I know this question is a personal choice but sometimes it's good just to hear other people's opinions. I have a 2004 X-Type, 3.0 thats not in bad shape. I love the car but wish it was a little updated and there lies my problem. I am financial able to buy a 2011 - 2013 xj or throw a chunk of money into my current car. It has just over 100000 miles on it but it still runs well. I would look into upgrading the interior and a new steering wheel, a navigation system and a new grill, wheels and a paint job clean up. I would also bring the engine up to spec with new everything.

Obviously a newish car would be nice but, I currently dont have a car payment which I like. I know of people who put a lot of money into their classic cars and dont regret it one bit.

I believe my car could be brought into the millennia with some classy upgrades while keeping the classic look but is it worth it? I know im the only one who can make the choice but it would be nice to see how these cars can be upgraded.

By the way, I luv the London tan interior of some of the xj I have seen and thats what I would do to mine.

Cheers for reading.

 

Maybe make a list and see what parts and labour is.

If you change the steering wheel from this, then cruise control is a faff

jaguar x type steering wheel - Jaguar X Type Steering Wheel ? 99 Jaguar Car Wallpaper

The navigation system only goes to 2012

If the body is good, sills etc and the engine only needs plugs and other service items then it has to be better (IMO) than a car you don't know, especially if you are content with your car.

 

Exactly what do you mean about upgrading the interior? I'd say forget about trying to fit a nav system, as wiring on cars that had that feature will be different from your car. Even if you got it in and working then there's the matter of outdated databases. Smartphone nav app is on point and current. Search net for vendors of wheels, grill and steering wheel. There's likely lots of choices for detailing locally. I recently sold my '04 with 110k miles; did a lot of work on it in the year I owned it. We loved driving it but I had to thin the fleet. Do you work on it yourself or have a good shop? I'd say do some inexpensive upgrades on current car while looking around for that XJ; you might just come across the right one.

 

If you change the steering wheel to the newer type, if you are handy with a Dremel tool, you can easily make the cruise control play...search my post on the UK site...

 

Rossy, I am a convert like you are pondering. I sold my 2003 X-Type (had 188K miles on it and still running strong) for a 2012 XJ (5.0L, SWB, base model). You are talking about two completely different worlds with these two cars. The X-Type might take the XJ in cornering, but acceleration is not even a comparison. As for creature comforts, again, not much of a contest there. Granted, you have to ask yourself how much comfort do you need and does the X-Type accelerate good enough.

Yes, it is nice not having a car payment and I can see where you are going to hate giving that up. But you will have to tally up what you think the upgrades are going to cost and then factor in some more for the added maintenance of an older vehicle. Where the newer XJ is going to be fairly maintenance free except for the normal (tires, brakes, oil).

If you do go XJ, there is something that I will caution you on. Because you are looking at possibly a 2013 vehicle, you will want to drive one first. In 2013, they started installing the 3.0L supercharged motor as the standard motor (vice the 5.0L like I have). While the motor makes 340hp and is more than adequate for the XJ, it also has the START-STOP feature. What this does is when you are driving and you come to a stop, after a few seconds, the motor will turn itself off and then restart itself once you release the brake pedal. So, the motor is going to see many more start-stop cycles. the other engine choice is a supercharge 5.0L motor (at a measely 470-550hp, depending on the trim package you get, supercharged to XJR). The 5.0L motor does not have this.

All I can say is once you make a decision, do not look back. You will question yourself. I am happy with my new XJ and by no means regret selling my X-Type. Granted, not having a car payment would be nice though too.

 

If it was me (and it WAS me about a year and a half ago) I wouldn't do it.Chances are even if you would do a lot of the work yourself you will still end up putting in about $2k and then still have a 13+ year old car with over 100K miles that might be worth $4K or so. I doubt it will ever be considered anything more than a used car, at least in our lifetime. i had a 2005 and it was in good shape and ran well, but like you said, you wanted some of the nicer things the newer cars offered and I also just was starting to just want something different after owning it almost 7 years. Mine had 165K and needed to freshen up the suspension and it needed some new tires for winter. Then you do that and the car is old enough that things would just start wearing out. So, I decided to trade it in even though it was one of my favorite cars that I had owned and one of the most reliable. It was just time. I ended up with a 2012 Mercedes C300 AWD Sport black on black with cool AMG split spoke wheels. First time I drove it and felt what a newer suspension felt like I was sold. It is awesome in the winter too. Much better than the Jag was. I still miss that car, but it was time. Will keep this one for another 3 years maybe until the Alfa Giulias come down closer to what I want to pay.

Good luck whatever way you choose.

 

My advice for what it's worth is.
Drive it as it is and spend your money on something else.
It's a car for goodness sake not a mistress!

 

Thanks everyone, some really great points made. I want the outside to look like this

 

But look like this inside

I am not a fan of the new design and thats where my problem lies. I dont mind sinking in some money as its starting to become a classic car and I know plenty of people who have cars this old and pour lots of money into them.

 

To change the exterior is easy and fairly cost effective. New grill, some lowering springs and the sport wheels and a new set of tires. But the interior? Not sure how many thousands and thousands of dollars it would take to switch to something like that. None of that is plug and play. Can't imagine what it would involve to pair up an instrument cluster from one model to another. And air bags. And seats and the heating and A/C systems.. And on and on.

Can it be done? ANYTHING can be done if you have enough money. I could see updating everything you talked about would be more than the cost of an XJ, but if that is something you want to do, go for it. Just make sure you post up pictures after it is done. Bet it would look cool.

I don't get the impression the X-Type is even remotely becoming a "classic" car. They are pretty much just used cars and I can't imagine they will be looked at as anything more than that in the next 20 years.

 

Interior fix or color change is labor intensive a bit, but not very hard using these people's products. Refurbed my 2 kids BMW's (E30's) seats (as we all know how BMW seats go to hell when not cared for). They looked just like original when done. Did the panels, etc. , too. Looked like showroom when done.

Home Page | Leatherique Restoration Products

 

All good points. I love the overall look of the car and upgrading to me would be worth it.I wouldn't be willing to spend tons of money, maybe $5-7 thousand tops

 

This is what I was talking about

 

That last picture is a much different story. At least now you are talking about the same model. The earlier picture was from a much newer car. That was from the XE I believe. If you want to change out the steering wheel and put the VDP seats in, that is much simpler and cheaper and easier to do. Still would. The Nav screen is a bit more complicated. Still seems like a lot of money with no real return, but that would be a piece of cake compared to what you were talking about..

 

Too add insult to injury, my AC went out and its going to cost $1089 to get it fixed
I am going to get some quotes on interior replacement, new grill, new wheels, upgraded lights and a navigation system and a possible paint job. I have been looking on the web at what some people have done when upgrading their x-type and it can be a beautiful looking and classy car. I personally dont see it as a waste of money as I think the styling is classic. I will document the progress for everyone to see and the cost

Thanks for all the advice and comments.

 

For a nav system, just cut a medium sized tablet into the center dash? Then you can have entertainment as well.
Cheapo motor overhaul is $500ish, OEM overhaul is appx the cost of a 2012 xj

 

Im looking for a more updated look and one that will flow with the interior. I'm not rich but, I dont mind spending money to get the look I want.