Hi all,

My nephew (20) is looking for his first car and has found a 2006 X-type with the 3.0 v6 and 170,000+ miles.

Perusal of this message board has given me the impression that the car has a lot to offer, but that we should expect significant maintenance needs.

Is my impression accurate? My nephew is inexperienced with car repair, so DIY may not be practical.

Can I get some advice from the experts? How much love and attention (and money) is needed to keep this type of car on the road?

Regards,
John

 

Well.........it depends. If the car was well taken care of and maintenance kept up it could be pretty reliable. If it had kind of a hard life, it could kind of nickel and dime you. And keep in mind that it is a 13 year old car, so even if it was kept up, things just start wearing out. That said, they aren't a lot of money and it could be very reliable for a number of more years. If the fluids have been changed regularly, including the driveline, that is the main thing. Anything that does come up has been discussed on here at one time or another and there are a lot of helpful friendly people to provide guidance. So, if everything checks out and the price is right, go for it.

How much are they asking for the car and do you know anything of the history or do you have any pictures?

 

Thanks for that insight. I have linked the ad here.

Upon further investigation, the photos seem to show 2 cars, and the text of the ad says that he is selling the green one, a 2006. I see the blue one is a 3.0 awd, but now I am second guessing if the green one is 3.0 or not.

The seller claims showroom condition and routine maintenance at the dealer. I should be able to suss out more info in a conversation about what kind of maintenance was performed.

https://worcester.craigslist.org/cto...872149190.html

Regards,
John

 

Looks like there is rust starting on the lower sill by the driver's door by the front wheel. Check and see if the sill is rsusty. That is a notorious area for rust to start and if it is bad, could be a structural issue. If you do a search on here about that there are numerous threads.

Hard to tell, but doesn't exactly look like showroom condition in the few pictures. See how the interior is. It does have a pretty rare set of wheels on it that you don't see too often. Price doesn't seem bad, especially if you can get it for several hundred less, as he sounds like he might be pretty motivated to sell.

 

I would say “no”. If your nephew is not mechanically inclined at all, and has no desire to be, this is not the car for him. I would think it’s a terrible idea for anyone’s first car. Even for the average owner who is capable of changing certain things, there are others that will break down in this car and will need professional repair and money invested. Old Jaguars are cheap to get into and can be very costly to maintain properly.

I am always amazed when when I drive a friends 2008 Hyundai Sonata with 180k miles with almost zero maintenance, how smooth, the ride is and how clunk free it is....on 95 percent original suspension parts.

 

I agree with Spike, not a best 1st choice unless you get a really, really good one.
Mine is being a right PITA at the moment so I'm going to get rid of it and go Japanese; I just can't be doing with all the grief all the time.

 

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am on my second X type daily driver. I love everything about it, but I can do lots of work in my garage, and those things that I can’t do, like suspension work, I am fortunate enough to be able to have properly repaired by a mechanic as needed. But this is not a good first car for 20 y.0 by any means

 

I'm going to agree with the others on here,

As a "first car" a used X-Type isn't the best choice. I have two of them, and as a DIY they keep me pretty busy.

Jaguar's are truly wonderful cars to own, and contrary to a lot of ignorant opinions and the general bashing of the brand in general; The X-Type is a pretty neat car , especially compared to it's rivals in class.

A 13-year old X-Type from MA that has been a "daily driver"? The rust/corrosion alone would make me pass on it.

Cheers to you and good luck to your nephew John,

BK

 

I agree with the others that if he is not mechanically inclined then to pass for something simplier. Another thing is that I believe somebody's first car should be a beater because it will get abused and likely damaged one way or another. If he drives it for one year without hitting anything then think about graduating to something better.

