OK I just went through all my receipts for my cars over the last 12 yrs. I have had 5 cars. Generally keep them for 50-60k miles. The Jag by far stands out as a mechanical piece of s**t + it costs new 2-5 times the rest.

I'll start with the others as the Jag list of fixes is never ending and still in progress. Note I did all my own work on the Jag after the warranty ended.

Ford Escort 1997 bought new $10K sold at 60K miles
1/ 1 set of tires + brake pads
2/ Tie rod end
3/ one alternator.

Mercury Cougar 1999 new $18K sold at 55K miles
1/ 1set tires + brake pads and rotors
2/ 1 a/c compressor.

Infinity G35 2003 new $37K sold at 28K miles
1/ 1 set tiers + brake pads
2/ Window motor cleaned brushes.

Audi A5 2010 new $62K so far 5K miles still own
1/ Recall water pump.
2/ Replace wire harness reverse camera (under warranty)

Jaguar XKR 2001 bought second hand in 2004 25k miles $43K car now has 55K miles
1/ Day one under warranty dealer had to fix (note this car had had Jaguar 200 point inspection b4 I bought it) wheel alignment, ERG value, mist in headlights, Passenger headrest motor, leaking rocker cover gasket
2/ Warranty gear box switch (restricted performance) + recall gas cap + evap canister.
3/ Thermostat replaced car over heated ($350) after this I did everything myself.
4/ New water pump leaked at seal ($80)
5/ 3 sets of tires Contis (came with car/Michelin P2 ($1800)/Hankook ($800).
6/ 1 sets of brake pads + fluid change ($56 + $15)
7/ Replaced super charger belt and oil ($25 + $14)
8/ Replaced main belt ($35)
9/ Replace both fuel pump 2nd went out + filter ($140 Bosch ones)
10/ Replace 4 o2 sensors upper went out (4* $70 Bosch ones Amazon)
11/ Replaced engine mount drivers side split in two ($75)
12/ Replaced power steering pump leaks main gasket seal. Yes pulley was loose ($111)
13/ Replace trans fluid/gasket/elect plug elect plug leaked fluid. ($55 oil + $35 filter/elec plug note Merc gear box)
14/ 2nd tensioners replaced ($210 inc rocker gaskets)
15/ 2 sets rocker cover gaskets these seems to start leaking every 15miles ($70 get the ones that include the rubber bolt grommets!! critical)
16/ new spark plus ($24 iridium's)
17/ Oil pan gasket small leak. ($25)
18/ Coolant replaced. ($22 2 for 1 coolant )
19/ Head lamp washer nozzle replaced old one popped out somewhere. ($0 made one from a pen end)
20/ One new horn original dropped of somewhere ($12 the high one generic kragen)
21/ Drivers door hing loose make click noise tighten to fix. $0
22/ Roll bar bushing replace $35
23/ Cleaned speed sensors $0
24/ Wiper washer rubber pipe (jag dealer $18)
25/ Battery ($120)
26/ MAF sensor ($202) fixed P0101/P0102 error.
27/ Bolt fell out of EGR value, I found on top of gearbox 3 years ago. I just found where it came from, god knows how long that had been loose. Jaguar recall 2004 for EGR pipe replacement was the last time someone was back there. That has cost be 3 MPG for god knows how many years!! $0

Current o/s problem
A/ Steering wheel up/down motor jams still not fixed this. Tied removing and benging spring washer no help.
B/ Trac no avail when car has been standing a few days goes after start up.
C/ E-01 code CD Changer (tap tap cartridge seems to fix this until next time).



Car looks nice but I think its time to sell and buy a Porsche Panamerra 4S. Would like a 2012 XKR but another 8 yrs of doing this all over again no thanks!!

 

Sorry you have not been pleased with your Jag, but I have to say (from the safety of my garage) that it doesn't look that bad to me.

To summarize:
You bought 3 cars brand new and sold them within 28K - 60K miles.

You bought the Jag used with about as many miles already on it as when you sold the other cars. Plus you are clearly driving the Jag much harder ("under hard accel at 90 miles an hour" If your accelerating hard at 90mph...). You have also gone through 3 sets of tires in 15k (or is it 30k?) miles and no mention of an alignment or suspension fixes. Must be the driving style then or really bad luck picking tires.

And lets not forget the Jag is 8-11 years old (not sure from your post if you have a 2001 or a 2004).

A lot of the items on your list are routine maintenance for an older car, such as fluid changes, belts, gaskets and coolant flush.

So while there are more things on your list, very few of them wouldn't have been needed on the other cars had you kept them longer.

