Well the title basically says everything. I am a 17 year old gearhead driving a junk car and now I have finally saved up enough money to buy a new car. I first looked at getting an Audi S4 but after seeing the beauty of the interior and exterior of the Jag and then seeing the performance specs, I am really wanting a cat now. So I saw the XJR and I fell in love. Then I saw the XJ8 Vanden Plas Super V8. I am thinking that the insurance will be less on the Vanden Plas but im not sure. Also, I know the XJR looks a lot nicer on the outside, the Vanden Plas is a lot nicer on the inside. More importantly , I have heard different opinions regarding the comparative performance of the two cars. I know a stock XJR does 0-60 in 5.2 seconds but with the VDP, ive seen it from 5.2 up to 5.5. Does anybody know which one is more accurate? So anyway, Keeeping in mind what I have said, which car do think I should get. I have $11,000
Thanks everybody
Brian

 

I dont think youll get much for 11 grand.
maybe an older model.
bought my 99 VP on ebay for a little more than that. 44,000 miles.
so far some minor problems (hope).
beautiful car, when running correctly is a joy to drive.
I'm just lucky my nephew is a machanic.

 

If you are looking for power and speed XJR. The Vanden plas are very nice but it is a bigger car. I have an XJR for sale , 1999 Black/Black 32,000 miles. It is a bit over the 11,000 price range. You can see it on auto trader.com

 

My thoughts, jupiterxj:

I think you can buy a good mid-mileage VDP in the states for about 15large, no?
Check out this car- if I was still living in the States, I would buy it NOW. It's beautiful and obviously in amazing condition... and even has the wicked body coloured wheels. It's not supercharged, but at your age and with your driving experience, youshouldnt haveall that power. It's all relative, though,as you still have 290 wild (ok, well-bred) horses under your foot!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-...QQcmdZViewItem

Many people will disagree, but myadvice to you, young grasshopper, is:

DON'T save the money - if you are already thinking about buying a big cat at 17 years of age, you obviously are a big thinker (I like your style)and you'll probably study hard, get a good job, and make lots of money anyways and I promise you that in no time15 thousand dollars will seem like a drop in the bucket. If you're not studying hard right now... my advice would be... STUDY HARD! [sm=guilty.gif]

Think about the present value of sinking your whole savings into a car right now... if you're anything like I was at your age the PVwill amount topleasure that is not quantifiable. Jokes aside... you will be the man. I'm not telling you to spend all the money you come by for the rest of your life without saving anything, but come on - an 8 month CD at 5.1% APY won't really give you squat (I work on the other side of Finance - I'm not a lender, I'm on the buy-side... and I've always believed you have to think out of the box!). The IRA bit, yeah,I agree with Kat_thleen and might recommend thatbut if you work your tail off in an investment bank, you could earn a million asyour yearly bonus before you hit 30.

TheLWB VDP is a big car; you'll be safe on the road and any car you drive afterwards will seem like a piece of cake (size-wise). It'll be good for you. Working towards your goals is a good thing... but it doesn't hurt to have a little taste along the way, too Don't hate the player... hate the game!

 

I took "new" to mean "finally getting rid of my old junk and getting a respectable [used] car".... incidentally, what is the piece of junk you're getting rid of, jupiterxj?
A college buddy of mine is from Jupiter. Really nice place - you're fortunate to live there!

 

Apologies, I don't want to give the wrong impressions - saving money is not a bad thing. My view on saving is not negative. It's just the timing I'm talking about. I agree completely with you 93xj6 on saving money in itself - I've always agreed with the notion that billionaires don't become billionaires by spending all their money - you're right. In fact, minoring in accounting is great and I'm genuinely impressed by your financial foresight and ambitions - you should be proud - but there are a few lessons that a young grasshopper like jupiter can learn. Finance is my J-O-B and I'm going to have to put in my two cents here!

Most non-retail-banking finance professionals (what I mean is bankers who are not in the business of lending money in the "main street bank" sort of way) will tell you that CDs are not extremely attractive products. Sure, it is [almost] zero risk - but don't forget there's always an inherentlevel of risk associated with any deposit-taking financial institution, FDIC protected or not - of a default. After all, a CD is simply a money market product that banks use to build up assets (in the form of customer deposits) on their balance sheet for a fized term of time. It's not a bad thing; on the contrary - it's required by law and without it banks would not exist- but it's not designed to make you a lot of money.

Even better than getting a CD is opening a low-minimum brokerage account, and asking your broker to invest your money in a lower risk (yes, relative I know) mutual or tracker fund. That's what I call safe(r) return - more like letting your money work at making money for you.

This is a jag forum, so I'll stop it here - but all this finance mumbo jumbo aside, driving a nice car makes you feel different, doesn't it? And 17 is smack in the middle of the age/years where one's personality and ambitions are formed/solidified - what I'm saying is if jupiter drives a sweet ride in sunny floridaand gains confidence, happiness, and the drive to succeed (not to mention fun dates!)- eventually making a million bucks a year... 11,000 dollars is a relatively tiny investment, isn't it?!

Phew. I know I'm going to "grow up" to be a terrible father. My advice is definitely not of the "keep it safe and sound" kind [8D]

 

Well, throw finance out the window, this one's a gut-feel issue in my opinion!

 

I didn't realise - we have x308 based super v8s here in the UK. I thought there were supercharged VDPs in the states, too?

 

Wow, you're right, that's amazing. But do XJRs come with chrome trim around the windows and rear windshield in the states? This seems odd and slightly suspect to me... but then again it does have original looking mesh and the body colored plinth on the trunklid. Hmmm.