Jaguars In Thailand

[degol1]

does it make sense to buy a used jaguar X-type to drive in thailand? jaguars seem to have the image of being classy and a bit off the beaten track, at least in asia, but with a hint of dodginess- breakdowns, extortionate repair and maintenance, poor resale. is this true in thailand and is it true of a 2002 x-type?

basically are there jaguar owners out there with experience of the upkeep of a jag x-type in bangers? what do you think of the car and how are the dealer service and repair/maintenance costs in town? any pointers deeply appreciated as can not help be drawn to the car but logic seems to say to stay away.

[h90]

I got told that a Jaguar is now a Ford with a bit different design but same technical for a higher price.

I don't know if it is true or not.....

[garyh]

Old saying in Australia, if you buy Jag get 2 so you will have 1 to drive while the other is being fixed.

[soundman]

Moved to motor forum.

[lingnoi34]

The X-type is in fact a Ford Mondeo chassis and drive train with Jaguar exterior and interior. I test drove one recently and liked it. Good value for the money but in the end I bought a C-Class Merc for reliability and resale value.

LN

[tb86]

Old saying in Australia, if you buy Jag get 2 so you will have 1 to drive while the other is being fixed.

Yup had one in 96-98, Well i had it for 18months, and the dealership had it for the other 6 that is beautiful car, but...

[tw25rw]

Indian owned now.

Sat next to the guy who runs the regional HQ from Bangkok on a plane once.

[tonytigerbkk]

Hi Degol,

My life long dream was to own a Jag and I got one about 3 years ago.

The car I got was a10 year old X300 (an updated XJ6).

I took a thai mechanic with me an we looked at about 8 cars, so the one that I got was the best of the lot.

However I only kept it for a year because it was a money pit.

The parts cost many times more than for other cars.

The work to change the parts was very expensive and that was using my own mechanic.

There are only 2 Jag dealers in Thailand (both in Bangkok) and one of them is also a Porche dealer.

I found out over time that it was cheaper to buy the parts off E-Bay UK and have them sent here but as some of the parts were to replace common faults some of the parts are rarer than hens teeth.

It was a great feeling to cruise around Thailand in the Jag.

At the airport most of the car park attendants knew my car (I meet visiting customers at the airport a lot) and they would give me a special parking space.

The BIB never stopeed me for tea money.

However I was always worried that the car would not complete a journey and she did fail me a few times.

Because of this and due to the maintanance costs, she had to go.

I now drive a Camry and while I do miss the prestige (the pose) of driving the Jag, I do feel much safer in knowing that I will finish the journey.

Besides which the Camry has more gadgets and id suprisingly a better, smopther ride than the Jag.

Hope that this helps you.

Regards,

Tiger.

P.S picture of me with my baby.

Sorry could not get birds custard for the custard test.

[Naam]

Old saying in Australia, if you buy Jag get 2 so you will have 1 to drive while the other is being fixed.

that doesn't apply anymore since Ford took over.

[Naam]

as this is a "Jaguar" thread i take the liberty to ask whether anybody knows an E-type convertible for sale in Thailand. since three years i am craving for one but without success. i am looking for an older model with carburettors, not fuel injection! the car is mainly meant to have a good time working on it. as for driving i would use it once a week for an hour or so to have a cup of coffee at the beach.

any information which leads to a purchase will be honoured with a handsome (six digits!) "finders fee"!

[degol1]

thanks a lot for the replies.

as alluded to by some, i have heard that maybe some of the bad old days of jaguar are in the past and they relate to the 1990s models or previous before Ford took over. whereas the X-type being from 2002 (and sharing the Mondeo platform) is very much from the Ford days, when the reliability of Jaguar saw a major improvement, and so this model should break down much less. this is what the reviews say, wonder if personal experience backs it up?

tiger, thanks very much for the account of your difficult jag affair. i wonder if your problems were because of your particular model Jag or if they relate to the Jag dealer in general. if even if X-type apparently breaks down less than previous models, would still be interested to know if there are just more problems with the jag dealer than with other european car dealers like Merc or BMW- ie high service costs and expensive parts?

