Hey guys My name is Garrin, I'm from southwest Missouri, I currently drive 2002 Oldmobile Bravada, I am tired of getting 9-11MPG in town. So I set out to find a beautiful (4door-kids)car with style, poise, and BETTER gas milage. I was looking for a descent acura or lexus, when I stumbled upon a 2003 x-type 2.5 (white/white) I haven't seen it in person, or obviously driven it yet, I am going to check it out tonight. It's in my price range, and it meets the criteria, and it makes the other vehicle and some more expensive choices look like Yugo's.

I have always heard horror stories in the past about Jag's being very nice, yet very unreliable, and expensive to maintain and repair. I need to know what if anything I should be aware of when I go to look at this car, common issues, things that need attention, problem areas, things to check, what to look for, how bad it is when it break, and any other information you can give me. I know alot about cars, but a Jag isn't something you go to buy, and just look the body over and give the tires a kick. It has 45,xxx miles on it. I just don't want to be commited to something that will have to be a pretty lawn ornament, because I can't afford to fix it, if it were to break. What are the common issues with the '03 x type? My Bravada has been a great truck, but the fuel is killing me, and a Prius just doesn't have the style, and poise i'm looking for.

 

There are a few things to keep in mind. The Jaguar is not a "cheap" car to fix or maintain. Make sure you are aware of that. All cars have issues that may arise while you own them. Now what goes wrong is someting I am not sure you can check. The tranny, the transfere case, and drive shaft. The saying always went, "If you own a Jaguar, You better have your own mechanic." These cars are a little different to work on then other cars. Is there a dealer close to you? If so i would spend the money and have them give the car a once over. How much are they asking for the X-Type?

 

Garrin, I have only owned my X-type (03 3.0L) for just under 2 months. So far, so good. I did have to replace the right rear brake caliper, but that was known when I bought the car and the lot that I bought it from had already bought hte caliper and simply gave it to me. Looking at the price of the caliper, it was more than a standard caliper like for your Olds, but not excessively high. The big thing is to do the maintenance on the car. You do that, it will last you many, many years with no issues.

The weak link of this car is the transfer case. As long as you keep the car stock, you shouldn't have any issues. You start doing 5K RPM tranny drops and well, you will be wishing you hadn't. As long as you have some mechanical ability, working on this car isn't too bad. Maintaining it isn't that much more than your Olds. The big thing to keep in mind is a lot of the fluids in the car are synthetics, so, when you do buy new fluids, they will run a little bit more. But, in theory, due to them being synthetics, they also last a little bit longer.

If you can afford the car, I say go for it. You shouldn't have any problems. But, like was mentioned, have a Jag dealership look over the car once and make it known that until this is done (by you), you will not purchase the car. If the people selling the car are honest, they should have no problems with you doing that. May want to also take it to the Jag dealership and have them run the VIN number and see what work has been done on the car. That may give you an idea of what has happened to the car. This is normally a free report the dealership will give you. Granted, it is only good for the work done at that dealership normally.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman

 

first of all, i agree with you. to me, the prius is the ugliest car ever made. i actually have an 02 x type. the only problems ive had with it was the sunroof having to be reset because it didnt work (because my battery died). everything else is fine, but of course you are going to have to replace tires and brakes and bulbs etc... because its jaguar, it takes special replacement parts. for example when i get my bulbs changed it costs more like 20 to 25 bucks instead of a generic, universal bulb for 9 or 10 dollars. so replacement stuff is probably going cost some more money, but then again you dont really replace them all the time. also, they do take premium gas which does add up in the long run! other than that, my 02x has been very good to me. good luck with your search!