Worth the hassle
Richie’s just spent on repairs what it roughly costs to buy an entire car – but he has absolutely no regrets
How much? If you’ve looked at the data panel below before reading this, you’ll see just how much I’ve put into the X-Type, and are probably wondering whether it was worth it.
The simple answer is – yes, it was worth it. I have a certain emotional attachment to this car because my dad bought it brand-new, and I’m its second owner. Bar two dead batteries, it’s never let me down and has covered around 100,000 miles in my ownership, almost all racked up getting to and from auctions for CCW.
I can’t stress how good this example has been, and I once covered 1750 miles in four consecutive days – not bad for what was then a 12-year-old motor whose odometer reading was already well into six figures.
And while the old guard won’t like to hear this, it’s increasingly apparent that values of decent petrol-engined 2.5 and particularly 3.0 X-Types are emerging from the banger bargain basement – several have already appeared in classic sales. Most prized, apparently, is the 3.0 estate with a manual gearbox. You read it here first!
Any car’s decent track record will inevitably come to an end, though, and so it was one day just as I was driving through Eton on my way to a Historics sale.
I noticed a low-speed whine during summer 2019 which vanished above 40mph. It didn’t bother me greatly but
I’m a great believer in getting to the bottom of any mechanical maladies before they become serious and consequently more expensive.
I’d considered getting it into Llandudno’s North Wales Jag Centre for a diagnosis and repair, as well as sorting out an air conditioning fault that meant that it wasn’t blowing cold air or de-misting as it should. Boss Matthew Norbury told me over the dog ‘n’ bone that transfer box was likely the cause of the whine and promised that he’d get to the bottom of the air conditioning problem. I had been told that it was the condenser, but I prefer the guidance of those who have the proper knowledge.
I dropped the car off a couple of weeks before the first lockdown, hoping to get it back before spring had fully kicked in. But with no sales to go to, I was in no hurry to get the car back so I left the North Wales Jags team to work on it at their leisure. It’s back now, all sorted out, and with the wheels re-furbished I’d defy anyone to say that it looks like it’s covered more than 175,000 miles. Of course, to many people it’s just another X-Type, but it’s way more than that to me.
And sometimes surely emotional attachment isn’t a bad thing when it comes to car ownership? Either way, this Jag’s here to stay.
Refurbed wheels on Richie’s X-Type are looking excellent.