XF suitable for an 18 year old
Discussion
Hi
I have just bought a RR Sport, and need to sell the XF (11 plate 3.0 Diesel)
My 18 year old son wants to buy it, he has 12 months driving experience and has found an insurance company willing to insure him.
I am of the opinion that
a - Its too powerful for an 18 year old
b - Its not the right car for an 18 year old (would look like he's borrowed dads car)
c - potential high repair bills if it goes wrong.
Am I being a boring old git, or should I give in and let him buy it?
Your thoughts, particularly from other 18 year old Jag drivers would be welcome
I have just bought a RR Sport, and need to sell the XF (11 plate 3.0 Diesel)
My 18 year old son wants to buy it, he has 12 months driving experience and has found an insurance company willing to insure him.
I am of the opinion that
a - Its too powerful for an 18 year old
b - Its not the right car for an 18 year old (would look like he's borrowed dads car)
c - potential high repair bills if it goes wrong.
Am I being a boring old git, or should I give in and let him buy it?
Your thoughts, particularly from other 18 year old Jag drivers would be welcome
I wouldn't worry about the first two.
It's the last one that is the major one for an 18 year old. Is he earning enough/got the right mentality to put money aside for any maintenance?
As you'll be aware running costs will be much bigger on a car that size than on a Fiesta or similar that most 18 year olds are running about on.
It's the last one that is the major one for an 18 year old. Is he earning enough/got the right mentality to put money aside for any maintenance?
As you'll be aware running costs will be much bigger on a car that size than on a Fiesta or similar that most 18 year olds are running about on.
Is it a facelift 11 plate or a google-eyed one? If the former then it’s a least a bit modern looking.
I wouldn’t worry about the power. It’s 240bhp in a big heavy car that doesn’t really encourage hot hatch style driving. I’d expect him to be a lot more sensible in it than a Fiesta.
From the age of 17 I was driving my Dad’s company cars that were similar in size and power to your XF and it’s cemented a lifelong love for big fast saloons.
Servicing and the like aren’t too expensive either with Jaguar’s 3+ deal for older cars. Insurance might be challenge.
I wouldn’t worry about the power. It’s 240bhp in a big heavy car that doesn’t really encourage hot hatch style driving. I’d expect him to be a lot more sensible in it than a Fiesta.
From the age of 17 I was driving my Dad’s company cars that were similar in size and power to your XF and it’s cemented a lifelong love for big fast saloons.
Servicing and the like aren’t too expensive either with Jaguar’s 3+ deal for older cars. Insurance might be challenge.
Something to consider is that when you are inexperienced at driving you tend to clip the car more often. When I was young I loved a big barge but I was not infrequently bumping posts and so on. That muscle memory for the edges of the car takes quite a while to develop, and is why I think young drivers are better off in disposable cars for a couple of years at least.
It's a very long time ago, but I learned to drive on a Jaguar 3.4 Mk2 and drove it afterwards, though my main car was a Mini that I bought after passing the test. The only downside that I can recall from while I was learning was that clutch control was so easy on the Mk2 compared with my diving instructor's Fords.
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