Jag x-type 3.0 v6 - would you?
Discussion
As per my previous thread, I'm looking for a comfortable cruiser with decent performance.
I have just over 6K to spend.
Narrowed it down to a 2005 9-5 aero 260 or maybe a 3.0 v6 x type.
The x type will have fewer miles for the same money.
As per previous thread I'd like something reliable that hopefully shouldn't land me with big bills.
So what do you think?
How much do you reckon an aftermarket warranty might be for either?
I have just over 6K to spend.
Narrowed it down to a 2005 9-5 aero 260 or maybe a 3.0 v6 x type.
The x type will have fewer miles for the same money.
As per previous thread I'd like something reliable that hopefully shouldn't land me with big bills.
So what do you think?
How much do you reckon an aftermarket warranty might be for either?
My Dad has an early (51 plate) X type 3 litre manual, and loves it.
Its a solid car, and the red leather interior in his is as new. Drives nice, 4WD is good, but as you would imagine its not the most economical car on the road. That said its a lot better than his RX8.
He had a problem of a knocking noise/ juddering on accelaration, turned out to be a transfer box which are pricey to fix. He had to get a new propshaft too as it still wasnt sorted properly with just the box. I think he spent about £1000, so its worth looking for. It may of been just the early models affected.
They are cheap now so its a lot of car for the money.
Cant help with warranty's, as i dont bother with them after one never paid up a few years ago when I had an engine failure.
Its a solid car, and the red leather interior in his is as new. Drives nice, 4WD is good, but as you would imagine its not the most economical car on the road. That said its a lot better than his RX8.
He had a problem of a knocking noise/ juddering on accelaration, turned out to be a transfer box which are pricey to fix. He had to get a new propshaft too as it still wasnt sorted properly with just the box. I think he spent about £1000, so its worth looking for. It may of been just the early models affected.
They are cheap now so its a lot of car for the money.
Cant help with warranty's, as i dont bother with them after one never paid up a few years ago when I had an engine failure.
Edited by nottyash on Tuesday 17th August 21:27
nottyash said:
My Dad has an early (51 plate) X type 3 litre manual, and loves it.
Its a solid car, and the red leather interior in his is as new. Drives nice, 4WD is good, but as you would imagine its not the most economical car on the road. That said its a lot better than his RX8.
He had a problem of a knocking noise/ juddering on accelaration, turned out to be a transfer box which are pricey to fix. He had to get a new propshaft too as it still wasnt sorted properly with just the box. I think he spent about £1000, so its worth looking for. It may of been just the early models affected.
They are cheap now so its a lot of car for the money.
Cant help with warranty's, as i dont bother with them after one never paid up a few years ago when I had an engine failure.
Cheers. I reckon I could get a late 04 or 05 plate for the money I have.Its a solid car, and the red leather interior in his is as new. Drives nice, 4WD is good, but as you would imagine its not the most economical car on the road. That said its a lot better than his RX8.
He had a problem of a knocking noise/ juddering on accelaration, turned out to be a transfer box which are pricey to fix. He had to get a new propshaft too as it still wasnt sorted properly with just the box. I think he spent about £1000, so its worth looking for. It may of been just the early models affected.
They are cheap now so its a lot of car for the money.
Cant help with warranty's, as i dont bother with them after one never paid up a few years ago when I had an engine failure.
Edited by nottyash on Tuesday 17th August 21:27
I very, very nearly bought one of these. It is a very good, very capable car.
Pros :
Proper 4WD system. Anyone with a VAG Haldex system ( Golf R32/Audi TT/Audi S3 ) should drive one of these and see what they are missing.
Superb ride and handling balance, in my opinion one of the best judged compromises for british roads.
Comfortable, Ergonomic interior, everything in right place, decent materiels.
Cons :
Steering is better than Jags of old but it still feels "odd" to me, though no doubt you would adapt.
4WD system is not bombproof, suspension can be expensive to keep perfect. Bushes seem to need replacement often.
Fuel economy is woefull due to weight and drag of 4WD. But then all the 3.0 cars are the same, and Jag is not significantly worse.
I, personally am not a huge fan of the style of the interior, and I also felt the multitude of diesel FWD X types has cheapened the X type brand, but that is a very personal thing.
Autobox was not very good.
The later plate ones are supposedly much more reliable. Ford spent a fortune with Jag impoving the quality with a lot of new revisions.
Also look at BMW 330 ( better handling/vastly inferior ride ) , Lexus IS300(more reliable, better autobox/worse image) , Mondeo 220 ( FWD/ everyone on here loves them ) , Mercdes CLK320, ( worse in every way ) Audi S3 ( great turbo engine, poor 4wd system ) Subaru Legacy ( great 4wd system, turbo engine feels more powerful than anythign else here/terrible image and interior )
Pros :
Proper 4WD system. Anyone with a VAG Haldex system ( Golf R32/Audi TT/Audi S3 ) should drive one of these and see what they are missing.
