Help! Have I been had?!

[alexjfrost1969]

Morning all

 

A few months ago I bought a 58 plate X Type Estate from a main dealer, as a stop gap after my last car was written off, before my new car arrives at the end of the month. I paid about 11K for it, which seemed to be broadly in line with what was being quoted on CAP and Glasses guides when I put the registration number in.

 

I am now in the process of trying to sell it. I have put the registration number into CAP and Glasses again, and also it is advertised on Auto Trader using the information presumably pulled off the DVLA via its registration plate. The weird thing is that Auto Trader lists it as a 2009 model even though the log book clearly indicates that it was registered in September 2008.

 

Several awkward conversations with potential buyers later, and I am completely baffled. According to all of the info I can obtain via the registration number, it is worth around £7,500. But I keep being told it is "the less desirable older model" as a result of something to do with the bumpers, and is worth £1000 less. I have attached a couple of pictures if that helps.

 

I realised when I bought the car that I would take a hit when I sold it but for the car to be worth only slightly more than half what I paid for it, after 4 months of ownership, is nuts.

 

Can anyone shed any light on this, please? I'd be ever so grateful - I am quite sure that the dealer did not deliberately stitch me up - even now it seems that every source I try is telling me that the car is something that it might not be - but presumably I have some sort of consumer rights if I bought something that turns out to be not what I thought it was......

 

Thanks

Alex

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the Club, Alex.

 

The x type 2.2 estate is a very good car, and a 58 plate should be worth more than you have been offered.

 

The x type had an update in March 2008 with the most noticeable being a bolder front bumper and a different radiator grill.

 

From the photo's you have posted the front end looks a little bit like the pre March version. There were three differing grills, the earliest on being the classical Jaguar "waterfall", and the second being yours.

 

But as you say, the car was registered in September 2008 and of that there can be no dispute.  There might have been a Grill change, as some owners do things like that.

 

I would be inclined to go back to the main dealer from whom you bought it for a friendly chat and ask a few questions without giving the impression that you think you have been misled somewhere, and if you could get a letter from him that the car is a post March 2008 model it could stand you in good stead when selling it.

 

Cars can drop in value immensely. I Bought a July 1999 Rover Sterling with every conceivable extra in March 2000. Price new had been £27k. I paid £12.5k.

 

Hope I have been able to help.

 

Peter.

[alexjfrost1969]

Dear Peter

 

Thank you very much for your help. Yes, I think that the 2.2 diesel engine is superb: it pulls like a train.

 

The best I could glean from my other research was that the "facelift" model was introduced in March 2008. This is why I am baffled that my late September 2008 car appears to be pre-facelift.

 

Looking at photos online, it seems that one of the big clues is the presence or lack of a turn indicator in the wing mirrors and bumpers. Mine does not have those.

By the way, this is not the first time I have joined the club. Here's my last Jag. I built it from a bare shell and 14 tea crates of parts.The arrival of children meant it had to go but I still miss it.

 

Alex

[Old Peter]

Hi Alex,

 

That is a nice car  ---   the same colour as mine.  I have dragged it into iPhoto, and will print it off and put it in my photo gallery, which is in the corridor between one half of the upstairs in my house.

 

Your X Type could have sat in a dealers showroom/garage for a few months before being sold.  A friend of mine always used to buy his cars prior to a facelift or new model in order to get a better price.  That is why you could well have a chat with him.

 

Regards,

 

Peter. 

[jag2]

hi alex and welcome. peter is right what he is saying. if i could exchange mine for a classic i would, they unlike modern cars increase in value. have losts thousands over the years to dealers. so good luck their. charlie

[Willber G]

Just to confirm the other posts, the pictures you posted are definitely of a pre-facelift car, as most clearly evidenced by the grill and chrome bumper inserts. Unfortunately if you paid a post-facelift price for it you could lose out significantly. You will have no comeback on the dealer unless you can show that they falsely advertised it as post-facelift, I think.

[euanT]

Post face lift look like mine:

 

 http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab124/euantausney/jaguar%20x%20type/IMG_1068_zps956fcb26.jpg

[jag2]

nice motor euan like the decals on the headrests and your blue brake calipers look great wer did you get them from. ps were in bonnie scotland you from charlie

[euanT]

Calipers painted by myself with Halfords Caliper paint, which I thought was a bit garish at first but now I am more used to it! Decals are from eBay, easy to find and fit, although seat headrests will have to be de - waxed with a cleaner first!   I live in Sunny Clydebank(not)

[jag2]

ok thanks for that. will have a look on eBay think they would look nice on the xk charlie

[pezzzer]

Hi Alex, its definitely a pre face lift model you have there. The problem with the reg could be assigned to the fact that some cars just weren't sold before the next model came out, I would have a guess and say that whoever bought and registered the car new had a substantial discount at the dealership.

[BarryR1]

Hi Alex,

 

I think what "People" are referring to when they say "less desirable model" is that yours is a PRE facelift version. I'm pretty sure the facelift was just literally that, slightly different front bumper and an updated front grill, (I hope other forum members correct me if I'm wrong but I wouldn't have thought it would make a huge difference to your selling price as long as all the featured equipment is "as per facelift" models ???

 

,,and yes there would be some recourse from the dealers that supplied the car IF indeed your car IS NOT ACTUALLY WHAT THEY STATED ORIGINALLY.,, your receipt should match what was supplied. If it doesn't Im sure the dealers would prefer "an adjustment" in your favour rather than a potential civil court case as they didn't supply what they said they would ?????

 

I'm no legal eagle so I would suggest an un-official discussion with your civil law representative after going to a seperate dealer & getting a print out from Jaguar as to exactly what your car is ???

 

I hope you get sorted.

 

Barry

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the club, Barry, and could I say a very good post to start!

 

You are quite correct, as the facelift was cosmetic rather than anything else.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

Lancastrian in exile.

[BarryR1]

Thanks Peter,

I hope he gets sorted ! !