Which Jaguar XF trim depreciates the fastest?
If you want a premium executive saloon but also have a taste for something different, the Jaguar XF may just tick the boxes for you. And, because the current XF generation has been on the market for a few years, there are some good bargains to be found in the used-car market. We look at the ones currently listed on AutoTrader to find out which trim depreciates the fastest.
As is the norm with most premium cars, the Jaguar XF also suffers from fairly severe initial depreciation. This is likely because cars of this ilk are often seen as company tax write-offs (and thus end up in high-depreciation leasing deals), and because buyers in this market segment tend to purchase The Next Big Thing when a new fashion item appears on the market. This might be bad for those private customers who buy them new, but it also makes for really great used bargains.
To determine which Jaguar XF trim depreciates the fastest, we searched the listings on AutoTrader for used, current-generation XFs from the 2016 model year (when they first arrived on local shores), and compared their averaged current prices to what they cost when new. Not all launch variants are simultaneously available in the pre-owned market, so we restricted this list to cars that were available on site at the time of writing. For instance, none of the V6-engined variants are listed on site – which makes sense, because those cars were very pricey from new, and consequently sold in miniscule numbers to start off with.
Also remember that some cars may be fitted with added-cost options, which will have an impact on both new- and used values. However, the value of optional extras seldom reflect fully in used-car prices, which often brings a lot of added value to loaded used cars for comparatively small price premiums. However, it’s impossible to correct our data for this fact, so these price variations will be disregarded for the purposes of this evaluation.
Related: Find out more about the differences between the various Jaguar XF trim levels here.
2016 Jaguar XF 20d Prestige
New Price: R 714 800
Average Current Price: R 399 950
Value Retained: 56 %
2016 Jaguar XF 25t Prestige
New Price: R 755 153
Average Current Price: R 449 000
Value Retained: 59.5 %
2016 Jaguar XF 25t Portfolio
New Price: R 856 253
Average Current Price: R 449 900
Value Retained: 52.5 %
2016 Jaguar XF 20d R-Sport
New Price: R 782 700
Average Current Price: R 451 222
Value Retained: 57.6 %
2016 Jaguar XF 25t R-Sport
New Price: R 822 953
Average Current Price: R 459 900
Value Retained: 55.9 %
Analysis
It needs to be kept in mind that many of the cars listed on AutoTrader may have all manner of expensive options fitted, which will obviously skew their second-hand value somewhat. However, it’s also well-known that a car’s factory options seldom influence their resale value as much as they influence the car’s price when new. At most, options should make a difference of around R40 000 to the car’s second-hand value, in the case of a full-house car, which may account for some of the discrepancies we notice here.
Of far greater significance is the car’s mileage, with lower-mileage cars fetching appreciably higher prices in the used market. We didn’t factor this into our calculations, because all of the cars we considered have less than the industry-average (for their age) mileage of 60 000 kilometre anyway – in fact, the highest-mileage XF in our listings still slips below the 50 000 mark.
Which one depreciates the fastest?
One would imagine that the frugal diesel variants will retain the most of their value, but in the case of the XF, it’s very much an even draw. In fact, the derivative which retained the most of its value is the 25t (petrol) in entry-level Prestige trim, although this might also be due to our very small sample size. Conversely, the highest-depreciation variant is another 25t, but in mid-level Portfolio trim.
Related: Which Jaguar XF is better: petrol or diesel?
The diesels gave a middling showing, proving that (in the case of the XF, at least), the motive power isn’t as big a determinant of resale value as you would expect, with the high-trim R-Sport variant retaining slightly more of its value than the entry-level Prestige derivative.
Summary
The biggest take-away of this analysis is that all pre-owned Jaguar XFs make for great buys, because none of them are really fantastic in the value-retention stakes. This is obviously bad news for current owners, because their cars have all shed almost half of their new values over less than 4 years. This isn’t unusual in the premium executive segment, mind you – as we explained earlier, cars of this ilk generally suffer pretty catastrophic depreciation.
Our advice to interested buyers? Select the variant you want, include an extended warranty in the finance deal, and get yourself a lovely, prestigious and luxurious car for the price of a mid-sized SUV. Your neighbours will never know that you’re not as well-off as you appear to be...
Related: Our video review of the Jaguar XF 20d reveals a car with considerable appeal.
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Interested in a new or used Jaguar XF? Find your dream car in our listings here.