 

Escort & Couger were new and I did 50-60K miles b4 I sold. They were 6-7years old by the time I sold
Infinity kept for 7 years and sold after 28K miles
Audi still have only 5k miles in nearly 3yrs now
Jag bought it 3yrs old in 2004 with 25K miles I've done 30K miles in nearly nine years and had to fix/replace alot for just 30K miles driving. added some stuff I forgot to the list.

As I live in California USA avg temp where I am is 65-80F year round with may be 2 weeks rain a year. Not that I drive in the rain. Seems all the seals and rubber bits just fail after 7-8year. Didnt expect things like water pump/power steering pump/o2 sensors/Maf/Fuel pumps to fails so quickly. I know Jag don't make these parts but its interesting when put them on a jag they seem to fail at regular intervals LOL

 

Interesting read and comparison. It is a higher level of car, in every area, no doubt.

I drove a Toyota pick up for a long time. People often commented about Toyotas running forever. I would rattle off some of the work I'd done (new clutches, new engine, sterterS, drums, rotors... with no hard driving) and say, "yeah, if you keep repairing and replacing parts they keep going.

I can see being less than thrilled with your list. I didn't understand people riding Harleys with all the much more reliable bikes out there. Then I rode one. Still prefer something more reliable for me, but there is something about riding a Harley.

Nice of you to get the car sorted out for the next owner, though.

 

LOL yes I think it owes me 50K miles hassle free !!!

 

That really isn't a bad list considering you've had it for 9 years. You should see the list of stuff I have had to fix on my BMW M3. Plus, you are comparing two family sedans to a european sports car. You have to take the good with the bad if you want a really fun car.

 

Thanks for clarifying for me. That is a bit more than one would expect when buying a 3-year old car, but only ~3k miles a year of driving means it is the "for fun" car I guess. Jags do much better when they are driven.

Having said all that, I have owned 4 Jags to date and all of them had some quirks that needed attending to. In my mind, part of the ownership and a very small price to pay for the pleasure I get in driving.

Sorry your experience has not been what you wanted. Highly recommend the Audi line (saw that you have one). I owned 3 and everyone was solid and reliable. However, none matched the Jags for sheer joy of ownership.

Hope you have better luck with the Porsche.

 

Yup I like driving the Jag but I know with the Audi i'll get from A to B on time and with clean hands LOL

The A5 is fully loaded S line 19" wheels 3.2 Quattro (with flappy paddles) and a tonne of gadgets that I'm still finding even now. Oh and the boot/trunk will fit 2-3 dead bodies its crazy huge.

 

If you think that list is long, try on my Porsche 944 Turbo's laundry list noted in fine detail here that accumulated in only one year that I just sold Monday... for my Jag...

 

(Moral of the story: that's no lemon... that's an older high performance European sports car)

 

It seems as though all have shown valid points, but I thoroughly agree with Jag#4. I purchased my 2000XKR 12/01/11, with 77,000 on the clock. History showed good, the car looked great and drove superbly, but she was'nt perfect.

I knew at point of purchase there were things I needed to correct, and mods I would be making in the future, but, nontheless, I was smitten, this Red Cat had me under its spell!!

She now has 94,000 miles on her, I feel my penchant for rapid throttle response has possibly caused head gasket failure, but dissapointed I'm not. I drove her daily, 17,000 miles in less than year, in a car that showed to be driven less than 7,000/yr.

I now am looking forward to my new winter project.
Undaunted, my parts "booty" is growing as I prepare my kitty for a new lease on life, stronger, faster, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.........,well.... you know what I mean.

We all seem to pick our poisons, its just how much can we ingest before we are brought to our knees. Abby's Guy "Harley" analogy was dead on, I know, as I have not only ridden for 40 yrs, but worked in that industry for almost the same.

I love my XKR every bit as much as I have my bikes, maybe even a little more, as I'm older and wiser now(or is that warped and twisted?), yes, it's "an older high performance European sports car", gotta love that!!!, thats why we own them!

I'm turnin' on the heat in the "old garage" and pullin' out the toolbox, got a Jag in need of attention!

________________
BK
2000 XKR conv
Phoenix Red/Ivory
94k

 

While my laundry list of repairs to my XKR is much longer and much more costly than yours, I have put nearly 60K miles on her since I bought it about 3 years ago. I had plenty of other cars to drive, I just love putting the top down every day, and I love looking at her gleaming in the sun every morning. I love the Audi 5 series, as my close friend has an S5-6spd that we take turns racing at Audi track events, and it's superb. But, repairs are very costly on the Audi, as well. In 2008, I went against my better judgment of buying a first year offering, and purchased a Buick Enclave. Everything that could break has broken, including 3 tranny replacements in 50K miles. Obviously, GM knew they had a problem that first year as by 2009 they had scrapped the entire drivetrain after only one year, both the engine and transmission were replaced there were so many problems. I spent about $15000. for my 2002 XKR when I bought it, and it was probably $5000. undervalued at the time I got it. The fact that I've probably put another $10-12K since to take care of issues bothers me but I still enjoy driving her everyday. My Pantera is much the same story. Every time you drive her something breaks down, but I still love the experience. And try getting a tuneup or an oil change on a Ferrari, sometime.

