“I’m calling because I’m about to walk up to the door and I’m worried I’m going to get murdered in some fashion. Use the GPS on my phone to alert the officials to find my body if you hear screams in the next 30 seconds,” I joked to a friend while walking up to a trailer on a desolate rural dirt road in the exurbs of Scotts Hill, NC — in the dark, on a work night, just to check out a busted $800 Jaguar X-Type. Now, some of the greatest salt-of-the-earth folks I’ve had the pleasure of knowing live in desolate trailers down long dirt roads, so no judgment there, but this still didn’t seem smart. That is, until I saw the car; have a look and you’ll understand. Or you won’t.
Hello fellow Autopians; I’m back. It’s been a hot minute since our last rescue adventure with those four busted Benzes I bought for a song. As I said last time, it’s a pleasure and honor to be here amongst the hardest-working and best writers in this field. It’s awesome how much passion, work and time these heroes put into making this the best car-culture site out there. [Ed note: Thanks, but get on with the wrenching! -DT].
Why I Bought A Piece-Of Junk Jaguar X-Type
Ok, so why the hell was I potentially risking my hide for a busted 2003 Jaguar X-Type? First, let’s establish that most would say I’m pretty weird with my taste in cars. I’ve yet to meet anyone else (even here on this site) who genuinely gets excited at the prospect of rescuing a busted Dodge Stratus Coupe, [Editor’s Note: Actually, I always found those Stratus Coupes rather handsome. -DT] a rear-ended Grand Am or fun-colored-yet-inoperable GM J-Body [Editor’s Note: You’re on your own on those. -DT] out of a backyard. It doesn’t even have to be bottom-of-the-barrel cars either: I’ve been known to get boisterous over a banged-up formerly-$90,000 Benz boondoggle, as well.
So my taste is varied, but I still have to pick which cars to adopt, so why this particular Jag? Truth be told, I don’t have much experience with British luxury cars. And in fact, of my previous 115 cars, only one was British: a Jaguar XK8 that has been haunting my very presence in this reality since it became my pandemic project 2+ years ago.
XK8 rescue: such a deep dive, you lose track of where the surface is.
Over $2,000 and two years later from when it was first revealed here, that XK8 still is not running/driving/inspected/insured/registered/nice to me. So why on God’s British Racing Green Earth would I want to take on another Jag simultaneously? And why an X-Type? Well, there are multiple reasons:
- It was cheap. I mean stupid cheap. “$800 obo” cheap. Just like my self-professed “cheap bastard” boss David, the price has to be right, Bob Barker-style.
- I love a challenge. My XK8 disaster project was going about as poorly as could, so I was thirsty for a win — a Jag Win. One with tea and cucumber sandwiches afterwards.
- Jags are cool. To each their own, but this car hits the center of my Venn Diagram of Cars To Buy. Mopar coupes do too. It’s a weird combo (Jaguar and Chrysler), I’ll fully admit.
- Gaining some forward momentum on this X-Type will give me back some of the much-needed shitbox-repair mojo to make some strides on the XK8
- DT sub-bullet time: I’ve been asking David for two years to do an article on that car and I finally feel like I’m wearing him down. Either that or he’s just exhausted from Australia, running this site and wrenching on that HHR. Or on that LandCruiser. Maybe it’s SEMA two weeks ago. Maybe it’s LA last week. The dude never stops. So, stay tuned for the XK8 misery-adventure hopefully soon.
- The Queen Herself drove an X-Type. (It was recently for sale).
I Gambled That I Could Out-Wrench The Seller
The Facebook Marketplace ad stated that the car wouldn’t start, and showed that it was both on ramps (not a good sign) and that it had been sitting forever. The ramps scared me because they show that the owner had enough gumption and wrenching chops to “get up under the car,” try and make some moves, then ultimately post it for sale.
These are the images that were posted in the ad
That means to win here you have to have one or more of the following:
- A) superior wrenching skills than the seller
- B) superior knowledge of the car or of the repair the seller made
- C) superior effort/more free time than the seller
- D) superior luck/ability to roll the dice and get out clean than the seller
…you basically need to make this work where they couldn’t. I’m not a cocky SOB and always choose to subscribe to the mantra that a wise man knows what he doesn’t know. Maybe there was something that this poor bloke knows about this no-start condition that I don’t? Maybe he’s an ex-Jag mechanic. Maybe he’s a “19% Ford Mondeo” guy (see below). Maybe he’s from Coventry, England and shares a strange ancestral bond with these machines. Maybe life or The Monarchy just threw him a strange curveball that had him end up on this trailer on this dirt path in Scotts Hill, NC.