 

I own a 2001 x-type as my first and so far only car. It's great for me because of all the learning it has given me. Now if your nephew isn't interested in learning and working on the car himself then it probably isn't a great first car, unless he has someone else keeping it in check.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like the X Type, I think that it is a great car and ticks all the boxes that I want.
Well, almost; my ideal Jag estate would be a Lynx Eventer but that is a very different beast.
It is just that the poxy thing keeps breaking down and it is doing my head in.
Just as I fix one thing something else goes **** up and I want to throw bricks at it.
I am constantly being forced to use my play Jag for daily driving.
Given that it is an XJR6 that is no great hardship but the miles are mounting up.
I definitely would not recommend as a first and only car.

 

Honda/Toyota

 

The first thing that makes me suspicious is that the pics are all shot in different lighting, mostly at night. None shows it in the garage that is supposedly its home.

This is NOT a car that I would suggest for a first set of wheels. Based on the mileage, it's well on the way to needing routine TLC, and the first thing will be nose-to-tail preventative maintenance, which would be cost prohibitive if he didn't do it himself.

The one major advantage of the X-type as a first car is that it's larger than an economy car, without being a luxobarge.

If he would like something sporty, I would look at the 2000 and up Mustang 6-cyl automatic.

 

For some reason, I cannot explain, cost of fuel(premium) for X is higher than for much bigger Lincoln TownCar.(regular). Definitely not good for a first car.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find...15666&id=20796

 

@car5 (the troll), IF you understood engine design you wouldn't have to ask such an elementary school question.

To understand what octane means, we first have to look at the concept of preignition. Engines compress a mixture of air and fuel and ignite them with a spark. Under certain conditions, the fuel-air mixture can ignite early, which makes a knocking sound not unlike a coffee percolator -- this is called preignition. Nowadays, most cars have knock sensors that prevent preignition, so you'll rarely hear it.

Octane measures the gasoline's resistance to preignition; the higher the octane, the less likely it is to detonate. Contrary to what some believe, high-octane gasoline has the same energy content as low-octane gasoline.

Why Do Some Cars Need High-Octane Fuel?

Some high-output engines use a higher compression ratio in order to produce more power. They compress the fuel-air mixture to a smaller size, which creates extra heat that can cause the fuel to preignite. These high-compression engines need high-octane fuel to ensure the gasoline doesn't ignite early. If your car has an engine that requires premium fuel, it will say so in the owner's manual, and there will usually be something written on or near the gas cap.

Thus, the engine used in our Cars (not your rice burners) compresses the fuel mixture more than a Lincoln v8 = pretty basic stuff.

 

What do you class as premium and regular over there?
We have 98 and 95 and my X Type runs on 95.

 

All 50 states are different, but the basic (2 @ 85), and mid-grade are pretty static. The majority of premium are the same as below with a few smatterings of 92 & 93.

Regular 87. Mid-grade = 89. Premium = 91. Non ethanol if can be found = 89

 

RON 98 would be 91 or 92 in the States. I have not seen 92 our 93 for a long time. I like the fact that the gas station by me sells ethanol-free premium. That alone is worth the extra money.

 

Yup, U.S. "octane" is actually a.k.i. (anti knock index which is Ron and Mon averaged). That being said, remember that power derived from 87 octane is the SAME power derived from 91 octane. Most uninformed consumers think there is a power boost difference between our American octanes. Where there can be a power difference (& I do not have a conversion chart) is ethanol vs non ethanol gas, as "pure" gas burns with more "power" (called free energy).

Pure gas gives better mileage than E10, and much better than E85, simply because gasoline has higher free energy than ethanol. The free energy of gasoline is 34.2 MJ per liter. The free energy of ethanol is 24.0 MJ per liter. That means E10 (10% ethanol) has a free energy of 33.2 MJ per liter, and E85 (85% ethanol) has a free energy of 25.6 MJ per liter. As a result, your mileage is reduced by 3% with E10 over pure gas, and 25% with E85 over pure gas, all else being equal. Mileage will be reduced even more if your engine doesn't run as well on E10, which is often the case with older vehicles.

 

Too much ethanol will also bugger up the seals on your older car fuel system apparently.