Yes, I'm at that juncture right now; keep or sell.

After a 3 month stretch of mechanical troubles with both my X-Type and my wife's ML350, we've decided that one of them needs to be replaced. We made the mistake of buying them both at the same time (mine new, her's pre-owned) and suffered through two payments. We love the fact that we don't have any car payments, but that also leaves us with less reliable cars (especially for long trips), unplanned headaches (not fun with 2 young kids in 2 different schools) and the prospect of eventually facing two payments again in the future as both cars age.

The reason I'm posting this and reaching out is to help me think through which car is gonna be more durable to last at least 5 more years.

Here are the basics:
2006 Jag X-Type
70K miles
[Now] Fully Loaded
Brand new all-around brakes/tires

2007 Merc ML350
92K miles
Fully Loaded
Brand new all-around brakes/tires

Known Existing Issues
X-Type
Dreaded oil leak around the oil pan.
Steering/suspension knock in front (recently developed)
Annoying steering vibration (been there for years, can't figure it out)
Door locking mechanism stops working intermediately

ML350
Steering/suspension knocking sound in front (recently developed)
AC kicks on and off (compressor likely suspect)

My wife wants the X-Type to go. I want the ML to go, but I obviously also want to make the best decision.

 

Well with the help of us here , its the x for sure is the keeper. If you do a lot of the work yourself , with the knowledge all of us have here it will be cheaper in the long run. Tell your wife she will get the new car and you will suffer with having the "old one". It's a win win

 

Hi spielnicht,
This is a very subjective issue for you and your good wife to resolve.
However, based purely on the extent of info you have provide for both the Merc and the Jag..... if one of them has to go - then I would recommend keeping the Jag. If you treat the X-Type as both a hobby and an essential family vehicle - you will strike the right balance and priority for regular and preventative maintenance.

Tell me where you will get the essential support for the Merc - like you can get here on this forum?

But, if you regard working hands-on and maintaining your Car(s) a hassle and something to be avoided - then get rid of both the current cars and trade into a new vehicle where you will get free 5 year Scheduled Services and a Roadside Assistance plan - as part of that deal.

Good luck with your deliberations....

 

Spielnicht, I see it this way and maybe this will motivate the wife: Since it sounds like she does more driving (based on mileage), explain that you only want 1 car payment and that you want to get her a new(er) vehicle to have the reliability/safety for her and the kids. Then you can tinker with the X-TYpe and go from there.

As for the wobble in the front end, have a shop do a "run out check" on the rims. I bet you will find that atleast 1 of the tires is not true any more and it wiggles side to side. I have a similar wobble in my car and I asked the tire shop to do a check of the front rims when I was getting new tires and they showed me the bent rim (as they spun it on the balancing machine, you could see the tread wobble slightly side to side). If they can put a dial indicator on the machine and measure the rim, then you can find out precisely what is going on. I bet you will notice that the wobble gets worse as the tires get worn and will also change slightly when you rotate tires. This would be confirming the bent rim idea. You might be able to take the rims to a shop and have them straighten the rims out and get rid of the wobble. Sometimes can be done, other times not.

The other issues, i am sure we can get around those too. The oil pan, well, unless you like wrenching, I would just live with that. HOpefully it is just a minor drip.

 

Speil:

Keep the X-type.

The X only has 70k on it (versus the Mercedes 92k) - and you should easily get another 50k out of it before you have any real issues.

And I think Thermo's nugget of wisdom is the Jedi mind trick you seek: "explain that you only want 1 car payment and that you want to get her a new(er) vehicle to have the reliability/safety for her and the kids." How can any woman contradict such selfless devotion?

As to the X-type's dreaded this and that, stop reading the forum so much, and remember that lots of folks only say something when they're frustrated and having problems. Tires and alignment are the likely culprit for the steering vibration you mention.

There's a thousand bland mercedes out there - to the point where they're invisible. But I bet you still get lookers in your X...

 

Plus 1 from me on keeping the Xtype

Less miles and you know her inside out, with help from here if required you can nurse her back to full health for much cheapness I'm sure.

