At the request of a friend who likes my 2002 XKR so much, I was looking at local Craigslist ads and Ebay listings to help her find a decent XK8. I was amazed to find 2007 models in excellent condition selling in the low to mid-$20K range, less than some of the 2005-2006 models they replaced. One example, a beautiful one owner silver convertible, ebay item #190750664263 is listed at $23000 or best offer! That is well over a $50000+ depreciation loss in 5 years. At those prices, it might be time to consider a "spare" for the garage to use everyday and conserve my 2002 (which I still prefer). Maybe a coupe, this time.

 

I took another look at that ebay listing for the silver 2007 convertible, and the owner claimed to have the original sticker at over $92,000, so I stand corrected, it is actually about a $70,000 depreciation loss in 5 years. Incredible!

 

I think that's a known fact about Jags in general, I think it's a residual effect of the typical consumer's opinion of used jags as lemons.

A double edged sword; you get great value from a cheap buy-in for a car of a top fit and finish, but you loose on resale value if you're holding it only for a short term. I for one am completely indifferent about this, since I'm going long on my XKR!

 

We have a similar huge depreciation on Jaguars and other high cost vehicles in the UK. Great value for those of us who buy them used.

You still need to be careful when an advertised price seems just too tempting, especially if it's from an individual rather than a dealer. We all know some issues on these increasingly complex vehicles can be extremely costly to repair and there's the risk someone is offloading their problem.

There's lemons amongst those bargains.

Graham

 

Times are hard and bargains are available. I've never owned a newish vehicle, but always buy used, even very very used.

Once bought a car for £50 ran it for almost a year before the MOT ran out and I drove it to the scrap yard.

2 main things in my book, always look at the service history the more the better, and be very familiar with the same model mileages. ie if 9 out of 10 cars are showing 150k then like as not the one you are looking at should be reasonably safe to get there.

Doesn't apply to me, but with your model year ranges you should be able to purchase a waranty for major items, Engine, Trans even if it seems to be fairly expensive it could be money well spent.

It's all a question of personal acceptable risk.

Good luck in your hunt.

 

Do read the buyer's guide sticky and look the car over with a magnifying glass.
The cheaper it seems the more carefully you should look !

 

Massive depreciation can indeed be a double-edged sword on luxury cars, but I would not own either of our Jaguars without its benefit to a second or third owner. As previously mentioned, the key is to find the right car, take the necessary time to track down the service records, plan to keep it for a long time, and DIY the bulk of the required maintenance and repairs while the car is under your ownership....

 

Richard,
As I mentioned, I'm not in the market for another car, I am helping a friend find a first series XK, however, I was simply amazed that you can buy a $100K (by the time you add tax and license) car after five years and pay about the same price as a used Camry of the same vintage. It's very tempting, but I will probably wait three or four years and buy a used and well depreciated F series car down the road and have some real fun.

 

just bought 2001 xk8 with 78k miles in the color combination I have been searching for 4 years, white/black, for $10K.

Search carefully and you will find a great deal.

 

Had a friend guess I paid $85K for my XK8 today. Real price for this super clean car was what stevepaa paid. Unreal. Enjoy it while it lasts!