Superb ride and handling balance, in my opinion one of the best judged compromises for british roads.
Comfortable, Ergonomic interior, everything in right place, decent materiels.
Cons :
Steering is better than Jags of old but it still feels "odd" to me, though no doubt you would adapt.
4WD system is not bombproof, suspension can be expensive to keep perfect. Bushes seem to need replacement often.
Fuel economy is woefull due to weight and drag of 4WD. But then all the 3.0 cars are the same, and Jag is not significantly worse.
I, personally am not a huge fan of the style of the interior, and I also felt the multitude of diesel FWD X types has cheapened the X type brand, but that is a very personal thing.
Autobox was not very good.
The later plate ones are supposedly much more reliable. Ford spent a fortune with Jag impoving the quality with a lot of new revisions.
Also look at BMW 330 ( better handling/vastly inferior ride ) , Lexus IS300(more reliable, better autobox/worse image) , Mondeo 220 ( FWD/ everyone on here loves them ) , Mercdes CLK320, ( worse in every way ) Audi S3 ( great turbo engine, poor 4wd system ) Subaru Legacy ( great 4wd system, turbo engine feels more powerful than anythign else here/terrible image and interior )
Here is a nice one for you. Click the model box for Jaguar:
http://www.importone.com/inventory.htm
How about a bump up to an S Type?
http://www.autobase.com/cgi/info.exe?bc=4534995&am...
http://www.importone.com/inventory.htm
How about a bump up to an S Type?
http://www.autobase.com/cgi/info.exe?bc=4534995&am...
Edited by Jimbeaux on Wednesday 18th August 01:33
ExPat2B said:
Proper 4WD system. Anyone with a VAG Haldex system ( Golf R32/Audi TT/Audi S3 ) should drive one of these and see what they are missing.
That's a massive generalisation.A wide variety of different Haldex applications have been done and a lot can be changed in the calibration of the unit. Most of the "it's not a proper AWD system" propaganda tends to be ill-informed.
Also, didn't the X-type system change mid-way through the vehicle's life (deletion of a centre viscous LSD?) which made a big difference to its capability?
With the Jag you get a lot of car for not a lot of money. Good cars and an excellent example of "the result is better than the sum of all of the parts". And contrary to popular belief, its not a Mondeo in drag, its way better than that.
That said, they are not perfect and I hear of tales of electrical woes. Oh and the V6 engine is a bit old and ashtmatic now. Its NOT comparible to the equivalent BMW unit and is actually not good on MPG. That said, its over 200BHP in a car thats nots 2 tonnes, so it goes pretty well. Oh, and I gather most 3.0 models have the good-at-the-time satnav / touch screen stereo, so they should be well equipped.
Certainly NOT a bad car, but the BMW 330i was a better car at the time, which makes the Jag a positive steal these days because they are dead cheap! Good hunting. Oddly, spotted a Jag x-type estate on a 59 plate the other day - very late registration!
That said, they are not perfect and I hear of tales of electrical woes. Oh and the V6 engine is a bit old and ashtmatic now. Its NOT comparible to the equivalent BMW unit and is actually not good on MPG. That said, its over 200BHP in a car thats nots 2 tonnes, so it goes pretty well. Oh, and I gather most 3.0 models have the good-at-the-time satnav / touch screen stereo, so they should be well equipped.
Certainly NOT a bad car, but the BMW 330i was a better car at the time, which makes the Jag a positive steal these days because they are dead cheap! Good hunting. Oddly, spotted a Jag x-type estate on a 59 plate the other day - very late registration!
Bill Carr said:
I'd be tempted by the Lexus tbh...
Oddly, the IS300 (old square shape one with the silly dials) was a nice car, but NOT sporty. Is any Lexus sporty, LFA excepted? A nice car and a good drive, but not sporty and WAY off the mark compared to the equivalent BMW, Merc, Audi or even Jag. Odd, because Europe would have bought more if they had made them a bit more focused. But then again, I am sure they made a profit on what they did sell. For long-term ownership the Lexus makes sense though. I know a few people who had them for years and other than routine servicing, required nothing. Dropped in value a lot though as the miles racked up. Plenty available of the IS200 but the IS300 is quite unusual.The US gets the current shape IS350 too! Nice car and goes well - shame we dont get it here!
I've had a 3.0 manual for a couple of years - wanted something reasonably quick and practical (it has a huge boot!) but not the usual hot hatch, and I've been happy since!
