Hey guys. George here. Been car shopping. I'm usually a sports car guy and was looking at SRT-4's and Cobalt SS and Sentra Spec V's and Civic Si etc...

But I noticed that these full size luxury sedans are pretty cheap on the market. I found this one Jaguar Type X with 90k super clean looking for 5500 dollars. Its pretty local and in the pictures it looks like its from a pretty nice neighborhood so maybe it was well maintained. I was thinking of snagging it.

But Jaguars are notorious for being unreliable and I hear they are expensive to fix. Being a college kid, this sort of scares me away. I can't afford to suddenly have to drop thousands to replace a transmision or a transfer case or the suspension. I need something I can drive confident I will join the 200k club trouble free.

What do you guys think? WIll I be happy with it?

 

If you surf around here there is an absolute WEALTH of information on what to look for when buying an X. BEFORE you buy do all the research you can on the history of that car and have it independently inspected by someone that knows what they are looking at. For the price they are asking I am guessing that it is an older version, like a 2002-2003. Those earlier cars seem to have a lot more teething problems than those of later years, say 2004 and on. Transfer cases are the weak link. Consensus seems to be if you drive like an adult and change the fluid they are fine. Transmissions don't seem to be an issue, although I believe there was a very early recall that in this case would have been taken care of long ago if it was part of the recall. There are two different engines (2.5 and 3.0 liter) and a lot of different trim options, so familiarize yourself with them so you understand if the car is really loaded or more of a base model. I bought a used one 2+ years ago with 40K on it. Have a little over 80K on it now and it's been great. These cars can be very reliable, but just know what you are buying ahead of time. Do NOT buy it if the main reason is that it is a Jaguar and it's cheap. Do your due dilligence and you can be rewarded. Good luck how ever it works out.

 

Welcome to the site George, I too was swayed by the price. Paid 6k for my 05 X type with 95k on the odo last January from a new car dealer down your way. I would think you would be happier with a 5 speed manual as they take the tranny out of the equation, the later cars are almost bulletproof. As stated the transfer case is the weak link so read up on changing the fluid if you get one, parts are very comparable with the cars you listed, if cared for you should have no problems with 200k out of the car. Suspension wise shocks and struts are about 100 a piece for blistiens.

Here is one up my way that might be worth checking out. Dealer is fairly rep., car looks sharp, miles are low, price is solid for what it has. It did have pics up at one point, has been there a bit, a friend knows the dealer pretty good, says it is doubtful he'd come down more than $500 or so.

http://lancaster.craigslist.org/ctd/2091738998.html