I plan on purchasing a used XK and i've heard jags have a lot problems, technical and mechanical? so I wanted to hear first hand experience, so I would appreciate it if you tell me about your experience? thank you for your help.

 

I'd buy a "Select Edition" car at a Jaguar dealer, so you have a year warranty. Make a loooong test drive at all speeds, check all systems thoroughly. If not you might be stuck with the problems someone else didn't want to repair.

Besides some gremlins in the touchscreen which clear up after restarting the car I haven't had much problems.

 

1 year?
I wouldn't buy any Jag or european made car without a loooonnnnnng warranty.

 

Bought mine in Feb this year. I drive it daily with a 100 mi r/t commute and the car has been great so far. Still have the touchscreen gremlin that dutch mentioned even though the dealer upgraded the software. That problem seems to be fairly common from what I've read here.

An '08 is probably/possibly still under the original factory warranty. I would agree that a warranty is very important whether it be original or CPO. Mine is CPO and the four hour touchscreen software upgrade was covered. Good thing 'cuz it didn't solve the issue.

I'd expected better gas mileage. Am getting 21 mpg highway and 17 local, calculator method. The onboard computer is showing considerably higher. Others here have reported much better mileage. Perhaps mine is low because my highway speed is 75-80.

Overall, I am thrilled with the car.

Best regards and good luck.

 

agree totally !!!!!

 

I've owned 3 XKR's since 2004. 2002 XKR 100, 2007 XKR and now a 2010 XKR.

My 02 XKR 100 was bulletproof. That car was absolutely trouble free, and was a fantastic car.

My 07 XKR had absolutely *none* of the issues others have discussed such as console head unit gremlins, engine stumble, or extraneous noises. I purchased a warranty with this car, and did not use it.

I traded my 07 XKR in on my current 2010. The difference (in my opinion) between my 07 XKR and this 2010 XKR is very significant. I've had no issues with this 2010, and it is a beast. Power, ride, magnificent interior with a black Jaguar suedecloth headliner (that's what they call it - looks and feels exactly like alcantera). Take your breath away.

Many of us don't discuss things that aren't problems on the forums. But the joy and pride I get from driving this car is hard to put into words. Others will back me up on this - the car causes traffic to slow down to inspect these cars while they are moving.

The car is magnificent and employs strangers to walk up to you and profess how beautiful and great the car is. What they're also telling you (without actually speaking the words) is how privileged and venerable you are in being able to own and drive such a piece of engineering, technology, and art.

 

I agree completely. My experience is just with the 2010, and only over about 2000 miles. I read back through countless threads before buying it and felt the upgrades in 2010 were worth it from a performance and reliability standpoint. The car looks and performs great. It was chosen over an Aston and Maserati, and makes a lot more financial sense any way you want to slice it...although I could make a much stronger case for a Camry given different priorities!

These are expensive cars, and you can expect repairs to be expensive, but I doubt any more than other expensive cars, and a lot less than some. I'd go as new and low mileage as you can afford, and expect savings on an older purchase might be offset with higher maintenance or aggravation. I expect repairs to be costly when my warranty expires, and I will either keep it with that expectation, or sell it if I want to avoid it.

You're always rolling the dice when keeping a car beyond the warranty period, so what you've got to do is ask yourself one very simple question..."are you feeling lucky?".

Bruce

 

Also a "new" '07 XK and first time Jag owner....(Now on month 4)
Bought the 3yr extended with mine, just to be safe. So far 2 trips to the dealership and $1800 in service... Not at all a lemon in my opinion, I just had a couple things like no lights on the steering wheel,(Replaced lighting control module), and intermittent up-shift paddle, (replaced clock spring, steering wheel harness).
Also have intermittent adaptive cruse failure that they were unable to replicate despite the info I presented from threads from this site. They did re-flash a sub system but the issue is still there.

Anyhow my point is that 3 months in, $1800 spent, and more to go, I would say and extended is going to pay for itself easily... And don't get me wrong, my love of this car and how it drives way overpowers these minor maintenance inconveniences....

