Originally Posted by MeatBag

Welcome to our obsession USMC_KAK!

Whatever you need to do to her is probably going to be well worth the time effort and expense. The X-Type is a nice, solid, and reliable car.

I don't know how much you shopped around, but I recently helped my son shop for and buy a car - and for $3,000 (his budget too) you wind up looking at some really sketchy vehicles. So even if you do end up putting a few K into addressing the issues, it'll probably be well worthwhile if you end up with a solid car.

Clearing a mouse nest, new rotors and pads, repainting a rust spot - they just aren't that bad. When I bought mine I read everything on the forum - which can start to freak you out with worry about all the problems you MIGHT run into - just keep in mind that people tend to jump on only when something's wrong and they're excited. But I've found there's LOTS of great advice and how-to's in here. Get yourself a copy of the JTIS (shop manual on DVD) too - invaluable.

I'm in mid-Westchester, and our local Dealer (White Plains Jaguar) has been pretty good for the five years I've had her, but keep your BS-detector sharp - some service reps there are better than others.

I got the same drilled/slotted rotors last year and had the dealer put them on for me. The only issue I've had is a bit of periodic noise (weird moaning) from the rears when you first start driving. The service rep looked at it and said it was "dirt getting onto the rotors due to the open wheels that help cool the brakes." It's the same sound I've had from regular disks after it rains and they show a bit of rust - which gets cleared quickly once you start driving, and the sound stops. Only difference is i park it in a garage, and even when it doesn't get wet, it often makes the sound for a minute or two once i start driving. The ceramic pads do seem to make less (or at least less visible?) brake dust.

Anyway, Welcome, happy tinkering, and post some pix for us to drool over...