Hi all-

Didn't expect to be posting this, but here goes.

First factor: I’m now a two-car person which I never thought would be the case.

second factor: just recovered from the “sticker shock” of having the rear crossover pipe replaced (otherwise known as the “coolant manifold.”). It was my first significant repair after my warranty expired (three weeks and a few hundred miles afterward) and JESUS that was painful.

Third factor: I’m due for pads and rotors on the rear brakes (at that point where I’m gettin the warning intermittently).

So... I’ve been noticing a little knocking in the supercharger. Didn’t drive it for a week or two (so, yeah, dead battery when I went to start it), and when I started it up... loud bag of rocks. LOUD. Like “WTF?!?” loud.

Called my jag dealer who said it was OK to drive it over. Got there (the knocking was better by then but still noticeable)— my tech was like “yep, supercharger.” Interestingly he was surprisingly nonchalant about it. Said it really doesn’t sound too bad, as these things go. It’s a “sooner or later” thing as opposed to a “leave it with him” thing.

we pulled the price of a new supercharger, which is currently about $4800. For those curious, there are three available in the Western Region. Which surprised the tech, since he tells me he can’t get simpler things like motor mounts for love or money.
And yes, they also have just the snout kit, and it might only be that, but won’t know for sure until they pull it off.

With his assurance, I drove off. And, honestly, it drives great. But I am annoyed by the knock.

So I’m thinking.... is this the moment?

To be clear, I love the car. And the loan was paid off, so why not just hang onto it— especially since, as we all know, resale typically goes in the toilet once you hit the 100,000 mile mark.

But these are not typical times.

Still... as we all also know, cars hit a moment where things start happening. Is this the time to cut bait?

what would you do? Would you:

A) sell it “as is” now.

B) fix the brakes, at least, then sell it.

C) bite the bullet and just get it all fixed, assuming I’m gonna hold onto the car.

D) fix the brakes, post it online and see if anyone bites. Keep driving it.


Thoughts appreciated.

 

Firstly, find an independent Jaguar specialist rather than going to the main dealer.

Secondly, unless you can perform much of the maintenance and repairs yourself, it can become quite expensive quite fast. In which instance, may be best to sell.

If it hasn't been done already, change the front water outlet while the supercharger is out.

The noise you're hearing from the supercharger is most likely the coupling, which eventually fails and can be replaced easily once the supercharger is off the engine. I doubt the entire supercharger needs to be replaced.

Rear brakes on the X150 are nothing difficult with the correct tools and procedures observed.

The question you must answer for yourself is: what would you replace the vehicle with?

 

No offense, if you sold me the car and did not fix it and you posted it here, I would sue you for false representation if you did not disclose. Having said that, you do not seem in love with the car, I would cut bait, you will never get a higher price and if you do sell, disclose the issues, their was a guy on the Aston forum I was on who laughed about selling his car with known issues and passed it off as having no issues, he lost his case and is now paying for a car he does not own.
One last thing, no car you will EVER own will not go through a period of maintenance issues, cars are getting made cheaper and cheaper, you can keep up with the Joneses or have a car you enjoy driving.

Stepping down from my soap box.

 

Thanks NBCat! For what it’s worth I actually started in the bays in a Pontiac dealership in the God-help-me early 80’s.

And while I’m only good for oil and filter changes these days —no access to a full bench or a lift and I’m too old to crawl under— my hit on mechanics is pretty good. Yeah, this place is pricey but these guys really, really know these cars. And they’re nice. I’ve doubted their diagnoses twice, both times they kinda shrugged and were like “OK...” and both times they were completely right.

Def take to a local shop for brakes, but for the SC work I trust these guys and they always work with me a little on price.

 

Randy-

I long ago learned to never take offense of anything written online, but I feel compelled to say your post is pushing it.

Nowhere did I ever, ever even imply that I would fail to disclose anything to any buyer, ever. I’m proud of my car and when one considers age and mileage my car is in phenomenal shape overall.

Plus, if you read the post you’d realize that “sounds like a bag of rocks at startup” and the brake warning light being on would preclude deceit even if someone was the type. Which I’m not. The point - which may not be clear - is that a little brake work is required and it’s possibly better, value wise, if I do it before putting it up for sale rather than passing it to the next owner. Conversely, the not-urgent-but-pending issue of the supercharger might be an opportunity for a mechanically inclined owner to get some value if they can do the work themselves.

As to whether I like the car, I think the posts I’ve made over the past seven years speak for themselves. During that time I’ve bored other members outlining the work thats been done, including:

Electronic differential replaced, motor mounts, transmission mounts, both adaptive headlights, injectors (two), both trunk lid taillights, all control arms and bushings, a/c compressor, water pump and thermostat... and that’s about half of it.

But tell me more about cars needing issues addressed. I’ve never dealt with that.

 

My son is looking for either a good XK8 or a fairly cheap (yours is broken) XK. He lives in Seattle.
Course he can only afford about $12k.

