I've been taking to the owner of an 04 2.5 manual, who is selling. it has an 09/03 build date, anything I should look out for? Common part failures for that time?

2004 Jaguar X-Type 2.5 AWD 5 Speed | Dickinson, ND Classifieds

He says that the rear shocks need replacing, per the mechanic he took it to to figure out vibration. He says when he applies the brakes to slow down, sometimes there is a vibration in the back wheels and sometimes there isn't. His mechanic says that the shocks being worn out is the cause. Does that sound right? I'm not trying to doubt a professional diagnosis but has me wondering other causes

He also recently replaced the water pump+hoses, and oil pan gasket, tires are all low miles. I hot sent pics of the body damage, and beside the crack in the bumper it doesn't look too bad. Course this is not in person but in a couple of days I will be making the drive over.

 

Seeing as it is a 2004 the biggest thing would be to know what transfer case there is in it. In 2004 they went from a viscous coupling to an open diff. Where that is important is that with the later versions unless your car has DSC, when a wheel would slip all the torque would go to that wheel, basically stranding the car. This car doe not look like it has the DSC. There is a button with a pictogram of a sliding car on the shifter on the passenger side. This car seems like an early build, so it might have the viscous coupling. Ask the owner to be sure.

If he addressed the oil pan gasket I would think he probably would take good care of the car as that is not a simple task. Most people let them slowly drip instead of spending the money to get that fixed. On the other hand, rear shocks and fixing a cracked windshield aren't that big of a deal to replace and I would wonder why they weren't addressed before selling the car as it will certainly present better with less things wrong. Could be the shocks, could be rotors, could be something else. Hard to say.

If you do a search on here your question has been asked a gazillion times, so read a couple of the threads and you will quickly familiarize yourself with the car. That said, this car is pretty basic. Manual transmission, smaller engine, no sunroof, no heated seats, no premium stereo. $5K seems like it might be kind of high for that car with the issues mentioned. Those aftermarket wheels look familiar. Might be a member on here. Ask them when the transfer case and the rest of teh fluids were changed. If he says never, get in your car and drive back home. Good luck!

 

He said that transfer case was drained and refilled with royal purple recently.

Also said that the parking brake doesn't work well, so he leaves it in gear... from the pics on the ad it looks like flat ground but still that makes me a little nervous since no idea how long that's been done. from a few threads I've seen the parking brake isn't that hard to fix on it's own but possible gear damage?

Thanks for the transfer case heads up! I will ask him if he knows, thanks

 

ghiadon, the parking brake not working is almost always a caliper that has had the e-brake lever rust up and freeze in the engaged position. I could see this possibly causing the vibration that you are seeing. Odds are, you will need a new caliper which can be had for around $100 plus about an hour of your time. don't forget to get new pads too as I am sure the one side will be pretty much gone. The symptom of this is that the e-brake lever will go all the way to the top with very little resistance. If you need more info, let me know. Replaced a few rear calipers on an X-Type in my time.

As for the transfer case, it is almost a given that it will be the viscous coupling one. Jaguar didn't shift over to the other style until April 2004 (your car was built in 9/03). If in doubt, get the car on some sand/pea gravel and goose it a little bit. If you see where 2 wheels broke loose (1 front, 1 rear), then this confirms the viscous coupling. If you only broke 1 wheel loose, then someone may have replaced the transfer case with the newer style. Seeing how you are up in MT, having a viscous coupled transfer case or the newer style with DSC (this was an option, so, not all cars got this), you are going to want to have a true AWD vehicle. Both of these options will give you that. If you have the newer style transfer case and no DSC, you may have power to all 4 wheels, but once one looses traction, it will take all the power and not be any better than a FWD car.