hello!
first of all, i apologize in advance for the complete noob-ness of my account and post.
here is the deal:
my name is scott, and i currently own an audi A4. i used to own a TT, a few bimmers, and other euro rides. im quite active in the VW-audi forums. anyway...
my father owns an 02 x-type (black with the "blackout" package). he has fallen ill with diabetes, and due to this he can no longer drive because he has no circulation in his feet and cannot "feel the pedals".
because of this, he crashed his jag a few months back into a mailbox near his house, and that was the end of his driving. 2 months and 7500 in repair bills later, the car is now looking and driving great.
because he can no longer drive, he is looking to sell the car and only wants around 6000 for it. perfect condition, new trans at 50K under warranty, all service records. completely repainted.
we have a family friend who has it at a dealership trying to sell it, but the demand must be low because he hasnt had any offers yet.
i have an 03 audi A4 for my personal car, and i love it. i have no plans to sell it.
my father was always a "car guy" and he was practically in tears when it came to the point where he realized he needed to end his driving career.
because he and i share the love of cars, i am thinking of trying to just buy this thing myself and keep it in the family. but i have a few questions.
please take pity on a noob and let me know if i should do this.
1. i feel like for 6000 bucks, that's a lot of car for the money. its got 79K on it and could probably last a long time. thoughts?
2. one thing that i like about audi is that there are plenty of indie shops that can work on them for better prices than dealers. seems to me like jaguar is a dealer-only thing, and that scares me.
3. any thoughts on how solid this thing is? people seem to say they are unreliable, but people also say that about audi too- and my audi is rock solid.

thanks in advance for any input or advice, and again i apologize for the noob questions.

the car in question:
[img]http://photos.ebizautos.com/used-2002-jaguar-x~type-30-7999-5116670-2-640.jpg[/img]

 

Scott, as for the reliability of the car, if you are good to it, it will be good to you. There is a "fatal" flaw with the car in that the transfer case is not the strongest and if you are looking to play with the car from stop light to stop light: 1) you will be replacing transfer cases a lot, and 2) probably get your butt spanked a few times as while the car has 200 hp, a lot of other cars out there that will be willing to race have much more. So, get the car if you plan on cruising. You want to modify it and make it sportier, I wish you luck with that as the options are very limited and if you do anything, odds are, it will be custom and cost a lot of money.

As for getting work done on the car, there are places other than the dealership that can work on the cars. But, at the same time, having someone that is knowledgeable about the cars is key. These cars have a few quirks to them and that can make what appears to be a simple job very expensive. The trick is finding someone that knows the car and those quirks.

If you have more questions, just ask. Unfortunately, the X-Type isn't known for good mileage and it requires premium fuel which right now is turning a lot of people off to a car like what your dad has. So, I wish you luck.

 

Scott, sounds like your dad took very good care of the car and if he has had good luck with it up to this point I would think there is no reason it couldn't give a number of years of service. Like Thermo said, you take care of it, and it will take care of you. Not sure just what was damaged in the accident, but it sounds like a quality job was done. One thing about the early cars (2002-2003) was that they seemed to have some teething problems that were sorted out after that. One of the things was structural rust. A quick search on here could fill you in on that.

As you mentioned, they ARE a lot of car for the money , but they also are a difficult sell. Kind of got a bad rap from the early years and never really shook it. If you have a good indie shop for your Audi they may also be able be able to address most things in the Jag too. This site it FANTASTIC in finding out anything about these cars-good and bad-and a bunch of helpful, knowledgable members that are always willing to help; much more so than Audi forums.

Whichever way you end up, good luck!