Anyway, I grabbed my headlamp and a jump box and checked for oil. I’d done this over a hundred times before and most car purchases have worked out really well – I got this. I held my nerve and tongue; I didn’t talk too much to the seller to show my cards before making a fair offer. And I didn’t tell them I’m originally from Upstate NY – that never seems to work well here in The South. All these items were said in my own internal conversation whilst walking up to the seller and the X-Type from my idling Stratus Coupe with the high beams illuminating the scene.
Scoping Out The Jag
The seller was a strange dude of few words (initially), who definitely wasn’t from Coventry. He told me the car was his mother’s and that she was in poor health. She had owned it for years and parked it once it broke down, in hopes of fixing it one day. He explained that the car didn’t have a battery, because he needed it for his wicked trashed Chevy truck that was also parked in the dirt driveway. I told him I wasn’t too worried about the battery and asked if he had more info on why the car was on ramps and what occurred when it died. He went straight back to talking about the damn battery again: “I was dang near surprised that leetle Jag-wiire battery could fuuur up my tuurk!”.
I gave him a polite smile and proceeded to hook up the jump box to the battery terminals, asked for the key, gave it a twist and…dead silence. It didn’t matter that this interesting character wanted to sit and talk batteries and Chevys in the dark during an X-Type sale, I already knew the lay of the land.
The silence when the key was turned should’ve been broken by the comforting hum of the fuel pump. He knew it too, which was why he didn’t want to talk about the ramps and kept switching the subject to that awesome Little Battery That Could. He probably also climbed under the car and realized what a huge job that fuel pump replacement is and wanted to talk about items of more joy and fewer tears.
So here we are at Go Time (which is similar to “Bo Time”, just without the biscuits and fried chicken; I mean, I live in southeastern NC): me, a cheap X-Type that has been sitting for years with a bad fuel pump (and a big job to fix it), a redneck dude that seems pretty wily and a sweet-ass Stratus Coupe lighting up the scene with its fan kicking on and off for the soundtrack.
Scary. Exciting. Potentially ruinous. Possibly very stupid. F-it. Dammit, I’m in.
I offered the guy $400, provided that the spare key (that he “might-could be done-dang able to find, if the Good Lord is willin’”) is included. I told him that I would pay cash on the spot and tow it on my own dollar the next day. I was whole-heartedly expecting him to counter with $700, then I would counter with $500 and we settled up at $600. This didn’t happen as he immediately accepted my initial $400 offer. This was both a good and bad thing. Good, because I saved a couple hundo that I was expecting to spend; this could now go towards the tow. Bad, because he let the car go so easily, implying that it may be much more of a project than just a fuel pump job.
[Editor’s Note: Stephen is being descriptive by mentioning the accent, here. He’s not at all disparaging folks from the South with accents. You’re all welcome here at The Autopian! -DT].
May The Wrenching Begin
Arrival at The Evil Wrenching Lair
I towed my new car to my Evil Shitbox Wrenching Lair underneath my volcano (in Wilmington, NC) the following day and dove headfirst into full-on X-Type immersion therapy. I joined the X-Type Facebook group, I read through the forums, I watched all the top YouTube videos on these cars, and I started getting really jazzed on this seemingly wicked-cool all-wheel drive British “saloon.” So, for those yet to familiarize with the car that has a name closest to any movie that features Cyclops, Wolverine and Gambit, here’s a quick refresher so that you don’t have to go over to Wikipedia. This is from an incredible look into the X-Type’s early history, courtesy of AR Online, which seems to be run by a British auto industry superfan (bold emphasis mine):
Even after Ford takeover, the new X300 was a development of the XJ40, and the X100 XK8 was developed in part out of a now heavily evolved XJS. Ford now wanted to turn Jaguar from a niche manufacturer to a full range producer to take on BMW, Mercedes-Benz and, increasingly, Audi head on. The X200 had been instigated by Jaguar Cars and funded internally through the success of X300, but the impressed Ford Motor Company was keen to throw its weight behind a new X400 compact saloon.
[…]
With no resource to develop a world-beating (well, BMW 3 Series beating) RWD platform from a clean sheet of paper, or any economies of scale in place if Jaguar could have, the only alternative was to utilise a transversely mounted powertrain in a shared architecture. This would ensure that the platform would be durable, contemporary, technologically advanced and highly suited for volume production.
