I'm moving to Denver in about a month and need a car, and an XKR it will be!

I have a couple of questions though: I'm having a hard time finding all the differences between the 2010-2012 versions.. anyone have a good site where I can read up on that? :=)

I'm also a little curious about how things work in US. Since I'm Swedish I don't really know how it works. Is ebay the best place to look for a car or any other recommendations?
Is a place like this a good place to buy a car?
http://www.britishmotorcar.com/
Buying it in SF would be great so I have a nice roadtrip home :=D

Is the price you see there the exact price or will taxes etc be added?

I'm mainly looking for a convertible..even though I think the coupé looks nice :=)

Cheers,
Daniel

 

I purchased 2 Jaguars from the SF British Motors dealership and am very satisfied. On used cars they tend to stick close to the asking price but, if you catch a special those prices can be very attractive. Also, they put many of their cars into the Certified Program, meaning you get a 100,000 miles warranty with them. Very valuable if you intend to keep your car long term.

Other than that, you can always look at cars.com for extensive listings of both new and used Jaguars. On any purchase you are expected to pay for State taxes and licence plate registration. Those can add close to 10 percent to the prices. You did not mention if you intended to take the car back to Sweden, in which case perhaps no taxes would be applied.

Good luck in your search,

Albert

 

Thanks for the info.
I will live in Denver for at least a year so I guess I will have to pay the taxes and license fee :=/

 

Cars.com is a great place to look and I would look nationally. It's about $1200 at worst for shipping to Denver. Generally, if you buy a car from out of state, you do not need to pay sales tax. You pay the sales tax in the state you register your car in.

Good luck!

 

autotrader.com and Ebaymotors.com

 

If you are coming into the states on the West Coast, also check out Hornburg Jaguar. They have separate stores in Southern California. Here is a website that shows all of the dealers in the Southland: Southern California Jaguar Dealer Locator | Find Your Local Jaguar Dealership

Good hunting.

 

Places to look for cars -
Autotrader.com
Cars.com
eBay (same thing as eBaymotors)
Craigslist by using things like searchtempest or autotempest.com to look in various locations or by certain criteria

Be sure to ask a ton of questions...

Some people like to run a "Carfax" but keep in mind this is only a "dull tool" used mostly fro trying to verify mileage and maybe # of owners, don't put much credence into it's validity regarding accidents and such as that can easily be manipulated.

Regarding costs - Each state differs a bit. I live in California, when I flew to Arkansas to buy a car I had to purchase a temporary tag from their DMV (forgot what they called that there) for @ $15 that allowed me to drive that car across any state line for something like 21 days. Once here I had to register it and pay taxes on it (something @9-10% of the purchases price). Check with your DMV in your state for their laws regarding this stuff.

Finding a car - when I look I like to look nationwide. Though Cali cars are often coveted for their values (no salted roads, snow damage in most cities, etc) in looking for more rare cars you can sometimes find better deals elsewhere. When I bought mine in Arkansas I saved many thousands PLUS got to enjoy a fun road trip driving it back. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

The same "Caveat Empor" - when buying "sight unseen" you are taking a greater chance, unles you have a good idea of the "do's/don't do's" be VERY careful. Even lookng at cars in person be sure to really know what you are doing adn have it checked out by either a reputable indi that knows Jaguar's or a reputable dealership.. otherwise you may be better off simply getting one through a dealership that could provide you with a certified car which you'll pay much more for. Sometimes a board authority can check out the car if they are nearby - I've done this numerous times for other cars in the recent past. It is amazing how many times corner car lots will try to push BAD cars onto unsuspecting people, I've seen that for many years and nothing but lies and deceit

Good luck,

Steve

 

Thanks a lot for all your help. Really appreciate it! I will start going through all the info, state laws and different places to buy a car. Definitely feels safer to go through a known dealership or to be able to take the car to someone for a proper check before buying it.
It sounds like there is nothing specific that always breaks or need replacement that I should look for when buying one.

Cheers,
Daniel

 

Hi again,

Moving next week and found this car that I think looks pretty neat.
2010 Jaguar XK for Sale - Jaguar - Land Rover

Do you guys agree? Is there anything you think looks strange or that I should be careful of.
I got the carfax and it is one owner that leased the car and didn't use it much. Don't see any damages or repairs.

