2007 Jaguar XK
So after 8 months of ownership I'm at $3130.00..

Went to Jaguar dealership to pick up a oil filter. On the way back home heard a slight thud noise and the warning light came on to say battery not charging towed to independent jaguar mechanic the AC compressor locked up on it and shredded the serpentine belt.
Fixed by independent jaguar mechanic $2450.0

Drove the car for 2 weeks.
noticed a oil spot where I always park the car at work looked under the car and the entire bottom front part of the engine is wet with oil.

Dropped off again
Just got the call the front main seal in leaking
can be fixed for 680.00

Can these things be related? I thought the 4.2 would be pretty rock solid?

 

How many miles on the car and do you have the service records. What was the breakdown for parts and labor for the AC compressor replacement.

 

When I bought the car it had 95000. Now I'm at 110k
The AC compressor price was for new compressor/a new serpentine belt/and belt tensioner/ flushing the AC system and refilling with freon.
Carfax when I bought it says it was always serviced at the Jaguar dealer most of its life and by a European car specialist.

 

That sucks. I run the AC constantly all year long prevent any issue. 4.2 is a solid engine.

 

Yeah all the research I did before I bought the car made me think the 4.2 would be good for my needs.

 

HOpefully this is hte last of your issues. The only issue I had was dumping all my coolant out, but that turned out to be a $1 o-ring and an easy DIY fix.

 

Years of ownership and 62k miles...... one TPMS sensor, replaced free by Discount tires.
Guess I got one of the GOOD ones?

 

It happens unfortunately. Tough bit of luck. Another compressor bites the dust, mine crapped out but didn't take the serpentine belt with it.

 

These engines will run well in to the 6 figure mileage. The problem starts with some of the accessory components after 100K miles. I would suggest that this is the beginning of the cycle to start replacing minor parts/sensors as they start to go. Good luck.

 

The HVAC system is not part of the engine, 4.2 or otherwise. You chose to go with higher end parts (going by the cost) but a similar repair on a 'regular' car would still be well over a grand.

Now there's a possible oil leak fixable for $680. Not going bad for a ten year old car.

 

I started to go along this line of thought also with my reply above, his engine is rock solid with no issue but I suppose that is up to how you choose to interpret the statement. I believe when most people say "is the 4.2 rock solid" they mean that version, the 4.2L model. Is the engine and all of it's components prone to low failure rates, convertible top, shocks, exhaust, the whole vehicle.

Regardless having a 9 year old used car has it's risks, I personally would not categorize the couple of issues as a problematic car.

 

$3130 sounds about right to me. With that mileage and age things do wear out and they need to replaced. This is with any car that you buy.

 

The bottom line is cars cost $ to own and use, especially high end cars. When buying new model cars one suffers from rapid depreciation (especially Jaguars). When owning used cars out of warranty each mile not only adds to the cost but one needs to suck up all maintenance cost (large and small). Used cars with high mileage are not valued as much as low mileage used cars for a reason. Things don't last forever. If you wanna play you need to pay--one way or another.


You have 2 things going against you on the cost ownership of a high end car algorithm--high mileage and age. You rolled the dice when you bought your car. I'm sorry to say, expect things to happen. If you want a low cost to ownership car buy a Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry; there is nothing wrong with either of these cars. They are smart cars if you want to save money. To indulge in luxury costs $s. Now if you had to put out $15-20,000 in repairs then that is just bad luck and bad luck happens and for out of warranty cars you need to eat the cost. People who own these cars out of warranty and over 6 years old normally have a few cars and own them to drive on the week end. If you want to get your cost down you're going to need to wrench yourself and find a way to source parts cheap.

 

Agreed. I do my own work and set aside $1500 per year/ per vehicle for repairs. I haven't come close to spending that on the XK this year.

 

Yeah I'm just starting to find the build quality suspect owned 3 BMWs/1 Saab/2 Lexus a 350Z never had a main seal leak or a AC compressor go out and when I finally sold the LS 400 Lexus it had 300k miles
I drove all of them hard.

I have a 30 year old Nissan Pathfinder with the original AC compressor still works.

I'm sure Jaguar doesn't make AC compressors its probably made by Denso or Nissen.

But I still like my XK
I'm sorry but I just dont belive in the garage queen thing cars are made to be driven.

 

No issues beyond scheduled maintenance, I've gone almost 13K miles using my XK as primary transportation since purchase last year.

The XK is a transitional car in production methods. Its effectively an attempt to produce the Aston Martin DB9 at 35% of the cost. Its a step forwards in some aspects, and a step backwards in others. There are multiple interior pieces that if I still worked as a machinist I would be asking permission for a bonus to use the machines for a little after hours work to make my own parts for. The AC Vents inserted in the left and right edges of the dash, a new center console facing, and the plastic shifter surround.

Doing the two edge vents would probably require re-doing all the vents in aluminum, perhaps all the metal coated plastic in the car. No time for such a project, but maybe if I still have car a few decades from now in retirement.

AC components are very dependent on environment/use.

 

I've said it before and I will repeat- Jaguars cars all feel very fragile and breakable. You've got to treat them with a kid glove in ways that you simply do not do with the German or Japanese cars...you can thrash these cars around and not worry a thing. That's why you don't see many Jags on the road...they make great Garage Queens.

 

Wow, I surely hope that was all Sarcastic. If not, maybe you need to.... I don't know what really. I thrash my XKR every time I drive it. Not RACE TRACK thrash, but I'm certainly not the most car-friendly driver out there.
Never had a breakdown, never had a part go bad, never needed a shop visit.
My old XK8 also didn't need a lick of work in all the years I had that either. No, I misspeak... the front convertible latch hook hydraulics leaked a bit and dripped into the overhead lighting compartment. It took less than an hour and only parts I already had on-hand to fix it.
Maybe you have bad luck on your personal purchases?

 

I am totally serious, and I'm not alone in my view. The feeling of fragility comes from the gremlins-plagued electronics (you feel you've got to touch them gently or they would break) to the jittery ride quality *at low speeds* (XJ8, XJ, XK) compared to a Mercedes (big or small) that's solid like this, It makes you think the car is not very well put together and...again feels very fragile.
At highway cruising speeds a Jag handles just fine.

 

The aluminum door does "feel" less solid than the heavy clunk my steel Porsche door has when closing them, but as a kart racer that uses chassis flex as part of being fast, I can tell you, my Porsche is twisting in bad ways, I can feel it in my body from my feet to the seat. The aluminum chassis on the Jaguar XK is a far stiffer and stronger unit.

The 16" vs 19" wheel rim diameter does give the Jaguar a bit of a harsher ride, but its a far better chassis than my Porsche.

Its just little less important bits of the XK that I wish were different.

My Jaguar XK, has only had to go to garage for work when its time for scheduled fluid changes. Granted, my Porsche's are older, but I could buy the Jaguar XK for what I've spent on Porsche parts since my teens.

I needed to free up time, if the Porsche's need something, they sit unless I want to work on them as a Hobby. The Jaguar is my mainstay now.