[katabeachbum]

thanks a lot for the replies.

as alluded to by some, i have heard that maybe some of the bad old days of jaguar are in the past and they relate to the 1990s models or previous before Ford took over. whereas the X-type being from 2002 (and sharing the Mondeo platform) is very much from the Ford days, when the reliability of Jaguar saw a major improvement, and so this model should break down much less. this is what the reviews say, wonder if personal experience backs it up?

tiger, thanks very much for the account of your difficult jag affair. i wonder if your problems were because of your particular model Jag or if they relate to the Jag dealer in general. if even if X-type apparently breaks down less than previous models, would still be interested to know if there are just more problems with the jag dealer than with other european car dealers like Merc or BMW- ie high service costs and expensive parts?

Benz and BMW are made in LOS and sold in large numbers. Benz is one of top 10 sellers in LOS. Jaguar is imported, and sold in very few units. Love Jags, but aftermarket is another world.

X-type is Mondeo based, but Mondeo isnt sold here at all, so aftermarket is still lousy.

Jag is owned by indian Tata now, so is Range Rover and Aston Martin. Range Rover has a new thai distributor taking things seriously, has just supplied the PM with his new car.

[ignis]

OP was asking about the jaguar X-type, a lot different car then the XJ..

In a Survey of 2006 the Jag both 'S' and 'X' came out a lot higher up on reliability + customer satisfaction then the 'C' Class Benz in the UK.

Appears to be quite a few Jags here all models and years, even some of the early XJ still run every days on the original engines, also some with the Lexus engine, even fairly new ones [less then 10 yrs old] have different engines, but then again there a BMW's and Benz running around with Jap engines of the same year.

[Spoonman]

Range Rover has a new thai distributor taking things seriously, has just supplied the PM with his new car.

I have one of those Range Rovers here for a windscreen replacement, awesome vehicles.

[tonytigerbkk]

Hi,

I did not get any servicing done by the Jag dealer as the prices were extortionate.

I used my usual mechanic and his prices were high enough.

However in the beginning we were buying the parts through the Jag dealer and the prices were way too high (if they even had them in stock).

The X300 was a Ford produced Jaguar, as they took over Jaguar in 1989 and my car was a 1997 model (which apparently was a great improvement on the 1996 version).

Before taking the plunge I would suggest that you join a Jaguar forum (such as www.jaguarforums.com or www.jaguarforum.co.uk) where you will be able to get the feedback from other members about the generic problems of the model that you are interested in.

I also believe that there are a one or two Jag owners living in Thailand that are members of Pistonheads (www.pistonheads.com/gassing).

When I decided to get my Jag I had tunnel vision (only a jag would do) but I doubt that I would jump in as fast next time.

If I ever did switch back to a Jag again, I think that I would buy an S-Type.

Not as good looking on the outside but much better internally and better reliability than the XJ series (so I am told).

Lots of Jags for sale on one2car but these are from dealers and not private sales.

Regards,

Tiger.

[tonytigerbkk]

Hi Ingis,

I do understand what the OP was asking but I was just offering my thoughts on owning a Jag in Thailand.

Whatever model the costs for parts and repairs fo Jags over here is way too high.

Regards,

Tiger.

[katabeachbum]

Range Rover has a new thai distributor taking things seriously, has just supplied the PM with his new car.

I have one of those Range Rovers here for a windscreen replacement, awesome vehicles.

the 500+hp jagV8 supercharge is absolutely awesome

did you do the PMs 500kg bulletproof job?

[Spoonman]

did you do the PMs 500kg bulletproof job?

No, we only do Ford Everests/Rangers and Landrover Defenders, our Parent company imported those Rovers, there is a lot more than 500kg of amour in them.

[ignis]

If appears that everything can be fixed, just a question of finding the right person that can fix the problem..