Vince

 

Everyone thank you for the great feed back. Much appreciated

 

Jaguar's quality is not great or even good, but poor; latest JD Power ratings Jaguar 23rd out of 27...that's very poor indeed and their trend has also been on a significant decline over the last few years which is something to pay attention to. My personal experience with a brand new 12 XKR has been right inline with the ratings, poor.

You will find many here with no issues or a few but most have bought their cars second hand and the previous owner may have been the one getting most of the problems sorted out and eventually like me may have had enough. If I were to return the car with 12 things gone wrong in the first 900 miles, more than half have been fixed but I still have a few remaining, so the new owner would get my car and say he's only had a few problems...

I finally heard back from my client that bought a new 12 XJL and he says he's had no problems at all, but he recommended a new Jag to a friend who 3mos later had Jaguar buy back his new car for so many problems. From a quality standpoint a Jag is definitely not the smartest decision as there are many other marques that fare much better, but few as beautiful; just remember beauty is only skin deep.

 

My '04 VDP was really solid. I am only 3 weeks into my '07 XK, but only has 16K miles on it. In general, I think the modern Jag's are on par with any other marque in reliability, especially if you buy a well maintained used one. Cars are cars and some end up being lemons...

 

This is good news to hear but contradicts what I've been told by a friend who works for the dealer. He told the cars are always having problems and does not recommend getting one.

I'm still gonna get one despite what my friend says because it's the right car for me. But I am happy to hear most are trouble free.

 

I think your friend at the dealership is telling you true...there are many cars with much better quality records than Jaguar and it appears since Ford has left the equation quality has steadily been decling.

 

If you have a friend working for a dealer who feels Jaguar cars are subpar then that person should not be working for Jaguar for a number of reasons. I wouldn't want anyone selling me something they did not believe in.

After having been in IT for over 25 years and having dealt with "gobs" of different kinds of people I've learned quite a few things about both those areas. Some people just cannot understand why some things in their life aren't absolutely perfect - to them there's no reason things shouldn't be perfect, no matter how little or how much they pay for something.

I guess you will quickly come to know if you are a Jag person. And hopefully you will get a kitty that has been put together well.

Best of luck to you!!

 

I got a Select Edition '08 XK over a year ago and put 8K miles on it since. I had one check engine light situation that was quickly addressed under warranty. Nothing wrong, simply the software parameters were widened.

The '08 still uses the proven 4.2 liter engine. It is pretty much bullet proof. I had an '05 XK with the same drive train and had not a single issue with the car in my 3 years of ownership. So far the '08 is doing just fine. Not sure when Ford sold its Jag ownership but, I think the '08 still represents Ford's quality. As posted by others, since, the quality numbers have been declining.

Still, one has to consider that the quality of all cars on the road today is far higher than they were, say 10-20 years ago. So, even if Jag is near the bottom of the list today, the cars still tend to be quite reliable.

Just as suggested by others, I would also recommend a good extended warranty for your state of mind. You many have to pay $2-3K for it and hopefully never use it but, it takes a lot of anxiety out of the ownership. My Select Edition came with 6 years, 100K dealer backed warranty for most of the car.

Albert

 

Bought my 08 XKR about a month ago, so far it has been an awesome experience, love my car! Best of luck. I did get the warranty that will last me about another 1 1/2 years.

 

My friend really does have my best interest at heart. He only told me the negatives because he knows I am very picky, or have been in the past. My friend and I are members of clublexus. He knows I am accustomed to relibility in cars. He also knows I can get quite rambunctious when dealing with stupid crap and he doesn't believe I could tolerate the problems and the lack of quality customer service compared to Lexus. He believes customer service is good at his dealership but not in comparison to Lexus.

I assured him I am ready to deal with the issues because the Jag won't be my only car. I'm keeping both Lexus cars I have. The Jag will only be driven 2 or 3 times a week. Maybe just the weekends.

But I'm more patient than I used to be and as long as the dealership addresses whatever issues I have, things will be fine. if I get a run-around, things could get dicey...for them.