I drive mine quite hard and never had anything go wrong but as stated earlier the transfer box is the major thing that can go wrong - just be a little sympathetic off the line I'd guess. Some go early, some late, so it doesn't seem to be predictable, but most of the people I knew from x-type.org.uk forum hadn't had a problem and some cars have done over 200,000 miles. I'd hope its just a problem with the early cars and that its actually pretty rare, but like everything about the X-Type, it didn't do its reputation much good! I'd definitely go for a manual over the automatic - harder to find but seems much more reliable and is actually pretty nice to use.
Also, there is no point getting the smaller sized petrol engines as they all do similar mpg and obviously the 3.0 has the most power (2.1 V6 FWD only too). AWD in the snow has never let me down over the last 2 winters. Comfy seats help with my stiff suspension too
Brakes are a little weak and can fade if pushing though (slightly larger discs using Ford ST calipers as standard IIRC), but it is quite a heavy car. I changed to redstuff pads and uprated discs and it doesn't fade like the standard pads did when I first got it.
Good luck with the search...
I drive mine quite hard and never had anything go wrong but as stated earlier the transfer box is the major thing that can go wrong - just be a little sympathetic off the line I'd guess. Some go early, some late, so it doesn't seem to be predictable, but most of the people I knew from x-type.org.uk forum hadn't had a problem and some cars have done over 200,000 miles. I'd hope its just a problem with the early cars and that its actually pretty rare, but like everything about the X-Type, it didn't do its reputation much good! I'd definitely go for a manual over the automatic - harder to find but seems much more reliable and is actually pretty nice to use.
Also, there is no point getting the smaller sized petrol engines as they all do similar mpg and obviously the 3.0 has the most power (2.1 V6 FWD only too). AWD in the snow has never let me down over the last 2 winters. Comfy seats help with my stiff suspension too
Brakes are a little weak and can fade if pushing though (slightly larger discs using Ford ST calipers as standard IIRC), but it is quite a heavy car. I changed to redstuff pads and uprated discs and it doesn't fade like the standard pads did when I first got it.
Good luck with the search...
Edited by effkay on Wednesday 18th August 10:19
My little brother has one of these (auto). It's british racing green with a black interior (sport model). However he bought it a couple of years ago. It's an 04 and had about 40K on the clock. It was a straight car and he has had no problems with it since.
It has a very nice ride though I dont know about the handling although it does perform very nicely in wet/snowy conditions. It aint perfect by any means but it is a good car. They're unpopular because they're not as "sporty" as BMW's and the like and it is a bit grandady.
Three and a half grand. Yes £3500.
His boss who'd recenty paid £25k for a bmw 325 was disgusted at the value for money.
Enough said
It has a very nice ride though I dont know about the handling although it does perform very nicely in wet/snowy conditions. It aint perfect by any means but it is a good car. They're unpopular because they're not as "sporty" as BMW's and the like and it is a bit grandady.
Three and a half grand. Yes £3500.
His boss who'd recenty paid £25k for a bmw 325 was disgusted at the value for money.
Enough said
NDT said:
ExPat2B said:
Proper 4WD system. Anyone with a VAG Haldex system ( Golf R32/Audi TT/Audi S3 ) should drive one of these and see what they are missing.
That's a massive generalisation.A wide variety of different Haldex applications have been done and a lot can be changed in the calibration of the unit. Most of the "it's not a proper AWD system" propaganda tends to be ill-informed.
Also, didn't the X-type system change mid-way through the vehicle's life (deletion of a centre viscous LSD?) which made a big difference to its capability?
I have read that a 3rd generation system called "instant traction" makes for a much quicker engagement and my be better, but I have not tried it yet.
I owned an x-type albeit diesel and it was a great car but certainly not the most comfy. It was the top spec whatever level that is and the seats seemed great for small trips but offered zero in the way of decelt lumbar support or leg support. Currently we have a Mondeo ST220 as the run around and that too seems to suffer a bit with the seats although they are much better than the jag. I've yet to find a seat as comfy as that in my vxr8.
The engines though are great, I can talk fairly like for like as the two in the 3.0 Jag and Mondeo ST220 are virtually the same (just a few differences). MPG is great, or it feels it compared to the vxr8! They pull nice and are actually quite pokey yet very very smooth and quiet. They can have DMF failures as they have these fitted for some unknown reason but if you read the net all you hear is failures, its more on the diesels that fail than petrols.
If I was wanting a 3.0 with a 6k budget I'd skip the Jag and get the Mondeo ST220 or 3.0Ghia. The reason being that the X-type has a shortend body and as a result you have to be an amputee to sit in the back of the car. There is very little in the way of rear passenger space. The mondeo does not suffer that problem.
