Hello I'm thinking about purchasing a 2011 jag or 2012 xk convertible I dont know much about having a Jag as far as shop cost or its reliability.

I love its look

I'm frightened to buy a Merc I looked at 2011 sl550 with 26k on it for 52k. But i had a 2006 ML 350 and it had a known problem with crank bearing that has haunted alot of the Merc fleet had to get rid of it .

I just seen a 2011 it had 47k miles selling for 41k. What should I be looking for in this car. I want to stay in the mid 40's or lower.

 

I was able to find a 2011 XKR convertible for 46K with 24K miles on it. If you can find an R My advice would be go for it. the 2011's have a great warranty I still have a year left on mine

 

Have you had any issues. Also what are you going to get after the warranty is off. Do you know which company that would supply a great extented warranty

 

The 5.0 cars are pretty bulletproof. There are some questions around the water pump and noises from the supercharger drive, but most people have not experienced them.

If you're in the US, I believe Jag does a 7-year/100k-mile extended warranty for something like $4k (lucky sods).

 

I have had the dash(Texas Sun) and water pump (leaking) replaced under warranty. I replaced the battery myself. $275.00 no other issues with the car. I have owned a lot of cars and this by far is my favorite.

 

bought an extended warranty thru Wells Fargo from Credit Union. but was not aware of the extended warranty from Jaguar, may cancel mine and look into this

 

I had an issue with the roof latch (damaged wire). Other than that, no problems in the first few months of ownership.

Regarding the R...

If you want/need the power, go for it. I considered the R, but ultimately was honest with myself that it was way overkill for my use. I've owned fast cars prior but never really pushed them. In a way, I felt a bit of regret that I 'wasted' their potential.

 

I'm on my second XKR. Sold my 2011 175 and had separation anxiety. Within a month I bought a 2013 XKR w/dynamic pack and performance exhaust. The 5L SC XKR is the best performance GT on the market for the money. I've haven't had any problems with my cars. My only complaint is that I don't get to drive it enough.

 

In terms of reliability and ease of repair; I'd take a Jaguar over Mercedes any day of the week...

 

Mercedes are so...... pedestrian.

 

I own a 2013 Mercedes SLK55 AMG. Let the cat roar... I'd trade my AMG for a F-Type without blinking.

 

My previous car was a Merc C-63 AMG edition 507. Had another C-63 before that but had to sign a non-disclosure statement about why I ended up with the Edition 507, feel free to draw your own conclusions. And even the Edition 507 put out blue smoke on occasion. After being smitten by the looks of the XKR and now 7,400 miles later with no issues to speak of, I'm a happy guy and don't miss the AMG at all.

 

In terms of reliability the following might be of interest - it IS of interest. The JD Power report on initial quality, measured in the number of faults in the cars of individual manufacturers judged against the industry average (current industry average is 112 faults per 100 cars - that is slightly more than one fault per car): the best cars - that is the cars with the fewest faults were Porsche with 80 faults per 100 cars; the second is (unbelievably) Kia with 86 faults per 100 cars; the third is JAGUAR with 93 faults per 100 cars - that means that there are Porsches, Kias and Jaguars that require no repairs over the initial warranty period.
Oh...you want to know where Mercedes sits? it is 15 on the list with 111 faults per 100 cars - which means (in theory) that every new Mercedes has (more than) one fault. Of course, some Mercedes have no faults and some have 5 faults, but these are the statistics.
Other gems: BMW falls in 6th place at 99 faults per 100 cars, Audi BELOW the average at 115 faults per 100 cars, Acura at 126 faults per 100...

So let's lay to rest the notion that Jaguars are in any way substandard or unreliable. They are in fact better built than their rivals BMW, Mercedes and Audi. AND they are more beautiful and more luxurious and some of them (like the XK) wickedly fast. 'nuff said. The only question is: why do people keep buying the German cars instead of Jaguars? (Don't answer...).

 

I'll make this short since a detailed note got lost in the system! In terms of quality, Jaguar sits FAR ABOVE its rivals Mercedes, BMW and Audi according to the current JD Powers listings. The measure is the number of faults per 100 cars produced; the industry average is 112 faults per 100 cars.
Jaguar sits at #3 with 93 faults per 100 vehicles, just behind Porsche and Kia (!). Where do the rivals sit? WAY down the list. BMW is #6 with 99 faults, but Mercedes is just AVERAGE in quality - with 111 faults per 100 cars, and Audi is BELOW average in quality with 115 faults per 100.
So enough talk about the (supposed lack of) Jaguar quality: they are the best built European luxury cars (the Porsche Panamera doesn't count because it is disqualified for ugliness). JAGUARS are better built, more luxurious, more beautiful, wickedly fast and in most cases completely trouble free (that has been my experience with a number of post 2000 Jaguars).
Nothing changes under the hood from year to year; the maintenance is an annual oil/filter change....my wife is in year 12 of daily use with her X-Type...problems over this period: ONE: replacement of an 02 sensor (only noticed because of the CEL on the dash - the car drove as normal). It still looks and drives like a new car. I also have an X-Type Sportwagon in daily use - ZERO problems; I had a 2004 XJ (fabulous), ZERO problems; my 2007 XK: ZERO problems (but I keep it on a CTEK charger when it is not in use)...'nuff said, except that one needs make no excuse whatever for driving a Jaguar - but we might want to ask Mercedes and Audi owners why they didn't buy a better-built Jaguar instead...

 

Wow thank you what a reply thank you very much for the detailed info. I must say you all do an excellent job on this forum