I had been thinking about replacing my 2000 Porsche Boxster for a while, but had never really been serious about the idea. A beautiful 2001 Jaguar XK8 I saw online piqued my interest. Test driving the car sealed the deal. I took the above picture as I was leaving for the dealership, West Georgia Auto Brokers in Douglasville, GA, to take delivery.

I bought the Boxster in April 2012 with 58k miles on the odometer. Three years and 20k miles later, I was trading it in to the same dealership.

I bought the Boxster at this same dealership, West Georgia Auto Brokers in Douglasville, GA, three years earlier. That experience was nothing but pleasant and played a big part in my decision to return to purchase another vehicle.

I have nothing but good things to say about the Boxster. So the question becomes "Why am I trading." One reason is because of the lack of room in the Porsche.

The Boxster has two seats and no space behind the seating for storage. It does have two luggage compartments, a small one behind the engine compartment and a deep one under the hood. This is great for luggage, but no so much for stuff like a coat or small bag that you want to keep with you in the car. None of this is a big deal for one person. Adding a passenger is a whole other matter.

I can live with the storage issues. My major concern with the Boxster was the overall lack of room for me.

The amount of space in the Boxster as always been a borderline issue with me. By this I mean I've sat in many cars that I knew immediately just weren't going to work. I looked at a 34k original mile 1993 Corvette coupe in 2012. My head immediately hit the trim around the glass roof panel. I couldn't make myself fit no matter what I did with the seat adjustments. It quickly became obvious that this car just wasn't going to happen.

The Boxster was one of these cars where I had plenty of head room regardless. I could move the seat rearward to give myself more leg room. But that meant my head would hit the integrated roll bar behind the seat. In this case, I was able to work with the seat adjustments to find a happy medium. And all was well for three years.

That "happy medium" worked well for three years when I found myself wishing I had more room. This Jaguar eliminates any space concerns I had with the Boxster.

The biggest factor in my decision was the significant increase in interior space. I have plenty of room and fit quite comfortably in the Jag. I have enough headroom with the roof up, (not that this will happen often, but you get the idea). And the token back seat will provide some additional storage in the passenger compartment, something not available with the Boxster.

The overall condition of the car is what made me decide to seal the deal. The interior was especially impressive. I could find only one flaw - the trim around the console shifter was broken. Everything else, (door panels, carpeting, roof, dash, etc.), was absolutely mint.

This is a 61k original mile car with a clean CarFax/AutoCheck. Vehicle history reports have to be taken with a grain of salt. But this car looked the part. It was THAT nice.

Besides all of the usual Jaguar goodies, (leather, power everything, beautifully crafted interior, etc.), this particular car also has heated seats and navigation.

And now it's mine ! This is going to hopefully be the start of a beautiful friendship . . .

While I was there, I wanted to check out some of the other "specialty," (i.e. "unaffordable"), cars on the lot. West Georgia Auto Brokers specializes in horsepower which is confirmed by their inventory. This is a 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLK AMG Black Series. The 6.2L V-8 under its hood makes 500 hp, enough to rocket this car through the quarter mile in the low-12 second range.

The original MSRP on this car was somewhere in the $135,000 range. Seven model years and 23k miles later, the price of admission had dropped to $59,985.

This is a 2003 Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa finished in Arrest-Me-Red. I absolutely love these cars and would own the convertible version, (a Spyder), in a heartbeat !

This car showed 56k original miles and was advertised at that time for $23,985. The original MSRP was somewhere north of $80,000.

If you're thinking the shift lever on the console looks really small, that's because this car is equipped with the F1 automated manual transmission, which is basically a manual transmission without a clutch. In a nutshell, the stuff the driver does with a conventional manual transmission - push clutch, move lever, release clutch - has been replaced with a series of electronic sensors and servos. Shifts are lightning fast. Maintenance costs can be downright frightening.

For 2003, this car was available in two body styles - Coupe (hardtop), and Spyder (convertible). Each of these was available as a "GT," (equipped with a conventional manual transmission with a clutch pedal), or a "Cambiocorsa," (equipped with the F1 automated manual transmission with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters).

This particular car showed a surprising amount of wear and tear on the interior, which I didn't expect. But I just love these car, and would own one in spite of the flaws and risks.

As of this writing, (September 5, 2015), the car is still listed on the dealer's website. The price has dropped to $19,995. Hmmmm . . .

Also on the lot was this 2006 Aston Martin Vantage. Power comes a 4.3L V-8 that makes 380 hp. This 30k original mile beauty was advertised at $49,000. The original MSRP was north of $110,000.

Cars that bear the Aston Martin emblem are wonderful pieces of machinery filled with a rich history. They're beautiful to look at and even more wonderful to drive. The downside to all of this is that some seriously deep pockets are required for admission.

It's beautiful and fast ! But the cost of ownership is out of range for mere mortals . . .