Last week I purchased a '06 XK8 from a local Jaguar dealer. It was sold As Is with no extended warranty. I do not have buyer's remorse, but since taking delivery several issues have cropped up. Now I am wondering whether to take the dealership up on their offer of returning the vehicle.

Just prior to Thanksgiving, I was rear-ended by a Cadillac Escalade in my '07 VDP, and shoved into the car in front of me. My insurance company totaled the VDP, which I had purchased at auction a few years back. This was my first dealer purchase in many years, and I was disturbed by the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behavior exhibited by their sales team. I paid cash--their full asking price for the XK8--$18,000, a silver Jag with nearly 51,000 miles. I was replacing a silver VDP which was a year newer with 1,000 fewer miles on it.

Less than 24 hours from taking delivery, the engine icon illuminated on the dash and "Restricted Performance" appeared as a message. Shortly thereafter, "Engine Coolant Low" appeared. I took the vehicle straight home, let it cool down, and added the specified coolant to the reservoir. The next day I let it idle for 10 minutes before driving, and a puddle of coolant appeared on the garage floor, so I think I have a slow leak somewhere.

The Jag is at dealer service today. I have yet to hear back from them on what their diagnosis is, but they did offer to take the car back. I would like to keep the car, but I would be willing to let it go if it turns out to be an expensive engine issue.

Because of the way I was treated during the purchase transaction, I do not trust the dealer at all. I have a long-standing relationship with another dealer in the area, it just so happened this one was the one that had a car I wanted.


What would you do?

 

Sounds like you are NOT comfortable with the issues surrounding the sale and service from this dealer. Also, you mentioned that you had no warranty on the car.

Without warranty, you can experience very expensive repair issues with any Jaguar. The coolant leak, combined with the Restricted Performance warning may signal a costly issue. Given that combination, perhaps the best solution is to take the dealer up on his offer to take it back.

 

I totally agree with Alberts post above. Sounds like you may encounter a major problem. Don't wait, take the car back IMMEDIATELY and take up the offer from the dealership.

You may end up spending thousands of dollars on repairs. Don't wait, don't second guess the problems with the car, RETURN IT IMMEDIATELY.

There are many other opportunities to replace the wrecked VDP that you had.

 

Thank you, gentlemen, for responding to my query. FWIW, the vehicle had a clean CarFax. The Assistant Mgr for pre-owned (one of the two guys I dealt with pre-sale) told me the car was a trade for a man from South Beach who traded it in on a 2015 XK. He also said it was always a Florida car, kept garaged, and not his primary vehicle.

I was already smelling Eau de Deception when I heard that story--seemed to me to be the current day equivalent of the little old lady who only drove to church on Sunday. But when I got it home, I found the original sticker on the vehicle that said Port of Entry was Baltimore and the Dealer destination was in Wisconsin. I also noticed a sticker on the driver's door jam for an emergency road service with an Ohio phone number. That's a far cry from a garaged Florida XJ8, no matter which way you slice it.

 

Before I purchased the XK8, I asked my long-time Master Service Advisor from the other local Jaguar dealer for pricing on extended third-party warranties, and also asked him whether the warranty had to be purchased concurrently with taking delivery of the vehicle. Using the VIN of the XJ8, he sent me various coverage durations, along with multiple deductible options, so there were many ways to structure it. He confirmed that the warranty purchase could be done any time--it did not have to be purchased at the time the title changed hands.

Because I bought both of my prior Jags when they were several years old, I did buy a third-party warranty on both of them. Both were purchased through the Jaguar dealer. And both were not good experiences in the long run. The first one was with an entity called Solid Gold (no, not the strip club) and they went bankrupt with a year remaining on my warranty period. So I was shorted a year of coverage. With the recent VDP, which had a Jaguar Extra Mile Extended Warranty, I asked my Master Service Advisor to give me a breakdown of the repairs I've encountered while under the extended warranty.
$2566 Repairs paid by the Warranty
$5135 Repairs I paid (Warranty exclusions)
Plus, I think I paid around $4k to purchase the warranty. To recap:
$9135 My out-of-pocket
$2566 My return
Overall, I ended up on the short end of the deal by $6569. But I'm not the least bit disappointed by that because they have always given me flawless service, and after all, buying extended warranties is a risk management decision. Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you (not to mix beastly metaphors, but I couldn't resist).

So I do understand that these cats can eat money, and I'm OK with putting money into them to keep 'em purring! What I'm not OK with is a situation where someone tells me fairy tales about a car I am purchasing, and then the story turns out to have a nightmare ending.

 

Foxlady:

So with all this info .....question is.....what did you do with the XK8?