Ford was developing its CD132 platform to underpin the all-new-for-2000 Ford Mondeo and seemed the best candidate to form the basis of the new small Jaguar. The Ford Mondeo, the lead recipient of the CD platform, had established itself as a class leader and, given the huge investment it would receive from FMC, its platform would be the ideal starting point for a Jaguar.
[…]
Initial reaction to the X-Type was positive, the motoring press loved the styling, less controversial than the preceding S-Type, and many applauded the apparent Jaguar heritage. Most comments regarding the Mondeo sister-car were positive, citing just how capable that car also was and, in the end, that just 19% of the cars origins were shared, many of which were perfectly suited components such as HVAC units hidden from view and which in no way detracted from the X400’s Jaguar heritage.
Right there at the end. That’s exactly the item and concept that was hooking me into this whole overnight love affair with this car: Jaguar heritage. I had a legit British luxury car in my garage and it felt jolly good. Ok maybe it’s the least appreciated Jaguar of all-time, but it still has a “Leaper” ornament on the bonnet and a “Growler” badge on the steering wheel.
Leaper & Growler
The interior smelled of The Good Leather and dash and shifter were made of The Good Wood.
Sidebar: In one of those “I cannot believe this is reality” type-of-moments in life, I can legitimately call Autopian in-house car designer Adrian Clarke a colleague. That is a wild honor. The man designs cars and drives a Ferrari. I rescue shitboxes. This site has an incredible spectrum. Anyway, he is probably going to have a few choice words for me in our editorial Slack channel for all of this cultural appropriation I’m grabbing from across the pond and putting in this British car shitbox rescue article. F-it mate, bloody doing it anyway. God save The King. God, save this X-Type.
Put down the beans-on-toast: it’s time to wrench
Bad Paint, Exhaust, Fuel Pump, Ignition Coil, A Sensor: This Thing Had Problems
Back at The Lair, I did a once-over on the car in the daylight. Other than some typical clear coat fade on the roof, and some strange paint flaking on the left fender, it looked quite decent. The interior actually looked fantastic.
After the scoping was done, I dove headfirst into the fuel pump repair. I threw the car on jack stands and started by ripping out the exhaust. It was bolt-off and strangely the nuts and bolts all came off without snapping even after 145K miles. Unfortunately, pieces of the catalytic converter the size of donut holes came out too. Major Bummer. I’ll have to approach that later, says I.
Next out was the driveshaft, which also strangely came out very easily with a hex socket on both ends and an easy-to-remove center carrier bearing with just two 13mm bolts.
The rear seat was popped up, to reveal the pump wiring harness, and the tank straps were dropped with a floor jack holding the tank in place until I could remove the fuel tank evaporative lines and the filler neck inlet. The tank slightly overlapped the rear differential, but sliding it forward a few inches provided enough clearance to send it earthbound (see picture for a visual).
“Dude! That was cake!” I said aloud. Once I realized I was alone and talking to myself it made it weird, but joyous and celebratory regardless. This seemingly really tough repair was about ½ done and was going really smoothly except for that part about the converter being toast.
In my limited shopping experience, Jaguar parts are funny in that they are either stupid expensive, impossible to find, or surprisingly available and affordable. I was thanking my lucky stars that the fuel pump for an X-type is the latter. I found one on amazon for $50 – very doable. I popped that bad boy in along with a fresh filter, reattached the tank, fuel and evap lines, put in a few gallons of the freshest Premium petrol, a $40 used battery, grabbed the key, gave a quick smirk and wink towards the Panthera on the hood, and turned the skeleton-style key. The engine literally roared to life for the first time in years – mostly due to me not having the exhaust back on the car yet. It was a great moment. It was a great feeling. It was loud; I was proud.
Being in a celebratory mood, I made myself a Stanley Tucci Tuscan Negroni to reflect upon the great success of the day. I was feeling so pumped that it didn’t even matter that whilst standing there imbibing, I realized the engine was misfiring and thus discovered the cause of the broken-up converter. The engine had two bad coils that the old woman was driving around on for what seemed to be some extended amount of time, dumping unburnt fuel onto hot cats until they cooked themselves apart.
Who cares; coils are cheap. I found a set on eBay for $70 (for all 6 coils and platinum plugs). I also found a pair of aftermarket converters for about $175, but held off, as the car is about to turn 20 in a few months (Jan ‘23) and emissions inspections in New Hanover County, NC are only needed for cars <20 years old. I could just garage it until its 20th b-day, methinks, whilst sipping away, smug in my good fortune.
