Let's all be nice here. No need to turn this into a brawler's thread. I think some people are getting the sense that you're not really serious about buying a XF, that's why they're starting to get on your case.

You've gotten a lot of responses to your question that you will find typical of pretty much all of us. There's a reason why we bought this car, why the community for this car is so strong, and why some of us have bought more than 1. I personally would ****** up a few if I had the money.

Overall, this is a great car. It's reliable, well-built, and all around fun. It IS a sports car, so anything that comes with that turf you're more than likely going to experience with this car as well, i.e. poor gas mileage.

The best thing that this car has to offer is itself. You won't find another one like it- it's truly a unique car in it's own right. The looks are one-of-a-kind, and it does perform (especially for the money you'd pay for it). I got mine new in '07 for $19k. Try to beat that for a 2-seater, German-built, Mercedes-powered sports car.

As for maintenance, it's not astronomical, but if you can't afford to put new tires on it and give it the routine service it needs, you can't afford it. Tires will be expensive for any sports car. Oil changes will be more costly for engines that use synthetic (especially 8.5 quarts). The good thing about maintenance and repairs on this car is that a lot of work is fairly easy to do. I find myself surprised how easy it is to do work on it every time I have to replace something (mostly because someone else or myself broke it, not because it wasn't reliable). A lot of repairs and maintenance how-to's are written up here on the site.

The insurance is going to be a lot because of what it is, but that will depend on you the most (your age, driving record, etc.). I think mine is around $1600/year. If you get in an accident, it has a higher probability to be totaled because of lack of manufacturer support for the outer body panels.

If it seems that this car is unreliable because of the things you read on this site, remember that for every problem people talk about, there's thousands of others that don't have that problem. One thing you will see here are a lot of people talking about how much they love the car or the looks they get. Remember this is a community of XF OWNERS, not a place for people to come state their fanboy arguments. If you own a XF and aren't a a-hole, you'll be welcomed. We're also happy to help, as long as you're serious about your interest in purchasing the car.

Edit:

Also, I drive mine year round, even through the snow in Chicago/Peoria, IL. The car does remarkably well if you have a decent set of all-season tires.