Some people aren't afraid to get their hands dirty and know a bargain when they see one. For those smart penny and pound-conscious individuals, I present you with this 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged that needs a little bit of work, with a metric ton of reward. Weekend warriors unite!
This 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged has a 4.2- litre (because it's British) V8 engine that produces 420 horsepower and a lot of torque, because of course it does. But that isn't what's important on this car, because this car requires manual labor, which will turn most people off completely and have them run screaming for their nearest hills and/or mommy. But the truth is, at less than $13,000, this is a bargain for those who can spend a day or two bolting on parts, because as far as I can tell, there ain't much damage at all.
The car does have a salvage title, but not all salvage titles are created equal. This one is a theft recovery, meaning that someone may have taken this car on a joyride and run into a mailbox. From the pictures, it doesn't look like any major damage is present, and the lengthy description reflects that. Here's an excerpt:
We have the salvage certificate of title (no-liens) at hand and ready to transfer to the new owner. Such vehicles can be legally returned back to the roads after repairs and your state motor vehicles inspection. Damaged area(s) are clearly shown in the pictures below. Looks like it was a light tap to the left front and the insurance adjuster/body shop removed the fender during inspection process. As seen in the detailed pictures there is no major structural damage to the front end. The front bumper rebar is in tact and frame rails are straight. No observed damage to the left fender area/apron. No damage to the front end cooling components (radiator, condensor, fans, etc) which are all in tact. Left front intercooler does not look to be damaged. All wiring looks in tact. We ran the car for over 30 minutes with no observed leaks and temperature stayed normal. No suspension damage observed and steering is normal. All airbags ok. No damage to the left rocker and looks like the left lower trim piece was also removed by the body shop. Interior is in mint condition with like new leather seats and exquisite wood trim. Has many great options such as the touch screen navigation, backup camera, on board diagnostics, dual power heated seats, paddle shifters, xenon hid headlights, parktronic, power sunroof, rain sensing windshield, rear sunshade, and many more.
The great news is that the car starts, engine runs great, goes into gear and we are able to drive it around within our lot. No major warning lights on the dash (see pic of the speedometer taken while car was running). Overall should be a straight forward easy fixer with no major body work and should mostly be easy re-installation of the missing parts.
Would I buy it? You're damn skippy I would. It may not be the kind of car you'd want to flip for profit, but it's cheap luxury car material all day, every day. Maintenance costs aren't horrible on these cars, and the styling is minimalistic and damn near timeless. It'll need a few grand at the very maximum in body panels and paint, but at the end, you'll have a seriously good looking and performing luxury cruiser. Look it over with a fine toothed comb and buy a modern Jag for the price of a modern Civic. It's what Clarkson would've wanted.
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.
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