I came across a 2014 XKR-S I was interested in if I could get it at the right price. This car was put into service July 2013, seems to be in good condition, with 11,000 miles. However, I asked for the service records and did a topix report to find the car has never had an oil change. The first oil change would have been done free to the owner and he neglected to have it done. He traded the car in on a new F-type. I'm in no hurry to get another XKR because I can't drive it until the spring (5 months from now and I'd rather have the money than a car setting in the garage over the winter).


I mentioned to the salesman that the cars value has been diminished from neglect and lack of maintenance. I contacted Jaguar North America and they assured me the cars warranty was intact. A CPO warranty also extended the warranty to 2019 (2 more summers of driving).


I take impeccable care of my cars and find this very disconcerting. The car obviously received no care and I'm sure the paint has many swirl marks. From pictures the car looked good. However, 11,000 miles and 3 years with out an oil change is not good. I offered $5,000 below their reduced price for diminished value from neglect and think I was too generous. The car would need new rear tires soon and a good detail. The CPO warranty was just put on it.


I know if this were a Ferrari the cars value would be considerably diminished and very difficult to sell for a good price.


Currently, I have my head around purchasing another XKR for next summer (this could change by the summer). Looking ideally for a 2014-15 XKR or XKR-S with specific options with very low mileage if not new. With the CPO warranty I will buy the if the dealer comes down $5K. I suspect they will call me if they will want to move the car. As in negotiating any car purchase, I'm ok with walking away and moving on.

 

As for the actual AGE of the vehicle, when was it first registered for the road? You said "Put Into Service", does that mean At The Dealership, Completed at Coventry, or something else? Also, the previous owner MAY have done his own oil for many different reasons. If one takes a car to a "professional" car wash and detail place, sometimes what they get is a high school kid, a rag and a bucket of water. Maybe swirls, maybe not.
All intentions may have been there, but who actually knows??? Just as Car Fax doesn't have all the information, neither does Topix.
Personally, I'd give it one heck of a look with flashlight, mirror and whatever else I could use.

 

I'm just going to play the devil's advocate here as you appear to have made your decision. I'm not criticizing your thought process, just trying to act like a seller to give you some perspective.

As far as you know, he didn't change the oil at the dealership. Those 11000 miles, though one oil service past due could have all been driven in year 1 then stored for two years. In any event, this is low risk.


They're confirming my suspicions that this is small potatoes. Aside from the oil, the only service missing is a brake fluid flush I think.


So you haven't actually seen the car or driven it? Earlier you indicate it's in good condition, yet here you indicate is has swirl marks (probably)

Consider this an opportunity to lower the price

This aint no Ferrari - end of story


Your mind is already made up. It's your money. I don't know if the price is fair as it's not disclosed and so there's nothing to compare it to but $5k is a lot of money for a missed oil change, brake fluid flush and detail.

 

If the oil change is the only detractor; yes


And I did.

 

Go check it out. I'd be just as concerned about the paint condition since want a superb car.

 

As others have noted, you have no idea IF the oil was NOT done. Also with synthetic oil, the car could go up to 15K miles without a change. I've always changed the Castrol synthetic oil on mine about every 1- 1.5 years as it is only driven a few thousand miles per year and the oil always look brand new. I think there are probably more important things to be considered about the condition of the car rather than this, plus it is a fairly new car.

 

If you do see it in person, I would ask that they suck up some of the oil so you can see in person what it looks like. I think most people would be able to immediately identify new vs. very old (dirty) oil.
More of a concern to me would be overall appearance as an indicator of the owners general care and concern of the car. It needing new rear tires at just 11K might be a greater indicator of just how abusive the previous owner was when driving the car.
What city are you located in?

 

11K on oil should not be a problem. Just change it a few times and you should have no issues. As to the tires If they were the OEM Dunlops then I can see them being worn out. I got my car from a female exec. who put 6600 miles on it She had a new battery installed as she didn't drive it in the winter. I managed to put another 4K miles on it and the backs were shot. I needed to replace them. Oh I have never spun the rears on this car yet but will when I wear out these tires.

 

Two separate issues here, as I see it.