A few days later the coils arrived and I popped them in along with the exhaust so that the car no longer sounded like the War of 1812. The intake had to come off to get to the rear bank of cylinders, but it wasn’t difficult at all – about a 30 min job. It was as easy as a nuclear one-liner from Mark Tucker’s old neighbor Johnny Fever.
The ABS light was also on, due to a faulty left-rear ABS/speed sensor. One $45 sensor, a harness plug and a few clips and Bob was officially my uncle.
The Shakedown
I had never driven the car up until this point, and I was wicked jazzed to do so. Keep in mind, at this point I’m still all wrapped up in the “Jaguar Heritage” mantra/concept from above. The wood, the leather, the Redcoats, all of it. Taking it down my driveway felt great, looked great, smelled great, the whole bit. Once I started down the street though it was…okay. There was nothing wrong with the way it drove, handled, accelerated and braked whatsoever. But there was nothing great about it either. It was as if the wood and leather and Leaper were all just this fancy suit for an otherwise non-noteworthy, but totally okay car. I was underwhelmed.
Maybe it’s my rebel American heart. Coffee is better than tea, mushy peas are an odd choice and American football is way more entertaining than soccer, whilst we’re here being honest. Can freelancers do hot takes? If not, it’s been nice writing for y’all and I’ll see you in the comments from here on out.
And it’s not just me that thinks so! I polled all of my colleagues here at The Autopian and received the below highly-entertaining and rich responses that you’d expect from such an ensemble. They were asked to rate the car on a scale of 1-10 and say a few words. Most responses align with exactly what you’d think each writer/editor would say:
3/10. The availability of a manual gearbox can’t quite make up for glass transfer cases and other reliability woes. –Thomas Hundal
10/10. I’m a huge fan of the second gen Mondeo and this is pretty close. –Matt Hardigree (huge Hardigree fan here, for the record)
1/10. The X-Type is an abomination and an insult to the brand. And it was almost certainly designed in Dearborn and not Coventry. -Adrian Clarke, lone British Citizen polled
2/10. Even Ford rebranding the Mazda 929 would have been a better move. It’s a nice fancy Mondeo but just on principle I have a hard time with it. -The Bishop
8/10. The Ford Mondeo has never looked so good. -Mercedes Streeter
7/10. I like the idea, and the Ford DNA doesn’t bother me. With a manual, I’d be interested, I think. I’d be more inclined to take a chance on it than another BMW, that’s for sure. -Mark Tucker
Zero. I hate doing electrical work and that Jag seems like a nightmare. -DT
7/10. I actually like that it’s based on a boring old Ford Contour/Mondeo and I like the slightly Jag-caricature front end, with the oval lights that define the shape of the hood and that little jewelry-grille because all of these things make it something like an American take on what Mitsuoka does, dressing up Nissan Micras to look like old Jags. It’s just being done officially here. Let cars wear costumes! Have some fun, for crying audibly. -JT
It’s interesting how much the “Mondeo” theme constantly infiltrated the responses of even this group of some of the most knowledgeable folks in the car-culture journalism business. Even having just 19% Mondeo content can brand and scar a “junior executive saloon” such as the X-type for life, apparently.
Must We Part Ways?
Once I’m over a car, it’s always the same ending. There’s just no point in keeping on with it if the magic isn’t there. I can’t stand blokes that sock a car away and let it be ravaged by time sitting. Let that car be magic for someone that needs it and that wants it. Someone who falls under the “Jaguar Heritage Spell” and stays betwixt by it longer than I did (I shook it on my first drive). Someone who wants that leather and wood and AWD. Someone who wants Leapers and Growlers and semi-consistent anxiety about British electrical troubleshooting in their future.
I reached out to The Autopian’s own Mark Tucker and asked if it was ok to feature freelancer’s own cars on the Shitbox Showdown. “Can’t see why not!”, said one of the coolest dudes I have yet to meet (he lives on the other side of the country). The car was featured the following week and it was great having it on the site for the commentariat to engage with. Nice words were said. Other things were said. The car ended up winning The Showdown (thank you readers!) and beating a Lexus too (didn’t see that coming).
I sold the car the next day to an older Southern Lady named Ms. Penny, who said she thought that the car was sexy and she “felt sexy” in it. Hell yes, Ms. Penny! That’s exactly what I’m talking about. She couldn’t give a damn about a Leaper, or about Coventry, or about “Heritage”, or about how the car was manufactured under The Queen’s Consent (says so in the owner’s manual!) She just found a car that spoke to her and made her feel good.
