Been shopping for a card for my Daughter turning 16. My requirements are Automatic and AWD.... naturally I'm thinking Subaru - when to my surprise an 2003-2004 X-Type can generally be purchased in my area for the same price as a similar year Subaru Legacy - sometimes LESS.

Been reading your forum posts and I see many generally satisfied owners. The most concerning comments are about transfer cases - but I did a search and don't see many complaints about failures - but alot of fear about them? Is this a real problem or more urban legend? I did check ebay - curiously there are several pre 2004 transfer cases for sale but no >2004 transfer cases.....was the problem solved on 2004 and later?

So, is this a crazy comparison for a 16yr old girl - Subaru vs X-Type? The Jag sure looks like a much nicer car. The Subaru could be more reliable but any car +100k miles is kind of a crap shoot.

Would you spend $5000 for a Subaru or $5000 for an X-Type?

 

For a beginning driver, I'd go with the simpler car, so I'd be more inclined to say Subaru. And say that even though I really don't like Subarus.

But, the X-type is a nice beefy chunk of car and it's hard to argue the price. They're a pretty good value if you get a good one. ( I didn't. But that's another story.)

I think I have read there was a change around 2004 in the driveline. Someone else is going to have to talk about that. I have also read the valve train is better (metal chain tensioners) late 2002 on. Ours is an early 2002, but now has a 2003 engine.

 

From a sober perspective, I'd say Subaru. In case of 16 y.o., besides safety one must focus on reliability and ease of fixability. I'm not saying anything negative about X-Types but a driver learning to drive will most likely cause minor cosmetic damage. And i t may be not so much your daughter as the kids in the parking lots. Your wallet will definitely tell the difference between the Jaguar body repairs and those of Subaru. Great thing about the Subies is they can take the abuse and keep on going. A fender bender on a Subie will not look as irritating as it will on your smooth skinned X-Type. Me thinks an X-Type would be a wonderful 18th b-day gift.

 

Prior to 2004 the TC's had a viscous coupling which generates heat and can wear (like a limited slip differential). After 2004 this function was done by the DSC system (brake application) or not at all if the car has no DSC which then makes the AWD pretty useless. TC's don't often fail but they have about .6 litres of oil in them so that needs periodic changing.

Now as far as buying the car is concerned they are complex cars and unless you have a good mechanic or you're good at repairs they can get very expensive very quickly. Remember they are very cheap relative to what they are. Jaguar dealers are prestige places that work on expensive cars and bill the lawyers and doctors that go there accordingly so if you have to go to a dealer you need a thick roll of bills.

Other X Type weak spots are auto transmission failures and driver's side A post and sill rusting.

A Jaguar has to say something to you (and I doubt it will to your daughter) so I'd say buy the Subaru. My 03 with a manual is one of the very best cars I've owned but Jaguars mean something to me.

 

The Jag is, of course, a much cooler car.

However, just because of the badge, it may unfortunately generate negative attitudes depending on what kind of people your daughter hangs around with. Teenage girls are often very concerned with what others think of them, and malicious people have a talent to make your good points sound bad to yourself.

 

>Remember they are very cheap relative to what they are. Jaguar dealers are prestige places that work on expensive cars

What he said...

You must be prepared before owning any Jaguar since nothing about them will be cheap to maintain. A perfect example, and one of the points not made so far, is the problem with the headlamps. The plastic aiming mechanism inside is extremely failure prone and will most certainly happen to everyone's car. The headlamps go out of alignment (end up pointing straight up or down). Dealers won't repair only replace at about $650 per side. Likewise for other things like replacing the fuel pump involves dropping the gas tank. Replacing the back spark plugs involve removing the air intake. Cat-converters are super expensive and hard to replace (they are part of the exhaust manifold and the rear one is TOUGH to get to. Leaking oil pan gaskets require removing the transfer case to reach.

I could go on, but my point is that these are complex cars serviced by expensive dealers with costly parts. An owner must be prepared to accept those facts or owning will become a nightmare.
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Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

Raise your daughter's expectations in life: BUY HER THE JAG.

I think the Jag would say "Only a future Doctor, Lawyer or Diplomat Need Apply" when it comes to boyfriends.

A Subaru could be read as "Tree Huggers, Frugal, Want 5 Kids is OK" to a prospective future mate.

Hey - you know her best. Is she going to want a BIG DIAMOND on her finger in the future, or a BIG IRA (savings) ACCOUNT from some geeky accountant?

(Being in Iowa, maybe you'll want her to meet a farmer. In that case, get her a pickup truck)

Get her the Jag. Any future suitors who chase her in a Jag will be infinitely more interesting than some guy that would chase her in her Subaru!

(The cost-to-own, and cost-to-operate are actually quite close to being the same. Poke around the X-Type part of the forum here and you will find the facts!)

 

Yes, that IS a Subaru.

 

Which one?

