Howdy all, newbie here. Last month, I was bitten by the Jag bug. No clue if it's that part of the season or...

Long story short, I was debating between an XJ and an F-Type. I'm still relatively young, so that side of me wants something sporty. But I have a kid, so the dad side in me thought "need more room!". But then my conscious got the best of me.

My grandmother who adopted and raised me for a good part of my life loves Jaguars. She's in her early 70's but looks and acts like a fifty year old thankfully. So I've decided to forgo getting an expensive Jag for myself (I'd end up giving it to her anyway) and potentially get two XK's. One 2006 convertible (for her) and a 2007 coupe for me. Both have a little over 60k on the clock with seemingly intact service history.

My question to you is: Are these cars reliable? One thing I've heard since I was little by various people are that they're expensive money pits that'll leave you hanging when you need them. From my own research online, I have the feeling that it isn't the case any longer, and haven't been for quite some while.

But I still would love to hear from Jaguar owners themselves. I realize that maintenance will be slightly above average but nothing outrageous.

Appreciate the insight and thanks for having a look.

 

They are no more unreliable than any other car of that era. I in two years have had very few issue's. I had to resolve the infamous air conditioner plugged drain... that took an hour to resolve. I had an unusual catalytic convertor issue... one I'm sure you will not have. The back seats are smaller than they look. The leather likes to come unglued on the dash. Airbag light likes to stay on. That's it. Go get one or two. Try the car seat first for your little one it could be a deal breaker for getting two XK's. Welcome to our addiction.

 

I would stick to '07+, not the '06. There is too much innovation between the generation xk8 and xk to warrant buying an xk8 unless you just like the looks better. The XK is a solid car and never left me stranded once.

It's not a Toyota Camry though. Parts aren't so bad, but any car is going to cost relative to the original sales price, no matter how inexpensive it is when you bought it.

An 85K when new car is always going to an 85K when it breaks; just keep that in mind.

 

Out of interest, but why are 2006 XK's to be avoided?

 

You don't have to because you're in England, where the new aluminium X150 model was introduced as a 2006 model. But it was introduced as a 2007 model in the North American market. The 2006 in the USA is the previous version X100.

 

Thank you for that, makes sense now.

 

CT1313,
I've got one of each of the X100 and the X150, a 2002 XKR convertible and a 2010 XKR coupe. You said you were considering a 2006 vert and a 2007 coupe. the 2006 and the 2007 share the same 4.2L engine that has been around since 2003 and is a very reliable engine. By 2006, the last year of X100 production, most of the serious bugs of the X100 had been sorted. Gone were the plastic secondary tensioners in favor of metal ones, the most serious issue. The one remaining issue with the convertible are the hoses to the convertible top. The will eventually leak producing the infamous "green shower" and will need to be replaced at some point. The X100 convertible is beautiful, comfortable, classic, and has an enormous trunk since the top stacks out of the trunk. Since the X150 up through the end of 2009 had the same engine with all of the upgrades, it should be rock solid. The chassis, suspension, steering, handling and response of the X150 is so much more sophisticated (better) that there simply is no comparison. the X100 feels like a bowl of jello traversing bumps and dips and is never very comfortable taking curves at speed. The X150 is solid as a rock and begs to be driven quickly in any application. It's handsome and more muscular looking, not quite as sensual, but with much better seats and much more controlled ride. Both are great for different reasons, and I trade off driving both of mine as daily drivers. The interesting thing right now, is that very nice, low mileage 2006 examples are listed for more money than 2007's in many cases. And speaking of mileage, my 2002 has over 160,000 miles, looks almost new, and runs better now than it did at 75000 miles. Either one with 60K miles is fine, these are very good engines and you shouldn't have any problems so long as the cars were well maintained throughout their mileage.
Good luck finding your cars and keep us posted.

 

As a former Bentley GT owner, I'm aware of the costs of owning a relatively expensive car and the cost of upkeep. My GT while a fantastic looking vehicle that left a lot to be desired. I try to live within my means, and the GT was beginning to make that impossible. So I sold it and am using the funds to purchase two used XK's. (At least, that's the plan.)

I'm very thankful for the insight you all bring, this is why I knew it would be a good idea to sign up here. I had no idea there were any differences between the 2006/2007 models. I do believe I'll be purchasing the 2007 coupe as mentioned but will be looking for a 2007+ convertible. Nice to have both cars within the same model lineage. That way, I can learn a little DIY on my car and carry that over to the other.

The typical problems that have been discussed here don't seem to be that bad in all honesty. Leather coming undone? I'm sure with a little DIY and a careful hand that can be fixed with a little quality glue.

Again, I deeply appreciate all of your comments. Thanks to you all I'm going into this a little more educated!