Are you keeping it and suffering more pain and loss of money or returning it back to the dealer who sold you the car, and stated that they would take the car back.

After the story they gave you about Florida ownership, I'd certainly throw the car back to them, collect my $18,000 and move on.

What's the deal? You never told us what you decided or what the Jaguar service dept said about the leaks.

 

Firstly you are on the AL XK forum; however we have both models (XK8 & XK) so hear goes.
Water leak could be very simple water pump problem normal for the XK8's.
The restricted performace message is also not usual for XK 8's; need to know what the code reader shows; simplest is 12V battery getting old and was sitting on lot without a batt. charger. So you need a code reader and a batt. charger as a minimum.
A 2006 XK has a 4.2 engine same as 2007 XK's and is very reliable with no major problem areas excecpt water pump!
You don't say what is the milage..............my wife's is a 2000 4.0L which has a few weakness's (all fixed)

Cheers, Adrian

 

I agree as well. Your VDP is far ahead of the XK8 in quality. I'd go back for an VDP, better yet a Super V8 or go for the newer generation XK's.

 

Everyone seems to be jumping to some unsupported conclusions without any evidence, yet. Coolant leaks are relatively easy fixes, but I'm wondering if when you filled it, you actually overfilled it and the puddle was from the overflow. The restricted performance warning is more troublesome but not necessarily a deal killer. You need to have them read all codes and know what those codes represent. If you don't trust them, then go to an independent mechanic who has the capability of reading Jaguar codes, pay him a few dollars, and have him tell you what they are. 51,000 miles is nothing on these cars as I have passed 153,000 miles with a very strong running car (albeit with many of the 4.0L repairs done to it).

Maybe rather than returning the car, since you paid top dollar for an XK8, you can wrangle a dealer warranty for a couple of years. I am sure they don't want to give back $18,000.

It is a terrifically beautiful car and capable of giving you many tens of thousands of miles of driving pleasure. In many ways including looks, I like mine as much as my newer one, they both give me great pleasure owning and driving.

 

Hello, Adrian--

Please enlighten me as to what is meant by the "AL XK" section of the forum? My apologies if I'm posting in the wrong place. Perhaps you could link me to the correct section.

The '06 XK8 has just shy of 51,000 miles on it; in fact, I watched it roll over to 51k the first day I drove it.

I had read about the water pump issue on these boards, and noted that there have been several generations of replacement pumps issued, correct?

I'm happy to hear you have confidence in the '06 XK8 4.0L. I did not hear anything back from the service guy today. I reached out to him via email about an hour before they closed--no response so far.

I really did enjoy the car, with what little drive time I've had in it so far. If the diagnosis comes back with a simple fix, I'd lean toward keeping it and buying an extended warranty from my trusted dealer. If, on the other hand, it looks like we're opening Pandora's box and headed towards the land of engine decline, I would return the vehicle and let someone who wants a project have the car. I need a daily driver, not a project.

The service records from the past month show they did a "World Class Inspection" whatever that is. I've never heard that descriptor applied to any of my Jags. I am curious as to the nature of that inspection--sounds impressive, but what does it encompass? I search the forum here but didn't turn up any matches for that phrase.

The same service included a Safety Check, which sounds like a good thing to do before the car goes out on the lot. I don't know what is included in that either. I test drove the car at night, and the light was burnt out on the left half of the speed dial, making it impossible to tell how fast you were driving. I raised that as a safety issue and they did rectify it before I took delivery.

So I'm thinking you'd lean toward keeping the XK8. So far, 1 vote for and 2 against!

 

Richard, no news to share yet. I took the car in late Wednesday. They had it all day today, Thursday, and I expected to hear from them but so far crickets. I'll post their diagnosis as soon as they let me know what they found.

You'll love this: I checked the car in at service, and was waiting there for my husband to come pick me up. He was leaving town on business for a few days and I prefer driving his car to getting a loaner. Who walks up to me but the two sales guys--all smiles: "Have you been helped yet? Can we get you anything, coffee?" The senior guy apologized nicely for the leak, then somewhat sheepishly asked an amazing question. He wanted to know if by chance I had taken the original copy of the Deal Sheet (Retail Buyer's Order) from the day I took delivery. Of course, I hadn't, but I told him I'd check the folder they gave me when I got home and would let them know if it turned up. So either they lost the most important document of the entire transaction, or they may have been trying to get me to sign something that was altered in some way. They handed me another copy, stamped "ORIGINAL", and asked me to sign it. I told them I'd take it home to review, and would be happy to give them a photocopy of my copy of the original document. We read it word-for-word, and it appears to be the same document (my husband's an attorney). Crazy way to do business!