 

thanks a lot for the input guys, i really appreciate it!

if you want to see details of the whole car, i will paste a link below- a family friend who owns a saturn dealership has it on his lot on "consignment" right now:

http://www.saturnofgreenbrook.com/?h...rue&_used=true

the only thing wrong was that the ashtray lid has come ajar, and one of the side bolsters on the drivers seat is worn. i believe the dealership replaced the worn leather and fixed the ashtray this week, so its as mint as it can be
( with the exception of the exhaust looking kinda rusty for some reason?).

anyway- if i got this jag, it would NOT be modded, just kept up.

my car before my A4 was a 2001 audi TT 225 quattro coupe that was pushing 300+ HP and had many thousands in mods invested, and sadly that car was totalled last summer. i was devastated because of all the time and money invested that i was unable to recover, so with the A4 i havent done anything to it. someday i will get another fun car to mod out, but for now- no. =)

 

^^ whoops, that link was not direct for some reason, but if you click it just click the only jaguar on the lot and you'll see what it looks like

as far as the accident, it was only 10 mph into a small mailbox. apparently the insurance company must have thought it was worth more than the 7500 they paid out to have it fixed. no engine damage at all just cosmetic stuff.

and i thought my AUDI parts were expensive! haha

 

Looks in great shape and it's the Sport model with the bigger engine and nicely appointed. Get a set or Borla mufflers and a K&N and it will be pretty lively. If you keep it you would not only make your dad happy you might be very happy as well!

Looks like the front left tire is flat or has a bulge in it in that one picture.

 

Scott, that is a nice looking 02 Sport. Just a question. Does the dash wood match the console? Might be the light but the dash wood does not look like the gray birds-eye. Did the air bag deploy perhaps and the dash wood was replaced?

 

no airbag problems. the lighting in the pictures makes it look like it it mis-matching, but it's all original and perfect. sigh, every day that goes by i want to get this car...

 

like mohrd said good looking x type sport. keep in mind that the color black will require a little more maintanance than other colors. other than that do all the normal pre-owned buying checklist, carfax etc. good luck with your purchase

 

Hey Scott, as previously stated, be good to this car and she'll be good to you.
02's are fairly early models and a few had some minor teething problems, but nothing serious such as dash vents popping up ( upgraded parts available ), drivers door handles being unable to open from outside ( latch problem ),and a few other minor issues. Probably the single biggest issue was the t/c which you've had replaced a short while ago.
There are write ups about all these issues and others as well as fixes for them in the X type FAQ quick link pages.
There is literally almost everything ever posted on this site about brakes, rims, sizes, offsets, transfer cases, headlight bulbs replacements and HID upgrades and so much more if you take the time to browse through it.
These cars are not rof racing, but great for cruising and a REAL looker of a car for the money....People will think you have more money than you probably actually have...lol
Don't know if you much of your own maintenance or not, but there are some absolutely fantastic guys on site here who will help if/ when they can. Techs to offer advice as and when needed and vendors who offer support both in quesries to problems and discounted prices on parts too.
There are lots of links in the general tech help section "Jaguar useful links" that provide info on upgrades , parts etc etc too if you check.

I too am an Audi owner, A6 and frequent the forums...This is certainly better IMO for respones and a fun place to hang out as well

Please let us know what you decide to do.....

 

Scott, there ain't NO reason you shouldn't own that car. Ol' Pops will love you if you buy his Jag even if it is only used to drive him to the Doctor's office for check-ups.

You DON'T need to give up the Audi.

Personally, I think you should keep the Audi and use it to get the driving like a maniac out of your system.

That Jag is a Class ride - drive it like the elderly have intercourse: VERY Carefully. It IS an "Instant Classic". They don't make them anymore. 99% of the people who see ANY Jag in nice shape figure it's worth $100k bucks.

Sure, $6k is a decent price for one if you watch Ebay at all. But a lot of those cars didn't have a major ding put in them, either. Pops is going to have to bite a bit of the bullet on this one I think. The best thing he has going is that you love the car, and he has had it repaired nicely after the crunch

Actually, I think you should give him MORE than he is asking for it.

At at leat a Thousand bucks more

AND - keep the Audi.

It's simple, Scott. You probably think you can't afford an Audi AND a Jaguar, but I bet if you laid off the convienence store "Power Drinks", maybe cut back on a couple of beers with the buddies, too - you could afford FIVE DOLLARS A DAY for the Jag.

Yeah, $5.07 a day will give you that Jag.

Here's what they say over at http://www.bretwhissel.net/cgi-bin/amortize , a nice little Loan Calculator Google just gave me:


Principal borrowed: $6000.00
Annual Payments: 12 Total Payments: 48 (4.00 years)
Annual interest rate: 10.00% Periodic interest rate: 0.8333%
Regular Payment amount: $152.18 Final Balloon Payment: $0.00
Total Repaid: $7304.64
Total Interest Paid: $1304.64
Interest as percentage of Principal: 21.744%

Ten Percent interest is pretty danged expensive, Scott - so when you tote the 'ol Man to the Doc's office, make sure he buys the gas.