 

I think an X-type makes for a great first car. repairs might be a little expensive....so try to get a warranty. Shes your daughter and you know her better than we do, you would know if she would take care of the car or not. If shes careful and cautious, you'll be fine.

the car is not too powerful, its got brilliant awd and I would assume its structurally safer than a subaru (i could be wrong on this). On top of it all....think of the smile on her face when you tell her you got her a JAG...im sure its a warm fuzzy feeling when her face lights up.

and its a good stepping stone for setting her up to be a high maintenance/high quality kinda girl.

the one thing that scares me is that most girls, especially her age arent careful enough, especially with cars. dents here, bumps there. but again you know her better than we do

 

Interesting comments. Perspective, its a $5000 used car so I don't much care if it gets dented. She has been driving a year now on a school permit and she is quite responsible. She has been driving our Dodge Durango which she says is too big.

I only care that it runs well for 5000 miles a year. I can probably do most repairs but I don't want major stuff...generally the comments on the board indicate a avg to better reliability?

 

I would also add that she doesn't care a wit about any perceived prestige factor. But she does like my Audi.

This is more about dad wanting to put her in the nicest overall (including reliable) car for the money. $5k for a Sub looks expensive against an Style

 

just get her the Jag. She may not care about the prestige factor...but she will atleast appreciate it. its a rather solid car

 

b1, I will bring up something that I think you should investigate before getting too far as you may find that this will make a big difference. Check out the insurance. You may find that the Subaru will be considered a passenger car, where the X-Type will get the "Sports car" label. As you can imagine, the sports car label is going to have a much higher insurance premium. how much, depends on your insurance company. Some are more tolerant than others.

I know I went through something similar with my son where he was driving my new Expedition (at the time was the latest and greatest SUV on the market) and I had modified it with a lift, oversized tires, big stereo, etc. While his friends loved the truck, it also created a lot of enemies and the truck was threatened a few times (granted, he had lots of friends and they would have "taken care of" anyone that touched the truck because I helped them take care of their vehicles). I know my son would get pulled over by the cops just because he was driving the truck. Not because he was doing anything wrong, but he looked "suspicious".

I think the same can be said for the X-Type. While it is a very nice car and I think it would make for a good first timer's vehicle, it may bring a few things that you are not wanting to deal with.

The other thing that I will point out is that a lot of us were "abusive" to our first cars because they were given to us and we had no real concept of what it costs to maintain a vehicle. I think the Subaru will handle the teenager abuse a little better. Not saying your child will abuse the car, but as a kid, you are always seeing what something will do.

It is a matter of pay me one way or pay me another. The X-Type will be good for encouraging self empowerment and booster the child's ego. But, at the same time, it may being the negative attitudes of others down upon her. I think you will find that as long as you can do a majority of the repairs yourself, the cost of the X-Type is not going to be much different than a Subaru. It is when you have to take it to a shop that you will notice the difference.

Both are good cars. So, pick one and go from there.

 

b1,
I have to give some major kudos to bruceand carzaddict. That is some good perspective. Here is some from a dad that bought the Jag for his daughter. I started looking at the Toyota's and Honda's with no doubt in economy and reliability. I was walking across a parking lot one day and saw the X-Type for sale for the same $. It was the 1rst Euro car I have ever driven. After the test drive, I was sold. The car was not only in great shape interior/exterior...the drive was awesome. Great take off power and handling the curves was phenominal. No body roll whatsoever. It was obvious that the engineering was above the curve. The saftey built in as far as the multiple airbags and structure is way ahead of the market. The fax was as clean as the car so we jumped in. It's been a great ride. The down side is now we have to let it go. My daughter will be attending college on the other side of the state(700 miles away) and won't be able to feed it on the round trips. Just not practical for a commuter. So check it out in the classifieds. It's a gem.

 

buy the xtype. If you care about your daughter's safety, buy the more expensive luxury sedan. My girlfriend bought a subaru forester with 130k miles on it for $5000 and I bought an xtype for around $5000 with 120k miles on it. In comparison, the two vehicles have have needed the same amount of preventative maintenance, however the subaru blew its head gasket so it has cost much more than the xtype.

Because the reliability of both cars is the same, I would buy the xtype for safety. I first bought my xtype when I was 17 and although my mom was originally skeptical of its reliability it is a much better car than the subarus I was looking at. In fact my search was between a subaru and an xtype and I chose the xtype due to its safety features. You may pay a little more for an xtype, but if your daughter gets in an accident, you will be glad you spent a little bit more just so she could be safe. I have been in an accident in an stype and since that day I have never felt more safe in my xtype because I know how safe they made these cars.

 

Opinions on a pre 2004? Has anyone actually had a transfer case fail? Are there warning signs?

 

I would just go Subaru, it will cost you less in the long run maintenance wise. If money isn't a problem then by all means go x-type, it's over all a better car. But something else to consider and this is something I've done and it's really paid off mainly having teens. Get her a stick shift (manual). This will really discourage other actives while driving and tends to keep them more focused on driving.

 

The manual transmission is a great idea for the reason listed above. We provided our oldest daughter a car with a manual, she and the car survived five years of college without an accident. She doesn't putz on the phone, especially in town, because she doesn't have enough hands to do it! Plus along with what Bruce and others said there's an intimidation factor, a lot of guys don't know how to drive a manual, and she will.

 

>there's an intimidation factor, a lot of guys don't know how to drive a manual, and she will.

What a great idea!!!

That's a sure way to keep a cel-phone out of her hands and the fact that most guys won't know how to drive it is just priceless.

Double plus good
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Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons