First of all, Hello! This is my first post here, but from what I've seen looking around it looks like quite a nice place.

As the thread title says, my wife and I are considering buying an 03 X-Type. It's a 3 liter AWD with a manual trans, and the ad says it has around 72,600 on the odometer (no pics of the odo however). From pics it looks to have the nav system and a casette deck stereo. It's listed for $7,995 at an independent dealer about 4 hours away, so before we bother spending a day to go look at it and drive it I figured I'd ask you folks a few questions if you don't mind!

I've been looking around as best as I could, and have found that the t-case is apparently the weak link in the system (unfortunate really) and is also, how shall we say, not cheap to fix. My question is, on a test drive, what would be a good sign of potential trouble? Do they whine or make noise before they go or do they just up and quit?
The next question is on the throttle body and vacuum issues. Basically, I haven't found much to really say what the problem is, just that they go bad or have issues. Would someone be so kind as to explain what the problem tends to be a bit more specifically? I do have a pretty good understanding of things automotive and mechanical (though not so good with electricals) so I can handle a decent amount of technicality.
I guess the third (and last for now) question is the general one of does this sound like a decent buy? The car looks good in pictures (minus the chrome b-pillar accents and side mirrors in my opinion) but I know pictures can hide a lot. The car would be used as a daily driver mostly for my wife (gotta love a woman who wants a manual trans car!) and also for road trips, so it would have to be decently reliable. I've owned various Ford Contours (including my current SVT with a 3 liter) over the past 10 years so I'm no stranger to odd little issues and picky maintenance. Anyhow, I guess that's about it for now, your insight is greatly appreciated!

 

Welcome to the site. Car sounds like it is a reasonable deal. Though 6500-7500 would be in the range I would say unless it is sitting at a new car dealer with a 90 day warranty with them paying for any issues. I paid 6k for my 05 with 99k on the odo last year with a solid 1 owner (well lease and same owner) no accident history. Car has been flawless with only needing brake pads, rotors, tires, a battery and normal maint. Since it is an awd vehicle check the tires for even wear and all 4 being the same. A whine from the center tends to mean the carrier bearing. Not sure what a bad transfer case would sound like but the car should be free of clunks or whines even in the cold.

Plan on changing the transfer case fluid when you get home. Read up on it, I personally went with Wildbill's set up and it works just fine. Sure it cost me $100 but it makes changing everything nice and easy. My wife too prefers sticks, the clutch in the X is a little heavy and vague but the shifter is very smooth which makes up for it. Goos luck and enjoy the drive!

 

The whine from the carrier bearing Benebob is talking about only is from about 28-32 mph and only during cold weather, so depending on the temperature when you drive it the noise might not show itself. There is a ton on here about that if you do a search on "propshaft". Some have had success greasing the bearing, but the only real fix is to replace it. That is $1000. More of an annoyance that something that has to be immediately addressed. Seems like there were more issues with the 2002-2003 models than later on. Might want to look for evidenced of rust at the bottom of the A pillars. There is a ton on here about that in the early models as well.

The 3.0 manual is pretty rare, especially as the model years went on. I personally think it makes a world of difference in how it feels performance-wise over the autos. Can only speak to my experience, but I have a 2005 3.0 manual and it's been virtually trouble free since I bought it a year and a half ago. Put on 40K miles and it now has 82K and still drives excellent and has no rattles or squeaks. Been a great car for me up to this point. Good luck as you pursue this and welcome!

 

Thanks for the welcome and the info on the carrier bearing, as well as where to get stuff for flushing the transfer case.
On the carrier bearing, is that another common issue? I didn't run across that as listed in any of what I read in my searches. Also, when you say $1000, is that cost to have repaired at a shop or cost of materials?

 

The price sounds high to me, but they have to list at 8 for negotiation room. I bet you can get it for 6 or less out the door with some effort. I would agree with everything above and add a battery to the list. I don't think the Kentucky climate is quite as bad as some, so the longevity of parts and issues may be different than others are experiencing.

And be sure to remove those chrome B-pillars if you buy it - your life partner deserves better than that.

 

Welcome Clone,

I agree that the price may be a bit high but definitely worth negotiating a lower price or a free warranty.

