Took my car to the office today. Few co-workers felt that I was out of my mind for jumping into this car for the amount I did.

I paid 6,100 for a 98 XK8 with 46K miles, and all the dealer service repairs typical for this car ( Tensioners, Water pump, etc..
I added New Bilstein shocks and mounts all around.
One wheel bearing
Oil change
Alignment
4 new tires

The work added another 2400 with parts and labor, bringing my total cost for this car up to 8,500.00.

I got a lunchroom full of "you're crazy" today.

 

ahh, screw them, you did just fine. Enjoy.....

 

ditto what scottalt said. BTW, scottatl are you in Atlanta?

 

So you have a well sorted car that is one of the sexiest cars built for less than the price of a used Honda. Doesn't sound like a bad deal to me.

 

Man you don't understand, you weren't there! LOL...only someone who appreciates a Jaguar will understand..

 

Your co-workers are jealous. Good job !

 

You're crazy till you walk into the garage, look at it and just start smiling for no particular reason. That goofy grin is all the explanation you need.

Plus you are in for a lot less than me, so by all measurable standards you are not the dumbest guy in the room.

So you got that going for you.

 

You are certainly not in too deep. You're still under $10k-- call me at $20k.

You got 4 shocks installed plus 4 new tires mounted for $2400. You are doing fine!

 

Tell the Lunchroom crowd to go to Barett-Jackson.com, Got to Results, pick an Auction like NE 2016 at Mohegan Sun and search XK8:

Lot 9 - $11,000

Lot 168 - 79K miles - $14,850

Lot 792- 42.6K Miles - $18,700

Lot 799 - 88.7K Miles - $18,150

That should shut them up. If you bought a 2016 Chevy Cruz for $18K that will be worth $6K in 5 years, would they be giving you grief? If not, they are the clueless ones.

 

Oh, this is interesting

 

Gosh for a car with less than 50k miles, a 32V 4.0 V8, convertible, and seems as if it is as good as ever with the recent repairs, your coworkers are idiots for not making the $8500 purchase themselves. I bet you are driving a 100x better, fun, fulfilling, and prestigious car than your peers and potentially a hint of jealousy has gotten the best of them. I would probably feel the need to rag on you if I was driving a $20k Camry and you pulled up next to me in the lot with an exotic European V8 RWD GT convertible for less than half the price.

I am waaaaay more into my '98 X308 $$$wise and people called me crazy until they took a ride, now they are just jealous. BTW thats a good deal @ $2400 for all that work, I have to agree with the others that you are doing fine

 

Anthony8858 go out in the parking lot and look at the cars owned by those who are giving you a hard time. Then look at yours...then look again at what they are driving... enough said.you/we win!

 

I did...

They all drive Mercedes, BMW, Maserati, and Lexus..Lol.
They felt I was better off getting a used BMW / Lexus for 10K with 80K miles, than take a chance on a car with a history of mystery illnesses.

Regardless, I love the car and it's an upgrade over my other "summer" ride.. Harley
Since we're on the subject of Harley.... If you want to discuss losing money on a bad investment, that was a total loss. Bought new for 20K. Added about 4K in accessories, and sold 5 years later for 12K. 12K loss in 5 years

 

For that money you could have gotten into a really nice, low mileage, 6-8 year old Honda Civic. Are you Crazy? (sarcasm)

My first wife was a Lingerie Model. I almost always choose form over function.

 

They know you now have to change your name to Studly... They will never know the joy the car brings. Rich

 

You are not into at all. Most of those folks at your work prob have 10-20K cars or trucks sitting out in the parking lot plus repairs they prob don't tell you about.
These car will ALWAYS be misunderstood and costly cars that don't run. While that is a tiny bit true, kept maintained they are as good as anything on the road.
I get folks at work that do the same thing to me, they are driving new 35k pickups.

 

Your co-workers are spending that much each year on depreciation and maintenance of their cars.

 

I bought my car in January 2011 for less than a bottom of the line Ford Fiesta; 10.6k with 67k miles. I've put about 4k of my own money into it in maintenance, repairs, and cosmetic repairs (replacing parts as they wear). It's got 98k today, and I am pretty sure given it has a 2 month old paint job (insurance for vandalism), redone wheels, and a perfect service history (DIY but still extensive receipts), I could realistically get 8-9k for it easily. It's been a good car though, so I really don't want to sell it. Maybe add a 3rd Jaguar, but not get rid of this one.

I've spent basically 1-1.3k per year in depreciation and running costs. I see people that I work with that make the same money go through 2 40-50k SUVs in the same amount of time. A 3yr old Yukon XL Denali or Range Rover has lost a boatload more than 1.3k per year. I get pretty much the same fuel economy as those two cars though lol.

I know people my age who have the 250-300k house on my income. They have the new cars (x2), toy vehicles like ATVs/Boats, and take big vacations. My whole list of vehicles in my sig cost me less than 30k, and are worth most of that now. I can do crazy things like max out my Roth 401K, Roth IRA and HSA to IRS limits. My dad raised a family of 4 on an inflation adjusted income of about 5/8 of what I make at 29; and we never felt deprived or unfortunate. When stuff hit the fan economy wise, he was not well off, but not leveraged at all. Unemployment insurance for a machinist actually paid ALL of the bills. His ability to weather the storm is a luxury that a new Mercedes never will be.

 

how dare you max out your 401K. Savings is not allowed here.

 

I'm going to be eating the best cat food money can buy when I retire lol.