XFR is tempting me....

[GaryNoGrip]

Hi to all over this corner of pistonheads!
Been mulling over an xfr for ages now, in a financial situation that allows me to buy one up to 30k, doesn't mean I will but will now test drive a local one to get a feel for it.
My question is about general ownership, not worried about mpg and service costs, more about any problems you may have had with yours, thanks in advance Gary

[Civilian47]

No help I'm afraid but also in exactly the same situation so very interested in any replies. Budget very similar, between 25-30k so probably looking at a pre-facelift. Not driven one yet as there is nothing local and time has been tight so unable to get further afield, though I have been into both Hartwell in Bristol and Stratstone in Cardiff and left my details should they get hold of anything.

[jamieduff1981]

They're solid cars with no real weak points to look out for.

Obviously just make sure it's been looked after properly

Are 8 speeders in budget? Either gearbox is fine tbh.

[GaryNoGrip]

Would be pre facelift by the looks of it, can get a good low mileage one then, testing one Wednesday lunchtime, really hope I like it!
Previous cars include Monaro, vxr8(supercharged) and RS6, really trying to find a car to compliment all 3 and this would seem to have all I like!

[no effort]

In the 2 years I've owned one I've put just over 20,000 miles on it and it's been pretty fault less. I had a few carry over issues that the last owner didn't fix when I first bought it but these were fixed under the warranty as I bought from a dealer.

I love it.
The XFR does need an aftermarket exhaust though as it's too quiet for a V8.

[GaryNoGrip]

Trying to buy s car I don't feel the need to mod for once, but agree on the exhaust if it's not noisy enough

[macky17]

Not going to mod? Pay a visit to Paramount and for no more than £3k you'll have a 600bhp monster. Would be the first thing I'd do (remap, pulley and exhaust/cats).

£30k (or very low 30s) now buys a facelift. One on Autotrader:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Utter bargain.

Edited by macky17 on Tuesday 2nd June 13:11

[GaryNoGrip]

That is good value! Sadly I have to go down the hpi/pcp route still, my budget is set on what I can afford to pay per month. I know you can do this on private sales now to a degree but its complicated, thanks for the link tho will look into it anyway!

[jamieduff1981]

macky17 said:

Not going to mod? Pay a visit to Paramount and for no more than £3k you'll have a 600bhp monster. Would be the first thing I'd do (remap, pulley and exhaust/cats).

£30k (or very low 30s) now buys a facelift. One on Autotrader:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Utter bargain.

Edited by macky17 on Tuesday 2nd June 13:11

Waste of money IMHO. You'll never get to use the extra you paid for. My XFR-S is traction limited on 295 section rear tyres up to the speed limit in the dry.

You'd need cut slicks to get any benefit from your 600bhp. It's just pub bragging rights with no practical application.

[GaryNoGrip]

My vxr8 came in at 597bhp, was next to hopeless in anything but bone dry weather, if I don't think it's fast enough on tomorrow's test drive then it's not for me, tested an e60 m5 last week so the bar is already fairly high!

[jamieduff1981]

That is a high bar but the XFR will compete well.

Personally I love the BMW V10, it sounds glorious. I always felt it belonged in a sports car rather than a saloon though. By comparison you'll find the Jaguar engine much more torquey low to mid range, losing out to the V10 at the top end where the V10 really comes to life. From a standing start the delivery is quite different but they keep pace with each other.

From a saloon car point of view, the supercharged V8 is a more usable engine and it uses a lot less fuel too. It's just not quite so rewarding to rev to the heavens as the V10 is.

Hope it goes well for you

[8bit]

jamieduff1981 said:

Personally I love the BMW V10, it sounds glorious. I always felt it belonged in a sports car rather than a saloon though.

The same engine and transmission was in the M6 of the same era. I nearly bought one before buying my XKR. The M5 and M6 are hysterically fast but that's it; they lack the precision of their smaller stablemates and they suffer from a transmission that feels awkward and unwieldy at "normal" driving.

An XFR or XKR is a more rounded and more pleasant thing to live with by most measures. The BMW V10 engine does sound good though, but I wouldn't want to trade my V8 for it personally.

[GaryNoGrip]

Have now done the test drive, unfortunately the route chosen by the dealer who insisted on coming with me was crap and busy, but nonetheless got to have a bit of a play, wow, I love it! A much better all round car than the m5!
It is a bit quiet so will have to upgrade the exhaust

[V88Dicky]

I can recommend the Spires rear XFR boxes. Why not get them delivered to the dealer and get them to fit them as part of the deal? That's what we did, they were more than happy to do it

[jamieduff1981]

I haven't driven like a loon this week. 1/3 unclassified roads, 1/3 B roads, 1/3 A roads. Driving at the correct speeds (i.e. not dithering along like a Citroen Picasso) and accelerating assertively but changing up manually and using torque. Not bad at all really given there's 542bhp on tap!

[smashy]

Hi all saw a new one in a services on the M40..wish the owner had come over ,I would have told him what a fantastic looking car he had.It really had some presence and a wonderful red colour ,is that red for the R ? Its not dark as ive seen on other XFs
Anyway a beast!!