Me again, the newbie about to commit.....soon?

[mikal83]

Well it looks good that my Merc is going to a new owner.....Nice guy. All he wants is an indie checkover and then its gone......so that then gives me freedom to buy another car for the summer....a ragtop of course.

So back to the Jag. Have looked around various comparison websites/online mags etc and some compare the V6S to is the Boxster or 911 and then others to an M4/Audi etc (bit mystifying but hey ho)....I still have the hots for the V6S.

Now then, its what to buy. I will have around £25k ish...could push up to £30k If I dont tell the wife and tell porkies on the final price......SO, IYHO is there a spec must have that you wished you had or actually have that you like.....And then the what to look out for bits n bobs.....This of course surpasses the "just go for a drive comments".....that will probably come, so dont bother with those please.

 

[mikal83]

161 views in 4 hrs................

 

[MajorTom]

I'd usually mention the pano roof and heated steering wheel but since it will be a summer rag top those options aren't relevant. I'd aim at getting an RWD and not AWD. Don't know how new F-Types you can get for that budget but if you have the chance to get a facelift car (MY18+) a very nice option is the brilliant performance seats which also came with optional cooling. Not the strongest cooling admittedly but could probably be useful in a summer rag top.

 

[Geetee68]

Subjective I know, but the toys for me simply make it more attractive IF I ever wanted to sell it. Mine has the Meridian surround. Do I use it, no. I prefer to hear the exhaust note which is why I chose it over the v8. Personal preference. Heated steering wheel. Fortunately mine is a warmer weather car so do I use that, no. I have performance seats and would say they are worth having though. Must have is a full and detailed service history, tyres with decent tread or negotiate price as you’ll be spending £1k on those, more than that you should be able to tell from looking over the car for any respray from potential accident damage etc. Good luck

 

[NCE 61]

Heated seats and steering wheel are definitely nice to have in a convertible.

 

[mikal83]

I'd usually mention the pano roof and heated steering wheel but since it will be a summer rag top those options aren't relevant. I'd aim at getting an RWD and not AWD. Don't know how new F-Types you can get for that budget but if you have the chance to get a facelift car (MY18+) a very nice option is the brilliant performance seats which also came with optional cooling. Not the strongest cooling admittedly but could probably be useful in a summer rag top.

Pano roof on a convertible is so rare I wouldnt even bother....why for a start when its a convertible....the roofs down!!!

 

[MajorTom]

I'd usually mention the pano roof and heated steering wheel but since it will be a summer rag top those options aren't relevant. I'd aim at getting an RWD and not AWD. Don't know how new F-Types you can get for that budget but if you have the chance to get a facelift car (MY18+) a very nice option is the brilliant performance seats which also came with optional cooling. Not the strongest cooling admittedly but could probably be useful in a summer rag top.

Pano roof on a convertible is so rare I wouldnt even bother....why for a start when its a convertible....the roofs down!!!

Exactly my point - you'll have a full fat natural pano roof included.

 

[Apex]

I think some form of reversing aid would be a good option, but can be added later. So parking sensors and rear view mirror can be thought about afterwards if all the other boxes are ticked.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say it is down to personal preference and you won't miss what you don't know about.

I was really unsure so chose a 400 sport as it pretty much had everything I think I wanted as standard.

For a convertible most people seem to aim for heated seats and heated steering wheel. And items such as sound system further down the list.

 

[mikal83]

A reversing camera is up there as well as all round sensors. heated wheel. meh but seats a + but not a necessity. Upgraded media yep.

But what about the options/packages?

 

[MajorTom]

Sensors all round and a reversing camera goes without saying of course. Luckily F-Types without those features seem very rare and I never got how someone could specify an F-Type without them. The V6S cars are usually well optioned so it's unlikely that you'll encounter one without these parking aids but it's actually a good thing to keep in mind.

 

[msdmjb44]

I have a convertible, forget looking for a surround stereo .... not worth chasing imo given the extra noise (and the standard stereo is absolutely fit for purpose).
Heated wheel/seats .... really!
The car is so stubby I am not sure you even need rear camera, a front camera would be good as it is not the easiest bonnet to look over.
Performance seats are a must if you like going around corners.

I bought a V8 for that price range and if you haven't already worth having a go, mine came with carbon bits for the outside and roll over loops .... recommended. A convertible is all about how it looks so 20inch rims are a must.

 

[DEEDUZ]

Good luck with your search I took over six months to find a face-lift model with all the optional extras and then went to Viezu and had the full Predator conversion what a difference that made absolutely awesome so I would say take your time there are some good deals to be had although kind of wrong Season to purchase high mileage okay to but with full service history receipts the lot ,you will find panels and bit's that don't meet etc but don't worry about that they are perfectly natural being hand built so I'm told and definitely look to Viezu for any upgrade you can afford even just the sports exhaust you won't stop smiling

 

[mikal83]

Seats. Called different names buy many...standard...performance....sports....I thought there were 2 types. Standard and sports. Is there a difference between to 2 comfort wise.

 

[MajorTom]

AFAIK there were always only two types of seats: standard seats and optional performance seats although they may have been called different things in the marketing and brochures. I think that the standard seats sometimes have been referred to as "sports" seats.

Then there's a difference between pre-facelift (before MY18) and facelift (as of MY18, no changes after that) - both variants of the pre-facelift seats were a bit thicker and heavier than the facelift ones. Apart from their lower weight (8 kg IIRC) thanks to their magnesium based construction and thinner shape a new thing with the facelift performance seats was that you could get them with cooling.

When it comes to comfort the consensus seems to be that they're all comfortable. Can't remember ever seeing anyone complaining about F-Type seats being uncomfortable. The facelift performance seats I have are definitely very comfortable. Have spent many full days in them without any comfort issues.

 

[mikal83]

Cheers MT. My cvar will be a 2014/5/6 at the price I can afford! Now, what about all those packages.....do they only apply to a certain car colour...ie the black etc etc....

 

[mikal83]

Found this....

https://www.jaguarhuntington.com/jaguar-f-type-packages.htm

 

[TH51]

With a £25k-£30k budget you'll get a newer and/or lower mileage FType compared to a 911 or even a Boxster. The V6 (base or S) is a lot of car for the money.

My car hasn't got many options. I only wanted a coupe without a sunroof but cruise control would have been nice. Heated seats and a heated steering wheel would have been great but I use the rear camera and parking sensors a lot more that I would have used the creature comforts.

With my £26k budget I went for the newest, lowest mileage, best history car I could find in my favourite colour combo. I ended up (last July) with a 2016 340, 46k miles, fJsh in Italian Racing Red and had £800 left over.