F Type? (blasphemy?!)

F Type? (blasphemy?!)

Author
Discussion

Shrimpvende

Original Poster:

855 posts

91 months

Saturday 5th August 2017
quotequote all
I've been making noises recently about letting the Vantage go. It's been a short affair, however due in part to my XJ daily driver not behaving itself very well of late along with some pretty impressive maintenance bills on the V8V I've been thinking of going back to one car.

I love the vantage, but it wouldn't be a great daily driver for me. It's already fairly high mileage at 60k and I fancy a younger car. I love the up to date infotainment/nav stuff in my XJ and the auto in traffic and longer business trips. As it's coming up to insurance renewal and MOT/service time for them both (probably a good £3-4k) I've been shopping around. I can get a 2014/15 V6S F type coupe from Jag with a 2 year warranty for low £40's with a good chance it'll have a transferrable servicing pack on it, leaving me paying only for rubber and brakes over the 2 years. I've realised you either pay for depreciation or maintenance, so this would be switching the latter to the former.

Bills seem less all round for the Jag, including petrol and insurance, and I have a good Jag indy I already use for the XJ. If I trade my current cars before their services it'll reduce my cost to change in real terms. I'd love an SP10 vantage or an S in the future but can't yet stretch to £60k+ and still wouldn't want to daily one.

So, has anyone here swapped their Aston for one, or come from one to an Aston? I'd be really interested to hear experiences and opinions. I know it won't quite be as special as the Aston but it's still a British GT car with an awesome noise.

Cheers

rovcallum

535 posts

142 months

Saturday 5th August 2017
quotequote all
But.... it's a Jag.........rolleyes

Gday2

219 posts

122 months

Saturday 5th August 2017
quotequote all
You are absolutely right, going from an AM to a Jag is BLASPHEMY, the other way round makes sense. And that coms from a person who has a Jaguar XF-S as DD.
I had the pleasure of driving all F models, just drive it and compare the feedback from the wheel in front of you - absolutely nil, null, zero, nada, not existing and calls itself Sportscar. To be fair I was impressed with the suspension setup on th V8s. End of the day a matter of personal preferences and taste.
Enough rant and of my 2 Cents

shunt

968 posts

224 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
Ok, I did exactly this. I traded my early V8V for a V8S F Type. I've never regretted it for one minute. The F Type V8S is so much more. The V8V feels it's age in comparison.

Yes, it's a jag, not an Aston, but it's better, so pub bragging rights are nulled.

I would never buy another Aston, nice to have had one, and a box ticked.

V8 Vantage GT

1,563 posts

105 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
I looked at both F type R and V8V. Jaguar is very nice, but not as beautiful or special sat the Aston. Aston is more work to drive, the Jag is much easier with its automatic and electric steering.

As a daily driver I wouldn't want either. I prefer and SUV, more comfortable, better view driving.

Speedraser

1,656 posts

182 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
Shrimpvende, I've driven many versions of the F-type (haven't owned one), and am delighted that Jaguar finally did a sports car after 40 years. I'm also a Jaguar fan, have an XJ for a daily, and I've had an XK140 and a Series III E-type (still want a Series I). I think you've assessed the big difference between an F-type and a V8V -- the V8V is more special. Much more. IMO, the Vantage looks better (the F-type looks great, but the V8V looks perfect). Same for the interior. The build quality, materials quality, and the attention to detail is in a different league. It should be -- the Vantage is much more expensive, and it looks and feels it. The Vantage is better balanced, and the steering feel is superb. The F-type S's 8 cylinder block with 6 pistons in it would bug the purist in me. But... if you want a very appealing daily driver that will cost you a known amount of money to maintain, an F-type would be great.

JohnG1

3,462 posts

204 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
The XJ220 was on my wall as a child, I have fond memories of gatecrashing the Birmingham NEC motorshow where it was unveiled. So I've got respect for the history of Jaguar. And I always loved the idea of the XJ13. And the XJR Le Mans cars...

But...

A while back I was pottering along on an A road, maybe doing 50mph. An F-type overtook me, probably at 60mph. But the racket it made was over the top and silly. All snarls, pops and crackles.

That's fine when WOT while making progress, but pottering along on an A road it's very shouty "look at me" . I then noticed this a few times, so it wasn't just one with a loud exhaust.

Bit Shakespeare - full of sound and fury...


avinalarf

6,438 posts

141 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
If a Jaguar fits your requirements as a dd then get it.
However it is a different discussion comparing a Jag,or most other cars,to an Aston.
It's like comparing a Saville Row suit to a Boss suit both will do the same job but one has that something special that defines it.


