July 201 9\JaguarWorld|2 1Approvedused
APPROVEDUSED-carschemessound prettydull
untilyou’reinthemarketforoneor,rather,thecar
thatmightbeattachedtoit.They’vebeenaroundfor
decades,likeyourcolumnist,whocanrememberthe
LeylandGauntlettschemethatwarrantedyournew
used-carforamassivethreemonthsand,ifIrememberrightly,avast
3,000miles.That’swhatmymumgotonher1 97 0AustinMaxiback
in 1973 .Inevitably,itwentwrongsoonafterthewarrantyhad
expired,butitactuallyturnedouttobeprettydependablewhile
quietlycorrodingonherdrive.
Cars,andtheseschemes,havecomea
longwaysincethen.Thecarshavecome
alongwayinthattheyarevastlymore
durablethantheyoncewereand,for
themostpart,aloadofthemaremore
reliable,too.So,themanufacturershave
daredtolengthentheguaranteeperiod,
aswellasthemileagelimit.Therealsotend
tobefewercaveatsnow,car-makersatone
time excludingplentyofitemsbeyond
normalwear-and-tearconsumables,such
astheclutchandbrakepads.
Competitivepressureshavealsodriven
manufacturerstooffermore.Spectacularlysoifyoucomparethe
JaguarLandRoverschemetothatofitsone-timeownerBritish
Leylandnearly 50 yearsago,proofofwhichcomesfromthefactthat
WhatCar?concludedthatitisthebestschemeintheindustry,and
forthesecondyearinarow.
So,insteadofthethreemonthsoftheearlySeventies,youget
twoyearsandunlimitedmileagecover,thereisnolimittothe
valueofeachclaim,noranylimittothenumberofclaimsyoucan
make.YoualsogetroadsideassistanceacrosstheEUforthetwo
years,togetherwithahirecarandhotelaccommodation.
Youcan,ofcourse,drawthecynicalconclusionthatthisscheme
isgenerousbecauseitneedstobe.Theremaybesometruthin
thatand,certainly,ifyoulookatthereliabilityrecordofJaguar’s
sisterbrand,LandRover,it’seasiertounderstandwhyapotential
used-carcustomermightneedsomereassurance;reassurance
thatalsoincludesa30-dayexchangeonthecarifyou’vedone
fewerthan 1000 milesinit.
There’smore, too, but these are
the main benefits. Needlesstosay,
you’renotgoingtofindaJaguarfor
fivegrandwithallthesesafetynets,
notleast becausetheoldestcarJLR
willwarrantlikethiswillbefiveyears
old.So,whatisthe cheapestJaguar
availableonthescheme?Atthetimeof
scribblingthis,it’sa49, 00 0-mile 2014
XF2.2diesel,for£ 12 ,500.
YoucandefinitelybuyasimilarXF
forlessmoney,butit’slikelythatit
won’thavehadthevettingthatthiscar
willhavehadtomakeguaranteeingitalow-riskfromJaguar’s
pointofview.Still,theback-upisprobablymoreattractiveif
yougoforahigher-mileagemodel,suchasa£ 14 ,545XFSport
R-Sportthat’sdone70,000miles,orahigherperformanceand
heavilyoptionedcarwithmoretopotentiallygowrong.Youpay
more,butit’savastlybetterpeace-of-mindpackagethantheone
thatMaxicamewith,andeveryotherschemeoutthere.YOUCAN,OF
COURSE,DRAW
THECYNICAL
CONCLUSIONTHAT
THISSCHEMEIS
GENEROUSBECAUSE
ITNEEDSTOBE