Hi everyone,
I am looking at purchasing a 2004 X-type 3.0. It only has 37,000 miles on the clock. Couple of questions. Are these cars hard to work on? I am pretty handy and can do most general maintenance on Autos, will I have issue with the Jag? Also, most of the reviews seem to lead that this is a pretty reliable platform, is that true? My wife and I are starting a family and thought this would make a nice entry level family sedan.

Thanks for any responses,
Dave

 

Dave, as for reliability, it can be summed up this way "you be good to the car, it will be good to you". The "weak link" of the car is the transfer case. It can hold its own if you drive the car like you know what you are doing, not like a maniac. If you like to go from red light to red light as fast as possible a lot, then you are going to find that this car will be an expensive one to own as you will be replacing transfer cases quite often (to the tune of about $3000-4000 each time). After that, it isn't any more work than any other car out there. It has its little quirks, but every vehicle does. Stick around here and you will quickly learn what they are and that they are normally really easy to get around.

As for working on the car, I haven't really found anything that I can't do to the car. I would put my skills as a decent back yard mechanic. I don't go ripping out motors every weekend or anything like that. But, I will do more than my fair share of tune-ups, brake work, fluid changes, etc. The only "hard" thing with these cars is the transfer case fluid change. It is "filled for life" (ie, should never require a fluid change). I'm sure about now you are falling out of your chair in disbelief. Well, that is what they say. Most people here have adopted something in the range of a 30K-50K mile maintenance schedule for it. Where the "hard" part comes in is the fill plug can not be accessed unless you drop the transfer case (major PITA). So, you either end up modifying the drain plug (most people install a valve in there of some sort-talk to us, we have a few ideas on this) and then backfilling the transfer case or you can lean the car fairly significantly on to the passenger tires and then that gives you enough room inside the transfer case to put enough fluid to fill it properly. Like I said, it isn't "hard" per se, but if you don't know the trick, it can be very frustrating.

I say buy the car and enjoy the ride. Most people here are well over 100K miles with no major problems. But, like I said, you be good to the car and it will be good to you.

 

Thanks Thermo, I am no boy racer, but I do like a nice sports sedan. I have a '97 328I w/ sports package. It is still a good car, but after 13 years and 164K miles its time to update (that and my wife doesn't want to drive a 5-speed). I have always liked Jags, and thought this would be a good way to get into one. Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming folks. The more feedback the better.

Dave

 

I have a 2004 and I have not had any major issues with it. I purchased it with 19k on the clock and almost 4 yrs later I have 58k.. It has been very reliable for me and is excellent in snow and rain. Keep up on the maintenance and you should not have an issue. Be regular on the oil changes, Fluid changes in the trans, transfer case and rear diff as it gets up there in miles. I did all that a few months back around 55k..

The 04's and on Jaguar had worked out the bugs in the previous 02-03 models so I think its a good choice. If you can, get a warranty for that peace of mind.

 

Hey Dave

If you can look for a sport edition, comes with 18 / 40 series tires and a bit more bolstering in the seats. You can always tell because there is no chrome on them. Stiffer suspension too I think.

 

As it would happen the one I am looking at is a Sport edition. It is a very nice looking car indeed!