“Such a unique item/instance to have a monarchistic approval in an owners manual.”
And I found a car for $400 that ended up being a great rescue. The car is now on the Wilmington, NC roadways, churning out the miles and making smiles. It is not sitting at the local Pick n Pull with a hole drilled in the fuel tank, fluids drained, awaiting the crusher after it is picked apart. The previous owner was scared to do a fuel pump job that honestly wasn’t too hard at all. And, the engine parts were all affordable due to it being a frickin’ Ford Duratec V6.
Here’s one I found in the local parts yard, for reference.
There are currently four X-Types in my local parts yard and there are 12 really nice retired British dentists in the FB group that know everything about the car and that are willing to help with any tech support needed. A quick Facebook Marketplace search shows these cars to be cheap and ½ broken in every town. Yes, maybe the Jaguar electrical horror stories of yore and lore from the punters are accurate. But in Fall of ‘22, most of the cheap Jags that are left in semi-decent shape and that you’re going to find available for sale are going to be from the Ford era. My 19% Ford X-Type left me smiling as Ms. Penny drove it away, feeling good about a project that had left both me and the car standing tall and proud; a happy ending. I’m quite pleased with this rescue and the decision to take it on – it was one of the most fun and rewarding that I’ve done.
So, does the next cheap, busted Jag that shows up on your daily shitbox search deserve a second chance on the roads? Maybe they are as bad to resuscitate and maintain as legend purports. But maybe they’re not. Go rescue one and see for yourself, mate.
Photo Credits: Stephen Walter Gossin
So the awd running driving wagon for 3500 Canadian that I see is not such a bad idea
“Oh, I remember where that dang spare key is! Dirk up’t the Honk n’ Holler still has it. Maw was gonna have him fix it, but he said he don’t work on no forrin cars.”
Awesome write up, and a worthy rescue!
One of the coolest dudes I have yet to meet ^
My wife’s aunt had an X-Type wagon circa 2008, I low key wonder what happened to it. Since my lifestyle involves kayaks, skis and bicycles I pretty much want a long roof so maybe a trawl of Craigslist is in order. Central Oregon is a mixed bag, on the positive no salt and a dry climate means no rust and no mold, on the minus lower population means a smaller and more expensive pool of cars
If I was younger, you would have supplied me with inspiration, not that I needed any, maybe just reinforcement of pursuing the true path. A good article, thanks. (-;
Oh come on, gramps – you got this!
Great read, as a Jag fan the X Type is probably better than it’s reputation suggests and I wouldn’t say no to one of the wagons as a winter beater.
Looking forward to hearing more about the XK8!
Agreed that the X-Type is far better than the constant negativity that is generated whenever its name is mentioned. Attempting to anecdotally prove that was one of the inspirations for this article.
Re: the XK8, that car is going to be the death of me.
It has required so much, that it may be a 2-part rescue. To be fair, it was ready for the crusher with a cracked engine when I started the rescue. But man, what a gorgeous design and shape to it.
Many thanks for reading and for the comment – cheers!
I think Adrian is exactly right that the X-Type was designed in Dearborn and not Coventry. Or at least, the edict for a traditionally styled Jaguar came from Ford’s corporate headquarters. Based on my research, Jaguar designers wanted to break away from the heritage/old-fashioned styling about ten years earlier than that happened, around the late 90s, before Geoff Lawson died. But Ford had very fixed ideas of what a Jaguar should look like, and would only approve designs that were suitably “Jaguar-like.” That resulted in the awkward S-Type, the very retro X350 (2004-2009) XJ, and the X-Type.
While I love the X350 XJ (I’ve had two and am about to begin my search for a third), I don’t think it was what Jaguar needed. I think they needed something much more modern-looking to compete with the German trio and the LS, and the extra six or seven years that they went without such cars came at a high opportunity cost.
They finally got their modernization when Ian Callum got his way, first with the X150 XK (2007-2015) and then later the X250 XF (2009-2015) and X351 XJ (2011-2019).
I love the X350! Hugely underrated cars that have lovely roomy interiors and are far more agile than they look. I set out to buy one, but couldn’t find just the right car. Luckily I stumbled upon an excellent XJR6 that makes me very very happy!
Oddly, the x308s leave me slightly cold. They are certainly beautiful cars, but I just don’t think they drive as well or feel as special as the x300. At the same time, they lack the space, quality, and more modern driving experience of the x350.
