So I went and test drove a 2012 Jaguar xkrs, and I absolutely loved it. However, this particular car has an issue that scares the heck out of me. On the carfax it says the vehicle I'm looking at had 2 owners. The first owners was apparently part of a "corporate fleet", which according to another thread I was reading means it likely was a track car at jaguar academy.

The car had another owner after the corporate fleet, and there are now just under 23,000 miles on it. I went and saw the vehicle and test drove it. The interior is pretty well pristine, very clean. There are a few small chips to the paint. The steering was great, acceleration was great. The exhaust sounded great. The interior was beyond comfortable. I went and test drove a 2017 z51 vette, there was no comparison from my perspective. The Jaguar was way more fun and comfortable.

Is there any chance this "corporate" car was not a track car? Will an inspection at a jaguar dealer be able to spot any major issues I need to worry about the car? If say, the brakes needed to be replaced, what would it cost me to replace with the same brakes it came from the factory with? Thank you guys for your time and help.

 

I think it highly unlikely it was a track car, but the CARFAX should tell you who the corporate buyer was. I recently bought a low mileage CPO Lincoln MKX that had a corporate fleet first owner, but as a CPO the warranty was doubled to 100,000 miles with all service included. Negotiate an extended warranty if you're worried, but I'm sure it's a fine car.

 

Simple question: so what if it was?
Chances are, ANYONE who goes for an Xkr-s is going to drive the hell out of it. That's the point. My thinking would be if it was a Performance Academy car they'd make sure the car was in top shape, so that paying clients would have both a safe and top-flight experience. That would be a plus in my book.

 

"Corporate fleet" is a way of avoiding taxes.
Its usually, on a car like this, a perk for an executive.

So if I leased my car under my corporate tax id, I can claim most of the depreciation in the first year as a write off. Which most smart folks do.

A suburban bought on a 'corporate fleet' is usually the equivalent of a rental car or limo.

 

Could also have been bought for a ball player, who use the same tax shelters.

BTW, they are usually will to settle for less on a corp fleet car because they have more than made their money out of it.

Parts are not crazy money. Rotors and pads are fairly inexpensive. But you should be able to get some warranty and we can show you how to make the most of it.

 

I'd put money on a bet it was not a track car.

 

I agree with Moses, there are more than enough clues that this was not a punk's car- just the opposite. Something that cannot be said about used BMW M series and even Ftypes.

There are many filters built into this car that keep riff-raff attracted to other offerings.
In both instances it was someone mature and made enough money where a tax deduction mattered. And the mileage indicates that it was not used as a daily commuter for said persons.

 

Thank you for all the replies and help guys. You are easing some of my concerns about said vehicle. My biggest fear is spending good money on the car, then having something come up not long after and having to dump another 10-15 k into it. I know there would be plenty of components in the xkrs which would not be cheap to fix. I know that goes without saying, when buying a high end car like this.

 

Fortune favors the bold

 

Are ECU dumps possible on this car to show over revving and the like? I know it possible to do on some other marques.

 

I don't think that overrevving is possible with the XKR. There is a rev limiter that I had hit several times on my XKR which works both on up and down shifts.

 

Does the rev limiter actually prevent the transmission from downshifting if it will harm the engine?

 

Yes. It is impossible to accidentally over rev the engine. In automatic mode, it will upshift before the fuel cut and in manual mode, it won't let you downshift into a gear that will put the engine outside of the fuel cut. Additionally, the fuel cut will prevent over revving in neutral. The only way to force an over rev condition is to put it in sport mode, select 1st, and have someone tow the car above whatever 1st gear tops out at.

So yeah... you really gotta work hard to make it over rev.

 

I have attended the Performance Driving Academy, Sessions I and II. There were no XKRS's in use in 2015. So, in my opinion they never put an XKRS in the fleet. All of the various vehicles in the fleet were R editions, including F-Types, XJs, XFs, and XKRs. Furthermore there were no convertibles. So, I think your concerns regarding its use as Driving Academy vehicle can be discounted. The best thing to do is to have the car CPO'd or inspected as if it were to be CPO'd.

 

Ralph, that is invaluable knowledge. I talked to the gentleman with the car, he says the corporate owner was listed in the owner's personal LLC. So it seems this was not a track car. It was disclosed to me that the service engine light comes on when starting the vehicle. Perhaps it needs an oil change?

in any case I think my best bet is indeed having the car inspected as though it would be CPO'd.

That is an interesting bit of info concerning over revving the engine. It makes me very happy that particular engine can't be over revved.

​​​​​​Thank you so much for the conversation guys.

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If there are no concerns on over revving, then who cares if it was an academy car then? Brakes wear out and can be replaced. Track are smooth so the suspension shouldn't be worn out...

 

I have to say that confusing 'corporate fleet' for ex Jaguar racing academy car was one of the most innocently funny comments.

No that car which was treated like a public lavatory would be sold as a "well cared for one owner car, with immaculate service records. Some wear on steering wheel from dry aging hands of the former owner"

 

That may be- but its had more bottoms in it than Hugh Grant could shake a stick at.

Transmission and rear end would have been punished. And the pros who write about car longevity say that ultimately it comes down to the number of revolutions. A car that had been driven on the motorway would have a fraction of the wear of a car that was idled and driven at higher rpm for the same amount of miles.

Incidentally, if one is still scared, 24000 is the distance around this entire planet, so we are not talking about driving a car from Texas to Canada, we are talking all the continents in the world. Across Siberia, China, Canada, Australia, Americas. You would have to drive through every country in a straight line to put 24,000 miles- since we cant count the oceans. This car has done it and survived.

 

Alternatively, to put 27000 miles,
one has to drive from NY to LA 100 times!

And be in the car for 4000 hrs.
That's living out of your car for 2 years straight**

** Based on average 40hr work week and working 50 weeks out of the year. Thank god none of us in the first world actually have to do either.

 

Uh, maybe TEN times? 2,700 X 10 = 27,000. 100 trips would be 270,000 miles.
400 hours, at approximately 68 mph average. That trip can be done it two days, but 20 hours per day. Done it, wasn't fun.