This may go down as possibly the worst deal of the century... I had enough of its quirks.

Sure, it put a smile on my face while I drove with the wind it my hair, not a care in the world. But then again, summer has arived and driving a black on black convertible with the top down is like driving a solar oven. You will get roasted.

The pothole infested roads of my island resemble the surface of the moon. I never could get too close to the 155 mph electronically governed top speed for fear of destroying its supple yet stable suspension. The long, low, phallic-like nose requires very obtuse entry angles unless you want to bottom out. Clunk, screeeeeeech, there goes another front splitter. The driveway is too steep.

This black beauty forces you to learn about mechanics. How could it not? It is a sixteen year old car with eightyeight thousand miles on the odometer. It is disheartening when I drive around and the car makes a new sound, clunk! What did this ****er break now? I can feel my wallet getting thinner. Time to get under the bonnet again. Ah, yes, the thingamabob next to the thingymagig broke. I may not know the technical names, but I know what they do. A search through an online parts catalog reveals, egad! $300 for a rubber donut! Better do the work myself. As I wait anxiously for the part to arrive I mentally prepare myself for the knucklebuster that follows.

Enter maturity.

I have been bleeding money on this car. Old parts wear out left and right faster than I can replace them. I need a reliable, economical car. Preferably something with some ground clearance and room for more than one passenger. I have chosen the Jeep Renegade -- heresy you say! Why, that's not a real Jeep; it rides on a Fiat chassis and engine! It looks cartoonish, like a toy! You're trading a Jaguar for a Jeep? You're being bamboozled!

I can't afford the Jaguar. I convinced my father to help me with the trade-in. We are fixing up the Jag so that we can get as high a trade-in value as possible. I'm expecting about $7k. Deduct that from the $23k of the Jeep and that leaves $16k. With a 3% interest, the payment should not creep past $380. Alright, I can deal with that.

I test drove one today and fell in love. Yes, it is very different from the Jaguar. I don't need luxury. I am 22 and about to begin medical school. I need economy, reliability and comfort. Two out of the three are not available in the Jag. The Jeep is also fun, in a very different way. It can go anywhere the Jag can't. It can't offer Wrangler levels of go-anywhereability, but it is decent off-road and that is more than enough for me.

I don't need a pretty car that gets compliments. Right now I need point A to point B. If I find myself yearning for fun, I can later buy myself a used miata and abuse it. I have many years of studying left followed by many years of my career. Luxury sport cars can wait for later if ever, right now I need to be able to get to my destination.

I am sad I will depart. Hopefully some day I can buy an F-type or whatever Jag makes at the time. This car was wonderful, but alas, I must let it go. Goodbye my lover! Goodbye my friend.

 

Sounds like a good move for you, take care and good luck getting what you want for the Jag.

 

Goodbye for now, Daniel. I suspect you'll be back eventually. Best of luck with school!

-John

 

You are making the right choice. You do need to conserve your time and energy for your studies. Having a Jag at the ripe old age of 22 puts you way ahead of the game. Good luck!

 

A jag doesn't belong to most people your age to begin with. Don't get a specialized car to help get you laid. Chicks dig Jeeps also. You complained excessively about your car breaking... apparently in a land meant solely for trucks. Don't just blame the car, blame the owner for foolish decisions.

Btw, I do wish you the best of luck in med school. Just don't be the typical DB doctor (if you make it that far) that looks down on everybody else because you think you know more than everybody else.

 

Thanks guys. Hopefully the new owner appreciates my Jag. It has history and character and will be a reliable car for someone who is willing to put enough money and time for it, but that is no longer me. I was young, foolish and immature when my father passed it down to me. I drove it with pride and it served me well the last four years. I just should've known to sell it sooner. I was in over my head. The car runs, and runs well but it is not the car for a young adult.

It is a miracle I never crashed it, but now I realize I was too immature to drive a Jag and I think I should allow someone else to enjoy this black beauty.

I am never getting a black car again. They're beautiful but a pain to keep spotless.

Addicted2boost, I understand what you mean. I am aware that becoming a doctor does not mean I am smarter than others. It only means I took a different path. It may be that I am more knowledgeable about medicine at that point, but others will know more about politics, engineering, law, mechanics, civil life, war, love, friendship, etc. I recognize that, and that I can learn from anyone and everyone. No one is below me, we are all people with different areas of expertise, and we are all worth the universe. I am in awe of what we have accomplished as a species. If theres is one thing I value the most in people is humility. Becaus of that, if I do make it as a doctor, I wish to treat everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve.