The warranty: If you spoke to someone at Jaguar USA, and they're not concerned, and you're CPO'd for another three or four years, I personally wouldn't have a problem with it.
The car overall: yes it does speak to the mindset of the first owner (and you're sure there's only one, yes)? Anyway, yeah. I think give it a good walk-around, and put it on a lift. Also, go to Jaguar's website and read what's done for a CPO inspection. It's pretty thorough, and I know others on this forum have had other experiences but I've done well by Jag dealerships. I think they do everything they say on that list.

Also: I changed out my Dunlops at 19K miles and my rears were racing-slick bald at that point.

 

Hey Glen - good to see your writing again, welcome back. As for your find; if it were me, I think I would go for it after I saw it and had it inspected by a third party. the CPO means a lot. Regards,

 

I would be concerned. When I bought my 2010 XKR, the previous owner never bothered to change the oil or even check it. Consequently, he blew the engine as it was oil starved (virtually none). His aftermarket insurance paid my mechanic to put a new engine in, and then I agreed to buy the car. I'm surprised though, that the dealer didn't change the oil immediately after receiving the car and offering a CPO warranty. You'd think they would want to have as few problems as possible. If the car isn't too far away to see it, I'd take a look, check the oil level and color of the oil, check the paint, body, etc., and then make a more informed decision. Nice to hear from you again.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments.


The dealer did change the oil when it was traded and they CPO'd the car, Ted. As long as everything is good with the engine my only concern is the 11,000 miles of wear would be higher due to the original contaminated oil being left in the engine. Although the odometer may show 11,000 miles the engine may show 20,000 miles. My last 5 cars I bought with less than 2,000 miles on all of them and I changed the oil when I got them or when the mileage reached 2,000 miles to flush out the break-in oil. The most important oil change of any new car is the first oil change and to have it done after break-in.


I'm in no hurry to buy a car that will set in my garage for 5 months. The dealer will have a hard time moving the car this time of year in Canada. I sold my 2013 MB AMG convertible, with 5,000 miles, and my 2013 XKR coupe, with 7,000 miles, last fall because I didn't want them in the garage not being driven; and, I wanted to get a convertible XKR to replace both of them. Where I live it is painful to sell high end cars so I ended up giving them away; albeit, I bought them at a good price. I can't buy cars at a good price in the US now because of the plummeting CDN$.


I made an offer on the car and if they take it I'll fly up to see it. If all is good I'll have it transported back to my garage.

 

OK, so you don't like buying cars with more than 2000 miles on them and you still think you need to break engines in. Also, whatever you buy it will likely sit in a garage for 5 months. You also don't know that the first oil change wasn't done and aren't confident that modern engines and oils aren't capable of withstanding 11K of use over a three year period (low mileage motoring in anyone's book). My question would be, since your vehicle ownership record suggests a comfortable level of disposable income, if you are that paranoid why are you even considering this motor? Perhaps you should move on and buy something more in line with your purchasing criteria in 5 months time? BTW to answer your question I'd buy it in a trice if the price was right and the condition good.

 

If it were me buying the car there would be a few details to consider first.

How long I was intending to own the car would be most important. If I am buying it for 2-3 years of driving and then reselling it, then yes I would buy it. Only because in 2-3 years you are probably only going to put 15-20K miles on it max. Any engine problems due to the neglected oil change most likely would not show up until higher miles are reached. And if they do show up in the first 2 years you should be covered with the CPO extended warranty. Thus the risk is low.
Now if you want to keep the car for the next 10 years, that would be a different issue to consider.

I would also thoroughly go over the entire car to determine how you feel the previous owner treated the car. Were they fully intending to only own the car for 3 years and 10-15K miles and knowing this not care about the car as a long-term owner would? The overall appearance of the car in it's current state may or may not give this away, but there should be some clues. (Is there residue from spilled coffee or soft drinks inside the car? Has the car been smoked in? Food crumbs in the nooks and crannies? Scuff marks on the door sills and lower inner door panels? Small scratches around the door handles and locks? How does the paint look? Dings and dents from shopping mall parking lots? etc.) All the small details can give away how a car was treated by the previous owner.

Ultimately I would be comfortable if the delayed oil change was the sole issue.

 

I think you guys are way overstating the supposed effects of a delayed oil change. If I were a dealer I'd have a tough time taking this discussion seriously.

 

To give a short answer, buy a service contract on the vehicle. If you like it, buy it.

 

I wont be scared about the oil change - only about a faulty water pump - common problem of that car - i took my local JLR mechanic with me to buy my XKRS - otherwise they a like Range Rovers - indestructible :P