End of the Month Quota Post – 2014 Jaguar XFR for $35,000, and Random Thoughts

Three random thoughts before getting to the Jaguar below.

1) Remember when dealerships neared the end of the month and salesmen pleaded with us, that to meet their monthly quota they were going to offer us ridiculous discounts? Monthly stats seemed to drive everything. Well, here we are near the end of July and I realize I’ve only blogged a pitiful two times. My excuse is that preparing to sell my 2010 Mercedes S600 and replace it with another unicorn has made me weary. Believe it or not, this last week a 2015 Mercedes S65 sedan surfaced that a blog reader snagged and bought before I could (I had a BMW M5 being transferred and couldn’t move the S65), and a 2011 BMW Alpina B7 at a ridiculously low price of $32,998 was located and bought by another blog reader who saw the car before me. Great cars that I should have written about, but snoozed and lost. In August I may experiment with very, very brief pieces on unusual cars to just get them out there to you with little to no witty commentary.

2) CarMax’s 24 hour test drive now has limitations. I transferred a loaded BMW M5 from a Maryland dealership to my Dulles, Virginia location and went in for a 24 hour test drive, only to be told there’s a new policy. Cars over $60,000, and a whole bunch of muscle cars, are no longer eligible for 24 hour test drives. That’s what my sales rep told me when I showed up to take the M5 home. I noted that’s not what’s on the web and the rep apologized, but I couldn’t take the car home. So I said forget it – not buying a $90,000 car after a drive around the block, and left in a huff. Looked up the latest web policy, and it says “Please note, not all cars qualify for a 24-hour test drive, and customers may only take two 24-hour test drives within a 30-day period.” I guess they can make the rules. That said, I have learned so much more about a car with a 24 hour test drive rather than the loop around the dealership, that this will give me pause. Also, one reader tells me his dealer still lets him take care home for a 24 hour ride. Guess it’s negotiable.

3) CarMax inventory levels are ballooning to the 60,000 car level, up significantly over the last few months. Starting to see a more interesting mix of unicorns – high end cars, older European sports cars, low mileage muscle cars – than I’ve seen in a while (even if I didn’t get around to blogging about them!). I’m going to be more vigilant in August and post twice a week come hell or high water! Hang in there with me, please.

My unicorn to close out the month is a 2014 Jaguar XFR. It’s a handsome sedan with the same drive train and interior as the svelte XKR, but you get four doors and a decent trunk. If you’re a regular reader you know I’ve toyed with more than one XKR purchase as the supercharged motor is just barrels of British fun.

The interior is neat and tidy, with heated and cooled seats, Bluetooth, Meridian audio, navigation and a sunroof (you cannot get a sunroof in an XKR).

Decent sized trunk – I think that’s a ski/passthrough access point in the back?

The heart and soul of the Jaguar XFR is the supercharged 5.0 liter aluminum V-8 powerplant. The last Jaguar XFR I covered I said, “the 5.0 liter supercharged V-8 runs through a six-speed automatic transmission. Depending on the review, the car sprints from 0-60 mph in the low to high four second range. Wish I could be more precise, but web info says the sedan tops out at 155 (limited), 174, and 186 mph. If you own one and hit top speed let me know. We’ll keep it between us.” No need to reinvent the heated steering wheel – all still applies to this car!

This 2014 Jaguar XFR is available here in Laurel, Maryland – not far from me! (And not far from you, Scott. This will fit in your garage?) It’s a one owner, accident free Virginia car with MaxCare good until 125,000 miles and five years.

Stock # 23093302  VIN # SAJWA0JH4EMU18378