Category: Jaguar

This 2011 Jaguar XJ Supercharged has been on and off the website for a few weeks, and it always vanished before I could catch it for a blog post.  So thought I’d do a quick one.  The four most attractive things about this unicorn are that it’s a big luxurious Jaguar, it has a 470hp supercharged V-8 engine, it’s a single-owner California car, and it’s only $24,998.

Very few supercharged XJ’s on CarMax drop to this price.  It was once a $90,000 Jaguar.  The down side? It’s not an XJ L, if that matters to you, and the plastic “stay the hell outta here” plastic engine cover is really dusty.

The MaxCare warranty is a must to shift the repair risk to CarMax, and no idea what that will be.  Other than that, there’s a lot to like about this car.  Check out this Car and Driver review for an expert opinion.  Find this car here in Los Angeles.

And now for something really exclusive – a limited edition Jaguar unicorn that sold new for $155,000 (if you could find one) offered six years later for $50,998.   Only 30 imported into the US.  All in the same color – Black Amethyst.  All with a 510hp supercharged V-8 and eight-speed transmission.

The front seat looks about the same as all the other XJ’s but the back seat….oh the back seat.  From this Road and Track review when introduced at the Beijing Auto Show:  “…the real hedonism starts with the press of a button, when a small table—machined from solid aluminum and edged with piano black trim—levitates from the center console. It can swing to either side on its pillar, and raising it reveals a flocked storage compartment beneath that contains a pair of bespoke champagne flutes, dramatically lit with a phosphor blue glow.  We all know that where there are champagne flutes, champagne is likely to be nearby. So a large bottle of Moët & Chandon (sold separately) can be chilled in a compartment between the seats, and when this cabinet is opened, the bottle presents itself, lit up with the same theatric blue.”  The car also includes built-in iPads and keyboards in the seat backs.  And herringbone ebony wood trim.  And a 15 channel, 20 speaker Meridian sound system.

Proceed with caution, though.  In six years this car has had six owners, and I got it from a reliable source that it was once purchased and returned to a CarMax dealer.  The owner and CarMax shared concerns about the high cost of warranty repairs under MaxCare.  And yet, here it is on the market again.  Also noticed what looks like a fair amount of wear and tear on the switches.  Takes away from the lustre of a very exclusive car.  But pretty sure you won’t see many like it on the road, and your passengers will thank you for the creature comforts in the back!  Check it out here in Louisville, Kentucky.   If the link is dead it’s sold, on hold, or being transferred. 

 

Quite surprised to get the alert below on a 2013 Jaguar XJ L Supercharged unicorn I’ve been tracking – a $4,000 drop on a $33,000 car is quite unusual.  Believe it’s still part of CarMax’s aggressive end of fiscal year inventory reduction (hypothesis here) that I’ve seen two years running.  May have to keep some cash in reserve next spring and see what bargains turn up?  Believe the Jaguar sold for aboout $100,000 new.

This XJ L is a two-owner (NY and MD) car, with a 470 hp 5.0 l V-8, eight speed automatic transmission, relatively light aluminum (pronounced aloominium, of course) 4,300 pound structure, and way cool airplane tray tables in the rear for passengers in the back.  No overhhead bin space, though.  Not a big fan of the baseball glove leather or the NASCAR black wheels but wouldn’t turn it down.  Something about a long wheelbase luxury car that clips 4.5 second 0-60 mph runs that works for me.  Of course, I’d spring for MaxCare and eliminate worries about expensive repair costs.  Find this big beauty here in Gaithersburg, MD.