Hope no one else reads this and buys the car now before I can :=D

//Daniel

 

Daniel:

Car looks pretty cool to me. Usually don't dig chrome wheels, but they look nice on that one. I have the same interior. Haven't researched it, but seems like a good price.

See if you can have the car inspected at a body shop. Since the car is under warranty, body damage should be the only major concern.

 

Make sure all the LEDs in the reverse and tail lights are functional. Mine and at least one other 2010 on the board here had a few out, which were replaced under warranty.

Sales tax can vary widely from place to place, as can registration fees. Since you are currently a resident of one state, I bet you have the choice of registering your car in state A then transferring the title to state B, or paying for a temporary plate in state A and registering it later in state B. It sounds like this has been said already, but I reiterate it because the incongruence of our tax laws even baffles Americans.

I thought the price was too high because the title says "XK", but now I see it's an XKR, so that's more reasonable to me now. I always purchase from a dealer because I'm too lazy to do the paperwork myself.

As far as differences between the 10-12 models, there's not much, from what I know. Some front end styling changed and they've done away with the shark gill on the side.

 

That's a good price at that mileage. Are those wheels stock 19s or optional 20's? The 20's were a 5 grand option back then...

Is the dealership offering a CPO warranty on the car?

 

The 10's and 11's are identical. For 2012 they changed the headlights and front fascia as well as added rear view camera.

I'd say the price is fair -- certainly low miles for what is almost a 4 year old car. (my 2010 turns 4 October 31.)

You're probably going to want to invest in a set of Blizzak tires for Denver. It snows there! They're decent at keeping the streets plowed, but the stock tires are horrid below freezing... if you get decent winter tires, I'm sure you'll be plenty safe driving around.

 

Hi,

Thanks once again for all your help!
This is the answer i got from him:
Hey Daniel! They are 19" rims and the we chose to NOT CPO this vehicle due to the fact that it has such low miles we figured we would leave it to the customer to choose whether they wanted a warranty or not. When you CPO a car, the price usually is higher. Also, I can hold this vehicle if you buy a plane ticket and send me the confirmation and/or itinerary. That's the only way I can hold it. That way no one will beat you to it!

If no one shouts now I will book me a trip to LA the 10th to have a look at the vehicle. I would have like the 20" tires, but think it might be better to go with this one :=)

Rahtok, I was thinking about what tires to use there. Thanks!!!

/Daniel

 

Hornburg is a major Jaguar/Land Rover dealer in the Southland with about 5 stores. I have bought two new xks from their Santa Monica outlet. I have found them to be pretty good as auto dealers go. Their service people are pretty reliable. On the other hand, just to be on the safe side you might want to see the service records if the xkr has been serviced there. Good luck

 

I purchased my 2010 XKR convertible in March for $53,000 with about 26,000 miles on it. Just keep in mind that I'm no expert on any of this stuff but it is the first car that I've ever owned that is more than "just a car".

 

You can also look search on JaguarUSA's website in CPO section. Welcome to the Jaguar Pre-Owned Inventory Search

Just make sure you buy it from a JLR dealer.

 

If the car is up to snuff, I would not get the CPO. Keep the money in your pocket and just pay when need be. There has to be some indy British Repair shops in Denver.

I take for granted that my Jag indy shop is walking distance from my house.

 

here in Denver you can drive all but 14-20 days per year on nearly bald tires. New all season performance tires, Michelin, work fine driven in light snow. You can drive to ski areas in winter too. I'm a native, drove my rear drive Lexus sedans that way, BUT set of alt tires (Bilizzak, Michelin arctic alpine, etc) mean you can laugh off all wheel drive suggestions

Independent Britsh shops. Sorry to say but they service modern cars when they are in the mood, between their big e type restoration projects. One shop recommended by neighbor closed to accept buyout of his building, sigh. The dealers prices sometimes are no more than any small shop. Platinum Motorsport has worked on my 2002 XKR, and I've seen maseratis, Bentley and numerous MB there too.

If you want some company for fast rides, contact me. My XKR gets driven briskly, every day.

 

Thanks everyone! I'm going to LA next week to check it out and if everything is good I'm gonna drive it back to Denver (LA - SF - Yosemite - Las Vegas - Grand Canyon).

Weisberg, I will let you know as soon as I have my XKR :=)