 

I second that. The 2006 has an almost identical engine and tranny combo to the 2007. The electronics are much simpler, so it's probably the most reliable one. But that being said, the 2007 is better in almost every technical way. Maybe the 2006 is a little better looking, but the 2007 is more aggressive looking. You can't go wrong with either as far as reliability is concerned.

 

A few more things that I've noticed, that could be considered under reliability or long term ownership factors.

The dashes on the 2007-up cars all will warp if not taken care of, the 2006-under are indestructible. The headlights on all 2007-up car are simple plastic, most are already turning yellow. The the 2006-under are glass, they stay looking new.

But the big one and I think most important, is the thicker aluminum doors/panels on the 2007-up. They are simply thicker and resist small parking lot dents better. The older 2006-under cars have ultra thin metal doors, they almost dent themselves! I think this is one of the reasons the newer cars are still very heavy, they beefed up all the body panels. This will have a lasting effect as these cars get older

 

Hm1, plastic headlights are easily brought back to life. The coupe I'm looking at has the headlight issue.

As for the doors, that's interesting. I'm also guessing the slightly thicker metal will aid in wind noise during highway cruising?

You all have pretty much made up my mind for me. I've emailed the seller already and said I'd take it. My grandmother will pick up the 2007 Coupe if all goes well so it'll be ready for me upon my return home.

A final question though. It says the in dash computer is Flash based. If that's so, is there anyway to "download" the OS and modifying the graphics? I like the general design, but would like a more toned down interface with grays. Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks again all, you've been awesome.

 

The difference between the 2006 and 2007 is about 10 years. The 2007 was the very beginning of the design which lasted till now, so about a decade, the 2006 was around since 1996.

So the 2006 is a 20 year old design

 

You can change the screen color from blue to gray by going into Vehicle settings then system settings and then display set. Press the bottom arrow to scroll to the next screen and press option 2 for gray screen.

 

What was the story with your Bentley? The Continental GT is a car I am considering. Was it in need of repair frequently?

 

Very nice, thank you for the info!

I bought the GT from its first owner in 2012. He put about 30 thousand miles on it before it came to me. I owned it from 2012 to Nov' 2015 and put 38k miles on it.

It's a great car, don't get me wrong. It checks all the right check boxes for me in terms of exterior and interior design. However, it's the little things that add up, and after I put a few thousand on the clock besides the few thousand already put there, I started noticing some failures.

Air suspension: For some reason, it kept failing. They could never figure out why. I removed it and had a conversion done. (3500USD + labor)

Interior issues: Headliner started sagging, after about 12k miles (30k + 12k miles I put on the car), the interior started to have small rattles here and there. Dome light would work sometimes, then not at all. Sometimes it'd turn itself on while driving.

Radiator hose: It kept slipping off, each time I took it to the dealer and got it "fixed".

Water leak: Something was blocked which caused water to come in the cabin. My passenger was concerned when her foot went "squish!" as she got in.

Passenger side window failed, expensive fix.

Oil leaks (twice)

My friend who has a Spur has had it for years and has never had any problems besides doing standard maintenance. So I don't know if mine was a "lemon" or what.

I would have loved to have kept it, and I definitely recommend these cars with a caveat. Make sure you have a good warranty. I didn't bother thinking about that since my main mode of transport was my motorcycle and that I'd use my car for doing things with my kid I'd be OK.

Either way, if it's a car you like don't let one persons opinions and experiences sway you!

**Edit**
Besides gas, I was happy about the relatively low cost of ownership. A couple of thousand yearly for oil change and check up isn't bad.

 

The Bentley GT i use as my work car has never sufferd from any problems in the two years of driving it. Before that a GT coupe which was also reliable.
I know it sucks to have so many problems on high end cars, i have had one

 

Hey Fspider, I know. It feels like there are two camps: Those who have never had an issue and those who have had nothing but issues.

I loved the Bentley GT. I even considered ripping the engine out and having a conversion done (LS engine), but at roughly 30K for a Frankenently it wasn't worth it to me.

I'd like to try one again some time in the future, but for now I'm falling head over heals for Jaguar.

 

True, but the drivetrain is almost identical. Even the current F-type V8's engine is virtually the same design as a 1998 xkr-- it's an old.. but proven engine.

 

I hate thread jack, but the two cars I have been looking at recently are '07 Bentley Continental GT and Arnage. Both are similarly priced.

Anyone have experience with the Arnage? To me, I would think the Arnage would be more reliable. More "tried and true" engine and less bells & whistles, but I could be way off?

 

I think this thread has served its purpose (for me at least) so no worried there.

Arnage's are nice, have no experience with those unfortunately.