Talk me out of (or into) a Jag XFR

[ajguk]

OK so it's coming to new car time. I've currently got a 2011 Volvo S40 as my shed, and a Z4 E89 30i as my 'nice' or weekend car. The thing is, I probably now do less than 3000 miles p/a combined in both. The other half would really like me to keep the Z4, and so would I as I really do love it - it doesn't owe me anything and I've so far kept it the longest of any car I've had (nearly 5 years). So that one is staying.....I think.

The Volvo is another story - I hate it, it really isn't a pleasant drive at all, no power, basically it's got to go. The thing is, what to replace it with. Because I do so few miles, the price of petrol (at the moment at least) doesn't really bother me so I'm considering a V8. And I keep coming back to the Jaguar XFR - can they be beaten for the money? Budget is up to 20K but under 15K would be better, mainly because it wouldn't be used enough to justify the outlay. To give you some ideas, this is a short list of what I've considered so far. Some were probably on there when I was considering chopping in the Z4 so they may be out of budget unless I change my mind.

Jag XE-S, XF-S, XFR
Alfa Giulia Veloce
BMW M140i - or any B58 tbh......540i would be my ideal one car solution but they're ~25K ish
Audi S4/5 Sportback
Golf GTI or R (if it's an R, I'd ideally have the estate)
Seat Leon Cupra 300 (again - it would have to be the estate)
Cayenne GTS (JayEmm's fault)
Merc CL500 (ZX10... )

I need 4+ seats, a usable boot, rear doors are preferable. Wafty would be good but as you can see from the list I'm open to ideas.

Am I mad for considering a 10-15 year old Jag? Or should I do it now before I decide it's a terrible idea?? I've seen a few facelifted ones in my budget, just also wonder if high miles should put me off. I did test drive an XJ 3.0 S/C last year and it was a bit rough (and massive) but was lovely really hence why I've been looking at the XE or XF with the same engine.

Would love to see what PH thinks and indeed if there's anything I've missed!

Cheers

Edited by ajguk on Sunday 21st May 21:48

[ajguk]

FamousPheasant said:

Former XFR, giulia veloce, e85 3.0i and s40 t5 owner here, so my perspective is hopefully useful!

XFRs are one of the biggest performance car bargains available. The drive is great and with your mileage I would definitely go for one. A lovely balanced chassis that is well suited to uk roads. Standard fit dunlops arent great, but easily resolved. Reliability was good, other than failing door locks that are easy to replace. They are difficult cars to sell from my experience, find a private seller and push for a deal.

The giulia is a different beast. Slower, but more nimble. I found the giulia more fun than the XFR, but I'm a convert to "less is more". Changed the Z4 to a ND mx5 incidentally and never looked back.

As for my BMW. A consumate all rounder but nowhere near the event or as special as the XFR or giulia to me.

You've covered all bases there to be honest! Definitely something to think about, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the right car. The only thing that puts me off is as you say the difficulty I might find in resale, but perhaps that's the price of admission

[ajguk]

NortonES2 said:

Had my 8 year old xfr for 4 years now, no idea what to replace it with so keeping it. I've replaced one door lock and the front lower suspension arms which last 6 to 7 years depending on mileage.

Cheers for that, great to hear from actual owners! Definitely leaning more that way now.

[ajguk]

rossjacko said:

Shameless plug, but my E55 AMG estate is currently for sale in the classifieds. I looked at a couple of XFRs before opting for the AMG instead.

(Yes yes, I know first post but long time lurker first time poster)

I do like these, very nice! Bet that engine is a beast.

[ajguk]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd say around 18k is the sweet spot for the XFR they're a very good car that rides well & has a bombastic engine to boot:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305197...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302284...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302184...

As good as the XFR is, I'd take the CL500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305057...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212062...

Or the CL63, the downside of going for the 63 is the car would be a fair bit older than the XFR:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303285...

There are a few facelift models for a bit less than £18k - some slightly higher mileages. Would that put you off if it had good MOT history and FSH?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305137...

Edited by ajguk on Tuesday 23 May 14:25

[ajguk]

Vsix and Vtec said:

I'd suggest one with higher mileage that's had things like the serpentine belt and tensioner and gearbox fluid change done already are worth considering, it takes two big maintenance costs out of your short to medium term ownership window, meaning you can just focus on enjoying the car knowing someone else paid to do them

Thanks, I’ll look out for that in any ads…..out of interest, how much for this kind oof work to be done if I factored it in to any purchase?

[ajguk]

NuckyThompson said:

Ive not long gotten ridden of an XFR, i regret it now. Bought a 4 series coupe 320BHP which is coming this week.

if there was an upgrade in terms of modernity on the interior/ sat nav etc in the XFR from my 2009 model to one of the more recent years i'd have probably gone back straight away. there isn't a car with similar performance and smiles per miles out there for the money imo

Think I'm more or less waiting now for the right one to come up, and hopefully it's not on the South Coast as I'm in Yorkshire!

[ajguk]

MrManual said:

Apologies for hijacking but if anyone has or knows anyone selling a facelift XFR 2011+ that is NOT white then please let me know as I am trying to look for a good example that isn't £24k.

...or post it here so I can have a look too