I don't recall my S2000 being that thirsty. The exotic car brands for whatever reason don't put as much engineering reducing battery drain as the German marques. I don't consider it an engineering flaw, but where they put the engineering dollars to meet a price point. If I know I am not going to drive for more the 4-5 days I plug the car in so I am not so worried, but I hear/read the same battery drain issue on several forums. A buddy has a E550 that he leaves unplugged all winter in the elements and starts up fine year after year with 3-4 months in storage; no CTEK being used. He sees it as the car is under warranty and if it doesn't start, MB can deal with it... Not the course I would pick, but understand the rationale.

 

My Corvette C5 is a bigger battery eater than my XK.

Although right now I need to get new batteries for both, I'll have a better idea when they are both fresh.

I've gone out of town for almost two weeks and still had the XK start.

The corvette its best to not go over a week.

My 944 on the other hand, aside from when a battery needs replacement; just trucks and starts even if up on jack stands and left alone for a two months.

I bought my Jaguar to be a reliable car with low down time. It has fulfilled that in the three plus years I have owned it.

 

Cost to manufacture and ease of maintenance are two design factors that stand out to me in the XK.

Each part works to still retain a degree of styling; while having a manufacturing profile that is inexpensive.

It takes energy to shape metal, energy is cost. It also takes time, and time is cost.

Nearly all of the XK's more dramatic curves are the front and rear bumper covers, parts that are molded instead of forged.

 

You want examples? Please remind me what revision of water pump is JLR is currently on for XKs? Sixth or seventh? Do you think marginal pump is a good idea on an engine that doesn't generally survive overheating?

 

I used to have BMW with a very old school M30 straight 6 engine. Clutch fan on that car was finicky part that wouldn't stay working. Recommendation was just to weld it always on, but fan noise bothered me, so I kept replacing it with a new part. However, I'd only replace it in the summer, when (not if, when) it failed. As that engine would survive trips to red zone without any issues whatsoever and since I run synthetic oil in it I knew I wouldn't cook the oil. So unless it was a scorcher day outside and you were running AC, it wasn't a big deal that clutch fan wasn't working. To me, engineering-in such safety margin is a good design.

Jaguar is not unique in engineering just-so and ending up with fragile cars. Emissions, regulations... yada yada. I know. However, what really annoys me is that on my F-type temperature gauge is fake. They do running average and other shenanigans to even it for some reason, so realistically it would only tell me that car is cold, operational temperature, or the engine is already cooked. I don't know if the same is true on XK, but such design is idiotic. JLR designed an engine that is very vulnerable to overheating and didn't offer the driver any tools to catch overheating early. What were they thinking?!

 

Stop the presses, a small specialty car manufacturer made a water pump as good as anything from the big boys.

I remember not that long ago, one changed the water pump as preventative maintenance on any car. I did on my Toyota.

 

Here is what bad engineering looks like
https://www.hotcars.com/23-examples-...n-engineering/

 

 

This is about appreciating your Jaguar a little more by sorting the chaff from the wheat.
Its about enjoying the privilege that other brand owners enjoy- of excellence in engineering.

Here is a question that can help distinguish delusion from reality, And the answer might even point to a Masterpiece of Engineering.
Are there any production years of the X150 that should be skipped?
Ask me the same about X150s direct competitors, the ones acclaimed for superior engineering, BMW M6, Ferrari Cali, Audi R8.

We must become disenthralled with convention. At least question it.

 

Good point QC, but our cars are X150s. XK150s were built between 1958 and early 1961. OH, and Merry Christmas.

 

I keep hearing this reliability talk is all about engineering. Well the final product is more than just engineering. First their is a choice of raw materials, dictated by price, type and use, along with the process of creating usable materials and parts will affect final quality. Implementation in the design and engineering of those materials and parts in the actual production of the final products all affect reliability. The whole assembly process can affect reliability and that process is also engineered, tested and approved. Improper or incorrect assembly processes can alter the reliability. This is before the third party parts have been installed. Jag owners are not talking about whether they love or don't love their cars, or even if they enjoy them while they are driving or working on them. Ultimately most owners want to drive their cars and not fix them.

 

Completely agree!!. Its another one of those talking points that Germans and Japanese have hijacked towards their forte.
I would take character, sensuality and originality over reliability in a recreational vehicle.

 

Even a hobby vehicle needs to be reliable, I am prepared to tolerate a few idiosyncracies, but view a car which doesn't work, or requires constant repair, as scrap metal.

 

My XKR has 100'000 miles on it, I just drove 900 miles in one day half way across the country in summer heat, I'm clearly temping fate and I don't even have a spare wheel! I'm going to drive it another 900 miles home on the weekend, so I guess I should say my goodbyes because these cars are obviously unreliable pieces of junk and I'm going to die somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, you should sell your XKR go buy a Toyota Corolla as soon as you can.

