Reliable, Petrol Jagwaaaar?

Reliable, Petrol Jagwaaaar?

Author
Discussion

Sycamore

Original Poster:

1,924 posts

125 months

Wednesday 1st May
quotequote all
I'm not sure on the law with regards to the minimum age required to be able to drive a Jag, but at 29 I suspect I don't meet it.
I'm willing to break the law however. Little rebel.

I've always liked Jags. My Dad has a diesel XF S - 3.0 V6 I think they are, and it's a lovely car to drive.

Anyhow, I probably do 5k miles per year, so diesel is out, but I'd like a petrol saloon/estate of some sort.

Whether that's an S-type, XE, XF, XJ, X12345, I'm not sure - I rightly or wrongly have the opinion that they're all unreliable biggrin

With such low mileage, the engine size doesn't particular matter in terms of fuel economy and I'm not too fussed about performance as I have a bike for fun, I just don't want something I'm always having to mess with or get sorted. Coming from a Honda Civic, I can appreciate it'll need more work with a jag regardless.

If you were in a similar position, let's say £10k budget, where would you go? Or if there's an equivalent from a different make, feel free. I did have a Lexus CT which I liked, so I'll need to get my head around whatever big saloons Lexus do.

Cheers

trevalvole

1,270 posts

40 months

Wednesday 1st May
quotequote all
I'll leave commenting on the various Jaguar models to others with more knowledge, however:

1. I think it is fair to say they are not all unreliable - in fact, on here, I have seen posters express the view that some are more reliable than the equivalent Germans;

2. For most things Jag and petrol with six or more cylinders registered on or after 23 March 2006 you'll be paying around £700pa VED.

PositronicRay

27,505 posts

190 months

Wednesday 1st May
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I like the Stype with 3.0 duratec V6.

Buy the best one you can afford, low owners and plenty of history.

king arthur

6,954 posts

268 months

Wednesday 1st May
quotequote all
£10k budget should get you a 5.0 V8 XF non-supercharged or the more rare SV8 with the supercharged 4.2. It's not quite enough for a petrol X351 XJ or I'd be looking for one of those.

ZX10R NIN

28,355 posts

132 months

Wednesday 1st May
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P700DEE

1,138 posts

237 months

Friday 3rd May
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Having had an 98 XKR for 18 years, a 2003 S Type 4.2, a 2003 XJ8 4.2 and currently an XK R 5.0 I wouldn't agree that Jags are unreliable. I have found them great just as long as you avoid main dealers and pick a local garage who care about the cars they service.

With 10K to spend I'd go for an X350 XJR pre 2006 to avoid the big tax bill. Very rapid, reliable and a nice place to sit. It even looks like a traditional Jag but made of Aluminium its not.
+1 for an SV8 too but the XFR will be the £730per annum tax as would an X351 XJ Supersport that on high miles might just get to your budget.

Buy on condition and service history. Garage queens can be worse on bushes suspension etc. Batteries are always first port of call on warning lights.
Mate got an XE petrol and it was returned under warranty with expensive engine issues, I'm not sure the newer engines are as reliable as the good old V8 .

ACCYSTAN

1,027 posts

128 months

Friday 3rd May
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Playing it safe you should pick up a pristine 2.0 X type for way under £10k , check out the swirl flaps.

DickP

1,132 posts

157 months

Friday 3rd May
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ACCYSTAN said:
Playing it safe you should pick up a pristine 2.0 X type for way under £10k , check out the swirl flaps.
Didn't think there were any X-Types left worth owning that are up for sale these days?

NortonES2

371 posts

55 months

Friday 3rd May
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Avoid anything with the 2.0 engine, though you won't get these for 10K.

Edited by NortonES2 on Saturday 4th May 08:06

king arthur

6,954 posts

268 months

Friday 3rd May
quotequote all
P700DEE said:
With 10K to spend I'd go for an X350 XJR pre 2006 to avoid the big tax bill.
I see lots of people referring to this, but the extra tax on a 2006 car over a 2005 car will cost you 26 quid a month. When dropping £10k on a car it's not something that would be in the foremost of my concerns.

Vsix and Vtec

739 posts

25 months

Friday 3rd May
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If you like your classics, the X300 with the AJ16 straight 6 is near bullet proof, moving onto the newer stuff, the 3.0 V6 Petrol is very robust. Having first appeared in the 1999 S Type and the X Type, it later went on to be fitted in the X350 XJ and XF. They even used it as the engine in the Palmersport JP1! The 4.2 V8 is also very sturdy. The weakness with a petrol Jag is more often the electrics than the engine and gearbox and on the older examples, rust.

Personally, for a first Jag I'd probably get an X Type 2.1 V6, as once you take care of the rusty sills (they all suffer with this) the rest of the car is pretty solid, borrowing a large amount of switches and controls from Ford and Volvo. They're very reasonable on price right now, and so long as you budget for the inevitable bodywork, you won't go far wrong.

If you want something a bit more up market, the X300 or X350 is a wonderful place to sit, but the suspension parts like bushes and dampers can creep up on you. Lastly, the XF. A lovely thing, with a few weaknesses, that largely centre around lack of use or poor maintenance. There's not as much choice as the XF was mostly sold during the "diesel is king" era, so you might not get the colour or spec you wanted. The S Type is a nice choice, but the retro looks can be divisive. I'd look past the '99 shape and focus more on the facelift cars, as they were a significant step up in fit and finish. The engine choices were better too, with the better refined 4.2 being an easy winner versus the AJV8 4.0.