My 2006 Jaguar X-Type has been perfection since I bought it in 2009. It's got 120k miles and zero major problems since I bought it.

Until now! Bum bum bummmmmm…

I was surprised while driving to see the temperature was very hot. It's never gone above just a sliver below halfway (so much I wondered if it was even accurate) but this was pegged on H. I realized I had no coolant in the radiator. Replaced. Solved. Fine.

Took a road trip to Seaside a week later - fine while driving, but checked the oil when I got there and hey, low oil. Replaced. Also, why not refill the coolant? Took it all. Must have been low. Drove home. Fine.

Next day, out of coolant. Decided to drive it right to my local mechanic, Doyle's in West Seattle. They helped with a lighting malfunction before and were very cool.

They ran a diagnostic and told me:
1. Hoses bad for coolant
2. Slow drip in oil pan
3. 2 out of the 4 catalytic converters were bad

Their advice: more expensive to repair than the value of the car, especially since it will just keep needing things to repair.
Verdict: buy a new car, donate this one.

I'm inclined to believe them because they're not making money on this and they've been cool.
I'm not inclined to believe them because this car is awesome. How could it all of a sudden not be worth anything?
Also, they kept saying Jags are notorious money wasters and I was lucky I hadn't had worse problems since day one. Sounds like they're biased against jags, right?
Also, I really want to keep this car longer.

Are they right? Second opinion?
If I part with the car, what's best to do with it? It's in great shape.

I actually went back to them to ask if they were super sure. They said they could fix the coolant hose part since that was the immediate problem but everything else would need fixing eventually and it's just not worth it.

Lastly, if I get a second opinion, how do I get the car there? I canceled auto insurance because I am slow to deal with this kind of thing (this happened in September), and even if I were to put more coolant in it to drive it on a one day insurance trip to the new mechanic, if it is indeed in tough shape it could be not drivable home.

I emailed that Jaguar John (Jim?) dude but no response.

Thanks in advance.

 

Soooo sorry I didn't see this a month ago, although I would have still recommended you ask the x-type forum, which you did.
I read what was said, and you got a few good thoughts over there.

Did you come to a satisfactory resolution on your kitten yet?
I dont know X-types, but you can always replace catalytic converters with aftermarket for half the price.

 

Thanks for the reply - no worries on timing. I haven't taken any action yet. That one suggestion in the other forum was a bit daunting so I was waiting for additional input.
Appreciate the option for aftermarket.

 

You or a friend can also test your cats with a cheap $40 laser temperature reader.

Step 1: Warm the car up to temp
Step 2: Hold idle at @2500 rpm
Step 3: Measure goes-inzas (input) temp, and goes-outzas (output) temp of each converter. (Note: Avoid measuring the shield if one exists.)
Read: Goes-inzas will always be cooler than the goes-outzas by anything from 25 to 150 degrees..

Simplified explanation:
A catalytic converter is like a mini-heater found in the exhaust system. Once it heats up (operating temp), any unspent/nasty gasses enter it, and it reacts by igniting itself and proceeds to burn away the bad stuff.
Like anything that that burns... The exit of the converter will be hotter than the gasses going in.

If the cats check good, you have a different problem, like a faulty sensor.
Give your kitten a hug, and assure her things will be okay, and she'll be purring for you again in no time!

Vince