Due to an automobile accident that totalled my previous car (no injuries), i've been on the lookout for an interesting used car with a stick shift and is fun to drive to counterbalancethe minivan that's parked in my garage.

I've been searching for Mazda's (my previous ride was a Mazda) and BMWs. I hadn't even considered the Jag but recently found a local ad for an 03 X-Type.

I called about it and am trying to decide if i'm serious enough to take a closer look. The seller owns a small European Auto repair shop in town and the X-type was one of his customer's cars, he purchased it a couple of months ago but says he is reselling it because it's not big enough for his family.

Here are the details I was able to get from the seller on the phone:

2003 X-Type 2.5. w/ 5 sp manual transmission
122K miles (he says previous owner drove to Florida 2x/year)
New A/C compressor, Battery, and Alternator
No leaks from engine, transmission, or drive train.
I asked about the transfer case issues and he said it runs quiet and doesn't leak.

He's asking $3500, which is well within my budget. I had been hoping he would tell me it was under 100K miles because the 122K is making me a little nervous.

Should I check it out, or run away? If I check it out, what should I look for?

 

Don't see any reasons why 122k miles should make you nervous.

I've seen cars with 250-330k miles on them and they were in better condition than some 20-30k miles cars. If the car was beloved by the previous owners, it was well maintained - it's should be just fine.

Check the car first, let us know all the drawbacks and we can give you some advice after that.

Good luck.

 

If its in good shape I'd go for it, the price is right.

 

I have noticed ads. here in UK for similar cars at a very similar price ( £--$ conversion ) some of these cars have 100,000 ------180,000 miles & some even more . So it seems to me that the 2.5 , 5peed manual is good for many miles if properly looked after.

I recently purchased a 2002 2.5 speed. Good points , fun , safe , 4x4, comfortable , good accel. & turn of speed , reasonably economical, Big grin factor . Bad bits --back seating a bit cramped , headlights could be better , you wont want to get out of it , you'll just want to keep driving. Best bit ??? it doesnt look like a BMW cos. they look all the same !!!!

 

I've got a 3.0 5spd with 120k on it and it's still running strong. I know many people who are running above 150k. The thing that I would notice is that someone who will put in the money to replace the a/c compressor and alternator probably doesn't have very much to hide and the car is probably maintained very well. I say this because during a typical test drive, it is sometimes very hard to tell whether or not the alternator or ac compressor are operating at 100%. Also, if most of those miles were on the highway, I would rule out the transfer case being an issue as the transfer cases normally start acting up when they have excessive load on them or when the awd is being used on a regular basis with low fluid.

My advice: BUY IT!!!!!!!!! I payed $5700 for my 5spd a year and a half ago and that was the cheapest I saw one go for at the time. I bought it with 94k miles on it and have been driving it to 120k. Mine was also not in good condition like yours at all. You will love the car, it's the best car $3500 will get you and will run at least to 180k with regular oil changes and that flawless manual transmission.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, I'm definitely very interested in this car.

Seller was not available this afternoon, hopefully i'll be able to take a look at the car tomorrow.

 

Well, I stopped by and looked at the X-type this morning. The owner of the car wasn't there but one of his employees showed it to me. It looks like a bone-stock 2003 X-type 2.5 5 speed.

The good:

Body looks in great shape for a 10 year old car with 122K miles. A few scratches and dings but nothing major, although it does need a detailed cleaning. Very clean under the hood. Oil looked clean, and everything looked clean inside the oil fill cap (No sludge or dirt). I couldn't see any rust, even the underside of the car looked clean from what I could see with a flashlight.

The bad:

The interior really needs a cleaning. It definitely looks like a 10 year old car on the inside. Could see dirt build up in the grain of the leather. But nothing broken, although the drivers inside door handle seemed a little wonky.

The ugly:

The engine frequently misses. The owner has new coils for it waiting to be installed so perhaps this would solve the problem, but I would need that demonstrated to me before I am a buyer. The windshield was getting slightly foggy when I took it out for the test drive so I pushed on the window defroster and BOOM all of the windows fogged up heavy, and were very, very slow to clear. In fact they never cleared totally, leading me to believe that the new A/C compressor is not working.

