Any recommendations on shop to perform prepurchase inspection in / near Melbourne Florida?
I have no experience with any of following:
There is a local dealer, Jaguar Melbourne and also 2 indy shops that say they service Jaguars, Cassels Garage and Melbourne Autosport.
Would love thoughts from the forum on which way to go .
I am buying the car remotely and want to have ppi before closing the deal and bringing the car to Atlanta.
It is a 2012 XK convertible with ~70k miles.

Thank you

 

You will get lots of opinions.

What I have done with every previously enjoyed JLR product I have purchased;
Have it done at a dealer AND get the JLR service history on the VIN.
Before dropping it off, take it for a 20 minute drive through all the gears, all the revs, and playing with all the options.

And my stable remains full of JLR products.

 

Can any JLR dealer provide Service Records for Jaguar VIN serviced by other JLR dealers? Or does one need to go to the specific dealer that did the service?

 

short answer, yes. Its an international repository. But for clarification, They will not “provide it” as it contains personal data. They will have a look at it and inform you of pros and cons and the like.

 

Melbourne JLR Dealer wont do a PPI but offered a multi-point inspection with Oil Service for ~$300.
Do I need to go elsewhere for PPI?

Additionally, I have obtained the following service info

Melbourne Indy:
Feb 2024 completed:
- Front Shock Mount
- Front Spring Seat
- Battery
August 2024 completed:
- AC Compressor, Freon

Melbourne JLR also confirmed they completed:
March 2023
- Replacement of Upper and Lower Control Arms
- BG Motor Oil Additive Service
- Platinum Fuel System Cleaner
- Oil
- 2 new tires
March 2021
- Oil Service
- 2 new Tires

Atlanta JLR Dealer confirms they completed:
July 2018 at ~51k miles
- Brakes, Oil Change, Freon
March 2017
- Oil, Wipers
JLR Atlanta also confirmed car was in for shop on the following dates but no visibility to services captured in previous service system which has been since sunset.
They did say they report their services to Carfax
I will also chase owner for these records:
May 2016, 36k: Water Pump replaced
Jan 2016, 33k: Batteryb replaced, Engine/powertrain computer/module replaced
May 2015, 29k: 45k service, Electrical wiring repair, Brake Fluid replaced, Rear Brake pads replaced
April 2014, 18k: 30k service, alignment, Tires, Roof Console replaced
Mat 2013, 9k: 15k Service

 

Its unfortunate the first oil change was at 15k…. but to be fair, thats what JLR was prescribing at the time.
Its about as good as you could expect. At 70k mi, and 13 years, I’d be changing all the fluids.
Personally, I’d take it in to the dealer for its first inspection. Others will have other opinions.

 

The first oil change was at 9k miles on March 2013 with service records showing a 15k service was completed on the car.
The below entries show Year and Month of Service, odometer and time of service, and type of service(s) completed.

 

I recommend that you pay for two Pre-Purchase Inspections, the first by an independent Jaguar technician with X150 experience done in writing in accordance with this CPO Checklist:

The second Pre-Purchase Inspection should be done by a body shop that is approved by Jaguar to do aluminum body and chassis repairs. Their inspection should cover any previous paint, body work, or undercarriage repairs or anything that needs to be repaired.

Both PPI reports should include an itemized list of the cost to repair each line item, including parts and labor.

Better to spend the money up front to know what you're getting. If you decide to not buy it, that's a lot cheaper than buying a lemon. If you decide to buy it, you should be able to negotiate a lower price and recover all or some of those PPI costs.

Good luck!

 

Hey @stuart , you may have missed it. In post #5, the OP learns that the dealer will not perform a PPI. Personally, never heard of that.

Related , I find these differences in the dealer network very interesting. Whether I’m here in Ottawa or visiting Toronto, I find the dealers and their service departments very helpful no matter what the off-the-wall ask from me, on any of my vehicles.

Ditto for for the dealers I have been to in the NE US.

I’m lucky, I guess.

 

Hey @guy


You failed to tag me because you used part of my screen name - Stuart. That alerted a different Forum member, not me. I'm Stuart S, not Stuart.

You made another, more serious error - you put words in my mouth. Below is what I previously wrote. I never recommended using a Jaguar dealer. Read it again: '... an independent Jaguar technician with X150 experience done in writing in accordance with this CPO Checklist". That's not a Jaguar dealer.

I know that getting older can affect the thought process. And perhaps so can the frigid Canadian winters.

 

I would “LOL”, but I’ve forgotten what that means.

 

Life sneaks up on many of us. The time will come when you won't remember what you forgot.

 

During a pleasant call back to Jag Melbourne, I learned they will do any parts of the PPI requested but not as a PPI itself.
They asked me to send email itemizing what I want them to do and they will perform them.
Appears they stopped doing PPI as some owners wanted accountability from them when something failed after inspection that was not revealed during inspection.

 

It seems like that puts into question whether or not a PPI is the holy grail of inspections.
wj

 

To me, refusing to do PPIs is a cop-out that puts into question the competency of that dealer's technicians.

Liability for anything not found during that PPI can be avoided by a disclaimer in the terms and conditions of that PPI.