| Wait, straight, unrusted XJ-Ss get crushed? Yes, indeed, I see solid examples of Jaguar's V12 statusmobile at self-service junkyards all the time. This car listed at $39,700 when new (nearly 80 grand in 2012 dollars), but couldn't even fetch above scrap value at an auction today. That's why we see quite a few XJ-Ss in LeMons racing, and why we always believe the car was built under the required $500 budget. The idea of getting a cheap XJ-S runner and driving in V12 luxury for a while always has great appeal, but dealing with any mechanical problem tends to be expensive, time-consuming, or both. So, it's 1987. You can get a base 911 coupe for $38,500, a Corvette coupe for $27,999, or an XJ-S for $39,700. Without knowing that the Porsche and Chevy would hold on to a double-digit percentage of their initial value while the Jaguar would be worth 1% as much in 25 years, would you still have bought the Jag? Hell, even buying one XJ-S worth of new '87 Chevettes (i.e., seven Chevettes), you'd have held on to more of your investment today (scrap value of a Chevette is about $250 nowadays).
from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com |
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