 

tberg, you're absolutely right: we need more information to make an educated decision. I was ready to forego the spaciousness of my VDP to have a ride that would bring wide smiles along with a lot of pleasurable miles in the years ahead. I agree with you, the lines on the car are faultless, and I like to be surrounded with beautiful things. I don't like the newer body as much as I do this one. I know it's a personal decision as to which model year to get, but I really like the body on the one I have.

I will definitely ask about the codes. I should have mentioned that when I dropped it off. I also thought about asking them to throw in a few years of extended warranty, although I doubt that dog will hunt. I already had them redo the numbers the day I took delivery when I saw they'd added a bogus $595 dealer prep fee to the sheet. I got them to take it off the top line (bringing it from $18k to $17,405). I also got them to replace the glove box which was falling open too quickly. Initially they said they "didn't have enough room in the pricing to do that." I nicely but firmly called BS on that, and they gave me a We Owe sheet saying they'd fix the glove box within my first 30 days. That's all I was originally planning to have them do, but then the dash lit up with the warnings and engine icon.

We added coolant slowly with a funnel, and not a drop of it overflowed the reservoir, so I don't think that was user error on my part. But I can see how that could happen.

 

I'm curious as to why you sold your coupe. And your VDP.

 

I've decided to let this cat go back to the dealer.

Finally got my Service Advisor on the phone after 5:00 p.m. tonight. I'm accustomed to my Master Service Advisor being efficient, accessible and a good communicator. This experience has not been up to those standards.

He said the diagnostics had turned up several items and he was sending the list over to Pre-Owned to see how they wanted to proceed. I asked him to copy me on that email. I found it surprising that he didn't contact me with the report--he's had the car for 48 hours and not a peep as to the findings. Even now, I was the one who phoned and emailed him. That's not good service in my world.

Here's the list:

$710 Replace upper and lower radiator hoses and clamps

$447 Replace fuel rail pressure switch OBD II and Smoke Test (Fuel Rail Switch Broken)

$728 Replace glove box hinges, wire broken

They totaled it out at $1886, but the glove box repair I have covered on a We Owe sheet I received from them when I took delivery of the XK8, so the remaining items net out to $1158. At this point what concerns me more than the related repair costs is the total lack of integrity I have encountered during this process.

The most recent example of this is an incorrect mileage amount I noticed on the "Action Plan" I received from them a few hours ago. They state that the mileage is 52, 294, which isn't even close. The vehicle just turned over to 51,000 on my way to the dealership to drop it off for this service appointment.

They have lost all credibility with me. It will be interesting to see how they handle the take-back of the XK8, especially now that we closing in on Christmas, and the year end.

I am officially back in the hunt for a replacement cat. The next local auction is in mid-January. Feel free to PM me if you have any candidates to suggest.

My sincere appreciation to all who weighed in on this disappointing situation.

 

I strongly believe that you have made the correct decision. Now it will be interesting to see how the dealer responds to receiving the car back, and what they really do for you. My guess would be to first discount the repairs in order to intice you to keep the car. I am sure they will not be kind having to take this car back.

I would suggest that you set a budget or amount that you are willing to spend on a replacement Jaguar. It seems that you are dedicated to the brand which is good. Perhaps your budget will allow you to step up a bit to a later model year like a 2007 or 2008. The style changes and their are lots of 2007 and 2008 XK owners out there, and are quite active here on the Jag Forum to lend support and knowledge about their respective vehicles.

Nevertheless, I give you allot of credit to you for posting here, sharing your experience .....as in life, we can learn from each other, no matter our age.

I am and will be very curious on how the local dealer treats you in the return of the vehicle. I never ran across any dealer that would sell a used car, then close the sale with a money back guarentee.

I would not remove the car from the service department and would approach the dealer tomorrow (Sat 12-20-2014) during normal business hours before the holiday to get your check back for what you gave the dealership.

I sincerely hope that you have a "happy ending" to this fiasco. There can be no doubt, that you are a savy business woman. And that Foxlady is a real attribute.

 

Richard, thank you for your kind words. It was a difficult decision, but I hope time will show it was a wise one.

I agree with you that it is best just to get this over and done with. No need to wait out the weekend. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more hectic everyone's schedule becomes. I know it's a bit unusual, but I don't expect them to give me a hard time about taking the vehicle back. I have an email from the Assistant Pre-Owned Manager stating they would take the car back. He was my original point of contact with the dealership, although he had a junior sales associate handle most of the paperwork the day I took delivery, he remained involved throughout the transaction. When I protested the $595 Dealer Prep fee they tried to slide into the closing document, he came into the room, sat across the desk from me, gave me an intense stare, and asked with much condescension, "Is there a problem here?" Indeed there was, I replied, as this add-on had never been disclosed and I refused to pay it. I held my ground, politely, and they did deduct a corresponding amount from the top line price of the vehicle, which satisfied me.

