Hi All, I'm new here. I'm in the market for a new used car, and I'm seriously considering a 04 X-Type. First of all, do you think $6500 is a good price for an 04 with 86K miles, a manual trans and 3.0 V6? It seems to have all the options, but an aftermarket double-din receiver with DVD, BT, etc, so no Nav. I looked at it this morning, and it looked good, I didn't drive it but I started it up and it sounded okay.

The thing that got me, and the reason I didn't even take it for a test drive, is because my head was hitting the celing. I'm 6'2", so not a giant, but I think the seat adjuster was actually broke. It adjusts ever way but down, and just made an ugly noise when you press the lever down. I thought that was gonna be a dealbreaker, since I don't want to have to slouch, but I did find some posts on her regarding how to fix the seat motor.

So besides that, it looked good. I did notice what looked like oil on the bottom of the engine. I couldn't really find anything else wrong with it. It has drilled and slotted rotors, which the previous owner added.

I think I might go back and take a test drive, now that I know that the seat motor is a potentially easy fix. Anything else I should look for?

Also, do you think it's a good deal? The guy seems kinda desperate to sell it, which is sort of a red flag. Any thoughts, advice, etc?

 

oldpunk, first off, welcome to the Forums. I think you will find that we are very friendly here and we tend to call things as we see them. But ,if you are planning on getting the Jag, stick around, but please stop by the New Member Section and introduce yourself. We like to pride ourselves on not being the run of the mill car club. We like to get to know one another. So, grab a cup of joe and do some reading.

As for the X-Type, this may or may not be the car for you. If you are looking for something to have some fun with and zoom around here and there, this car is going to be expensive to own. The transfer case is the weak link and if you like to rev up to 4,000+ RPM then hit the next gear and really get moving, the transfer case is going to quickly give out on you. So, if you do take the car out for a test drive, listen for a whine/grind/rocks in the tranny type of sound. That will be the transfer case starting to go most likely. A new transfer case is around $3000. If you do like to zip here and there, then going with an S-Type or even an XJ is going to be more what you are after and it will only cost you slightly more.

If you are wanting to cruise and have a good ride, then the X-Type is a good vehicle for that. It will be fine to play with occasionally, but the more you play, the more likely you are to run into issues (see above).

As for other issues, most relate to either a vacuum leak (easily fixed and tends to result in a condition where the engine RPMs get limited to 3,000 RPM and a warning on the dash of "Cruise Not Available" appearing). So, give the car a good sprint up to say 60 mph where you can to see how it responds. The other check that I would have you do is to start up the car and then set the A/C to max (fastest fan speed, lowest temp that you can set it to). Now, open the hood and see how fast the fans are spinning. They should be pushing enough air to push your hair around. If they are not spinning or are kinda blowing air, then the car has a bad fan control module and odds are, the previous owner overheated the engine and is worried he may have hurt it.

As for price, that is a little high, but not overly bad. If all else checks out, then it might be worthwhile. But ,I would see if I could get it for say $6000, or maybe a little less.

Like I mentioned, if you are going to have issues, it is going to be with either the transfer case, cooling fans, or the vacuum lines. 2 of the 3 are fairly easy fixes. 1 is not so much.

On a side note, he may also be anxious to let the car go because of the oil that you spotted under the car. These cars are known for developing an oil leak. To put a new gasket on the oil pan can cost you upwards of $1600. The problem lies with a single bolt that if you follow what the factory manual says, requires pulling the transfer case (and many hours of labor) to access the one bolt. With that being said, there are alternate ways of doing it. But, you may not be comfortable with how some of the ways are done. If this is the case, let us know and we will explain the options.

I do not want to scare you into not buying the car. There are tons of us here that have owned our kitties for a long time and they have been a very dependable car. But, also know what you are getting yourself into and what it can cost you.

 

Well, I went ahead and bought it last night. That was the first car I looked at, and since then I looked at a Volvo S80, a Volvo S40, Mercedes C340, BMW 325xi and a Mazda 6. Of all the cars I looked at, my mind kept going back to the Jag since it seemed to be the nicest.

I learned that pictures are deceiving, and that sellers will flat out line in their ads. I looked at so many cars that were described using words like "mint", "perfect", "excellent". These cars were covered in scratches and dents, stained carpets, etc. I probably spent over $300 in gas and tolls over the past two weeks driving all over NJ, PA and DE looking at these "mint condition" cars. Not to mention half of them were dealers who obviously just picked them up at auctions.

Anyway, as of yesterday I started getting desperate, so I went back and test drove the Jag, and I actually really liked it. We agreed on $6200, which I though was still kind of high, but the guy was really cool and I got to give him credit for being the only seller I met who was completely honest and up front. He was the second owner and gave me all of the paperwork, etc.

Now I have to go get my inpection and tags, etc. It has dark tint all around, which I might remove at least from the front windows since I find it difficult to see at night.

So I'm reluctantly (still nervous and hoping I made the right decision. Admittedly I tried to talk myself out of buying this car) a proud new Jag owner.

 

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome to the forums. Thermo pretty much laid out all the issues and anything else you can address here. There are a lot of friendly and helpful people. As for the oil pan gasket, yeah, that is an issues that will happen (I will be having mine changed tomorrow as a matter of fact), but you should be able to get it done for far less than that at a competent shop.

Post some pictures up!

 

Some pics

 

 

Hey congrats on the purchase. Nice color! If the car was as described then you paid a "fair" price. Looks like the side indicators have been changed to clear from yellow. Hope you enjoy. Treat her right and she will love you long time!

Add changing all the fluids and not driving it like an M3 to your list and you are set.

 

Welcome & congratulations!

Hmm, is it just me or are the front bumper blades lacking the US-mandatory lights while the rear ones have them?

 

So, I just failed inspection due to the tint. I need to either get a tint waiver signed by my dr. or remove it. I'll call my doctor and give it a shot, but if they say no then I guess I'll need to peel it off. That's going to suck. Well, that was two hours wasted at the DMV for nothing.

The side molding on the drivers door looks like it's coming away from the door a bit, looks like maye a broken clip or two. Anyone know a good source for replacements? And does it just pop off?

 

Congratulations!

Welcome to the family. I missed this post earlier, but better late than never.

As far as the trim, you should find the instructions for the removal and install in the Handbook and FTIS12 Manual that are mentioned in the "Stickys" at the top of this X-Type Forum page.

Another great source of info is to use the "Search" and then "Advanced" tab, also at the top of the page.

3M makes a pretty good 2-sided trim tape that might be the quickest, easiest, down-and-dirtiest solution. You might be able to just beg up a few inches of it from a local body-shop.

Nice car, by the way!

I think you got a good deal.

I had no idea that one could get a Doctor's Prescription for Jaguar Modifications. I have been seriously thinking of what I need to discuss with my physician next I see him:

• A High-Powered Sound-System Amplifier (Hearing problems)
• A Back-up Camera (Sore neck, don't want to twist my neck around)
• Those Tinted Front Windows (What's going to be your excuse? Help me here)
• That LED Lighted-Lettering Rear Plinth (Inferiority Complex)
• An HID Headlight Retrofit (Eyesight)
• Reserved Parking Permit (Those spaces are a lot bigger; I don't want anyone banging the car with their door. Plus they're much closer to the front of the store!) because it just cripples me to think my Jag might get scratched.
• A Dashcam (Russian Paranoia - I worry about meteors hitting me)
• A Legal Prescription for SPEED. Some real SPEED. (My pipes are getting a bit plugged, I need to "blow them out" !!!)

Thanks for the idea!


~Bruce