Two and quarter years ago I passed on a local XKR 100 convertible with 55k miles for $16,400 (exactly my insurance payout from prior car) and instead bought a coupe with 85k miles for $12,850 about 700 miles away at a super nice looking restoration center via eBay. The local convertible was all dark colors and dark wood which I was not thrilled with but could have gotten over. Sigh.

The car I bought left me with about $3,800 to spend on repairs, and despite the prior owner's work (new CATS shocks and numerous bushings), there was plenty more to go. My coupe did not feel properly settled for about 3 months until the front lower control arm bushings were done along with brakes, vmounts, etc. The coupe was sexy though, and I quickly discovered the car would draw unsolicited praise from others 3-4 times per week. Nice bonus.

Power on the highway for passing and going up mountains was stunning, and more fun still was the 0-50 MPH launch while in first gear. Every unfulfilled low-end torque dream I had from my prior Boxster was satisfied. If I missed challenging your car, it was not for lack of trying. Wow.

Taking the car through canyon roads however revealed the car wasn't built for that (at least pre R performance pack years before 2003). Instead of thinking, oooh yeah, I gotta get back to those canyons for more frivolous driving for driving sake, I thought instead, keep enjoying that low-end torque delivery for day to day driving that you do already to make a living. Fair enough.

As the car reached 96,000 miles by my second full year, I felt compelled to offer the car for sale since the pool of buyers is fairly small compared to similar cars (despite the amazing stream of praise by onlookers every week), and that the pool would shrink further after 100k miles. In addition, I missed having a convertible. KBB value was $10k in Spring and then dropped to $8k in Fall as one inquirer brought to my attention. No way was I selling for that price, I repeated to everyone. Mine is well maintained! I will simply keep driving it and enjoy it for its virtues.

Two short trips out of the city later, I had one last potential suitor for my car but I was close to cancelling the meeting as I didn't want to deal with any more rejection. In addition, driving my XKR coupe had become something of an event everytime I drove it. I met the guy outside a nearby luxury hotel, I pointed out flaws in the paint, maintenance history, and minor upgrades (switchable steering power and switchable shock mode to firm). He drove it for 5 lousy minutes, barely hit the accelerator, and never got above 35 MPH and said he'd take it for a few hundred dollars off the price of $12,000. I offered $11,500 (so much for my negotiation skills), and we had a deal. He asked that I keep the car for a month as he was flying out of the country but that he would pay me on the spot, which he did.

I was quite depressed the rest of that day and much of the next day. What had I done? Two friends in the auto business said I struck an amazing deal. Alas.

Well, I am shopping for a replacement vehicle, primarily convertibles. The next car will have to be in perfect shape as this last one as a known project was exhausting and yet generated a handful of stories that should be good at parties for decades to come. I'm still lurking around this forum... never did that with any other car...

 

It's always sad getting rid of a car that you enjoy (I've gone through this several times) but the thrill of the hunt in finding a replacement should keep you entertained.

Good luck.

Doug

 

Never regretted selling a car but I did let someone talk me into selling a Triumph Bonneville T140EP some years ago - I made a decent amount of money on the deal but it felt pretty hollow when I watched him ride away on it - even worse when he took it to France a few weeks later and filled it up with unleaded petrol by mistake... :-O
Still, the money funded my first Harley...
Good luck finding another XK - I've fallen in love with mine, the first thing on 4 wheels that has ever moved my soul as well as my body.

 

Good luck with the hunt for your new canyon carver.

Sorry to see you go, but this forum is happy to have good people, Jag or no. And who knows, maybe there's another Jaguar in your future somewhere.

Hope you referred the new owner to the forum!

 

If you're satisfied with the financial aspect of unloading your car, just move on and don't look back. It never causes me a second thought when I get my required terms and shed an aging vehicle that I know is nearing negative territory in the cost/benefit analysis that I established for it at the time I acquired it. So relax and spend your time researching what will replace it....

Good luck in your hunt....

 

Thanks for your interesting story. I'd never owned a convertible before and can't get enough of this beauty in first month of ownership. Best wishes in your search.