That’s pretty much my understanding of what happened from talking to J and various others with inside knowledge of Jaguar design.
X351 is a fantastic looking car (and one of my favourites) but it came too late, basically forced into it when the retro thing had become a millstone around their necks.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the future at Jaguar with Gerry in charge. He absolutely hates retro and heritage so anyone hoping for a return to the old days is going to be very disappointed.
Great story! I worked in a company where a lot of people (except me) had company cars so I borrowed a lot of them for long journeys. I loved the look of the X Type and the interior was very comfortable but I was very disappointed by the V6 2.5. It felt very heavy, had no torque whatsoever and changing gears was a bit of a chore. I later tried a 2.0 diesel estate and it was far livelier and fun to drive. I suspect the AWD gubbins in the V6 did it no favours as the FWD Mondeo V6 was ok. The challenges it had in the U.K. were a) it was initially marketed as luxury when everyone wanted sport so got an old man car rep b) the Mondeo it was 19% based on was such a good car if you drove them back to back you’d be hard pushed to choose the Jag and c) Jag got such a complex about the Mondeo heritage and rear wheel drive that at launch there were no 4 cylinders/diesels and the AWD was unnecessary expense and weight. With the introduction of CO2 based company car tax that favoured lighter/diesel cars they were way off the pace and took a long time to react.
The late HM The Queen had a green X-Type estate (wagon) & was often pictured driving it around Windsor Castle. (I wish I could share a pic). She was quite the car enthusiast by all accounts so they must be a half-decent car. 🙂
While that is true, HM QE2 was also the sort of person who seemed to have very traditional sensibilities about what a car should look like, and would have been pleased by Jaguar’s attempt to translate its heritage styling onto a reasonable, practical kind of car.
Unfortunately for Jaguar, its target customers largely didn’t share that sentiment.
You mean the target customers they imagined but didn’t actually exist. Young, middle class aspirational buyers were never going to go for retro over the german premium brands.
Instead it ended up getting bought by stingy, older union jack waving ‘Rule Britannia’ types who still stand for the anthem and think ‘Last Night of the Proms’ is a cultural highlight.
Exactly.
I had a loaded 1996 Mystique with the V6. It was a pleasure to drive and very reliable in the three years I owned it from the driving it new off the lot to selling it to my cousin. Got nothin’ bad to say about the Mondeo DNA.
I kept my 99 V6, manual trans, purchased new Mystique for 12 years. Great seats, good handling, so-so gas mileage, but an overall excellent and reliable car. The rocker panels began to rot and I figured it was time to say goodbye.
Oh no, I thought I was over wanting one of these in estate form as a winter beater. Don’t tell me they’re cheap to fix. ;_;
$480 in parts, DMV and tow costs plus about 8hrs of labor took this one from zero to hero.
If the issues are mechanical and not electrical, I’d say go for it.
Well, I for one hope they don’t redundantify you for a (mild) hot take. I enjoy reading about rescues: I no longer have the energy/enthusiasm for the work involved, so like living vicariously.
Where’s the spreadsheet here? How much did you spend total, how much time did you put in, and what was the payoff-other than the satisfaction of uniting Ms Penny with a car that made her happy? Not that that is a small thing: we are here because a vehicle spoke to us, and helping someone else get that is a Good Thing
Spreadsheet info is as follows:
Purchase: $400
Fuel pump: $50 (5-6 hrs labor)
Fuel: about $70 for a full tank of Premium
Used battery: $40
Coil set: $70 (2 hrs labor)
Tow: $125
Craigslist ad: $5
Pay-off:
I love cars, I love the challenge and thrill of saving any car from the crusher, and I love maximizing the lifespan of a car that we’ve already expended carbon upon (for an environmental win). And yes, it takes more carbon to build a new car than to wring-out the miles on an existing car for the rest of its service life (and beyond).
Thanks for reading and for the comment!
PS: I forgot to add the NC DMV title transfer cost of $120.
Cheers.
So, $840 all in. Well done there: with a low investment like that, you could sell it cheap and still pay for your time. I miss the satisfaction of getting someone into a cheap ride and keeping another car from slowly sinking back into the earth.
Thanks for a great read, I always liked the small Jag X-Type (although a Contour SVT should be a Holy Grail feature)…now get back to the XK8!