One day early last year the Climate Control stopped working on my Audi A6, well took it to a workshop they checked everything and said I must have a new controller, would take 3 weeks to get the part + total cost labor + part about 25-26,000baht…

Asked a friend Thai, he had a friend that had a friend with a back street auto electric/air con workshop in BKK, drove my Audi there in the morning, he check it all, indeed the controller was broken but he could repair it, car was ready later the same day with a warrantee for 6 months, total cost 1,400 baht, A SAVING of 25,000 baht.! 1yr on and is still working fine..

So my thoughts are if you own or thinking about owning a none everyday Toyota or Honda, be sure to find a collection of people that can fix any problem without having to go to a main dealer, as there only way is order and replace any problem with a new expensive part.

[degol1]

in my quest to justify driving a jag, after what you say tiger..... the car i am looking at has about 60,000km and is a 2002 X-type. maybe i can keep costs down if i only do city driving, as this will be a second car. thus enjoying traffic jams in the vehicle and yet not putting it through the excessive kms on highways.

say i keep the car 10 years, maybe i would end up driving 50,000km. ie i arrive at about 110,000km and 18 year old car by the end. with normal maintenance and assuming no unexpected parts failure- what kind of upkeep costs would be required? i am guessing an annual checkup and some major replacements at 100,000km. would that allow me to have the pleasure of a jag in the city and maybe 10,000baht every year checkups and one 50,000baht major replacement at 100,000km? i could live with that i guess.

[ignis]

Buy a Jag just to drive in the City ?? the mind boggles...

I would have thought the better car to drive just in the City would be a 1 yr old MAX 2 yr old and something like a SUZUKI WAGON R AT, and cost around 300k..

I’m sure you would only find the benefit of driving a Jag is the blast on the open highway… + the constant stop start of City driving gives far more wear then driving on the Freeway..

My way of thinking you would be better using the Jag for the long out of Town trips, where you can enjoy it.

The Thais way of thinking is if you have a Toyota or Honda when have a little opps and you break the back or front light, you can go to the breakers and get another, with a European car you cannot find so must buy new and at double+ the price..

[stingray]

The X-type is in fact a Ford Mondeo chassis and drive train with Jaguar exterior and interior. I test drove one recently and liked it. Good value for the money but in the end I bought a C-Class Merc for reliability and resale value.

LN

It can't be ford mondeo, as the mondeo is a front wheel drive. But anyway. Jagaurs have beautyful design, excellent nice interior but very bad technologie. But here is the good thing. Buy one with a Toyota engine inside, ussually they do this job with a 2JZ or 1UZ motor and then is no problem. I done this covert with a Range Rover, years ago. Fit in a 1UZ V8 engine, gearbox and 4x4, never had problems again.

[Spoonman]

It can't be ford mondeo, as the mondeo is a front wheel drive.

Neither Jaguar nor Ford had a suitable small rear-wheel drive platform to base the X-Type on, and the decision was made to base the X-Type on a modified version of the Ford CD132 platform, the basis for the 2000 Ford Mondeo. In order to distinguish it from its rivals and its Ford origins, the X-Type was initially offered as all-wheel drive only and mated to a 2.5 litre and 3.0 litre AJ-V6 petrol engine. In 2003, the X-Type was offered in front-wheel drive with the introduction of Jaguar’s first four-cylinder diesel engines (based on the Ford Duratorq ZSD unit from the Mondeo and Transit), and with the smaller 2.0 litre petrol V6.

Jaguar X type Wikipedia

[ignis]

On the other hand the X type Jag in 2002 cost 3.9 million

Today 8 yrs on they are selling for 1.5 - 1.7 million...

If you look at BMW or Benz, then the Jag holds it Value much better after 8 years.. So maybe is a good buy

[ignis]

But here is the good thing. Buy one with a Toyota engine inside, ussually they do this job with a 2JZ or 1UZ motor and then is no problem.

Can never work this out... I beleive the 1UZ is from Lexus ?

So a 2002 Lexus cost about the same as a Jag with a Jag engine...

I notice that cars here with a JZ or UZ engine is worth less, so a Jag with a Lexus engine will not hold the value ? even if it was better with that engine.

I have no idea so asking, would it be better to buy a Jag with a Lexus engine or buy a Lexus in the 1st place, both being the same price for the same year...?

