Hello everyone,

I recently began searching for an X-type and I've found that even the lowest mileage x-types have had at least 4 previous owners. I'm just learning about this car, but can you guys shed some light on the possibility of having so many previous owners? I know there are an infinite amount of possibilities, but is it possible that a recurring reason is that these vehicles require too many repairs past a certain point, say 50K miles? I'm having a hard time understanding why a 60K mile X-type has had 4 previous owners.

In general, I want to know at what point you guys realize your jag is gonna be in the shop on a regular basis.

Used Jaguar X-Type - in 90601 Area - on Cars.com

 

In my opinion, unless it's an original owner car that may be a little more valuable if you can talk to the owner and get a good idea of exactly what you're getting; any additional number of owners doesn't mean much at all as you will never fully know what kind of history the car has had.

Best way to determine what you are getting is to have someone give it a good thorough pre-purchase inspection that knows what they are looking for.

Good luck

 

History doesn't matter, you need to know condition of a car, when you buy it.
Well, there is a time when history is important. When I buy a car (I am in FL), I can check history and, if a car is from North, not to buy it just for that reason. The only rusty cars in FL are cars from Northern states.

 

I too would say owner history matters little in comparison to everything else. I don't think 4 owners at 60k miles is very outlandish, these cars are fairly old now anyway.

The first two owners of my car were two Frenchmen, a father and son, the first of which had the car for about 9 years. I became the 3rd owner at 38k miles in 2012, and now that I'm selling mine, it will have its 4th owner at 54k miles.

 

Perhaps you can tell us why you are selling yours, and that may help the OP? It certainly looks like you've put a lot of time and effort into your car.

Also - as a side note - looking at your "license plate" for your color scheme - what wood veneer do you have in your car?

 

Something else to ponder is what are we defining as "owners". If you look at the ownership of any car, If you buy is used, it will possibly have "3 owners". You will have the dealership that originally ordered the car, the person that initially bought the car, then the dealership that took the car in for trade/sale. You start talking about trading the car in to a big name dealership, they are going to immediately put it up on the auction block and that is going to result in a 4th if not 5th person listed.

With this in mind, I can see where you could easily get 6-8 "owners" for a vehicle and still have low miles. I would be worried if one of the owners was some insurance company. That would tell me that the car was totaled at some point and someone restored the car and put it back on the road. That can be a very nice car or it can be a problem child.

 

Think of yourself as the seller. If you honestly tell the buyer why you're getting rid of the Jag, they're probably not going want to buy it. Unless the seller claims a life-event that leads to selling a perfectly good car.

I understand your concern Doowop, maybe you should look into an extended car warranty. The number of owners can be a hazy metric. I bought my X on a hunch with no history information. I bought it bc the motor sounded good, I needed a car, and, it drove pretty nice. I'm easy to please, but I'd say I did get lucky. About 75% of the work I've done on this car has been elective. I put in an extra cold air pick up, Magnaflow mufflers, K&N air filter, and the list goes on.

You will run into a few small, but regular problems on an X Type. The most detrimental being the Transfer Case. I have not had problems with mine, but I have read the horror on these forums.

That said, I've been thru the gear boxes a couple times in the 4 years I've had the car to change the fluids. That and more, I learned how to do here. If you're willing to be preemptive, you can save a lot of headaches.

 

Could be a mix of some hidden damage (recurring or fixed) and coincidence. Check the records - CarProof or your local equivalent - did it come from a different state/province?

My guess is that the previous owners all experienced some repair work which was too expensive to do and decided to get a new car instead. Jag parts are so damn costly haha

 

It has nothing to do with the car itself; since 2013 I've lived less than 3 miles from work and less than 1 mile from the university.

The veneer is bird's eye maple:

 

Thanks for all your responses, gentlemen. I was thinking the same thing in regards to owners potentially discouraged by the cost of repairs and deciding to jump ship. My audi uses expensive parts also, but at 50K miles, I really haven't had to do anything to it. I used to own a 2008 audi and the turbo went bad at about 80K miles with a cost of about 1500 to replace. That's when I decided to get rid of it and use that money as a down payment for my current Audi (a 2010 A4). Since then, I decided to be an active participant on the forums (Audizine) and have found tons of resources and information, from independent shops that charge 1/3 the price dealers charge to DIY mods I could do with basic tools in my garage.

Are most of you here first owners? 2nd owners? Anyone here a fourth owner?

I, myself, got rid of my first Audi because of expensive repairs, so it seems logical that many Jag owners would do the same, however, I can find a nice 2002 X type for under $3000 so I think I'll get it as a project car.

Now if only I can find a one-owner X type..