New to the forum and I already can see myself spending countless hours here. I have come across what I feel is a smokin deal on a 1 owner 2004 X Type and want to make sure I am taking everything into consideration before making the purchase. This will be a gift to my hard working son for his first car and it is the following - 2004 X Type 3.0 in Salsa exterior and charcoal interior. One previous owner and clean Carfax. No paintwork , garage kept and is like new inside and out. Literally spotless everywhere. The original window sticker shows the Sport Package $2750, Navigation $2300, heated seats $500. and X1 power/conv plus pack $1150 for a total new of $40030. I still do not know what is in the X1 plus pack but am certain with some research I can figure it out. My main questions are of course wanting to make sure I am not getting myself or him into a death trap, an unreliable first car or a money pit. I would rather just get him something else. This car is so eye catching I cannot help but consider it. Are there any areas of concern I should be mindful of or specifically have inspected before purchase? Is this model year a reliable year? What should I expect to do immediately regarding maintenance? Are there any known issues that I should be aware of? Would any of you hesitate to purchase the above vehicle for your sons first car and why? I am not concerned about insurance rates as that is handled. Can a reputable mechanic work on this car or is it a dealer only type of thing? I do not live close to a Jag dealer if that helps. Thanks in advance for your input!

 

The other important part I forgot to mention is the X Type we are considering has only 58000 miles currently. Thanks!

 

04SPORT, first off, welcome to the Forums. I think you will like what you get here and we cut to the chase on topics. Part of this is also our friendly family like atmosphere. We ask that you stop by the New Member Section and give us a quick intro. This gives us a bit about you and you get to learn who the movers and shakers are around here.

Now, on to your question.

I know we like to think that our children are going to drive sensibly and be the good children that we have taught them to be. But, I also know that we all need to be realistic. The Achilles heel of the X-Type is the transfer case. You go light to light too much and it is going to fail on you. Now, this can also be used to garantee that your son drives a bit more gingerly since a new transfer case will set you back around $3000. If you make him pay for the new transfer case, it may make him think twice about racing his buddy (you know it is going to happen with him driving a Jag).

I see you live in Michigan. I am sure you are thinking about the X-Type for its AWD. The "problem" with the 2004's is mid year they made a big upgrade to the car. So, you need to look at when the car was manufactered (written in the driver's door jam). If the car is made before April 2004, then you have the viscous coupled transfer case which ensures atleast 1 front wheel and 1 rear wheel will always have power. If it is made on or after April 2004, it has an open differential in the transfer case. This is where knowing if the car has dynamic Stability Control (DSC) is going to be key. It is easy to determine this. Look at the center console just under the shifter knob. You will see a black button with the letters "DSC" written on it. You don't see this button, you don't have DSC. No DSC on the open differential transfer case and you are no better than a FWD or RWD vehicle unless you know a few tricks for overcoming that.

As for having a non-Jag mechanic work on the car, that is not a problem. The bigger problem you are most likely going to face is convincing a non-Jag mechanic he can work on it. The systems on this car are not any more complicated than that in a Lincoln LS or a Ford Fusion. A lot of the parts are shared between these vehicles.

As for immediate maintenance, the big thing that I will tell you is to drain the fluid out of the transfer case and put in new. This will help garantee a long living transfer case. There are tons of posts here about this and a few options on how to do it. After that, it will be standard maintenance.

For a first car, this can be a very nice car. But, it can also be an expensive car if the son decides to be rough on it (light to light stop and go's). This car will cruise the highways very nicely, get through some weather than other cars would not even be able to. The parts are fairly easy to get and don't require a Jag dealership in most cases. For those parts that do require a dealership, talk to us. We have a few dealerships that do things via mail order. There is even one near you in Cleveland, OH. So, really, I think you need to decide if you are willing to take the gamble with how your son is going to drive. This can be a very good learning experience for him too. There's tons of stuff you can repair yourself on this car. But, don't plan on upgrading much as the options are fairly limited and tend to be on the more expensive side.

 

Good luck getting insured!

 

I rarely find that you can get objective opinions from Jaguar owners because we are so emotionally invested in our cars. Specially these older Jaguars that have a very unique styling, which is the reason a lot of us drive them.