Lawts0908

189 posts

86 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
Went with my son in the V8V to look at the F-type. Took one look at the orange peel paint finish and nearly threw up. Then had to endure an archetypal jag dealer thrusting his mobile in my face explaining how much of the car can be driven from the phone, plus 'under hood' airbag technology, blah, blah, blah.
I looked through the showroom window as I was glazing over and saw the glorious lines of my V8V, then turned around and walked out.....

RobDown

3,803 posts

127 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
I did a Millbrook day driving all the F-Types, very good cars, but I wouldn't swap an Aston Martin for one and nor would any of the professional drivers there (they were also doing the Aston Martin PDC and had plenty of time to talk to them). The only person who seems to prefer he f-type is Shunt above, wondering if he had a faulty V8V smile

But as a daily driver it might work better than a V8V, because it's less involved (and I guess you can get one with lower miles) but that's a bit like saying chocolate is a better fire insulator than paper. Neither are really suited ideally to that role (the F-type from memory has luggage space for a pencil case). I would look elsewhere

Ps also a jaguar fan, loved my wife's XF, albeit was a bit disconcerted to see the same switchgear in he F-Type, but hey switchgear in Astons is hardly exclusive smile

Wayne95

401 posts

245 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
Use my V8V as my daily- 147 miles round trip.

No issues in reliability, but fuel stops are a bit too frequent !

Main advantage ( no pun intended ) is people let me into queues quicker, cuts at least 5 minute off my trip !

Also looked at an ftype. So big with bad lines. And what do people do with all the infotainment stuff, shouldn't you be driving ? One of my biggest automotive disappointments the ftype - I was so looking forward to it

Shrimpvende

Original Poster:

855 posts

91 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
Cheers for the replies. I know the F type isn't as good as the vantage, but as a daily driver/only car I still think it would be better - I'm not sure what else can compete for such a new car for the money. As my vantage is an older model and starting to show signs of its age I'm sure that in my case the much newer F type would almost be on a par - fresher suspension parts, interior etc would make up for where it lacks in other areas.

If I was comparing similar age/mileage cars there would be no contest - I much, much prefer the vantage. It's just I think a 2 year/20k F type will be better than my 10 year/60k old vantage - whilst also being much cheaper to own and still looking/sounding good. As most here have praised the F type one way or another it can't be an awful choice!

I do need to see what the boot is like - I've never struggled with the vantage but if I need a big boot I can borrow Dad's RR so I'm not too worried about that. All I ever need to carry is a bit of shopping or a couple of overnight bags.

Shrimpvende

Original Poster:

855 posts

91 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
JohnG1 said:
A while back I was pottering along on an A road, maybe doing 50mph. An F-type overtook me, probably at 60mph. But the racket it made was over the top and silly. All snarls, pops and crackles.
I need to work out whether they have a switchable exhaust as standard to avoid this - I really don't like artificial pops! The worst offender for this I've been in is the new Bentley GT Supersports - a solid few seconds of bangs/pops that sound like firecrackers rather than a powerful car - very artificial and a bit anti social.

shunt

968 posts

224 months

Sunday 6th August 2017
quotequote all
Shrimpvende said:
Cheers for the replies. I know the F type isn't as good as the vantage, but as a daily driver/only car I still think it would be better - I'm not sure what else can compete for such a new car for the money. As my vantage is an older model and starting to show signs of its age I'm sure that in my case the much newer F type would almost be on a par - fresher suspension parts, interior etc would make up for where it lacks in other areas.

If I was comparing similar age/mileage cars there would be no contest - I much, much prefer the vantage. It's just I think a 2 year/20k F type will be better than my 10 year/60k old vantage - whilst also being much cheaper to own and still looking/sounding good. As most here have praised the F type one way or another it can't be an awful choice!

I do need to see what the boot is like - I've never struggled with the vantage but if I need a big boot I can borrow Dad's RR so I'm not too worried about that. All I ever need to carry is a bit of shopping or a couple of overnight bags.
Exactly where I was, 10 year old Vantage with lots starting to fail. I'd had it for 6 years with little trouble, but my daily is an M135i. Sorry but the 135 did most if not everything better so I found myself never using the Aston. Beautiful cars they are dated now.