Good luck to you whichever way you decide to go for you and your family

 

What did I expect from posting on a Jaguar forum :-) But seriously, everyone had a solid point regarding the fact that parts are cheaper and I'm able to do most of the work with help from you guys. Support from a Merc community is next to no existing, I know.

Really, I just wanted to make sure the Jag can hold up pretty well for another 5 years. If even longer, all the better.

I'll take a look into the bent rim possibility, it'll make highway driving more pleasant that's for sure.

 

Actually, looking at the list of issues for both vehicles they both seem pretty minor for 8 and 9 year old vehicles. I would almost put those things down as normal wear and tear. If they both otherwise have been well cared for and been reliable with no other major symptoms like transmission issues or engine knocking, keep them both. They could both be pretty reliable for a number of years. Still cheaper than buying a late model used car and certainly less than a new car. On the other hand there is nothing like a new or different car after having the same one for a number of years...

 

Hey spiel,
What kind of rims you have. I have 3 different kind and if you have a bent one thermo will be up this way at the end of the month. I would be happy to let you have a non bent one for cheap. Let me know.


Thanks,
The Dr!

 

I have the Cayman. I'm taking it over hopefully sometime later this week. I'll keep you posted.

 

Ok guys, after weeks of car browsing and searching, my wife came back with a valid argument that unfortunately doesn't end up with a happy ending for my X-Type. We've decided that at this point it makes more sense to replace the Jag and drive the ML for another 5 years until the kids are out of their car seats, which would then render the need for an SUV, useless. Nothing is final though, as this is all contingent on me selling the Jag first for a fair price. But with that said, she's officially on the market. Just dropped some $$$ on the road-force balance, alignment, and new tires.

If anyone is interested or knows of someone interested, you can find it under the classifieds section (or here).

I'm really (really) gonna mess this community and all the help I've gotten over the past 8 years, especially more recently from you know who. Like I said, if she doesn't sell, there is hope that she'll be sticking around.

 

Really nice listing for a great looking car.

I understand your decision andwish you the best of luck for the sale.

Please remember, you'll always be welcome here, Jag owner or not

Best

Jim

 

Thanks Jim. This is the longest I've been with a community and needless to say, it's the best. I'll continue to pop in and give back, payback for all the advice and support I've gotten over the years.

 

Just want to give some insights to the resale value of the X-Type.

I successfully sold my X within a week of advertising it at the NADA suggested value. I got the usual low offers but I got more realistic [fair] offers around my asking price. It ended up with 4 people, across 4 states and up to 3000 miles apart, competing to buy it. So needless to say, there is a strong market and a following for the X-Type, regardless of the general perception about the car.

Again, I couldn't have asked to be part of a better community. Not only did I learn about troubleshooting my X-Type, but also working and fixing cars in general. My confidence level in tackling car repairs shot up because of this forum. The help offers I got from thermo and Paul, I know I won't be getting that from any other community. Maybe our paths will cross again in the future, but until then, best of luck and many happy miles to all the X-type owners out there. I certainly enjoyed every mile I drove on mine.

Cheers.

 

Congrats on the sale and for a good price too, hopefully to a good home.

Did you advise the new owner of the forum , perhaps we'll see them here at some point?

 

Good luck! Maybe some day you will be back if your family situation evolves.

You are so right about this forum. I have looked on other forums doing research on possible replacements for my Jag and none of them come even close to the timeliness of replies, the friendly people and the sound advice. We were have a cool thing going here. Very unusual in the car forum world. Although I do not do much work on my car, from being on here every day reading posts since I bought my car over 6 years ago I think I can pretty much diagnose almost anything that can go wrong with it. If it has happened to an X-Type chances are someone has asked about it on here and was also helped.

 

Thx Jim. I mentioned the site to the new owner, so maybe you'll see him on here.

Alfadude, yeah this forum is priceless for any Jaguar owner. The fact that I'm still coming back here to browse through when I don't own a Jag anymore and have not even registered on a forum for my new car, pretty much says how much I value this forum.