Sure can understand if you already own a European car and the engine blows up, would be cheaper to use the JZ or UZ engine, but would worry me if a 2002 luxury car had already had the engine changed.

[stingray]

It can't be ford mondeo, as the mondeo is a front wheel drive.

Neither Jaguar nor Ford had a suitable small rear-wheel drive platform to base the X-Type on, and the decision was made to base the X-Type on a modified version of the Ford CD132 platform, the basis for the 2000 Ford Mondeo. In order to distinguish it from its rivals and its Ford origins, the X-Type was initially offered as all-wheel drive only and mated to a 2.5 litre and 3.0 litre AJ-V6 petrol engine. In 2003, the X-Type was offered in front-wheel drive with the introduction of Jaguar’s first four-cylinder diesel engines (based on the Ford Duratorq ZSD unit from the Mondeo and Transit), and with the smaller 2.0 litre petrol V6.

Jaguar X type Wikipedia

Ok, this maybe in UK. In Thailand i nver saw a Jaguar with a four cylinder diesel engine. eusual X types overhere have 6 cylinder (in line) engines, but i don't know the newest models. i only saw the jag X types until 2000

[katabeachbum]

It can't be ford mondeo, as the mondeo is a front wheel drive.

Neither Jaguar nor Ford had a suitable small rear-wheel drive platform to base the X-Type on, and the decision was made to base the X-Type on a modified version of the Ford CD132 platform, the basis for the 2000 Ford Mondeo. In order to distinguish it from its rivals and its Ford origins, the X-Type was initially offered as all-wheel drive only and mated to a 2.5 litre and 3.0 litre AJ-V6 petrol engine. In 2003, the X-Type was offered in front-wheel drive with the introduction of Jaguar's first four-cylinder diesel engines (based on the Ford Duratorq ZSD unit from the Mondeo and Transit), and with the smaller 2.0 litre petrol V6.

Jaguar X type Wikipedia

Ok, this maybe in UK. In Thailand i nver saw a Jaguar with a four cylinder diesel engine. eusual X types overhere have 6 cylinder (in line) engines, but i don't know the newest models. i only saw the jag X types until 2000

not correct

X type came with 2,5 and 3,0 V6

XJ came with, among others, 4,0 inline 6, an engine from 1971 I believe

[Spoonman]

Yeah nah, I highly doubt you have seen an X type with an inline 6 cyl considering they were built either Front wheel drive or All wheel drive I cant see how an inline 6 could be configured on the CD132 platform, unless of course Jaguar built a special model just for Thailand....

Am happy to be proven wrong though.

[katabeachbum]

But here is the good thing. Buy one with a Toyota engine inside, ussually they do this job with a 2JZ or 1UZ motor and then is no problem.

Can never work this out... I beleive the 1UZ is from Lexus ?

So a 2002 Lexus cost about the same as a Jag with a Jag engine...

I notice that cars here with a JZ or UZ engine is worth less, so a Jag with a Lexus engine will not hold the value ? even if it was better with that engine.

I have no idea so asking, would it be better to buy a Jag with a Lexus engine or buy a Lexus in the 1st place, both being the same price for the same year...?

Sure can understand if you already own a European car and the engine blows up, would be cheaper to use the JZ or UZ engine, but would worry me if a 2002 luxury car had already had the engine changed.

8 years, perhaps uk spec(not hotclimate cooling), oilfilter not replaced when needed due to hard to find, cambelt not replaced at 60k km as required, gasohol, bkk trafficjams with 6 enginehours a day mostly idling. why would it last more than 8 years?

[b19bry]

Ok, this maybe in UK. In Thailand i nver saw a Jaguar with a four cylinder diesel engine. eusual X types overhere have 6 cylinder (in line) engines, but i don't know the newest models. i only saw the jag X types until 2000

All X-types were V6 except the diesels, I think you're confused between XJ and X-type. XJ models used an inline 6 till about 97 when the V8 was introduced.

I would think an X-type would be much less of a liability in running costs than an older XJ.