Hello, all.

My wife and I are shopping for a new (or at least, new to us) vehicle. She likes the Jaguar S-Type cars very much. My father and I have a long history with this marque, as you can see in my signature.

I also like the new Jag X-Type and the old standby, the XJ8 very much, along with the S-Type.

Unfortunately, I have not kept up with Jaguar very much since selling my XJS a couple of years ago. I never thought I'd be able to afford to get back into the Jaguar game, nor did I think I'd ever marry someone who liked the car.

Now that it looks likely, I need some advice.

We have between $15,000 and $20,000 to spend. We would prefer an S-Type first, then an X-Type, then an XJ8, in that order. Here are my questions:

1) Of the three, which is likely to be the most reliable?
2) Of the three, which is the most likely to be in our price range and still be reasonably reliable?
3) What specific things should I find out about each model before agreeing to buy?

This car will become her main work vehicle and our main travel vehicle. It will supplement the two Mitsubishi Starions that we currently own (and I swear sometimes those cars have Jaguar blood, considering the repair bills and difficulty in finding parts). The car will replace a Mitsubishi Sigma.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I love Jaguars very much, but because of the amount of duty this car is likely to see, it needs to be reasonably reliable.

Jess

1963 XKE (sold)
1976 XJ12L (dead)
1988 XJS (sold)
Looking for #4?

Submitted by jessn@bellsouth.net on Thu, 02/09/2006 - 04:11

Edited on 2006-02-09 4:13:15

Gerald,

I appreciate the offer, but we're looking for a 4-door sedan, in a much newer vintage. Our other cars are Mitsubishi Starions (an 87 and an 88), so the third car has to be "family size" for lack of a better term.

ConnJag,

I noticed the comments on Carreview.com about the S-Type's transmission woes. That kind of spooked me. Little electrical demons, I can fix. When you start getting into the $4,000 parts, that's when I worry.

I'm a little surprised at the discrepancy between your report of the XJ8 and other user reports, though. Of course, I realize that most people who buy newer Jaguars aren't like me -- on a budget, buying a specific brand of car because of mostly sentimental reasons. The last guy I talked to firsthand about XJ8 cars buys a new one each year. So he probably never has time to even need his wiper blades changed. Maybe that describes the folks at carreview.com, too.

It's a little weird, too, that a 1997 XJ6 would be more reliable than a 1999 XJ8. But those old straight 6s are pretty bulletproof, so maybe I shouldn't be so shocked.

Jess

1963 XKE (sold)
1976 XJ12L (dead)
1988 XJS (sold)
Looking for #4?

Submitted by charlesmiller6… on Tue, 02/07/2006 - 15:23

Jess: On the criteria of relaibility you can Google "Jaguar mechanical problems" and obtain a litany of information on which model is most/least reliable. My preference is the 1996 or 1997 XJ6 since most Jaguar mechanical issues had been worked out by then. Also, parts are plentiful especially on the WEB. The price for a good 1996 XJ6 is also very affordable. The XJ8 has had some rough times on reliability since Ford has skimped on quality so I would stay away from that model. The new S and X types have likened to being just another Ford and also have had reliability problems. A few issues to look out for in the models you mentioned are differentials, transmission, calipers, electrical (doors, trunk, dash).

Submitted by gdilliard@disc… on Mon, 02/06/2006 - 12:10

If you're interested, I am selling my, one of a kind, 1985 Jaguar XJS V12 Coupe. It is in beautiful condition. It has LESS THAN 7K ORIGINAL MILES and has been professionally appraised at $34,000. I am selling for $24,000. If you're interested, I will send you pictures and a copy of the appraisal via email.

Gerald Dilliard
gdilliardatdiscover-re.com

Submitted by jessn@bellsouth.net on Mon, 02/06/2006 - 02:58

Thanks for the responses. I'd been playing around on www.carreview.com and checking out what people had to say.

The XJ8 series got the top reviews for reliability. I don't think I could have been more shocked, considering that model appears to have the most leftover vestiges from the pre-Ford years. The X-Type was next, and the S-Type actually got fairly low marks.

Of course, my wife prefers the S-Type. (g) My mother has owned two of its sister cars, the Lincoln LS. While driveability is wonderful, both her LSes have been plagued with insipid little electrical gremlins, mostly concerning the A/C unit.

I like the X-Type a lot, because of the AWD and the possibility of getting a stick shift. My wife doesn't care much for most of the XJ8 cars, but she's warming up to it. It depends greatly on the color as to whether she likes an XJ8 or not. We've found a couple we could get good deals on and that may be the way we go.

Jess

1963 XKE (sold)
1976 XJ12L (dead)
1988 XJS (sold)
Looking for #4?

Submitted by rpetrey@mindsp… on Sun, 02/05/2006 - 19:20

I purchased a 1999 XJ8L a year ago for my wife and have had no problems with the car since we have had it. ÔÇ£SHEÔÇØ gets 20 miles to the gallon I would not. I did purchase the 2-year extension on the 6 year Select Edition Warranty. The car had 3 months left on the original Select Edition Warranty with 62,000 on the odometer; Hennessy Jaguar sold the 2-year extension to provide 8 years or 100,000 miles. We have owned an 86 XJ6 before that and sold it with 180,000 miles on it. I would say nothing takes the place of wheelbase size and weight for the best ride. I drove an X-Type 3.0 for a day when I dropped off the wifeÔÇÖs car for service. It was what I wanted for a work car so I took one for a day. Loved it, but no back seat room for business use. The S-Type is larger but it just does not have the Jaguar look of the XKÔÇÖs even the X-Type looks more Jag like then the S does to me. It all boils down to personal choice and how well the previous owner took care of it.

Ron P.
1999 XJ8L

Submitted by silver007@shaw.ca on Sun, 02/05/2006 - 01:47

Art Dickenson.
1983 XJS GT "Silver"
Pacific Jaguar.ca

Hi Jess,
our cars are older S's so other than a newer 6 cylinder model, the newer cars are not in my arena at this time, Stew Cleave has a nice S Typr, not heard anything bad about that yet other than when he bought it he had some fixing to do afetr he bought it, I have driven the X types and they seem pretty nimble. I am sur others will advise,
Enthusiast , Art