Thoughts on just how good our cars are

[mystabe]

I suspect for most people (me included) there is always a nagging feeling that a more modern car would be better - occasionally I have to hire a car and I always try to get one that's about in the same market sector as my 75 just to see. 9 times out of 10 I can't see any reason to buy one of the newer ones (what? the windscreen wipers aren't automatic? etc etc ) If you get/have a good 75/ZT then it's actually still as good to drive as most things out there BUT they are oldish now so you do have to know how to take care of them (and actually do it) and don't have an accident whatever you do

[RoverRyan]

my parents had 2 X Types a 06 and a 08 bought second hand, at the time they had not depreciated the same so where considerably more expensive second hand than your everyday R75

we liked those cars that's why we had 2

I maybe biased but I preferred the Rover.

I would choose a second hand Jag in a couple of years when I may wish to store the Rover and use it for social use but I want to keep hold of it as long as I can because I know throughout my life I will never own another car like the Rover 75

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Ross R75

The 75 and ZT are probably, pound for pound, the best cars you could buy. X type is unimpressive, S type the same. I'd say the Lexus LS400 and GS300 are on par but have twice the running costs

The only difference Ross, is the Lexus has Toyota reliability

[alanjay]

If you are looking for a car purely based on engineering and "supposed" reliability there's a heck of a lot to chose from. However, if you put "feel good" factor into the equation, the 75 will always be the outright winner.

[buckyhill]

I had a 75 for about seven years and loved it, I bought and still own a jaguar X type which I purchased in 2002 with 6000 miles on the clock and now also own a ZTT. My 75 was a great car and drove as sweet as a Bentley( my son owned a Bentley convertible), unfortunately my 75 was stolen and wrecked on the M6. I now drive both ZTT and X type and the jag is a far better drive, other than two auto boxes in the first 15,000 miles the jag has been very reliable, never changed anything other than tyres and pads, wish I could say the same for the ZTT. But I love it.

[genpk]

Originally Posted by Ross R75

Good to see somebody is having a good ownership experience with an X-type. Unfortunately mine didn't mirror it but there are probably some good cars out there. I had the 2.0D which, whilst a reasonable enough (Citroën) engine, will never compare to the M47R in the 75/ZT. Also, coming from Lexus, which are twice the car of any jaguar, the ZT has a similar feel in terms of composure and roadholding with a suspension setup that is literally a generation ahead of the X-type. I've never owned a 75 with a sunroof so I can't comment on that. Yes, you'll need to replace little bits and pieces, but there's nothing on the car that I'd consider to be expensive.

There'll be good and bad cars of each model, but it is in no way a definitive statement to say that Jaguar build quality is better at a similar price to a 75. It's just not true.

Dint MGR get the guy in who did the suspension setup for the Jaguar x type ? Maybe he thought he could do one better with the Rover / ZT (I THINK HE DID!!!) As for the x type, I believe the Ford mondeo was a pretty reliable car !!

[macafee2]

There may well be better build quality cars on the market. We have had Honda and Toyota's for about 20 years. when I got they I really liked them but the 75 looks better inside, not all black and makes me feel better.
Owning a car, any car is not always about build quailty but passion.
you own it and drive it because you like the looks, the way it makes you feel.

could my car be better, yes but whats gone wrong ? Fuel pump and fan resistor, easy fix although the pump was about £400. I can pay that for sensors on my Honda.

My 75 makes me feel good, I love the internal colour scheme.

macafee2

[SCP440]

The thing that put me off an X type as most Jags is the price of spares, even something a simple as a wheel bearing can be twice what you normally expect to pay.

As with a lot of cars there can be good and bad, I have seen new cars even Japanese with some bad faults. Ask an AA or RAC man what they think about a Nissan Duke's, when they brake down with an electrical fault they are just towed now as even jump starting them can cause a major problem.

[Darcydog]

In contrast to the 75 interior my ZT-T is more minimalistic - but none the worse for that.

But as others say above - the joy of driving it is on a par with cars that are but a few years old - not 13 years old !

I have some items on the agenda to be done - whereas my wife's Hyundai i30 Tourer has nothing wrong with it and a full annual service was £140 from the main Dealership. It is a cracking car that I recommend to those who, like my wife, want a well built economical vehicle with enormous load lugging ability and the back up of an excellent Dealer network.

But getting into the MG puts a smile on my face - even tho it has a FBH recently fitted that stopped working, a cooling fan that does not work (I am going to try fitting new brushes), a dash that has a small split by the air vent (replacement dash awaits fitting in garage when I have the time.

When the nose comes off to do the fan I suspect a new A/C Condenser will go in as well as all all the other "Nose Cone Off" jobs listed in the excellent "How To" on here.

What is really sad is that I am looking forward to fixing it all

[Darcydog]

Originally Posted by SCP440

The thing that put me off an X type as most Jags is the price of spares, even something a simple as a wheel bearing can be twice what you normally expect to pay.

As with a lot of cars there can be good and bad, I have seen new cars even Japanese with some bad faults. Ask an AA or RAC man what they think about a Nissan Duke's, when they brake down with an electrical fault they are just towed now as even jump starting them can cause a major problem.

A friend bought Isuzu Troopers - his last one was the one with the flawed 3.0 diesel engine - he always swore by the reliability of of his previous 2.8 and 3.1 - but just out of warranty the 3.0 blew up. The hassle he had with Isuzu was truly shocking.

Recently one of our company Mazda 6's had a Turbo failure - in contrast Mazda were excellent - but on a low milage just over a year old car - such a failure is worrying. I would not like that when it's out of warranty.

So - to my mind - the ride, the looks, the incredible M47R lump and its excellent mpg makes owning a 13 year old car with such character an absolute delight.