To answer your question about the transfer case, its a very easy and inexpensive job. Theres a walk through in the FAQ section on how to do this. I just did mine the other week and was amazed at the ease. I spent 16.00 on a quart of royal purple gear oil (75w140), and less than 20 bucks at home depot for a valve and fitting for the transfer case. I had a pump laying around from when I changed my man. trans fluid so I didn't need to buy it. If you buy the jag you can ask any one of us here and we will be glad to help. Feel free to PM me for more info on the parts you need and how to change the transfer case fluid.

One more note, there is a lot of belly aching about our cars on this site but really, I think I speak for just about everyone here, we love our cars. I am not sorry I bought mine and would probably buy another Jag later on down the road. You take the good with the bad but there is a lot more good than bad with these cars in my opinion.

Good luck!

 

I thought I would say a few things here.....


The Xtype is a great car I have two of them now. I do have an 03 like you are looking at. Unfortunately it has significantly under half that amount of miles, so no real feedback here as to how one with more miles would behave. One has to understand that the car is a pseudo luxury car. It is also getting old. Things will break they may not have been maintained or what ever the reason. It was at the bottom of the line so stuff may not have been of the best quality. Lastly even new they were inexpensive I bought one a year old and then bought a new one right before they stopped making them. The car is AWD one of my only reasons for buying it. It works great as far as I can tell. But I will be honest I do neglect it a lot. One reason it is fairly cheap. I bought a new XK in 07 and again in 10 I love the car it is wonderful but it doesn't go well in the snow. Hence the need for the X type. The X type although a great entry level Jaguar isn't a new XK though.

 

Welcome Clone, I agree that this is a great forum. As for the X-Type, I have an 02 with 133,000 miles on it and runs great. I have done all of the recommended maintenance on it though. At 72k miles you should be fine as long as you care for the car and don't drag race it; there's no reason you can't take it to 200k miles or better. As for the price, I agree with the others that $6k would be more reasonable (check eBay). Also, Navigation on early models is pretty rare. If you can post a picture of the center console, we could tell you if it has navigation or not. Does the dealer list navigation?

Mark

 

Here are a couple of pics of the car, including the console:

 

Yes, that's a navagation system and it's also got some extra chrom pices on the outside. It a beautiful car, i'd recommend buying it. believe me, you will not regret it. The X-Type is a dream to drive.

Mark

 

hello clone,
I recently bought an '03 X type with about 45k on it. Its a 2.5 and had one owner...I've had it about 2 months, and am very happy with it. I changed the air filter to K&N for a little more air (plus the previous owner still had the stock one in it) and i put some catbacks on from Mina Gallery to give it a mild growl. Everyone on the forum has been very helpful to me with whatever questions i have. Good luck with it! -- also, what is a cassette? lol

 

Hi Clone,

I have a 2002 X-type 3.0. I will start by saying that if you do end up buying that manual X-type I will be very very jealous! I looked for a black on black X-type 3.0 Sport Manual everywhere but had to settle for an automatic and added a spoiler/lip. The manuals do drive awesome!!!

As far as quality, mine has just over 100,000 miles on it. It has given me some problems but no more than any car with years on it. I had some issues with the coolant system (old tubes, bad thermostats, coolant reservoir), replaced washer fluid reservoir and motor, the windshield washer nozzles. All this started being a problem around the 60k mile range. More recent repairs are the fuel pump replaced, the O2 sensors have issues, and the fan is stuck in the always on position now.

All in all, for a car that is over 100,000 miles I do not consider these to be excessive repair items. The car drives SOLID. And it maintains a brand new look forever if it is well maintained.

Two things to watch out for, the car is a PAIN IN THE A$$ to work on because everything is arranged very tightly. And like most vehicles it has tons of plastic parts that with age become brittle and can break. So treat the car with respect and it will last you forever. Oh, and don't try to level the headlight beams or the adjusters will break (a known problem for these models). I'm a realist man, I will tell you that I LOVE MY CAR, but I will disclaim that like everything else, nothing's perfect. But comparably speaking, I would recommend this car to anyone that respects and appreciates their vehicle.

Here's my baby...