 

Absolutely. This is why many of us drive Jaguars. However, pretending that reliability issues are not there is a very strange round-about way to try to justify your decisions.

Reading this thread left me with impression that you are deeply conflicted, with your passionate self loving the car, and your rational self knowing this is not a sound financial decision. Humans are not, and can't be rational all the time. Don't hold yourself up to unrealistic standard.

Unless you are skipping meals to drive your car, just enjoy it. You will have another thing to brag about when you end up sitting in a rocking chair by the fireplace in a retirement home. We will all get there, but only some will drive a Jaaag to get there.

 

Sin I just realized in reality you were reaching out and inquiring.

Not only is this car astonishingly reliable- concerns of unreliability are truly a state of mind.
No one ever believes their frame of mind may be wrong- thats why we have half a country that thinks one way.
Think about soccer, wrestling, horror or sad movies, we invent misery for entertainment!

Want the best proof that no one considers their perspective may be wrong.
Nearly every car (88% to be exact) is sold long before its half life... Because people fear it will not last.
The exact same amount is purchased by the other half who believe the exact opposite!!!

Then there is the other inescapable truth. Why would someone concerned about reliability (as you are) buy any $100k car from a small company if not to invent misery for entertainment.
But the fun and games come at a serious cost, to many a good people, some of them 2nd and 3rd generation, working at Jaguar who have put their backs into it.

Think about all the frivolous* reasons folks sell a BMW after 3 years of ownership:
(*Frivolous because clearly for every seller there is a buyer)
Style outdated, Cost of maintenance will be too high, there is something much better for the same money.
The following proves how hard the Jaguar has toiled in comparison:
Nearly 8 years on, my car's style is still timeless, maintenance cost has been nonexistent, and there is absolutely nothing better to trade up for.

Please consider this- it will help you kill that wanking devil on your shoulder- if he is right, all manufacturing should move to non-innovative cookie-cutter factories in places where human rights and creativity are non-existent, and we all drive soulless cars- to eventually become just like them and beholden to them. Learn from them, they are willing to put up with mundane and mediocrity to be one of many...Jaguar is a decision to be one of a few, the only thing one has to put up with is fear.

 

While I definitely don't consider the XK to be an exotic, it is a mid level luxury grand tourer with plenty of oompf. The reliability for the segment it exists in is relatively good. I've been scoping out adding a Maserati GranTurismo S; they always seem to have less miles than same year XKs and the reliability is lower, with higher parts costs. Other competitors to the XK generally have higher parts costs, are harder to work on, and don't take the miles as well. The segment is not mid-size japanese cars, and despite what some people think, generally a more expensive car is not a more reliable one. Mostly it's about tech, performance and style when you elevate in price above a certain point. These cars are segment reliable.

 

Have you driven any GranTurismo's? I like the looks, but the two I drove did nothing for me. Not very inspiring. XK is the best value for a GT. DB9 is the most striking. An Evora solely due to its rear seat could be mixed into the GT class for the best handling easiest over bumps. If you don't need a back seat maybe a Vantage? Then there's always a 911...

 

I would say the 911 is superior to the XK in most respects aside from the convenience of the hatch lay out and power.

The DB9 was designed before the XK, and although designed to different price points; there are lessons learned that the XK does better.

My personal experience with the Evora is its finish may not be equal car to car. Older versions of the Dodge Viper have the same problem.

Both the Maserati and the DB9 will feel old compared to the XK/XKR and the 911. The Panamera is also a valid competitor if one doesn't mind the inconvenience of the possibility of greater frequency of additional passengers.

For me, BMW and Mercedes made post year 2000 cannot appeal to me; whatever may be their performance or quality I am wired to ignore them.

I believe in Mercedes' case it is in part because of their marketing. The person to whom they attempt to make themselves appealing to from their advertisements; that person I am not.

Reliability may mean different things depending on where you are in your life. For some it may be weighted towards cost, for others weighted towards time.

In the latter aspect the Jaguar is very well engineered. The question will be one of future parts supply. Time waiting for parts counts badly for me. Porsche has an amazing commitment to legacy parts. I can order parts for my '84 and '86 that are not available already for my XK.

 

911s may be the greatest thing ever, but they are so gross that I'd never buy one. Plus, what's the first thing a poser buys? Yep, a 911. There are quite a few tooling around where I live. By the look of the drivers and by the WAY they drive, they are mostly dicks.

For ME, the next step up from an XKR would be a Vanquish. Once I tire of my Jag, I'll probably get one of those off-lease. No sense to suck up $100k depreciation my own self.