Look, I love my car. I am happy to spend what I spend to keep it running as a daily driver, however it is a high maintenance car. I have an 04 that I got with similar mileage as what you are thinking about getting, and I can tell you that this is a car that will need a lot of maintenance. And no, it's not like "every other car 10 years old" it's a lot more involvement. This is not your Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla that can go a year without you ever popping the hood. If you have the time a resources to maintain it then it's a great car. But I can't imagine getting this car on a budget.

But for those who appreciate it there is nothing like looking at the flutted bonnet of a old Jaguar sedan from the drivers seat. You can't get that anymore.

 

X type is a good choice . I on my 2nd .1st manual with early transfer box .2nd automatic with later transfer box. I've had absoloutly no trouble with either Transmissions or transfer boxes. Check for corrosion underthe plastic sill covers . Only problem I ever had was ,new ABS sensor cable & an upstream O2 sensor . Both done at reasonable prices at my local independent , non franchise garage . I take the usual UK attitude to servicing . I don't change or replace anything untill it needs it & filters & usual oils get changed every 12.000 miles or 12 months ( I only do 6000 miles per year anyway ) Many things on an X type are Jaguar sealed for life !! I believe them & don't go round looking for trouble .On 17" wheels a good set of matching , balanced tyres running & 32 --35 psi makes for a quiet , grippy ride, with the added benefit of 4x4. Great compact all rounder , not run of the mill & great Kerb appeal. Your son will love it ... Here in UK its no more expensive to run than my old Daewhoo Leganza , Skoda Superb or Dodge Avenger ( UK Spec) . You may get punished on insurance being a European import , sports saloon & your sons age ...Welcome to the club.

 

At 58K you're probably not going to run into many issues, but there are potential issues lurking around the corner. At about 84K I had to replace my Throttle Body ($900 new w/labor) and at about 88K I had to replace my Pedal Assembly ($500 new w/labor). Both were due to repeatedly getting a "gear box" fault message.

At about 96K I was getting the fault intermittently again and after about a week of letting the mechanic drive it himself he tracked down the issue to being loose pins in the Throttle plug. We had both checked these things before, but didn't notice any issues. He caught it because he had their portable PC hooked up, driving around, and was able to pin point where the voltage loss was occurring at. I haven't had an issue since and that was about 4K ago.

Aside from that I've noticed some stuttering or hesitation around 30-45mph after my 90K tune up. Haven't figured that out, but may be 02 sensors or cats. And I had some troubles with plugs and coils having to re-replace the replaced ones. Otherwise I've had no issues - that weren't a result of wear - beside little old ladies bumping into me or people slamming into shopping carts that get stopped by the side of my car and send me to the body shop for repair. Sheesh!

Bottom line, I'd still buy another one. Either way, if it's not ideal for your son it'll be ideal for you and from the sounds of it you might regret it if you didn't buy it.

 

One more thing, there's a TSB on re-flashing the ECU for the drivetrain on a 2004. It remedies a reported hesitation that occurs between 35-50mph. It's a firmware update that has to be done at the dealership. You'll want to make sure it has this update.

I have a stutter or hesitation between these speeds, but I have a 2006 and I haven't seen a similar TSB for my year so I'll be looking into that.

 

Thanks for the info Thermo. Ironically I checked the build date and it is from 1/2014 but it does appear the vehicle is equipped with the DSC. Maybe one of the option packages this vehicle has includes that? Thanks again!

 

04SPORT, some early cars had DSC (it was an option), but not many came with it as it was somewhat redundant with the transfer case that was installed.

I know the weather that you are most likely to experience as I grew up just outside of Toledo. The X-Type will do fine 99% of the time for the weather that you guys get.

 

I'm personally of the opinion that buying an older high end car is never a smart move financially. Old cars break more often than new cars. Jaguars can be 2-3 times more expensive to fix than 'regular' cars when things do go wrong. If you and your son are not DIYers, best have deep pockets.

Jaguars do suffer from tremendous depreciation in value as many potential buyers remember the bad old days when a 'smokin' hot deal' had a different connotation but nonetheless the low purchase price should be the last reason you should buy such a car.