As a past XK8 owner I fully support this madness. I sold my XK8 because I cannot own nice things…when it came to replace tires, I would have been tempted to make room for BFGs, then one thing would have led to another and it would have been a full-on, way-too-expensive gambler. I briefly contemplated taking on my neighbor’s x-type which has been sitting for close to 10 years now, but I think even if it was free it might not have been worth it. I instead rescued a donated G35x from a charity…better AWD system, better engine, cheaper parts. Lots of easy fixes and I now have a cool off-road beater. Keep up the good work, I enjoy reading about your successes. If I had time and space, I would always have a broken car in the driveway and I would only keep them long enough to enjoy the experience for a while. While DT is a master wrencher, I think your approach is more logical…Find, Fix, have Fun, then Flip.
[Ed note: Thanks, but get on with the wrenching! -DT].
Pot, meet kettle. Where exactly is that ute update?!?
David Tracy: best boss I ever had.
:gulp:
Your description is perfect, its like Mitsuoka made an XJ body kit and glued it to a Mondeo, the details are all there, but the proportions are undeniably “off”.
That said, they were at least distinctive looking – whether they were truly attractive or not depends on how much you like the look of a squished and shrunken XJ, but there was no risk of mistaking one on the road for anything other than an X-Type. And they did truly have the best interiors of anything in the price class, hands down. But, no getting around the fact that you do have the bones of a midrange FWD Ford under there, so no surprise the driving experience is going to be underwhelming vs a 3-Series which was designed from the ground up specifically for that market segment
Yeah, taking on the 3 series is not a good idea and a lesson Jaguar didn’t learn as they tried again with the XE, which has been an abject flop.
I hope you weren’t ‘that guy’ and you actually did put a proper cat back on there. Even Jags need cats. Be good to our air.
Also, in the future, the proper cocktail pairing for one of these is a gin and cucumber.
Other than some older tires and that “reduced efficiency: catalyst” code, the car actually would pass NC Inspection.
Ms. Penny told me that her used car search was becoming quite frustrating and that she had no problem at all having a corner exhaust shop put a converter on the car to get it to pass emissions for the next couple months. She found what she wanted and was looking for.
As I said in the article, a pair of cheap aftermarket converters for this car are about $175, so it wasn’t by any means a too-difficult proposition.
Gin and cucumber sounds amazing right about now. Or any time really.
Ah, you mean the Noel Coward Martini: A large gin waved in the general direction of Italy.
Have been tempted to get one of these or an LS just for the fun of it.
Hopefully the tale above stirred up some inspiration.
Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Years ago I took my ’98 XJ8 to the dealer for work, and although I didn’t even buy the car there, they offered me a loaner for the day. Which turned out to be an X-Type. Honestly the car surprised me, because I’d heard all the “it’s really just a Mondeo” talk. It wasn’t terrible, in fact it was quite nice.
It was new of course, though. I’m on my second XJ8 now so I’m probably biased to the brand, but I don’t think folks should scoff at the X-Type as much as they do.
I also love a rescue like this. Nice work, and good article.
I too can appreciate the stately, smooth, often cheap-buy value that an XJ8 brings to the table, Matt. I believe they have the same AJ V8s that I’ve been dealing with in my XK8; 300hp.
Thanks for reading and for the kind words – cheers!
So, in one article you (1) buy the car, (2) get it home, (3) repair it without much hassle and (4) sell it to someone who drives away the same day, without any problems? Did you not get the memo from DT?
Boeman is correct, if youtube car guys/gals teach you anything, this should have been easily 4 articles 🙂
I think that the upcoming XK8 piece will be worth at least 2 episodes, DT a-willin’.
There’s an XK8 convertible (like the ’97 that starred in Memento) sitting — out in our rainy weather — on a driveway nearby. I’ve talked with the owner — “electrical problem”. So the broken part is covered; but dirt-cheap? No hint of interest in a sale.
Regardless, I’m doubting it shares many components with any Ford . . .
+1pt for the Memento reference.
One of my top 15 movies of all time.
That XK8 will be the death of me; it’s never fun working backwards and having to fix your previous fixes.
Ex: new valve cover gaskets require RTV sealer in specific places around the perimeter of the gasket seal. You then let it sit and cure before starting the engine. I took it apart and put the whole thing back together, coils, covers, harness, all ~12 fasteners…and it’s still leaking. Expensive gasket too.
Time to do it again.
Thanks for reading and for the comment – cheers!
Find one with a bad engine, and do a contour SVT drivetrain swap. Please.
In the Contour groups back in the day, the talk was the opposite—taking the 3 liter six and AWD drivetrain from one of these and putting it in a Contour.
