Jaguar : XK Base Convertible 2-Door in Jaguar | eBay Motors

This owner has had it on craigslist for several months, now he's listing it on ebay... Thoughts? Besides the obvious, it's risky but with the mileage not being very low I feel as if the car should be even lower priced?

 

If you are at all serious about this car take it to a dealer (Orloff). Have them run a full inspection. After you get a CarFax report. I used to live in Chicago and bought several vehicles from Orloff over the years and found them to be pretty good as dealers go. Do not go the the dealer in either Wilmette or Lake Bluff (same people own both). If you do not want to have a dealer do the inspection there is a mechanic/body shop on North Broadway run by a former service manager from Orloff.

The url for the shop is: http://www.eurousautobody.com Call them, ask for the Hawk (Warren Preis), he owns it. Tell him that I suggested you call him about this car. He is as honest as the day is long. If I were going to buy a used Jaguar in the Chicago area, he is the first person I would go to other than a reliable dealer. Good luck!!

 

The car may or may not be in great shape, but the rebuilt title will forever deflate its value and saleability. You do not get a rebuilt title from a small fender hit, you get it when the car is insurance totalled and resold and repaired. Figure it had at least $25K in damages repaired at standard rates.

 

That's not true. I do body work and sell cars for a living.

The way it works Salvage, Rebuilt and Certificate of Destruction is all a bureaucratic mess.
Total loss means that the insurance company had to write off the car to their client. So in fact when a car is a total loss on record that means a financial loss to the insurance company.
Which is not to be confused with total loss (certificate of destruction) which according to the state you live in means the repair is equal to 100% the value of the vehicle (texas) or 80% florida this varies, each state is unique.

As for rebuilt/salvage title that is when the insurance company either payed off the car to their client or payed for repairs to the car. A simply repair will usually end up as a total loss because in most cases an insurance company will lose less money selling the car through an auction network for car dealers throughout the us.
The law requires insurance companies to file with the state concerning crashes ( depending on the state), also if a police report is filed the state process the car with the DMV.

A simple act of keying a car will most likely get it branded as a salvage. After the salvage titled vehicle is repaired it obtains a rebuilt title.

Now whether an insurance company pays you the value of the car or simply pays for the repairs has to do with you, your insurance policy and the certified repair shop for that insurance company.
Typically a salvage titled car is in better shape than a clear titled car.

Do not be fooled by terminology you must stick to the facts. It is up to the buyer to be informed and have the vehicle inspected!! No matter the title situation or the said to be records you must always have a qualified professional inspect a car before buying.

I just did a MASSIVE repair to a 2007 mustang, the frame rails were bent past the rear axle. This car has a clear title and will remain that way.

Another instance is with a 2005 dodge ram 3500 I worked on. I will stand by the fact that it has never been crashed however it got a SALVAGE title because the engine was broken, typical re manufactured engine for these is $10k

All I did was rebuild the engine, the insurance company decided to pay the truck off to their client because these 5.9l cummins engines are very expensive.

Never assume.
I sincerely hope you all will read this because I see this all the time, most people do not know the true meaning of a salvage title.

My 2000 xkr coupe had a salvage title, the crash was minimal. The frame rail was only off my 3 millimeters at the very front of the driver side frame rail. This is within Jaguar repair tolerance for frame alignment.
The ONLY reason I pulled those 3 mils out was to make the hood adjustment easier.

 

Thank you for educating us.

Independent of the condition though, I would still think a salvage title would be viewed negatively by a typical consumer and negatively effect resale value even if the car is in great shape....simply because most people do not have this knowledge.

 

Typically a rebuilt title will remove $3k from KBB value.
This depends entirely on the starting value of the car.

The only thing that a rebuilt title effects for the buyer is that you can not finance a rebuilt title so the only option is for a cash buy.

But there are other ways to have a bank finance a rebuilt title such as an equity or personal loan rather than a car loan.

Banks won't finance rebuilt because it's harder for them to get their money back if you stop paying and they have to repossess the car. Repossessed cars end up either at Copart or IAA and car dealers don't like buying rebuilt due to the fact that it's a lot harder to find a cash buyer.

 

True... salvage title is a big "no go" for me... cant explain to a potential future buyer, that it "might be ok" or "perhaps only keyed" ect... sad fact but true for most people I would suspect........

 

The aluminium XK monocoque is held together with 2640 rivets and 385 ft of adhesive. Torsionally strong in use and designed to progressively deform on impact to protect occupants, I'd be very cautious about taking on one that had required that much expenditure to rectify allegedly minor front accident damage.

It's a very different thing from straightening and refinishing a traditional welded steel platform and body structure and explains why few establishments are approved by Jaguar for structural repairs.

Almost certainly the repairs will have been carried out correctly but the vehicle will always be difficult to sell with such a title marker.

Graham

 

Went to check it out last night, owner was nice enough, but there are two huge rips on the front seats which you can't see on the photos (which were angled to avoid showing them) almost as if someone took a knife to them. He said I could take this into any jaguar for an inspection on my own cost, but with the auction ending soon and with the two large leather seat tears on the seating area I'm going to pass.

 

Thanks to all that replied, some excellent information for anyone considering buying a salvage title vehicle... Also great info on the chicago
land area jaguar dealers, thanks!

 

Sounds pretty good to me. I'd do two stop inspection. First to a Jag dealer or indy garage competent in mechanical inspection. 2nd inspection would be a good body shop to evaluate the repair and structure. If both work out and you're OK with that kind of Title; that's a heck of deal IMO.

 

I've done work on a 2007 xk convertible a few years ago. Once the frame moves on these cars it's almost game over. However because these are an aluminum alloy the frame rails can be pulled but I wouldn't pull any more than 5 mils. Anything more than that and jaguar certified shops usually change the frame rails, but this does not happen because that is an enormous job as these are held together with airplane type rivets.
Once these get a serious frame damage it's not worth the money to repair.

I personally would not ever take on a job like that, first off I am not a jag certified tech and second I don't have the knowledge about aluminum uni-bodies to take on a job like that.


I think that from the hit on that bumper cover, that is exactly where the rebar is so it's likely that there is a minor frame damage however not enough to compromise the integrity of the vehicle.
Rule of thumb is that so long as there is no frame movement past the shock tower than the body is good.
All cars have measuring points where we are able to measure the frame using a laser or manual measuring system. That is how we know exactly what parts of the frame moved and exactly how much.

It's a pretty nice tool to have.
Allvis Light Electronic Measuring System: ToolsUSA.com

This is the one I use, just thought you guys might like to know what these tools are.