touch wood. My 04 XJ vdp car has been driven through Winnepeg and Calgary winters and seems fine. I'll need new brakes soon, and got new tires and wiper blades over Christmas but apart from that she's been dead reliable!

Even the windsheild is intact - which is unusual for a Calgary car!

Should I just stick to the maintenance schedules and keep smiling?

 

As you say - "touch wood", but doing the maintenance tends to make the luck. Remember the old engineer saying: -

"The more I prepare, and the harder I work, the luckier I get !"

Early oil changes can make a big difference on the engine front, especially if you're doing a lot of short, low speed, trips

 

Also remember that a lot of the people are here to get problems solved so that is most of what you read about. The people that have had few problems don't always speak up about how reliable their cars are. I for one have had very few problems with my 04 XJ8. The most severe problem was the steering wheel "clock spring" caused the MIL light to come on. It was replaced under the Select Edition Warranty. The only other issue I have had was all of the light lenses in the door puddle lamps cracked and fell off. All were replaced and no further problems. I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem.

 

Thanks - I think you're right.