Here's an example. In the late 1980's early 1990's I had 2 Nissans. One time a service manager admitted to me his tech broke something on my car but tried to get tough and told me they refused to fix it. He tried to give me a tough guy look and voice. I pleaded with him to reconsider. He told me to get lost.
I threw everything on his desk to the floor. I smashed his phone and was about to smash his computer when he changed his tone and agreed to fix my car.
This is why my friend thinks I should not buy a car with a history of issues. Again, I've mellowed and my expectations are different. I have reliable cars now. This time I want something sexy. I'm ready to handle it.

 

Well, ok...

I understand where you are coming from. I agree there should be a minimum level of competence in anyone's job and especially with customer service. I've dealt with 4 Jag dealerships. The Jag dealership in Buckhead (Atlanta) screwed me on a timing chain issue we had on a 1998 VDP. I later found out through soomeone else at the dealership that it was an 80 year old percimon (sp?, Service dept manager) that screwed me over with Jag on replacing the engine. That old a$$hole doesn't work there anymore and I don't do business with them. He and Jag knew it was a design defect, but he mis-represented me and the problem to Jaguar. I wound up replacing the engine myself.

Hennessey Jag in Gwinnett has been outstanding. In particular a service advisor named Henry Green has been exemplary with me. he has never given me anything but "yes sir" on anything I have requested. He has *never* refused me on anything I have requested, and has always treated me with the utmost respect. he's is a great guy.

So, as have you, we have both known a$$holes and good people. And that's the key - it's the people you deal with. the car can't control what the dealer reps - whether they are salespeople or service people - do or how they treat you. I'll have to say, I have never owned a Lexus and probably never will - they just aren't my cup of tea. But I am sure they have their share of dealerships that treat their customers as simply sources of income and some that take a higher regard and a higher standard of business with their customers.

As for Jaguars cars themselves, they are their own breed just as Lexus cars are. If you heed the advice given on the board and test drive the one you buy and have it checked out thoroughly you should be ok.

You sound like a very independent person who knows how to take care of his personal interests. I think you will be fine with a Jag. They aren't a dime a dozen and I'll tell you, they are so sexy they make even my mug tolerable!!

 

You should also be able to have the dealer show you all the work that has ever been done on the car as it is available on their national computer system by VIN (if it's like here in Canada). If previous owners had lots of issues you will see it. Exhaust droning has been reported on various '07-09 cars, and some don't do it for maybe a half hour after fully heating up. Others have had repeated electrical gremlins and others haven't on those years as well.

I've never heard so many people comment that of the long list of fantasy cars that they've owned that the Jaguar XK/XKR has been the best of them all. Forums tend to attract many owners who discuss and seek help with problems they are having with their cars, and that does not make our experiences representative of Jag owners in general. I heard recently that the typical Aston Martin owner trades his car every two years. Those owners probably mostly lease the car and don't join the AM forum. Their sales are too few to be included in surveys, and I've never seen an XK or XKR included in any owner/reliability survey either.

The newish XF and newer XJ experiences are reflected in the reliability surveys, but other than RJC's 2012 I don't believe there has been one forum member with an XK/XKR built since May of 2009 who has reported a quality issue on this board, and that includes those who are the original owners of 2010-2012 cars, and those who bought them second hand. This is why I have complete confidence in at least the 2010-2011 models, and am reserving judgement on the 2012 to see if other owners of that year start to experience problems. But unless problems start getting reported I would say the trend is looking remarkably and overwhelmingly good for at least the 2010+ XK/XKR's...and that bodes well for the entire Jaguar line as they reolve issues on the newer XF and XJ's.

Bruce

 

If you want to have a cool car like a Jag, it's a little give and take; Jaguar, Ferrari, Aston... None are pain free, but Jaguar is on the safer side for sure.

In reality, the Jag V8 engine is not going to leave you stranded. It'll start every time. Compared to my uncle's old E type, that is saying a lot. I couldn't say for sure my Maserati would start every time.

Jaguar buyers think with their heart and spirit first on thier purchase (IMMO).