 

My only suggestion is make sure you have a power train warranty. Had 3 Transmissions in my '03. "A lot of high speed driving wears out nylon bushing" at least that's what the dealer said. Jack

 

Sorry!!, Just realized the car your looking at is a manual. Forgot Jaguar still made a few of those. Jack

 

nootherids-the fact that this a 3 liter manual is one of the main reasons we're considering it. I'm a bit bummed to find out that with the transfer case issues I won't be able to fully enjoy it, but oh well. Also, I'm coming from 10 years of Contour ownership, all with a V6 and manual trans. I know the X-type folk don't seem to like being related to the Contour, but you have to admit the similarities, and size and cramped-ness is one of them.

Also, can someone tell me the model number of the manual trans on these cars? I know the Contour/Mondeo use the MTX75, but did Jag use something different for the X-Type?

 

Hi everyone. I just joined because I am in the same boat as the OP. After much soul-searching as to what car I want (must be manual, RWD or AWD, not a nightmare to service etc), and then driving a few BMW 5 series, Lexus IS 300s, never falling for Audis ...I never really thought about a Jaguar until I came across an X-Type down the street from me. I studied up on them and came to the conclusion that this is finally the car for me.

My quandary is that I have two of them to choose from. I live in British Columbia, Canada, and have the following choice before me.

2003 Manual 3.0 liter X-Type with 110,000 km (68,750 miles), Zircon Blue with ivory leather, premium sound, sunroof and generally most of the bells and whistles. No navigation though (don't care really). It's in very good shape (test drove it at night in a quiet neighbourhood) and will be looking at it again Saturday morning. Starting price is $12,800, which I think is rather high. I was thinking of going for $10,000 but I would appreciate any insight people could offer. I have seen a huge range of prices for similar cars but most everything else is automatic. This is the front-runner and if I can get him down to a decent price I will go for it.

What do you think is a fair price if nothing is wrong with it? 10k? 9?

My backup is a manual 2.5 X-Type that's Grey with black leather and just the minimum gear. Single CD audio, no sunroof. I like the colour combination better, but of course there are other factors. If the Zircon Blue one is in very good condition this one is in mint. 84,800 km (53,000 miles) Clean engine bay, super, super clean inside, drives really well (had it in town and on a delightfully twisty highway), feels slightly tighter than the Zircon but I am going to re-compare them again Saturday. The dealer wants $11,500 now after a bit of negotiation but I still think I can get them down to $10,000 if I really push. Do you think it's fair to ask even less? Could I expect to get him down to $9,500? He started at $13,800 and it has been on his lot since July 2010 (it's now January 2011).

So basically it would be nice if you guys could give me some guidance on price for each. The 3 liter would be great of course, but I also care about reliability and the 2.5 is newer and lower mileage.

Thanks!

 

What year is the 2.5? If 05-up it becomes a no brainer IMO. Both prices seem outrageously high to me. Neither would command more than a 10k list price around here. Manheim Market Report lists about $7000 for Excellent condion on the 03 (wholesale price). I sure hope for these prices you would be getting at least a 12 month bump to bump warranty. Food for thought I paid 13.5 for my 1 owner perfectly maintained xjr with snow tires, $1000 winter wheels with 65k on the odo.

 

Thanks for the reply!

I forgot to say the 2.5 is a 2004. The 2003 3.0 liter is a private sale and the 2.5 is from a small dealer. Is there a huge difference between the 02-04 X-Types and the 05+ ones?

I know prices are different between the States and Canada (BC is a weird place for car prices, especially where I live where it doesn't snow) mainly due to the fact that there are a lot more cars south of the border to choose from.

Saturday is going to be interesting certainly. I want to be able to lay out a case to both parties as to why I think I should pay the price I want to, which will be significantly lower than what they are asking. Thankfully both of them have been trying to sell their cars since last summer so one of them could bite on a $10,000 or less offer.

 

In mid 04 there were some definate improvements made which fixed many of the common issues from the earlier cars. Even doing a MMR pricing for the pacific NW there isn't a noticable change in what the car is worth. Sure it is higher as are most cars but not a 1/4 higher. Plane fair and a road trip in your future?

 

Thankfully I can take the ferry to Washington State to look at cars but the thing I was hoping to avoid was importation headaches. Since it's a car manufactured in Britain I would pay 6% duty and $500 in fees bringing it home, in addition to getting it inspected and a few other things.

I think I will look south if I can get these guys down to more realistic prices though. Thanks for your input! It's much appreciated.

For example, if I got this one in Seattle I would have to add $2000 to its price in fees and travel costs etc to match one bought here.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/2159667531.html

Lots to ponder....