Funny thing you mention that, we sa a 2006 Quattroporte for sale today, 16K....low miles but blown head gasket. Sitting in a trailer. Around 4-5K for the head gasket, and the plugs, service....insane.

I wanted a nice Ferrari 308, found a decent one...upkeep is just way too much. Last few Italian cars I owned were a Abarth Fiat 1969 Spyder, 84 Alfa Guiletta....was stationed in Italy.

We found a 80's Maserati Bi Turbo out here today cheap....LOL...
MASERATI 1984 BiTurbo
$795 and running. Would pick it up but have no more room for projects. Great deal though and an actual cheap to maintain car.

 

And I believe to check for faults on the Quattroporte you need a $40,000 computer.. Nice car, insane maintenance costs.

 

In my area that's one of the biggest setbacks with having a Jaguar. For starters, we are required to get an emissions test every two years and if you have a check engine light on you fail automatically regardless of the problem (I know, WTF!). And mechanics some places will do a full diagnostic at like $100 but if you fix the car with them they apply that fee to the overall cost; but here they charge for the diag completely separate from the repairs. Which is where the cost of the computer comes into play. There are very few mechanics that have the subscription to the Jaguar system, so those that do are able to charge as much as $200+ just to do a diag and give you an accurate quote.

FML !

 

Good thing we don't have to go through MOT inspection like in the UK!

The good thing with the X Type, compared to other Jags, is that there really isn't much complicated going on with its computer systems. Unlike S Type Rs and XJs that have electronically adjustable suspensions and CATS modules that give out a lot of the time.

 

The X Type is a great, affordable AWD alternative to a Subaru. Maintenance for it is really not that bad. I would compare the maintenance with that of a same year BMW 3 series. Most people get them used for a good price and high miles. With that, you probably need new breaks, battery, tires, filters....stuff like that. Normal wear and tear stuff just like belts. My Jag has 108K miles on it. Great winter car for what I paid for it.

 

You have 2 choices:
repair yourself or get ripped off by a mechanic.
Mechanics charge a lot, but not so many people want a dirty hard job.

 

Yo, if anyone is reading this, don't buy an Xtype unless you want to fix it yourself. They're easy to work on, just a little different, but if you take it anywhere, they will see you coming from a mile away and just destroy you.

 

I have to disagree with Tony_H and agree with pab. I took all of my cars to an independent mechanic for years. He was an honest, hard-working guy, and I have nothing against him. However, I had two experiences at around the same time that made me stop going to him for anything other than routine maintenance.

1. My X-Type was complaining about a vacuum leak. He tried replacing a bunch of different sensors and seals, but the problem just kept getting worse instead of better; after $2,000+ and weeks of having it in and out of the shop, he gave up and told me to take it to the dealership. The dealership replaced a sensor and a seal, both of which he had already replaced, but the aftermarket parts he used just didn't work right. Yeah, the labor is far more expensive, but I would have saved myself half to two-thirds of what I spent if I had just gone to the dealership in the first place.
2. Around the same time, my wife's Chrysler Pacifica had to have the motor mounts replaced (VERY common issue on Pacificas—the motor mounts pretty much break every 40,000 miles). After he replaced them, the car rattled and vibrated horribly, and he couldn't find any way to make it stop. So I took it to the dealership, they replaced his (solid rubber) aftermarket motor mounts with (gel-filled) OEM ones, and the car was back to being as smooth as silk.

Now I have the Chrysler serviced exclusively at the dealership (they have extremely competitive labor rates), and when my X-Type needs anything more complicated than an oil change and tire rotation, I take it to an independent specialist shop that works exclusively on Jaguars. Labor rates at the Jaguar specialist are a bit higher than at most shops but still much lower than the dealership, and they use exclusively OEM Jaguar parts.

On the overall topic of this post, my X-Type has had it's share of issues in the five years I have owned it, but it has generally been reliable, it is a beast in the snow, and the cost of the repairs it has needed has been quite reasonable.

 

My 2003 X type at 76000 miles has in it's entire life only needed

1 set of discs and pads all round at a total cost of £100.00
2 set of plugs £72.00

and normal service parts once a year and I have just had to repair/modify the drivers door lock as I could not open it from the outside took me about an hour

 

I had 86 BiTurbo, it was nice car.
They are cheap and it probably doesn't make sense to restore them.

 

Love the long story about your Chrysler, but for your X-Type you've just said what I did...you don't take it to a dealer. And I didn't say take it to a crappy mechanic. Did you disagree with me because my first post wasn't long enough???

 

Mine is a 2005, 2ltr. had it for 18mths 95,000 ks. List to date (major items only)
New alternator
New fuel pump
rotors & breaks
Both catalytic converters
Still have a popping sound but only when engine is hot, so still looking for an answer
Cost to date A$10,000 in repairs.
I am sure it will be worth it once we get the popping sound fixed (this problem has been there all along.

 

>Both catalytic converters

Ya, that's gotta hurt ($$$)...
================================================
Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

So I have a 95 XJ6 4.0 NA. It has 291,000 miles. Lately it started leaking everything. In the past I've done the following work and it's in the shop now because the oil, and other, leaks got to the point where they had to be dealt with. The big one was the rear main seal. The others just dripped.

Catalytic converters $575

It's in the shop now. I'm not one to have old parts reinstalled if they are removed. Also since it's 19 years old some of it I'm just having done.

rear main seal
oil pan gasket
valve cover gasket
water pump
rack and pinion
Upper and lower ball joints
tie rod ends
wheel bearings
transmission mounts
engine mounts

Parts and labor $3645

 

Maserati doesn't manufacture engines, sensors, computers. Whatever it has is used in many cars. It most likely has nothing special except body and interior.
Use OBD2 code reader.

 

Sorry bud but you have no clue what you're talking about.. You need at least an SD2 to read a Maserati properly.

 

Regardless guys, find a nice Indy mechanic. The X Type will do you well. Most of the parts are Ford. Hate to make the UK guys mad but it is probably the most affordable, dependable Jaguar you can own. Also...these things are cheap right now. You can find them for 5-6 grand every day. I would not really call it a luxury car....that actually killed the X Type as most Jag owners considered it cheap. I would call it a nice entry level Jag you can find used and reliable. If you buy one....and you take it to a Jag dealer for repairs......HAHAHHAHAA.

 

Actually it is a luxury vehicle I want you to show me a non-luxury sedan with all that wood, wood-wrapped steering wheel, all power, and the jaguar brand name. Go on, I challenge you.

 

Can you read generic OBD2 codes w/o special scanner?
You can diagnose most of sensors by $3 multi tester.
Find out manufacturer of Maserati computer system.

 

No, I disagreed with you because you said, "Find yourself an independent mechanic who is prepared to fix it like the Ford it is." In case you missed it, I now take my X-Type to a mechanic who works exclusively on Jaguars (and yes, they literally will turn you away if you bring any other brand of car to them) and uses only OEM Jaguar parts. (Oh, and by the way, this shop guarantees their work for a full year, which, last time I checked, was a lot longer than the Jaguar dealership did.) That's a huge difference from what you said. The X-Type is not a Ford, and if you take it to mechanic who treats it like one, there's a very good chance that he's eventually going to screw it up.

Anyway, I wasn't trying to pick a fight; I just felt like a word of caution was necessary.