Back in 75 Ownership - My new car was a lemon!

[FrazzleTC]

Sorry to read of your problems with your XF. I bought a beautiful XF S Premium Luxury three years ago, as I wanted to treat myself to something newer to keep for a while. Alas, it was incredible when it worked, but much of the time it didn’t. After 1 year and 18,000 miles, I sold it, as I couldn’t deal with the fact it was in for repair every few weeks. I think they work well for people who buy brand new ones on PCP who can hand back their problem after a few years, but for normal buyers, not so good. Wonderful car to drive, to look at and travel distances in, but unless I buy another a lot cheaper in the future, I won’t have another.

Where had yours rotted? Mine was a 2014 and after one year of very salty roads the rear subframe had a lot of surface rust.

[SCP440]

Sadly I have heard so much about the Jags and there frequent garage visits, there seems to be a lot of good ones out there that do an incredible amount of mileage with no more that service visits and minor sensor issues but others just dont seem to be up to the job.

I know of one Diesel that had 3 EGR's in less than 18 months, luckily they were done by the dealer so the second two were under warranty but when he complained he was told he was lucky as some need new one every 3 or 4 months His was used a lot on motorways so that helped. The final straw on his was when a turbo started smoking and he was told it would be a £1500 job at a minimum.

[Kevin Williams]

Sorry to hear of your experience, but thank you for alerting us all to it.

In terms of corrosion protection, i've posted on here before about seeing 10 year old Mercs, BMWs and Audis being broken as they are more rotten underneath than older 75s/ZTs even thought they look immaculate on top and most drive well. To be fair, I didn't see a Jag there.

My next door neighbour has just bought a new VW Golf to replace a 3 year old unreliable Fiesta. Her husband asked the dealer about rust protection underneath and was told there wasn't a lot as the car is designed to last 8 years! Using that concept, the depreciation is around £3k each year before insurance, maintenance and repairs!

Our 75s and ZTs seem to be bargains for a longer term investment.

[Gazmo65]

Had my S-Type 6 years now its 18 next month and I have been fairly lucky with it, before buying it I looked at both X-Type and S-Types and it looks like its a bit of a lottery regarding rust and corrosion, some are exceptionally bad others are ok. There are some problems common to all cars others that are model specific, for example I view the expansion tank as a yearly replaceable item as I'm on my 5th one now , I've tried several different brands and the best so far is one from Euro car parts which only costs £40. This year the MOT guy suggested cleaning the underbody and undersealing it as its starting to show signs of corrosion but only surface so nothing too bad, he didn't even mention it on the test. One of the rear wheel arches has a couple of bubbles appearing over the last year. I was considering changing the car this year and had been looking at XFs around this age 2008 to 2010 but have been having second thoughts as some of the spares are scarily priced, if your rear light loses a bulb its not as easy as replacing that bulb as they are LEDs and the whole light needs changing for a new one costing £200 - £300 locks and window regulators are common problems as are the vents not opening and the gear selector not rising out of its retracted position then if its a diesel the 2.7 and 3.0 v6 engine can eat its self due to short journeys and DPF regens dumping fuel into the oil, then there's the EGR valves and inlet manifolds failing and the list goes on , and its not that these are few and far between problems but common and very costly, add the corrosion into this and I am now considering keeping what i have and running it until its a sought after classic then I can sell it rusty warts and all for a mega price

[ZedTeeTee]

Originally Posted by Gigagator

Hi all,

Some of you may have seen my post recently about leaving 75 ownership and replacing with a 2008 Jaguar XF, which I was over the moon with.

Unfortunately, I got the XF up on a lift this morning at a local garage and we were shocked to find the underside was rotten.

Very sad as I loved the car and I am now out of pocket a bit (though distance selling regulations mean I am able to return the car to recoup some of my money). It was immaculate inside and out but was hiding a nasty secret underneath.

None of this mentioned on MOT history either...

Amazing that my 75 that is 4 years older and has done nearly twice the mileage is in far better condition underneath, so I am going to do what I should've done in the bl00dy first place and spend the money getting the 75 sorted.

Lessons learned here:
1. NEVER buy a car without seeing it in person. Hard at the moment I know but nothing beats getting dirty on the ground and crawling underneath with a torch.

2. NEVER buy a Jaguar. Can't believe the corrosion prevention is that bad on a 2008 car.

Happy to be back driving my 75 though. I had forgotten how well she drives.
Good job I hadn't sold her yet!

Yup...been there, last two cars (one of which was an S Type) turned out to be lemons. Some MOT's it would seem, just aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

It's not just the financial impact, it's also the stress it generates, SWMBO was NOT impressed, plus the disappointment, as I really liked both the cars.

Anyway, back to what I know now, maybe an opportunity will present itself to add a 190 ZT-T to the stables at some point too

[hogweed]

Maybe showing my ignorance here, but aren't those Jags actually supposed to be Mondeos?


My friend had an X-Type and was driven nearly suicidal by its endless problems... last one I can remember was something about the tensioner failing and the cam chain jumping a tooth or two

[coolguy]

Originally Posted by hogweed

Maybe showing my ignorance here, but aren't those Jags actually supposed to be Mondeos?
:

In defence of X Types (of which I am the proud owner of 4) they only shared 11% of Mondeo components. I originally went for them because I wanted a 4 wheel drive vehicle, but not a Chelsea Tractor, and they certainly fit that bill. They handle fantastically, and were the true successor to the Mark2 Jaguar - a compact sporting saloon.

[hogweed]

Originally Posted by coolguy

In defence of X Types (of which I am the proud owner of 4) they only shared 11% of Mondeo components.

Thanks for the info - the owner who told me gave me the impression it was just bodyshell/trim etc which were different!


Have to say the S-Type retro looks appeal to me...

[AndyN01]

Originally Posted by Kevin Williams

..... Her husband asked the dealer about rust protection underneath and was told there wasn't a lot as the car is designed to last 8 years!.....

Bean counters at their best .

Why make use of all the advancements in metallurgy & corrosion protection & the skill and knowledge of engineers when you can just make it look pretty, put loads of gizmo’s in it and spend a fortune on "Marketing and Advertising" (AKA something else to me ) and have the thing drop to bits after 8 years .

After all, that's a brilliant plan for getting repeat business. Especially if there's a massive "Club" where everyone knows the "rules" and all produce pretty much the same thing with the same lifespan.

Obviously, there's no sort of environmental impact in having to dig up loads of minerals to re-manufacture something that should still be going strong . Just come up with some more marketing words to say the new one is as green as green can be.

Perhaps I'm just getting old and cynical

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by AndyN01

Bean counters at their best .

Why make use of all the advancements in metallurgy & corrosion protection & the skill and knowledge of engineers when you can just make it look pretty, put loads of gizmo’s in it and spend a fortune on "Marketing and Advertising" (AKA something else to me ) and have the thing drop to bits after 8 years .

After all, that's a brilliant plan for getting repeat business. Especially if there's a massive "Club" where everyone knows the "rules" and all produce pretty much the same thing with the same lifespan.

Obviously, there's no sort of environmental impact in having to dig up loads of minerals to re-manufacture something that should still be going strong . Just come up with some more marketing words to say the new one is as green as green can be.

Perhaps I'm just getting old and cynical

New Jags are not pretty inside, they are (the ones I've gotten my hands on) god damn awful. Jaguar, I associate with class and being prestige. The are disappointing. I don't find a "black" interior befitting a prestige car, it is not class. Jaguars are not alone with "black" interiors, it is common across the industry.

macafee2