Four years is not a long time at all, and underwriting a loan like this will allow Pops to "teach you the value of a dollar" like he's probably always wanted to do, while making him almost 22% on his former Jaguar!

If he doesn't go for it, wish him well, tell him you love him, and tell him you hope the Dealership brings him at least a $4k or $5k offer real soon.

THEN, tell him you can't give him Doctor rides in the Audi.

You know... that foot odor thing.



Enjoy your new Family Heirloom, Scott. Your new Jaguar.



(and be smart, drive it like the Classic it is - NOT like the Sportscar it ain't!)



P.S. - Best of luck and good wishes to Dear 'ol Dad, too.

 

When the heck did you move to North Dakota? Did you sweet talk you way across the border?

 

Sorry, Chris,

I'm not the "Bruce in Canadia" you're thinking of - although we do live in the Canadian Tropics!

Soooo... Scott! What's the good word?

Let us all know how the negotiations with the ol' Man go!

~Best of Luck!

 

hey guys!!

thanks a lot for the thorough and heartfelt responses! i really appreciate it.

it is also refreshing to post in a car forum where there are real people and not a bunch of wiseass teenagers telling you to "LOWER IT" and "LOL WUT" all day long.

the car is still at the dealership. i went to costa rica for a few weeks and just got back to new jersey this week. i thought it would have sold by now but no such luck.

the dealership fixed the seat bolster and the ashtray and gave it a very nice claybar detail, so she is looking awesome. the price they were asking was 8900 but i see they have lowered the price to 6700 this week.

the problem is that the car is at a saturn dealership and as we all know saturn has gone under. the dealership does sell a lot of used euros including range rovers, BMW M6, benz, and a few others- so the traffic on the lot is certainly qualified- but so far no bites.

so- i am still mulling it over in my head. i am getting 1000 back in taxes next week, so that would make a nice down payment. my dad now says all he wants is 5000 so maybe i can strike a deal with him privately.

again thank you all for the responses and for the advice. who knows, i may be around here more often

 

Scott, sounds like your dad is almost begging you to buy it. For $5K how can you go wrong. Probably the easiest way to sell it would be to buy it and drive it around. When people tell you what a nice car you have you can tell them it's for sale and when they see what they can get for that price you could probably make a few bucks off it. But beware, after driving it a while you might just fall in love. Buy it!!!! PLus, I'm sure your Costa Rican tan would look good with the car. And if you ever run into a problem there are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful friendly members that will help you out.

 

Stop mulling.

Take the plunge..........you know you wanna......

Welcome to the club! We all have Jaguar-itis here, you will catch it quickly.......

 

I bought my 02 with 90k on the clock for 5 grand. I just wanted a run-about for the winter, to get me through the snow. However..................I now love the car and it has been faultless (I've put on 4k in three months). She gets lots of GOOD attention and people can;t beleive that I only paid 5K for her. My 350z is parked up in the garage for the winter, but to be honest I prefer driving the cat.

Take the plunge, you won't (hopefully) regret it.

 

Scott,
You had ask how many miles you can get out of a x type jag mine has a 177,000 on the clock and looks brand new inside and out. I figure on putting as many miles on it as I can. I just bought it for $4,500. Wish I would have seen yours brfore buying mine due to having the 2.5 in mine.

 

$5K is a really good price and you'll love the car. It's always a pleasure to get in the Jag in the morning an motor off to work. I don't think you'll regret it!

 

I would not buy a smashed car.

Where are the floormats?

I would not buy an automatic, specially as an enthusiast, doubly specially as a sport model.

The driver seat wear is heavy, my car has almost double the mileage and half the seat wear. I would not call that a well cared for car. Sorry, just my opinion from looking at photos.
Has the transfer case oil been changed? other fluids?

02's are problematic.

I think that an 02 with that mileage, and after a major repair (not sure how a mailbox causes 7500??) 6k is a high price.

That being said, as a winter beater, it is good, has DSC and heated seats.