 

I wish you the best of luck, but be sure to do your research before you sign the papers on that Jeep. We had multiple Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees from the mid-1980s into the early 2000s. Great vehicles, all of them, requiring just routine maintenance on my part. But today, Fiat Chrysler turns out Jeeps that are merely a shadow of what they used to be. Build quality is inexcusably poor and once you're past the factory warranty you're hosed from a constant-repairs-needed perspective. When we decided to grab another SUV late last year I didn't even consider looking at Jeeps, which is unfortunate coming from a family that always had at least two of them in the stable for nearly a twenty-year stretch....

As I said, do your research and be careful out there....

 

It's refreshing to hear such worldly views from a 22 year-old. I wish my son was so mature. Maybe there is hope for the next generation. I hope the dealer doesn't discourage you too bad. I hate to trade in anything. Best of luck to you.

 

Sad to see the XK8 has to go but a sensible decision in the circumstances.

As time passes you'll forget the bad times but you'll never forget the good times with the Jaguar. Qualify, get rich and then get back to one of the best experiences in driving.

Graham

 

Sad to see you part ways with the Jag but a wise decision at this point - best of luck in your studies and your future.

 

See you in ten years. Doctors love Jags.

 

Sorry to see you go. I believe we're about the same age (I'm 23), and I can relate to where you are in life right now. I'm finishing up my masters in accountancy (graduating this week, finally!). Although, my 1 year long program pales in comparison to the journey you're about to embark upon.

I was fortunate enough to have saved up and bought my first XK8 after my sophomore year in college, a 2005 with about 90k on the clock. I suspect parts, maintenance, and market values are all lower here than where you live, making it somewhat more affordable. I was lucky, as over the 3 years I owned her, the most I had to spend was around $1k for new tires. Really no mechanical issues to speak of. Of course, I only drove it a couple thousand miles a year. And I was nice to it. I've always been told I act like a 40 year old... for better for worse!

For a daily driver, I can't blame you for wanting something more usable all around. And I completely agree with you about black when it comes to an everyday car. My jags are all black, but they live in the garage and only see daylight when its nice out. My land rover is gray, and it hides the muck from winter and dirt from the rain pretty well.

As Jon89 mentioned, I would caution you about the Renegade. My good friend works for FCA as an engineer and I've heard horror stories about quality control and reliability as of late. I tend to stay away from new cars in general; the depreciation hit is a killer, and if you find something slightly used that's been well maintained and had the kinks worked out, it can oftentimes be a better bargain. To each his own, of course.

The most reliable car in my stable is the old 87 Ford. I dare anyone to try and break it!

I hope to see you back here one day with another Jag, and best of luck to you in med school!

 

Good move, I know few 22 year old that need this type of car unless you are loaded.
That said, we don't know the year but unless yours is a 05/06 you will be pressed to see 7k on trade in if you got miles on it, older model, etc. Sadly dealers know what these cars are and rather not have them on their lot.

 

I would agree with you about the trade in value. For reference, I traded my 2005 XK8 (93k miles) last fall for my 2006 XKR, and my trade in allowance was $10.5k. However, this was to a Jag specialist who deals only in Jags for the most part. And I also paid up for the 2006 so I know he gave me a more generous trade allowance than normal.

Now perhaps the cars are worth more in PR since not as many around- not sure. But at least around where I'm at, a 00 XK8 with 100k+ miles would sell for around 7-8k depending on condition. I would guess trade in value of maybe 4k, ballpark. KBB puts it at $2.5k-$5k range, and from my experience dealers usually are at the bottom, or below, what KBB says.

 

Thanks guys. I will do due diligence on the research on the Renegade.

Yes, cars here are more expensive, specially when new. Sell value for a '00 XK8 at about 90k miles here is between $14k. That puts trade in value at about $7-8k. A sizable chunk off the price of the Jeep. I know of a dealer that tried to sell an '03 with about 30k miles for about $20k in my home town.

Hopefully the Jag can fetch enough to make my monthly payments not exceed $400.

 

Didn't realize they were that much more. Yikes. Good luck with the trade in then, on whatever you decide to purchase!

 

That's a wise decision. Focus on school now so you can have fun later. I'm only 20, bought it when I was 19 and would be smart to do the same as you but I just can't bring myself to part with her just yet.

 

Nice to see there are other younger guys here too! I'm in your boat... would be smart to sell all of them and get one boring, reliable, everyday car. But I would miss them too much.

 

Sorry to see you go Daniel, but sounds like a very wise decision on your part.

I hope it works out for you and all goes well and according to plan, you'll always be welcome here, Jaguar owner or not......

But you'll probably be back as an owner at some point.
All my best

Jim

 

One of my co-workers has a loaded Grand Cherokee and after a year he said that this car is less reliable than the Range Rover it replaced. He's getting a Lexus LX next.

I wouldn't have an XK8 as my only car. It just isn't functional enough space wise and parts availability creates downtime unless you overnight everything. I do 100 percent understand moving on for now.