Im in the market for a used Jaguar and I have noticed that in Japan they have some Jaguar X-Type starting at as little as US$1300 (with 58 000km) and I am wondering if there is any specific problems with the cars making them so cheap, besides getting everything in Japanese. If possible I would very much appreciate it if I can get some info on the problems that I can expect or prevent when the car gets close to 60 000km. Thanks in advance

 

Tindo, first off, welcome to the forums. I think you will find that we are pretty straight forward here and we tell things like it is. But, we do ask a small favor of you, stop by the "New Member" section and introduce yourself. We are a friendly bunch and we like to get to know one another. This will also give you a chance to meet the people that make this site what it is.

As for your question, the car you are looking at is very similar to that released for the Austrailian market and those for the US Market. Whether you will have issues are not is going to be based on whether you are getting the 2.1L diesel, the 2.0L petrol, 2.5L petrol, or the 3.0L petrol. The 2.1L diesel and 2.0L petrol cars are going to be almost bullet proof as they are FWD and all the common weaknesses of the X-Type were not built into those cars. The 2.5L and 3.0L motors come as all wheel drive vehicles. The transfer cases in these cars are the weak link and if you are looking for something to zoom from light to light, this can be an expensive car to get repaired as a new transfer case will set you back about $3000 USD. The other issues are fairly easy things to take care of and would be common to just about any vehicle you buy.

Let us know a little more about the car (engine size, year, etc) and we can give you more specific information about the vehicle. Please keep in mind that one of the reasons why the Japanese cars are so cheap is that they have very strict emissions in Japan and after about 5 years (60,000 KM) or so, the vehicles will fail their standards and it is cheaper to sell the car off at a loss than it is to try and repair the vehicle to make it pass.

 

Thank for the quick reply. The car I have in mind is a 2002 X-Type V6 with a 2L engine. I can see they have put the model code as GH-J51YA.

 

A quick look in Wikipedia explains that while the Japanese drive on the left, both RHD and LHD vehicles are allowed. You might like to check you're going to get the sort you want!!

The Message Centre language can be selected from a range of about ten different ones, so you should be able to select either English (UK) or (US).

 

Thanks for the info. For now it seems their cheap prices have nothing to do with probable or anticipated defects. I just hope they are not the kind of cars having a niggling problem all the time.

 

tindo, with the 2L motor, you should have a car that will last a long time and give you tons of comfort driving around. All the normal weaknesses are not going to be in that car. So, if you can get it for a steal, I say get it. Granted, you may find that getting one with the NAV system already installed is going to be a nice upgrade as it also comes with the auto-climate control (set the temp and don't ever again worry about adjusting the knobs).