply for what it's worth, from what was quite nearly a fellow Jag owner. Happy motoring!

 

Maybe it was the lowering? Folks here have mentioned the car appears to have been lowered. Between that the the wheel/tire combo (are 35 series tires standard on the Super?) maybe that's what was causing the steering feel.

 

Qubes, thanks very much from coming to let us know about your experience with this car.

sjhesketh, that was my first thought too: the lowering, IF indeed the car's been lowered. Depending on how it was lowered, that could be a contributor to the steering issues Qubes experienced.

That said, upon further reflection, I would look for some kind of suspension issues. Even though the car has low miles, it is 6 years old. Those 20" wheels and 35's are OEM, but they are a "Plus 1" from stock as an additional cost option. The thing is, sometimes, depending on road conditions and driving style, those lower profile tires can present additional stress on bushings and ball joints, causing rapid wear. So, I would FOR SURE have the suspension and steering components checked by a well-heeled Jag mechanic before purchasing this car.

 

I guess I got myself a real good deal then. I only have a few 1,000 mile more on mine and I paid half of what they aree asking. Mine looks just as nice. Scored 99.96/100 at the last concours d'Elegance that I took it too.

 

I didn't get the impression being beside it that it had been lowered. I know it was up on 20's, but the clearance around the wheel wells was uniform and it had ample ground clearance. Any taller and it would have looked like something straight out of Compton.

Worn bushings or something else along those lines in the front end would be a bit more believable. I didn't feel any clunking, heard nothing unusual driving it around, and there was zero slop in the steering as I said...just an unusual, almost discordant relationship between the driver and steering wheel. I had fun driving so many great cars from the '07 - '08 model years during my hunt over the past month or so...BMW 750i, Lexus LS460, Mercedes S500, E350 and CLS550, an XJ VDP ('05)...the steering wheel works and feels roughly the same in all of them except this Super 8. There's something just not right with it, and not knowing bupkis about Jaguars, I didn't feel brave enough to take it on.

The more I think about it, the less convinced I am it was all rims/tires. I landed on the CLS550 which also has 35 series tires up front albeit on 18" rims - it steers smooth as glass and is unmoved by anything on the tarmac. Most similar to the Lexus LS460 in terms of straight-lines and parking lot / back road navigation where the Jag was rattling all over.

 

I saw an '05 VDP (as I said above) with about 70k miles but in far-from-concours condition outside. Had a long brake pedal, but drove nicely and bags of power from the regular V8 as well. They were asking $14k; I passed. It's incredible that a 5-6 year old car like the subject of the OP here, which went for about $91,000 new, is going to struggle to get $28k...and in another couple of years, it will be perhaps 25% cheaper still...yet the boring as all get out LS460 (I confess I'm still fond of them) is still worth maybe 60% of it's new price at the same age. Crazy.

 

Jags have always had crappy resale value.