 

Hilarious. Maybe you just had bad luck.

I don't even see the comparison of a 4 door hatchback and an XK as being relevant.

BTW, the 4s seems to have it's own laundry list of issues that can and probably will go wrong too. Maybe you should read a few of their nightmare threads too. lol

 

There's no question that these XKs are quirky and have a number of known issues that must be addressed. The later years have fewer known issues than the earlier years, but they all require relatively frequent attention, particularly the electronics. General DIY capability is mandatory for ownership of these cars unless you are willing to drop a small fortune on ongoing repairs and parts replacements. And yes, the rubber and plastics (especially under the hood) do not hold up as well as many other vehicles I've owned over the decades. My current 1999 Dodge Ram pickup and my wife's previous 2004 Lexus RX330 AWD SUV require almost nothing but run-of-the-mill routine maintenance to keep them roadworthy beyond 100,000 miles. That is certainly not the case for these XKs. But my wife loves her XK8 far more than any other vehicle she's ever had, so it is up to me (with the kind assistance of the experts on this forum) to keep it in top shape and performing well for her. Not always easy, not always inexpensive, and not always fun, I readily admit....

Best of luck with whatever you decide to replace your XKR with....

 

Actually, the rubber and plastics hold up just as well as any other car. It's a matter of degree and expectations. When ride/handling goes from fantastic to not fantastic, you notice; when it goes from crappy to crappier, who cares?

 

The most expensive and repair intensive car I ever owned was a Corvette. I was replacing parts regularly, it had low miles, but was aging it's parts away. I owned it 20k miles over 6 years and replaced the entire braking and cooling systems piece by piece as they failed, did head gaskets, transmission pan, suspension parts, etc. My XKR has been significantly more reliable; and cheaper mile per mile.

What's been expensive is my D3 Audi A8L; that thing has had at least $1500 in parts with me doing all DIY (air strut, secondary air injection pump, variable intake arms, rear brake pads, knob for MMI, headlight ballast, repairing wiring for radiator fans, etc) alone in the just the last 10k miles. I still love it too. It isn't a Ford Crown Victoria, it's gonna be a little heftier on the parts bill and it's gonna need them more often.

That Audi, just like my Jaguar, is an experience that cheaper to maintain cars just aren't able to compare to.

 

I always loved the look and appeal of the XKR and wanted one for years. Researched them and knew of the most common problems and had a general idea of the cost of parts. As the saying goes, you pay for what you want. I bought one for my 40th bday. A 2002 xkr silver with black interior. I passed up quite a few just so I could have that color combo. Settled on the one I have now with 125000 miles. I drive it daily and have put 25k miles on it since owning. Perhaps the last owner sorted out the major things because I havent had many serious or costly issues since owning it. My most expensive repair has been a radiator. With over 152k miles on it now I suspect I will soon have to do some costly repairs but I dont care because I -LOVE-MY-CAR. I love my GSXR 1000 also but I would be willing to part with that and it hasnt given me any issues and has been cheap to maintain. When you find something you really enjoy, you deal with the good and the bad. I knew going into it that it wouldnt be a cheap date but decided to get involved with my new love anyway.

 

Yup without this forum I would not have been able to keep this car as long as I have. As I get most of the parts on eBay/Amazon e.t.c the parts cost has been kept fairly low.

My only current issue the MAF sensor (throws p0101/p0102 or p0103 depending on which MAF I have in the car the original is dead and the two new ones I have give either a p0101/p0102 or p0101/p0103. I did notice the two new Denso ones I bought even though they are the same part number are slightly different to the original, the lip for the hole that goes down inside is shorter) I'm beginning to think Jag may have switch the part number at some point). The two new ones have the same resistance values across the 5 pins (2 for sensor, 1 earth, 2 for temp sensor)

I have a 2001 xkr built late 2000 the MAF part number I have is Denso LNE1620BB (197408-0021) does anyone know if this is still the correct part

Oh added price list to my original post so total spent $1600 not inc tires Note to bad.

Thanks
Simon

 

I guess it is the luck of the draw. 07 xk 53k miles
1) cornering lamp bulb $4
2) Thermostat $84

 

My experience is just the opposite - My 2000 Corvette, bought new - has been the most trouble free and least repair expensive vehicle I've ever owned.

My XK8 was initially less reliable and much more expensive in repairs but now is in remission I guess. Mile for mile it has turned into an inexpensive car for me.