Faults I lived with

Ticking, tappets, fixed after I p ex'd it
Windows not closing, suspected door module failure.
Tyre pressure monitoring failure, disconnected, age of units
Paint bubbling around door handles. Common.
Snapped suspension springs, expensive to replace
Utterly st sat nav.
LED headlights failed due to condensation

I enjoyed my time with the Vantage, but it's an old car now and needs updating.

My F Type isn't an Aston, but thank God for that.






Shrimpvende

Original Poster:

855 posts

91 months

Monday 7th August 2017
quotequote all
shunt said:
Exactly where I was, 10 year old Vantage with lots starting to fail. I'd had it for 6 years with little trouble, but my daily is an M135i. Sorry but the 135 did most if not everything better so I found myself never using the Aston. Beautiful cars they are dated now.

Faults I lived with

Ticking, tappets, fixed after I p ex'd it
Windows not closing, suspected door module failure.
Tyre pressure monitoring failure, disconnected, age of units
Paint bubbling around door handles. Common.
Snapped suspension springs, expensive to replace
Utterly st sat nav.
LED headlights failed due to condensation

I enjoyed my time with the Vantage, but it's an old car now and needs updating.

My F Type isn't an Aston, but thank God for that.
Sounds similar to my ownership. Only had it since the beginning of the year but to date it's had:

discs and pads all round
hand brake cable replaced
exhaust cats replaced
air con compressor replaced
injector replaced + precautionary oil change
purge valve replaced
door struts replaced
full geo setup
new wheels (didn't really need but look nice)
+ all the cosmetic bits detailed in my thread

Thank god for the warranty - although it only covered about half that. Now I have all that done the car seems good, I also have the MOT protect in with the warranty so anything picked up will get sorted. Unfortunately won't help the interior leather shrinkage or door handle bubbling though.

I've had a bad experience which has put me off my specific car a little, so hoping to make a clean break of it and get back in a really good example next time. Just have to save a bit first!




RobDown

3,803 posts

127 months

Monday 7th August 2017
quotequote all
Push for a big discount (colleague at work got iirc 30% off a new V6, so should be reflected if you buy one nearly new).

Good luck with the search and let us know how you get on!

66MK

374 posts

106 months

Monday 7th August 2017
quotequote all
Shrimpvende said:
Sounds similar to my ownership. Only had it since the beginning of the year but to date it's had:

discs and pads all round
hand brake cable replaced
exhaust cats replaced
air con compressor replaced
injector replaced + precautionary oil change
purge valve replaced
door struts replaced
full geo setup
new wheels (didn't really need but look nice)
+ all the cosmetic bits detailed in my thread

Thank god for the warranty - although it only covered about half that. Now I have all that done the car seems good, I also have the MOT protect in with the warranty so anything picked up will get sorted. Unfortunately won't help the interior leather shrinkage or door handle bubbling though.

I've had a bad experience which has put me off my specific car a little, so hoping to make a clean break of it and get back in a really good example next time. Just have to save a bit first!
Perhaps a bit better check up before purchase would have seen off most of those issues?

I've never had a Jag, but then I have never wanted one.

F type? nice arse, but the boat race is awful and a shame the display software is the same as my Range Rovers - it's st!

Shrimpvende

Original Poster:

855 posts

91 months

Wednesday 9th August 2017
quotequote all
In fairness I knew about some of those issues when I bought it and the price took them into account. It was the stuff that went wrong after I bought it that annoyed me, thankfully the warranty did pick some of it up. Happily it's all sorted and a good car again, just not suitable (IMO) for me as a daily and only car.

Do you know where your colleague got that level of discount from? I'm seeing around 10% seems to be the standard offered by brokers. At that level of discount buying new would make sense, there would only be a couple of grand between that and the 3 year old AUC's I've been looking through.

RobDown

3,803 posts

127 months

Wednesday 9th August 2017
quotequote all
a guy I work with is in with jaguar management - let me check what the latest is on discounts

rog007

5,748 posts

223 months

Wednesday 9th August 2017
quotequote all
Wayne95 said:
Use my V8V as my daily- 147 miles round trip.

No issues in reliability, but fuel stops are a bit too frequent !
I bought my V8V to use and enjoy as much as I can; at 66000 miles and just getting in to its stride! Possibly the most reliable car I've ever had. Yes a few cosmetic and clip on bits have needed attention but that was anticipated.

I look at costs to maintain and run and occasionally think would I be better off with a something or other, but then I remember it wouldn't be an Aston. I do fancy a soft top though so may take temporary leave of absence for maybe one summer only; but it won't be a Jag. Have had a sneaky look at them and they simply do not stir my loins.