[krazyking]

Originally Posted by harit

Indeed, when you have a Jag there must be a service station not very far away. Regular maintainance is a requisite to owning a Jag.

I don't think you understand what I mean. I mean to say why don't people buy Jaguars in India? Is it because it's hard to maintain it and service it?

[canonball]

If you are talking second hand then the much older ones are sought after for vintage value and the newer S types are not preferred as there is a limited market for 2nd hand newer petrol cars in india. New cars are bought for regular use/commutes and a V8 petrol is the preference of few. The market for V6 & V8 petrol are people who would rather buy new ones of the the showroom floor. Hey guy are you really looking to buy or just exploring playing Don't get me wrong I did all this when coming back and finally bought a brand new Safari & Santro as everyone/friends advised us to be practical as India is most impractical when comes to owning highend auto's!

Some how your last two posts lead me to belive it maybe you don't know it yet !!

[krazyking]

Originally Posted by canonball

If you are talking second hand then the much older ones are sought after for vintage value and the newer S types are not preferred as there is a limited market for 2nd hand newer petrol cars in india. New cars are bought for regular use/commutes and a V8 petrol is the preference of few. The market for V6 & V8 petrol are people who would rather buy new ones of the the showroom floor. Hey guy are you really looking to buy or just exploring playing Don't get me wrong I did all this when coming back and finally bought a brand new Safari & Santro as everyone/friends advised us to be practical as India is most impractical when comes to owning highend auto's!

Some how your last two posts lead me to belive it maybe you don't know it yet !!

Ohh I see. Well I know India isn't very practical for owning high-end autos like Ferrari's, Lambos, GTR's, etc. But I think it's still practical to own BMW's, Audi's, Mercedes Benz, etc. I think the Jaguar would go in between the practical and impractical use, because it's a comfortable and luxurious sedan just like the Audi, MB or BMW. But I guess it has it's limit. It might not be suitable as a daily driver in India, and maybe just used for show off. But again, I may be wrong.

And if you're wondering if I'm serious or not. If I am to move to India by the end of this year, then yes I'm serious. If I'm not, then at least I've done some research and am now more aware of the car market there.

[harit]

Originally Posted by krazyking

I don't think you understand what I mean. I mean to say why don't people buy Jaguars in India? Is it because it's hard to maintain it and service it?

Let me explain.
Throughout the ages, Jags are known to be tempramental. I have yet to see a Jag which performed well after being 4 or 5 years old. Before anyone gets into the act to retort, please consider the following:
99% Jaguars required extensive restoration/resurrection. The original owners got fed-up and just left them to rot. Till an enthusiast turned up, spent a lot of money to get it going, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Then the cars require continuous fettling. Just see how many restored Jags have been sold by their owners! In the old days every Jag in Mumbai was kept on the road by Apex garage, when it shifted from Mumbai many of these cars fell into disrepair.
A friend in Germany living in a smaller town that had no Jag dealership told me that he would have had a Jag instead of Merc if there was a dealership in his town.
These cars require speciallised dealerships, not just any workshop. Let us see what Tata's will do, will they support old Jags or not? And what will it cost?
This is my take on Jags. When they run, they are fantastic. And good looking too!

Cheers harit

[canonball]

Harit you got it bang on the nails head the older ones are sought after for their vintage appeal and value in case of some. Other than that the newer ones are like a gamble. I think there may be a handfull people who bought a new jag twice!

Trust me Krazyking I know owners who are crying with Audi's/Mercs/BMW as these too are an arm and a leg to upkeep through official dealers. India is know for cheap labor and car repair but when it comes to highend they are even more expensive or on pas with expensive western counterparts!

[vintagepoint5]

I just want to know, whether cars from Saudi Arabia can be brought to Hyd. For example Chevrolet Caprice 1987 road worthy, left hand drive,
8 cyl petrol engine, very reliable car, safe and comfortable travel and driving. How much custom duty will be or total charges to the destination.

[agspins]

I think only way you can get it is through Carnet (limited period 6 months or so), since it is a LHD, would be a no-no on TR
as norms here don't allow it...

[Raj1008]

I agree with canonball and harit and just going a bit OT here. This guy owns what is also a semi jag junkyard in Toronto.
Just Jags: Where the Old Cats Go to Die

I am not sure if I read about him first on this forum or somewhere else but its interesting to see these beautiful cars in such a state.

Like they say the two happiest days of a Jag owners life is the day he buys the car and the day he sells it

[krazyking]

Originally Posted by harit

Let me explain.
Throughout the ages, Jags are known to be tempramental. I have yet to see a Jag which performed well after being 4 or 5 years old. Before anyone gets into the act to retort, please consider the following:
99% Jaguars required extensive restoration/resurrection. The original owners got fed-up and just left them to rot. Till an enthusiast turned up, spent a lot of money to get it going, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Then the cars require continuous fettling. Just see how many restored Jags have been sold by their owners! In the old days every Jag in Mumbai was kept on the road by Apex garage, when it shifted from Mumbai many of these cars fell into disrepair.
A friend in Germany living in a smaller town that had no Jag dealership told me that he would have had a Jag instead of Merc if there was a dealership in his town.
These cars require speciallised dealerships, not just any workshop. Let us see what Tata's will do, will they support old Jags or not? And what will it cost?
This is my take on Jags. When they run, they are fantastic. And good looking too!