 

Excellent response. I could not agree more.

 

Agreed wholeheartedly regarding price. I have never owned a Jaguar yet and pockets are deep enough to take the plunge. My thought was to drive it for work/pleasure myself for the next year and hand it off to him at that time. I am no strangers to cars as I manage a dealership and have been doing so for 20 years. I candidly admit I have ZERO Jaguar experience but the car business on the other hand is what I do. This one was just traded in. I have all the knowledge from the previous owners one could want and thought this would be something eye catching/different for the boy when he is ready. At that time I would consider adding a little larger Jag to the family for my weekend warrior. I have always, always loved the look of the Cat and that's why I am here! This just seems to be perfect timing and quite frankly, the right price is a substantial benefit in my situation. I imagine after stumbling across this forum I will have another year to decide what year, trim, engine, model etc I will be purchasing in the future for myself this time. All with the help of well.....you!

 

04Sport, I noticed you added a Salsa Red 2004 X to your signature line. Would that be indicative that you've made your decision?

 

04Sport, get the car. YOu are not going to be upset. Stick with us and owning this car is not going to be that much more expensive than any other car you might get. If you have a mechanic at the dealership you work at that is willing to do stuff on the side, then you can really make out. I know I have done new rotors and ceramic pads on all 4 wheels on my car for under $200 (doing all the work myself). You are hard pressed to do that on most modern cars for that price these days.

I think you will find that once you start looking into the Jaguar line, while the X-Type is very nice for most cars, in the Jaguar line it has the minimums. I am currently looking into a 2011-2012 XJ. So, I am finding all the things that I have been "missing" over the years with my X-TYpe.

Get it, enjoy the ride. You will like traveling on roads like I-75 in the X.

 

04sport - Assuming you do your homework on any car that you're interested in to limit any immediate / necessary repairs, one with a good service history, which I'm sure you will, you're off to the best possible start.


The combined knowledge base here is quite simply IMMENSE


If you do all the work yourself using your past experience, knowledge gained from here, combined with help on discounted parts, where to get them from etc etc you're on to a winner.


Even assuming you do little yourself and have a good mechanic / good Indy combined with the help of this forum / vendors etc etc you'll still be in good shape


It's been documented thousands of times over by many many members who have saved $$$ or in some cases $$$$ on necessary repair work over the years.


I was that confident I got my 20 year old son into an X type and he's had very little issues with it, almost zero
He ALWAYS gets comments on the car and how he can afford to drive it...lol


Either way, wish you the best of luck

 

I think you're seeing this from the right angle so suggest you go for it!

You'll really love the car.

 

Thanks for everyone's input. Just wrote the check this morning so the only person I have left to tell is the family dog Buster. I am not quite sure how he will react to a Jaguar in the family but he will have to deal with it. I appreciate everyone's input and advice!

 

04Sport, let the kitty "growl" a few times and I am sure the dog will figure out who is boss and leave the car alone. LMAO.

 

I come into this late but in addition to the advice to have the transfer case fluid changed, please MAKE SURE that the air duct for the transfer case is in place. These very often "go missing" because they must be removed to change the engine oil. If it is missing (it is obvious: the lowest thing on the engine seen from underneath) it can be easily replaced - held on by a peg and one bolt. The part number is: C2S 18834. This is an essential part!
Now, to counterbalance those who have told you that these are "high maintenance" cars, I can tell you that they are not - if they have been properly treated and serviced. My experience is based on owning 3 of them. The one my wife drives has been in daily use in our house for 12 years; outside 24 hours a day, every day, used daily for long and short trips. Faults in 12 years? exactly ONE: replacement of an 02 sensor. My own daily-use X-Type Sportwagon (2005) has an even better record so far: not a single problem of any kind. Our third X-Type had a similar record. Last week I changed the oil in my Sportwagon - that was about 8,000kms of use and fully two years since the last change: everything under the hood was/is 100% and all fluids (except oil) clean and full. Nothing changes from month to month and from year to year on modern Jaguars (and I have two others). They are reliable, comfortable, elegant and beautiful.