Newbie Question
 

Im a newbie to this forum and the world of Jaguar...I just purchased a 2002 XType for my wife...beautiful clean car....we passed on buying a 06 Lincoln LS8 to buy this car cause she loved it.....like I said looks clean and beautiful and has 88K miles.......it was a trade at where I work (Ford Dealer) my question...I have all the owner manuals and window stickers...that were left with the vehicle but no maintence records??......oil looks clean......looks like ther ma be an oil seepage ...but will get on lift tommorrow to be sure when I go to work......My question is...where do I start with maintence on this car.....Oil change ...trans service??....axles??...transfer case?? Fuel filters...etc etc...I wanna keep her runnin in good shape.....also I need a set of hood struts....lol.....any help appreciated...btw I am a service writer now...but do have mechanic experience...and tools...and shop access....give me the run down and Ill get to it......also I did what most people do and went online researching AFTER i purchased.....and saw all the bad.....are these cars really as bad as Im reading??...I hope not.....thanks again for an help!!

Black, I would recommend doing a servicing on the transfer case. That will be the big tell all on the car. No fluid inside of the transfer case, can be a questionable transfer case. If that is topped off, then odds are you are atleast one step to the good. But, with all that being said, it all depends on how the previous owner drove the car. yes, the transfer cases are the weak link in the vehicle. You drive sensible, it will outlast the car. You drive it like a sports car, plan on replacing the transfer case (case tends to flex too much, leading to a crack forming in the case, leading to excessive play of the gears). A new transfer case will set you back about $3000 if you don't get in good with the service guys. Besides that, I think you will find the quality of the car on par with most other vehicles of its class. Yes, there are some oddities (weak posts inside of the headlights, propeller bearing tends to make a little noise if not kept greased, lower rear track arms tend to wear out leading to rear tires wearing fast), but if you know about them, keeping up on them is easy.

I have 115K miles on my X-Type and there are members hear that have a lot more than that on theirs. As I mentioned, you drive sensibly, you will have a very reliable car. You drag race it, plan on expense after expense.

Black, if it makes you feel any better, I did a whole bunch of research first and still bought mine. X-type is like any other car except parts can be quite expensive. Maintain it well and drive it reasonably.

Black...if you research ANY vehicle there will always be people that are unfortunate. Im usually one of them but luckily im fairly decent mechanically. But as ive read on here by a member, i wanna say Brutal, is that most people join a forum for advise or info how to do something that has gone wrong. That bein said...if you wanna find sick people, you would go to a hospital. lol. Same here. Sure some of us enthusiasts talk about other things on here besides problems but thats because you get to know people.

So my advise is....if you love the car, buy it. Same rules apply for BMW, Mercedes, And Fiats....Take care of them and they will take care of you.

I personally think the X-Type's are simply bad ass :)

well i bought an extended warranty from my work.....it covers everything BUT the sunroof....hahaha...so probally that will be the first to go......by everything I mean...powertrain, A/C, Cooling/radiator/waterpump, seals and gaskets, power steering,suspension,electrical, navigation,....and maybe a few components I missed its a 2 year/24 k plan.......I already found I have an oil pan leak, and A/C compressor puking PAG oil....so owned less than a week and have 2 claims...lol....anyway....thanks for the tips...and I already feel at home here

Thanks for the feedback , it's nice to see you feel at home this is one of our goals :)