The engines though are great, I can talk fairly like for like as the two in the 3.0 Jag and Mondeo ST220 are virtually the same (just a few differences). MPG is great, or it feels it compared to the vxr8! They pull nice and are actually quite pokey yet very very smooth and quiet. They can have DMF failures as they have these fitted for some unknown reason but if you read the net all you hear is failures, its more on the diesels that fail than petrols.
If I was wanting a 3.0 with a 6k budget I'd skip the Jag and get the Mondeo ST220 or 3.0Ghia. The reason being that the X-type has a shortend body and as a result you have to be an amputee to sit in the back of the car. There is very little in the way of rear passenger space. The mondeo does not suffer that problem.
I would say IS300 for sure. I had mind from new on 02 plate, 230k mile later still not a single problem, never ever left me stranded, starts every time. Original transmission and engine, just the usual 10k service, brake pads and tyres. I can't recommend it highly enough. In the US people have run them to 600k miles on the same engine and transmission.
I test drove both the BMW 330 and X-type 3L in 02 when buying the new car. The BMW was better on fuel than the IS but I was scared off by the reliability of the "no reverse auto transmission" issue on them and the X type was just horrible, creak and groan on the test car. So the only sensible choice was the IS300.
I test drove both the BMW 330 and X-type 3L in 02 when buying the new car. The BMW was better on fuel than the IS but I was scared off by the reliability of the "no reverse auto transmission" issue on them and the X type was just horrible, creak and groan on the test car. So the only sensible choice was the IS300.
I have had a 3.0 manual X-Type for around 4 years.
I have really enjoyed the car and it has only cost me a wheel bearing and new discs/pads and tyres in that time.
A few other points:
The 2.5 is not much better on fuel than the 3.0. but the performance difference is noticeable.
Older 2.5 and 3.0 cars had the permanent AWD system (changed in 2003/04?)
The two most popular specs were-
Sport: Half leather, 17" or 18" wheels, de-chromed, 15% stiffer suspension
SE: Full leather, 16" or 17" wheels, Chrome trim around grill/bumper, cruise, parking sensors
Don’t think that the 'Luxury' SE spec will have really soft suspension - there is only 15% in it! (This puts a lot of people off SE)
Touch screen satnav was an option in both specs (mine doesn't have it)
The Auto option means slower performance and less MPG
Sport actually looks better (chrome looks dated on SE but can be replaced easily), but SE is higher spec and cheaper because people want the "Sport version"! Remember, the Sport and SE 3.0 have same engine and performance.
I found that cruise control (SE spec) saves LOADS of fuel - well worth it.
The best spec is called "Sport Premium" and combined the best of both specs, but these were much rarer.
One of the things I really like about 3.0 X-Types is that they are good sleepers. Unless you see the badge or twin exhausts, everyone assumes it is a diesel rep-mobile. I imagine that the authorities assume they will have a very sensible driver, so you could probably get away with more than in a more sporty looking car. Insurance is fairly cheap for this reason too.
Just go and test drive a couple and form your own opinion. Make sure you test the AWD around some tight corners though - the grip never ends!!!
I have really enjoyed the car and it has only cost me a wheel bearing and new discs/pads and tyres in that time.
A few other points:
The 2.5 is not much better on fuel than the 3.0. but the performance difference is noticeable.
Older 2.5 and 3.0 cars had the permanent AWD system (changed in 2003/04?)
The two most popular specs were-
Sport: Half leather, 17" or 18" wheels, de-chromed, 15% stiffer suspension
SE: Full leather, 16" or 17" wheels, Chrome trim around grill/bumper, cruise, parking sensors
Don’t think that the 'Luxury' SE spec will have really soft suspension - there is only 15% in it! (This puts a lot of people off SE)
Touch screen satnav was an option in both specs (mine doesn't have it)
The Auto option means slower performance and less MPG
Sport actually looks better (chrome looks dated on SE but can be replaced easily), but SE is higher spec and cheaper because people want the "Sport version"! Remember, the Sport and SE 3.0 have same engine and performance.
I found that cruise control (SE spec) saves LOADS of fuel - well worth it.
The best spec is called "Sport Premium" and combined the best of both specs, but these were much rarer.
One of the things I really like about 3.0 X-Types is that they are good sleepers. Unless you see the badge or twin exhausts, everyone assumes it is a diesel rep-mobile. I imagine that the authorities assume they will have a very sensible driver, so you could probably get away with more than in a more sporty looking car. Insurance is fairly cheap for this reason too.
Just go and test drive a couple and form your own opinion. Make sure you test the AWD around some tight corners though - the grip never ends!!!
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