If they give me a hard time, I hold the trump card. I paid for the vehicle with my American Express, and I would certainly protest the charge, if need be. The whole experience has been exceedingly unpleasant. I would never recommend them to anyone.

Here's to brighter Jaguar days ahead for all of us.

 

Foxylady,
Your trump card is not disputing the charge on your AmEx; it is your husband, the attorney.

Hopefully, your dealer will honor the Assistant Pre-Owned Manager's email promise and refund all of your money. But don't count on it. Read your purchase contract - you will probably find a provision that says this contract includes all of the terms of sale exclusively, and that any other statements or representations, oral or written, are void and unenforceable. Unless your state law (Florida) provides otherwise, I would expect your dealer's form contract to not include a right of recission by the buyer.

I would leave the car at the dealer with all the keys and not take possession. But make sure that you maintain your full insurance coverage.

I would file a dispute with AmEx now, even though you have 60 days from the date of purchase to do so. That will speed up the process and tell the dealer that you're serious. If you receive a full refund, you can withdraw that dispute before AmEx completes their investigation. Note that your credit limit will be reduced by the amount in dispute.

Most importantly, see if your husband agrees with my suggestions.

Stuart

 

Foxylady,
While certainly it's your choice to give back the car, and being spooked by poor and untrustworty dealer service might be reason enough, the replacement of two radiator hoses and a fuel rail switch are not serious flaws in an otherwise great automobile. If the dealer had any brains, those items would have been fixed without charge, and you would have felt a lot better about the experience. Unfortunately, because the problems weren't handled in a professional manner, you're put a position of not knowing what to expect, and I would return the car just for the peace of mind it would bring you.

However, I find it curious that you posted this series of posts on the 2007+ XK/XKR forum rather than the 1996-2006 XK8/XKR forum where owners of similar cars would have weighed in on your particular car and situation. I have both first and second generation models, and I love both for different reasons.

The first for its unrivaled sensuality and beauty (nicer in my humble opinion) along witha great cruising ride and classic, opulent interior (and in the case of the convertible--a cavernous trunk), the second for its incredible suspension and engine upgrades that make the handling and performance light years ahead of the first generation.
Both are great and have their merits.

I think at this point, that your distaste for how you were treated would sour your experience with this particular car especially if something else were to break down in the near future, so I think your decision is the right one. But,
it shouldn't dissuade you from looking for another one.

And finally, $18000 for a 2006 XK8 as opposed to the XKR is probably at the very, very top of the market for that car; you can probably find a similar car for considerably less.

Good luck.

 

Ted,

Thank you for your gracious reply.

First, my apologies for not placing my post in the optimal place of the forum. I'm not sure where to find the section you've referred to here, as the description I saw on the section I selected show up for me as:
"XK / XKR (69 Viewing) 2006 - Onwards"

If you have a moment, perhaps you could post a link to the section you suggested. I certainly wanted to place my query in the proper section--not only to receive feedback from the widest possible audience of '06 XK8 owners/prior owners, but to conform to the organizational structure established by the forum admins as well. Etiquette is something I take quite seriously, and if I erred in that regard, it was certainly unintentional.

As you so poetically wrote, the "unrivaled sensuality and beauty" of the XK8 is truly stunning. I did return to the service department of the dealer yesterday, as I needed a vehicle to use until they decide how they want to handle this situation, and they had offered me a loaner, which I did accept. As I drove it away, I saw a dash alert stating low pressure on one of the tires, so I circled back to the service bays to find some air. All the work bays were full, and the XK8 from 2006 stole the spotlight. What a beauty! Of course it has to have substance beneath that style, or we cannot have a meaningful relationship.

Your insight is particularly valuable to me since you have experience with the older and the newer models. I'm curious: which year did you acquire first, and what made you want to retain that car when you picked up the second one?

Perhaps you could elaborate on the suspension and handling improvements you mentioned. The smoothness of the ride does not equal that of the VDP I am accustomed to, and I do notice the irregularities in road surfaces more in the XK8, and I prefer the smoother ride. In which model year did they upgrade the engine, and in what specific instances do you most notice the engine upgrade elevates handling in such a way that it performs light years ahead of the first generation?

 

I've moved this thread to the XK8/XKR section.