I was a Contour dork in the early 2000s and when the time came for a new car I really wanted this to be the next step up. But the Jag just didn’t excite, even with the manual, and next to the E46 BMW there really was no comparison.
I bought the BMW and haven’t really looked back since.
Fantastic write up. Really enjoyed reading that
Thank you, good Sir!
Much appreciated. I really enjoyed writing it.
Being here in Autopia with you good folks is a privilege and a gift.
Cheers!
I’ve always been intrigued by these X-Types, especially with the manual transmission, but your underwhelming impression of it after getting it on the road will keep me from ever pulling the trigger.
So thank you, Stephen. Better Ms. Penny than Uncle Dave, I guess.
I mean, it wasn’t bad or anything. to be honest, I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting.
The car did everything you’d expect it to do. My expectations may have been unrealistic after being entranced by all that heritage.
Ms. Penny for the win.
You inspire me to fill my driveway with cheap cars
You should see mine.
It’ll be interesting to see DT’s driveway in LA in a few months.
Driveway? He’ll be lucky to have one parking spot. I do fear for the capacity of Beau’s back lot, however.
Same.
Cracking tale (I did it too) as always Mr. Gossin. Plus, I learned the name of Leaper’s flat counterpart. Which is good to know, as I don’t think Jag offers (damnit!) a 3D Leaper on the front of anything anymore, right?
Mondeo origin aside, are the various consumables like the coils all Ford parts? I just did mine on my Focus, and they look really similar. If so, seems like a smart cost-cutting move by Ford given its goals at the time, and a big plus for it now as an aging used car.
Always a pleasure to hear from you Jack!
I can’t speak other than anecdotally, but I did see quite a few “Ford ovals” stamped on various parts all over the car while my wrenches were on it.
Yes, I also do believe that Tata got rid of the Leaper. Not sure if the Growler disappeared when Ford exited as well.
Thanks as always for reading and for the comment, my man!
It’s great for the business case, and great for the savvy wrencher saving the car. The problem is the bit in the middle, the person who buys the car new. You’re trying to sell a premium product with mass market underpinnings.
RE: “You’re trying to sell a premium product with mass market underpinnings. ”
I 100% agree that you’re correct on this Adrian, I am interested in people’s thoughts on when/why this is considered a bad thing vs. a good thing.
Premium branded cars certainly have a snobby “stars on thars” that needs to be satisfied & it certainly won’t help if the underlying platform is seen as “lessor” especially if the marketing for the car is relying heavily upon “heritage”
There are Loads of examples “premium product” cars being sold that had/have mas market underpinnings both financially successful examples and financially terrible examples
Small sample of financially successful examples:
1. Lexus ES (mechanically Camry)
2. Lexus GS 470 (mechanically Toyota LC)
3. Audi A4 ( (European) VW Passat*)
4. Audi A3 (VW Golf)
4. Acura TSX (Honda Accord)
5. Infiniti QX60 (Nissan Murano)
6. Cadillac Escalade (Chevy Suburban)
Small sample of financially unsuccessful examples:
1. Cadillac Catera (Opel Omega)
2. Saab 97 (GM GMT SUV)
3. Lincoln Mark LT (Ford F-150)
4. X-Type (Ford Mondeo)
5. Lexus CT (Toyota Prius)
*At least this was true for +15 years not 100% still true many years post Passat model split -> “US Market Passat => stretched US Market Jetta)
The A3 and A4 are not rebadges though – they platform share but a lot more is unique to Audi, especially customer touch points. And I would argue VW/Audi are conceptually and spiritually a lot closer together as brands than Ford/Jaguar are. But we’re splitting hairs I think.
Your other examples I think prove you can get away with it for maybe one generation or if the time is right. When the Escalade was hot SUV sales were exploding – you could probably have sold a body on frame Saab in that market.
What I think does hold is that the US market is more value driven whereas the UK is more badge and status driven. Europe tends to be a mix of both with a bit of nationalist loyalty thrown in – so it’s not surprising these were more successful in the US.
Here in the States, the allure of things British can’t be understated (as a gen-X kid, I stayed up way late to catch Brit shows on PBS…Doctor Who would air at 11pm in a single freaking block that went on for 2+ hours. Glorious.), but we also demand washing machine like dependability/homogeneity in everything. Hence all the Camrys.
Seems like the X-type was a car built for very few actual Americans. Rich Americans wanted the real deal Brit stuff (warts and all) and upper middle class Americans just bought the Lexus version of the Camry. Makes me doubly happy that Ms. Penny found this one.
Hear, hear! Well said, Jack.