 

Me? I’d fix it and keep it. Likely just the supercharger coupler, not a big expense (from what I recall reading on this forum).
I was a 2 car person for many years before getting married (liked having a spare car). After that wedding day, the mrs wanted me to trim down to one (since with her car, we now had 3), so sold my land yachts (Caddy and Lincoln), and turned into a nutless elf with a boring Lexus. When that lex was getting ‘long in the tooth’, the mrs said I should get a new car, to replace it. Well screw it, I bought my XK, keeping the lex (for winters), until replacing it with a sportier lex for winters. The mrs doesn’t seem to mind, even though my 2 cars occupy the garage, and hers sits out in the driveway year round. So back to 2 cars for me, and life is good.

 

I think once I do the pads/rotors I wouldn’t call the car “broken.” And it’s had more good work done than most cars of its vintage— as the folks at Rusnak tell me “you basically have a new car” (I’ve had $45000 worth of documented, invoices”d work done on the car— most of it paid under warranty, thankfully....)

 

The coupler is easy to replace. JLR sells a snout kit simply to keep the repair reliable but it's an easy DIY if so inclined. I'm not familiar with everything you've done but expect all of the common failures such as hoses, pipes, pump, injectors, etc. Staying on top of maintenance and replacing parts will keep the car more reliable and on the road longer. Unfortunately for me I've had 3 of these newer AJ engines which have all had the same common failures, so if I was to do it again, I wouldn't, at least not past warranty. I've had considerable more of the 4.2, pre-2010 JLR models and they were all extremely reliable more so even than other well know reliable brands when out of warranty.

You have to decide if your fondness for yours is enough to be prepared for this problems or if there's something else that catches your interest. Also, even with these common problems, other marques often too have their problem children so "the grass is not always greener" as the Americans say.

 

given the warranty work you've gone through, I don't see the car letting up on your wallet anytime soon. If it's me, I'm a seller.

 

I responded to your other post. Have you a replacement in mind? Now seeing your list of some of the things you've addressed, sounds like not much left to do to have it last for several more years. Make sure to replace any other coolant parts not already done. Brake pads/discs are super easy to replace.

 

Problem is you are spoiled with the magnificence of the X150. I know you love that station wagon, but in the end, regardless of whether Jag puts a cool moniker on it "sportbrake", it is a wagon and a 4 door XF. I don't even know how to relate if you divest your XKR and just have a station wagon XF.

I don't think you are a DIY person so see if you can get that sled straightened out on the cheap by using an indie and retain your coolness.

 

PK4144,
Should have reread my post first, was trying to be joking and informative. I am sorry for being offending to you.

 

Thanks, guys. The work I've had done already is pretty extensive-- seriously, this car's had more work done than Lisa Rinna. And while I know my way around a garage- I'm pretty good with 70's-era GM engines - these days I'm pretty much doing oil changes, filters, stuff like that. Fixed the "flopping glovebox door" and was pretty proud of that. Still, much of the work I avidly read on here is beyond what I'm doing these days.

As an example,also was proud that I went the clamps-and-Rhino-glue route for the rear window separation. It's super-strong, but... it ain't pretty. Were I to do a few of them I'm sure I'd get better, but this is something I'll do once and probably never again. When it comes to supercharger repair, I'm hoping (especially at 101,000 miles) that it's also a one-time thing, and I'd rather have someone who's done it a few times do the job. (Also, that video of reverend Sam trying to remove his supercharger killed me.)

And the same thing happened with my SL500 at about 135K miles. It was becoming a pricey project car, and I don't know that I have the time/resources for that these days.

I know I've said this a lot, but it's really hitting home how much I took my INSANE warranty for granted. Nothing worried me and everything was paid. That $2000 radiator pipe fix was a wakeup call-- and now, a month later, here's another pricey issue. And this car won't be my daily anymore, so....

As documented on this forum, and as a lot of you can relate, this car has taken me across the country and back multiple times, through (literally) snow and ice when there was not a soul for miles. And through three relationships, FYI.

And as I like to tell people, it's an eleven-year-old car with 100,000 miles on the clock - and I still get compliments on it. And yes, anything other than an old 4-runner or a Ridgeline is gonna start to need attention at 100K miles. Just not sure it's the right time for me to have a project car.

So, no-- in a perfect world, where garage space, insurance, and money weren't an issue, I wouldn't even be writing this. But I do feel it might be Decision Time. Just not sure what the decision is.

 

I think that the big question is whether or not you want to keep the car for several more years or not. If you do, then go ahead and fix it. I would say if you don't want it anymore than you should sell it without spending any more money on it. However, Jags that need work are a real problem to sell because they will scare off any ordinary buyer. Offering it for sale "as is" ( they are all actually sold as is ) will attract only those that are looking for a deal, either to the person that thinks that they can fix it themselves, or to someone who hopes to buy low and flip later. Both of these buyers will only offer a pittance, they are real cheap skates! The best person party to sell it to would be to owner of an independent shop, or the dealer who has the resources to fix the car at cost.

How much could you get for the car if it was running without these problems? Contrast that with the cost of repairs and the amount you could get from selling the car as is. I was the kind of guy that would buy a problem child to fix, that has gotten real old lately. There's a line in country song that advises" Sell your truck while it's still running!" Good advice except that we don't want to sell it when it's running, that only happens when it stops running!

