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After 20% range reduction, I’m waiting for Jaguar to buy my car back

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The waiting is the hardest part

Given that we know our I-Paces are doomed, owners really want to put this episode behind us and move on to new cars. But Jaguar has us in an indefinite holding pattern, and it’s frustrating.

In December, a Jaguar representative told me that a process specialist would reach out “within in the next few weeks to come to a final resolution.”

“Welp, here we are… Jan 2nd, and nothing from JLR on the buyback process or timeline,” wrote user copyNothing on the I-Pace Forum. “I hope this isn’t indicative of how things will proceed, but I’m not holding my breath that things will be easy.”

I’m not holding my breath, either. My last four emails to Jaguar—December 16, January 7, January 23, and February 12—all got the same reply: hang tight. “We do not have a current time frame for when a process specialist will reach out to you, but rest assured one will be following up with you shortly,” a Jaguar Land Rover case manager told me in an email.

A few I-Pace owners in California, which has the nation’s toughest lemon law, have reported progress with the repurchase. In the middle of January, I-Pace Forum user pan+kro posted that their buyback had been approved by JLR, and they expected to get around $38,000 for the car. This leads to another burning question.

How much for this gently used I-Pace?

The process would be less nerve-wracking if we had an idea of what Jaguar would offer to buy the cars back. As with every car, each day makes the I-Pace worth a fraction less than it was the day before—after all, each time you drive your car, it depreciates in value. But mileage isn’t the only factor in determining the value of a used car.

I headed over to Edmunds.com and discovered that my I-Pace would fetch $24,428 in a private sale. Ouch.

To determine a used car’s value, Edmunds takes historical data, dealer transactions, consumer feedback, and depreciation trends into account, along with mileage. Unfortunately for me, none of those data points work in the favor of I-Pace owners. Indeed, the battery defect is a major culprit in depressing the value of 2019 I-Paces. I asked Edmunds how Jaguar might come up with a fair valuation for the buybacks, especially as its actions are responsible for helping to depress prices.

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Here’s how Jaguar will relaunch as an all-EV brand

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A rendering of three futuristic coupes

Enlarge / Its unlikely the next electric Jaguar will look much like these extreme coupés, designed by the brand for Gran Turismo.

Jaguar

MONACO—It may be hard to remember, but not too long ago, Jaguar made a very nice electric vehicle. The I-Pace arrived in 2018, and it was the only EV other than the bare-bones Chevy Bolt that could compete with a Tesla on range. It was great to drive, too. An electric replacement for the XJ sedan was meant to be next until it was canceled months before production was supposed to begin.

“I’d seen the car, it was a beautiful car, but when I look at the designs that we have now, when I look at the technology that we’ll bring in the vehicle, it’s night-and-day different,” said Rawdon Glover, managing director of Jaguar. “I think that previous car would have been sort of a segue into something else, where we’re doing a step change.”

And a step change is what Jaguar Land Rover CEO (and Glover’s boss) Thierry Bolloré wants for Jaguar: for it to move upmarket, the way Range Rover has. Tearing up the electric XJ was a bold step—it meant the only new electric Jaguars to debut from 2021 until 2025 would be the brand’s Formula E race cars.

Racing driver Nick Cassidy is one of the few people to drive a new Jaguar this year, as he and his teammate Mitch Evans race in Formula E for the OEM.

Enlarge / Racing driver Nick Cassidy is one of the few people to drive a new Jaguar this year, as he and his teammate Mitch Evans race in Formula E for the OEM.

Jaguar Racing via Getty Images

But 2025 is getting close. Later this year, production of the XF, E-Pace, and F-Pace will all end, as will the I-Pace. The F-Pace production line at Solihull in the British midlands will be revamped to build the first of three models built on an all-new EV platform, Jaguar Electric Architecture. That first model will be a four-door electric GT, a space that’s about to get very competitive as the established Porsche Taycan is also joined by alternatives from Lotus and Polestar.

Jaguar is not quite ready to start talking specifics of that JEA platform, although Glover told me to expect about 400 miles of “real-world range” (700-plus miles, according to the WLTP test cycle) and a battery pack that can fast-charge to 80 percent in 15 minutes. I’ll admit, I’m looking forward to finding out more—Jaguar’s history has often featured financial troubles, but it’s also been jam-packed with innovation.

Formula E is making future Jaguars better EVs

I met with Glover on the day the team’s cars took a 1–2 victory on the streets of Monaco. They put on a good show—unlike Formula 1, Formula E cars can actually race around this place—three wide at times, and overtaking happens (occasionally, memorably, into a corner where most people think you can’t overtake).

The ePrix can’t quite compare to the F1 Grand Prix in terms of glamour, but it’s not too far off; the harbor had a decent complement of yachts packed with important sponsors in need of some VIP treatment. As an event to visit as a spectator, you’ll see better racing and have to battle smaller crowds if you choose the ePrix, not to mention save some euros in the process.

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