The car needs struts, front and rear. Yesterday I took it to a prominent and locally-owned wheel, tire, alignment and suspension shop. They've done work for me on other vehicles for nearly two decades. Here's what I was told, without even a hesitation:

He says he can get the fronts but not the rears. Beyond that he says replacement on an X-Type is so tricky, he wouldn't guarantee the work if he could get the parts. He apologized, but declined the business.

Now... I've seen numerous posts here where folks have successfully done this repair themselves (I'm neither sufficiently skilled nor equipped to attempt it). And I know that a complete set of struts can be purchased from any number of sources.

Why is this very respected shop-owner telling me this? What am I missing? Since I can't do it myself, will I have to take it to the Jaguar dealer?

 

NO DONT TAKE IT TO THE ***********!!!! (they are very helpful, but not easy on your wallet.) Well maybe its because the xtype has rear shocks instead of struts. Anyways, the fronts are just like any other car and the backs are also the same as any other car so I don't know why he would be feeding you that info. I would just take it to another shop and they should be able to help you out.

 

that's what you need to trust independent shops, those mom's and pop's stores can do a much better quaility job than corporate companies, make sure you go to a european specialist shop, you will get surprise the effort they put to get the job done, they know you will comeback and more that anything they are sure will put a nice word about them to your family and friends.

 

He probably thinks you paid $50K or so for the Jaguar, and is simply intimidated by the car.

His experience with monied people and expensive cars probably leads him to think neither are worth the problems.

I call it the Jaguar "Dazzle Syndrome".

Very few people seem to know much about Jaguars, and think the X-Type is worth far, far more than it really is. A common "trick" done by folks here in the forum is to "De-Badge" the car - remove the "X-Type" and "2.5" or "3.0" chrome logo's on the back of the trunk - and then people can't run to their computers and go to Ebay, just to see that one can be had for $2,000 USD.

(I've been thinking of replacing mine with "V-12" and "Turbocharged" logo's)

You can prove this "Dazzle Syndrome" effect by trying to hire a teenager to mow your lawn: the price he quotes you will be at least $100. And if you have a brother-in-law, he will need a really big personal loan after he sees your Jag!

This is what you have:





THIS is what they see! :

 

Very insightful, very funny, and no doubt based in truth. Thanks!

 

I installed my KW coilovers myself. not a hard job to do at all, but then I've been working on cars for over 10 years...I really cant understand why they cant or wont do it, other than the "dazzle syndrome" (HAHA!) Bruce just explained, well done bruce. Frankly if they have ever done a ford focus...they have done this job already...

 

Time, like the others have said, it is the dazzle syndrome. The suspension of this car is not that much different than most production cars now. I have done the rear shocks. I think I could get a 10 year old to do them. 1 bolt and 2 nuts and the shock falls out of the car. Does that really sound hard? The biggest problem is possibly running into the rusted bolt. But, that is going to happen to any vehicle, not just a Jag.

LIke the others said, move on to a different shop and see what they say. the other option is to go back to the first shop and convince them just to look at the car. maybe by seeing what the suspension looks like, they will go "this will be a piece of cake". hard to say.

 

The guy probably looked up struts for the car only rather than looking up both struts and shocks. When he looked up struts he only saw the fronts listed. If he had bothered to look up shocks he would have found what was needed for the rear. Obviously this should not be a prominent shop like you say it is. Yikes!

BTW you can see a typical part look-up system that shops use at rockauto.com to see what I mean.

 

That's a bummer they didn't seem to want the business. The rears are two upper bolts and a lower bolt. No big deal. The fronts are a little more involved but no different from any other front wheel drive car on the road. Find another shop.

 

Jaguar "Dazzle Syndrome" is right. We went to a family reunion last summer after we got our X, someone was saying it was a $60,000 car! I've run into that every time someone finds out is is a ... Jaguar ... . I don't like to say what I pay for things but I do it with this X, I tell them I paid $14,500 for a 2006 with 18,000 miles. That's about the same as you'd pay for anything of that vintage, class and milage. I think it was a great deal!

 

Its funny this is the first car I have ever bought where I feel embarrassed saying "its not my primary car, I just bought it for fun" because I know everyone will assume when I say Jaguar that its uber-expensive even used.

That said I think when one sees the X-Type in person it does not scream out $60000 car. I love mine so far but I think it does have the look of an entry model attempt. And certainly no mechanic worth his or her salt should be able to claim ignorance of what an X-Type is.

They are indeed bargains though used and very nice cars in general. AWD is a great bonus that you would not get in other comparable cars along with a nicer interior than most. I got my 2004 with 98,500 miles for $4350.

 

I'm hoping that the good looks of my Jaguar rub off on me!

 

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful responses!

And WayneCountyBill... Good luck!!!

 

My next job is the front and rear shocks. And I agree about the Dazzle Syndrome. My neighbor still thinks I drive a super car. Heck, my wife's Escape is much faster 0-60. Just doesn't hug the bends like my X does.

 

Looking forward to replacing the struts & shocks on my 02. I have been searching for the best deal and so far it looks like about $100 per strut and $100 per shock. That is for Bilstein...

 

eshocks.com

 

Hello, just bought an X-type 6 weeks ago. Had it aligned before a long trip. It runs down the road just fine but when it runs over a bumps or corners hard, the back end jumps side to side. I didn't notice it before the alignment. Could this be rear shock problem ? One side seems to react slower than the other. Thanks, Bruce,

04 X type sport model black on ivory.

 

The Dazzle Syndrome is spot on! Here in Norway, Jaguar never really made an impact on the market, which makes the X-Type both unfamiliar, and cheap. Nobody seems to know this, as most people think I've spent $60.000 on a brand new twin turbo V8 luxury monster with a butler included. In reality it was $16.000, and is a 2.1L 2003 with 50.000 miles on the odometer.
Doesn't bother me though, I don't brag about it.

 

tnzman09, what I want you to try is to find a cloverleaf exit ramp (or some other long sweeping turn that makes you slow down to say 25 mph) and go into the corner essentially coasting (or very little gas). Then once you are well into the turn, give the car some gas like you were going to jack rabbit around someone (in a controlled manner though). Does the rear end feel like it is going to come around on you? If this is the case, your lower/forward control arms on the rear suspension have worn out bushings and what you are feeling is the play in the bushing. If you can do the work yourself, you can buy new arms (only available through the dealership as I recall) for around $100 each (recommend replacing both sides). Then you will need another alignment. If you pay someone to do this for you, you can plan on spending about $150 an arm, $100 on an alignment, and another $300 in labor.

You may want to also check the rear tires and see if they are leaning in at the top. If you can see this, you most likely need new upper control arms for the rear of your car too. For this, you have 2 options. 1) you can buy the factory parts for around $125 each, or 2) for $125, you can get adjustable arms from a Volvo S40 and get those installed.

If you need more info, let me know. I have gotten to know the rear suspension pretty well.

 

Thanks Thermo, I think you nailed it. Question: is it possible to replace only the worn bushings of the control arms? It would seem to be a much less expensive alternative to replacing the entire control arm assembly. I don't know for certain if the bushings are available, however a local parts chain lists them on line as available. They do offer bushing removal/installation tools for purchase. Best regards, tnzman09.