Cheers harit

Yah you're definetely right on the maintaince part. We need to get our Jaguar serviced regularly, at least once a year. And those services aren't cheap either. I guess you're right that maintaing a Jag is not a small thing. Every year we spend around 1-1.25 lacks on the servicing.

Originally Posted by canonball

Harit you got it bang on the nails head the older ones are sought after for their vintage appeal and value in case of some. Other than that the newer ones are like a gamble. I think there may be a handfull people who bought a new jag twice!

Trust me Krazyking I know owners who are crying with Audi's/Mercs/BMW as these too are an arm and a leg to upkeep through official dealers. India is know for cheap labor and car repair but when it comes to highend they are even more expensive or on pas with expensive western counterparts!

I guess you're right in a way. But people are still buying Audi's/Mercs/BMW's every day. It doesn't seem like it may be a problem. But as you say, it might be. But even you own a Merc or at least did before, so what does that mean then? haha

Originally Posted by Raj1008

Like they say the two happiest days of a Jag owners life is the day he buys the car and the day he sells it

I think you're wrong there. I definetely wouldn't be happy the day I would sell my Jag.

[harit]

Originally Posted by krazyking

Yah you're definetely right on the maintaince part. We need to get our Jaguar serviced regularly, at least once a year. And those services aren't cheap either. I guess you're right that maintaing a Jag is not a small thing. Every year we spend around 1-1.25 lacks on the servicing.

I guess you're right in a way. But people are still buying Audi's/Mercs/BMW's every day. It doesn't seem like it may be a problem. But as you say, it might be. But even you own a Merc or at least did before, so what does that mean then? haha


I think you're wrong there. I definetely wouldn't be happy the day I would sell my Jag.

I believe that we are mixing up two issues. One is fascility, the second is affordability.
For Jags there were no official fascilities. So you were forced to go to unauthorised workshops. Even if you took your Jag to a Merc workshop, that would be considered as unauthorised.
For any of these cars, Audi, Merc etc. it is advisable to go to the authorised workshop. Yes, that costs money. If you are a user like a company executive for whom the car is a part of his package, or just a rich man enjoying the use of a prestigious car, then you go to the workshop and the bill does not really pain. Later the next owners are the ones who go to other workshops and sometimes the consequences are for all to see. How many 123,124 and 126 still go to authorised workshops? Some 124 maybe, others very few. But how many dead 126 do you see? I saw plenty at the Concorder Motors workshop at Mahim when they closed down as the owners did not feel comfy to pay so much to get them going.
We had a 124. For the first years it went for all work to the authorised service guys. Later for scratch touch up and minor dings I gave it out. After 8 years suspension work was required. They quoted 2 L, I did some searching and got it done for less than 35K with parts and labour. But I checked that genuine parts were used.
But for Jags you have to go to other workshops from the very beginning which can lead to the cars deteriorating very fast.

[canonball]

Krazy I think harit sums it up. Incedently a lot of new money bought tons of Audi's/Mecs/BMW's in the past 3 to 5 years. Most are in Honeymoon period and are now realsing they are in ****. and others as Harit mentioned are rich and this is pocket change or the company pays which again is changing as some smart execs are opting for cafeteria approach take all cash and drive a Honda or Innova and keep the rest in pocket. These are the very high multimillion dollar stock option types who keep lowpro!

Regarding my car sold it as I felt and still feel people don't respect other peoples property in our country and I for one did not want to drive around a 20+ lac car that has been touchedup and repainted everywhere no matter how well it was fixed and give it to a driver who will not appreciate it the way it should be. Realised that I needed to switch into something more classic or vintage and not bother about using her and just ogle at it in my garage May be in a few years she would be worth something than a deprecaiting 20 lac modern merc

[ajmat]

The earliest Jags- XJ's/ XJS suffered from poor electricals and assembly - blame it on British Unions and bad suppliers (Lucas - Prince of deakness)
The 6 cyl engines were notorious for blowing gaskets. I met a dutch collector who has an XJ 4.2 and an XJ12. For the 4.2, he keeps a spare head and gasket ready.
During the mid 80's. Jag was spun off and made public - they came out with the XJ40 which has developed under BL but finally released under a limited budget so plenty of initial teething problems.

Thecompany was hyped up so much that Ford bought Jag for a lot of money only to find the factories quite primitive. It took a long time and just when turning the corner - sold it

[krazyking]

I'd like to thank Ajmat, Cannonball and Harit for explaining this all to me. So I now understand that buying these Porsches/Mercs/BMWs/Audis is easy, but after that the maintaince will rip open your pockets. And for at least a couple more years we should stick to the Japs. So would it be fine to buy a high end Jap such as the Toyota Prado or Lexus LX570, or do even these cause troubles later on? Will their maintaince/servicing cost the same as a regular Jap, or in between the Germans and the regular Japs.

[canonball]

The preowned Japanese cars are more reliable and easy on the pocket but watch out for grey imports which most are 90 +% have evaded duty in some from or the other so get the paper work verified. The prado has a bad stability record. The older the car the less hassle with DRI as they are mostly targeting 2001 onwards imports. If you are buying brand new do it with closed eyes the Japanese are value for money but not in the Prado/LC space, infact they are over priced

[avinaash.b]

Originally Posted by canonball

Spoke to an expert and he clears cars regularly and he gave me the follwoing info:
=====================================
The guy said no one brings in cars anymore as the above example shows that it is completely crazy.

What if the car is older? From the 70's perhaps?