 

All good, man. Some folks on here can get a little judgey, and transparency in things like this is big for me, so there you go.

 

Exactly. Oh SWEET JESUS the lowballs I got when trying to sell the SL500. Everyone acting like they were gonna show you why you had no business asking the price you were. (Ended up selling it a little low to kid kid who paid cash and was psyched as hell to get the car.)

But again, the car actually runs great. Interestingly, the brake warning light went off on the drive home, and once the car is fully warmed up the "bag of rocks" sound is much better, to the point where you can't actually hear it when you're in the car with the windows up. No negative effect on performance at all.

I'd take it to pepboys and have them do the brakes just to have them done.
(Honestly, I don't see getting the money out of the supercharger work. If I had that don't I'd keep the car.)
Then maybe just see what carmax offers...

 

Also sorry for the duplicate posts. I would remove one but I don't know how. That'll teach me to post from my phone.....

 

There certainly comes a point eventually where a car really needs "a lot of work". I call it deferred maintenance but other than cosmetic, its the stuff that's described on the maintenance schedule something like "Inspect and replace or service if necessary" along with the known "defects" that we've documented on this forum (and a prospective buyer would learn about if he were doing his due diligence) like that rear crossover pipe that you've already discovered. Think of it this way. If it were an airplane, you couldn't get away with simply inspecting a part. The engine would have to come out and be completely overhauled every X thousand hours even if its running perfectly. (And you think our hobby is expensive )

There's something at least psychological about big round numbers and so you see a lot of cars up for sale at around 100K miles. But the people who buy them at that point are generally, well lets face it, poor. Maybe the deferred maintenance gets done IF the buyer is a do-it-yourselfer but mostly we figure we'll deal with it if and when it breaks and take our chances. We know we've bought it as cheap as we're ever going to get a Jag that actually runs and drives. We could (and probably should) have bought a brand new Nissan Versa or Mitsubishi Mirage for the same price, but no, we understand well enough that the only way for me as a poor person to enjoy speed and luxury is to gamble. Its the same illogic that makes some of us waste our hard-earned paychecks on lottery tickets; the only way we could ever get a NEW Jaguar is to buy $20 worth of scratch-offs every week.

But back to the mileage mystique. In my experience as a restorer of classic and just old cars, its the age that requires more of that "deferred maintenance" work than the miles. All the organically sourced parts, the plastics, the rubbers, the vinyls, the adhesives, the seals, the gaskets, hoses, belts, greases inside sealed bearings, etc. will break down somewhere in between ten and twenty years, earlier in hot climates and later in cooler climates. Higher mileage can accelerate the breakdown through heat cycling, but its still mostly the years. By twenty five years old, hot or cold climate, 100K miles or zero, every car needs basically ALL of that "check and replace" list actually replaced if we intend to continue to rely on it for transportation.

Now the caveat to that is most Jaguars that survive much past 15 years aren't going to be used for daily transportation anymore and sporty cars like your X150 start to become something of a collectors item. They may get driven around for pleasure on a sunny Sunday afternoon, or to cars and coffee once a month, but it doesn't have to get us to work on time nor does it have to idle in traffic jams during the summers. We drive it once in a while, put a piece of cardboard under it to protect our garage floor from the drips and mostly just look at it, admire it, type on a forum about it and brag to our fellow enthusiasts that we have one (I'm guilty but I bet I've got about 80% of the forum for company. )

So whether to keep it well past 100K miles or sell it boils down to this after such a verbose foreword - my apologies. If you actually need it to get you to work and sit in traffic jams, you need to do C plus commit to do very soon all the "deferred maintenance" as a preventative measure which could become very expensive. Either that or A sell it and get something newer that will be less needy and less risky. If on the other hand it's just going to be a weekend or occasional fair weather cruiser from now on, then I'd say C keep it, fix the immediate known issues and seems you've already done the most critical stuff so just gamble on all the rest of the deferred maintenance like the rest of us poor folk.

 

Phil:
Agreed completely on the "time more than miles" issue, and maybe that's it.
Found out that the in-service date was Sept 30, 2009 --so a super-early 2010, probably one of the first ones shipped, maybe that explains the issues over the years. At any rate, it's now a 12 year old car.
And given the current crazy car market... if anyone's considering selling, the time is right now.
So yeah... sell now or hang on for the long haul, and, as you note.... gamble.


Jahummer:
the Sportbrake would be my daily for a while, at least until I drive that car east. At which point, if I end up selling the XKR... I don't know. Maybe prices will have floated back down to earth and a newer XKR appears...?


ONE OTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR: discussed this with both my Jag tech and Service dept manager and they told me parts are disappearing-- and if they're specific to the XK they may not make any more. Got just about the last adaptive headlights in the US, had to have the ac compressor shipped from England, they don't even pretend to make the touchscreens for the 2010 (God Bless this forum for that thread about the XF screens....).
I've put 93,000 miles on this car. I've had a good run. Just gotta decide how I can keep it as a project car.