I'm going to try to discuss with the owner later.

 

Steve, I've had everything from 55 Chevy hot rods to luxury Cadillac's over the last 40 years and the X-type to me is the most fun to drive of all of them. As far as the interior, cars can be detailed in a day or dropped off at a detail shop.

 

Yeah, the interior really isn't much of an issue. It's not overly worn or damaged, it's just dirty from 10 years of normal use. I'm sure spending $100 at the detailing shop would probably make this a non issue.

The bigger issues are the engine problems, which will hopefully be solved by the new coils, and the windows fogging up. Which could be an A/C issue but from reading on the forums it seems like a stuck recirculation damper is a common cause.

And then the other question is whether I really love the car or not. Now, for $3500 I can't be to picky, but the car is a whole different league from the little Mazda Protege ES that it's replacing. The Jag is definitely more solid and refined, but Mazda was darn fun to drive. Strangely enough, it would probably cost me MORE to buy a used Mazda, assuming I could even find a nice one with a stick shift.

 

I would actually believe the coils are bad. Many times, simple problems on the xtype go untouched due to the fact that it takes so much time to actually get to the coils. It's super easy to get to them, just time consuming...

My windows fog up, my windows have always fogged up, my windows will continue to always fog up. I think my blend door is full of trash.

 

Mine used to fog up really bad when the weather started getting colder. I searched the forum and found an easy fix. Just prop open your blend door behind the cabin filter with a pencil or something that keeps it cracked open a little. make sure you attach it with something so it doesn't get sucked in the blower. When the weather starts getting warm again I shut the door so I can get max cold from my AC.

 

Well, he says he already has the parts and is going to install the new coils over the weekend, and maybe even change the fluid in the differentials just for the heck of it. So, we'll find out on Monday.

I may have hit a HUGE deal-ending snag though -- My wife says she doesn't really like it.

 

Maybe the seller will take her as trade.

(just don't mention the terrible racket she's starting to make!)

 

Is the car for you or her? If it's for you maybe she thinks you'll be getting more attention from the ladies :P

 

She will adapt to being #2 in your life soon enough.

I just replaced my plugs and 1 coil that was obviously bad. A couple hours of work and the car drives like new again.(and the check engine light is off)

My windshield occasionally fogged up but would clear slowly with the A/C on. My compressor just puked out the refrigerant last month so I'm glad the air has been generally dry (cold).

I paid 6,500 2 years ago and mine is bone stock, no extras.


It snowed 3 inches overnight and I am still grinning from the drive in.


Buy it!

 

Maybe she'll warm up to it. I will be the primary driver of the car back and forth to work but she will drive it often. Basically we both love driving a sportier car with a stick shift but family needs pretty much require us to have a minivan (Honda Odyssey).

What it really comes down to is that it's the best deal on a nice used car with a stick shift that i've come across after 2+ months of looking.

 

I think you just answered your own question

 

Well (#*&$!!

He put new coils and plugs in over the weekend, so I called him yesterday to see how it went and he said it was running great and I could come back and take a look at it today. So I called him after lunch and said i'd be right over and he said okay, and neglected to tell me he had another buyer standing right there. So I leave work and head over there and the car is already sold.

So, i'm double pissed -- Pissed at missing out on the car (which is pretty much my fault) and also pissed at the seller for wasting my time (and probably using me to close his other deal).

Probably the worst part is from the looks of the punk kids who purchased the car it'll be trashed in no time.

 

i would buy it in a heart beet,mines an 2002
all parts are original ,all i do is change my oil with store brand every 5000miles
change my transfer case oil every october
flush my radiator once a year
change my transmission oil with redline oil every 3 years

 

Dennis, what are the details on your touchscreen unit? Make/model? Where did you get the plastic surround? Does it work with your steering wheel control.

Does it have Bluetooth? USB? Aux input?

Very clean look. Thanks!