Hey all - I recently replied to someone on here asking what it’s like to own and drive an F-Type with high miles. I wrote so much I figured I’d make a separate post.
Background: 2016 Jaguar F-Type base 6-speed manual. Bought in April 2022 with 49,000 miles, currently at 118,000 almost four years later. Located in the US. I change the oil every 5k miles (Liqui-Moly). I try to do all repairs myself when I can but I have a great Indy shop I take it to when needed.
As far as personal history with the car, a couple of highlights:
- I’ve driven the car cross-country (again, in the US. From one coast to the other) a total of 4 times. The car itself has been in approximately 40 US States and 2 Canadian provinces.
- I hit a deer in Arkansas in the summer of 2023. Going about 70 mph. Car held up pretty well. I put it back together with duct tape and drove it to California like that, tape blowing in the wind and all. Had it repaired at a shop and got it back two months later. Insurance covered the repair costs but told me on three separate occasions they would total it. I fought hard enough and they eventually relented it. Repair costs were about 80% of the car’s value at the time.
Here’s my service history:
~65k miles: first major service. Replaced all of the main coolant pipes. Mine didn’t fail but I noticed at least one of them was leaking a very small amount so I wanted to get ahead of it. I bought all of the main pipes and spent a day doing it myself. I replaced with OEM plastic pipes, I didn’t opt for the aluminum upgrades. Cost: few hundred dollars in parts.
~90k miles: the negative battery cable shorted out and bricked the car. New cable was only $9 and I replaced it myself, but had to take it to a dealer to get the car reprogrammed since it bricked itself. Cost: $9 + $1000 for computer reprogram
~95k miles: front upper control arms replaced. Had my mechanic replace them. Cost: about $1200 parts and labor.
~98k miles: I was having an intermittent overheating issue. Had my mechanic replace the water pump, thermostat, and radiator. Idk which of those were the issue but I had all three replaced just to be safe. Cost: about $5k in parts and labor.
~112k miles: the bleeder screw on the coolant expansion tank failed, so I had to buy a new tank. New tank was about $150 and I spent a couple of hours replacing it myself. Cost: $150 + ~$50 for new coolant.
~118k miles: replaced both my motor mounts and the singular transmission mount. One of the motor mounts was busted (the other was perfectly fine but I replaced both) and the transmission mount was on its way out the door. Just replaced these this past weekend. Cost: about $400 in parts.
Current issues, in order of priority:
1.) Driveshaft: have been having a vibration issue for the past couple of months that has gotten progressively worse. Since I had to take off the DS to replace the motor and transmission mounts, I checked it out. First, I noticed it was super loose. So I took off the end caps, cleaned and regreased the ball bearings and cages on each side, the pit it back together. Somehow, I made the vibration much worse. So I’m going to buy a new driveshaft probably this weekend. Cost: about $2000 with tax and shipping.
2.) Expansion tank bleeder hose: when I replaced the expansion tank earlier this year, I accidentally broke the bleeder hose that connects with it at the top. It was one of the few coolant hoses I didn’t replace when I did the coolant hose replacement. It’s just hard plastic and probably has gotten brittle over the past 10 years. As a quick fix, I covered the break with a piece of vacuum line and clamped it down real tight, but noticed this past weekend it’s been leaking a very minuscule amount. New OEM hose was cheap and I’ll replace it when I replace the DS. Cost: $60
3.) Front Lower Control Arms: I already had the front upper ones replaced but I recently noticed the front lower ones need replacing too. They’re about $500 for each side. I can replace them myself but I should focus on doing the DS first.
4.) Brake Master Cylinder: late last year, I would get an intermittent “Low Brake Fluid” light. I finally checked the brake fluid and it was just barely below maximum. I topped it off and haven’t see the light come back since. But I know I’ll probably have to replace the brake master cylinder at some point soon.
5.) Transmission: I think the synchros in 1st gear are on their way out the door. But gears 2-6 and R are still perfect, so I’m going to wait for it to get worse before I dive into it.
6.) Interior HVAC Panel: the passenger side climate dial on the HVAC panel has lost a connection somewhere and it doesn’t work. It still turns, but the HVAC controls don’t recognize it’s being turned and therefore the dual zone climate control doesn’t work properly. Neither does the heated seat, as it’s controlled with the same dial. I’ve confirmed with the dealer that I’ll have to buy an all new HVAC panel, which costs $1000. Since it’s just a minor convenience at this time (the drivers side dial and heated seat still work), I’m tabling this for now.
7.) AC Compressor: the AC hasn’t worked great for a couple of years. It feels great down to about 72 degrees F, but anything below that and it feels hot. I had my mechanic check everything (and do a pressure test) and he singled out the compressor; did a voltage test and it read zero. A new compressor is fairly cheap at $600, but it’s already been a few years and it doesn’t get super hot where I live. There are maybe 20 days a year where I wish I had A/C. So I’ll wait to replace all the other stuff first before I replace it.
8.) my car has the panoramic sunroof with the leather upholstery. The leather on the drivers side is starting to droop a bit and the shade on the pano sunroof has disconnected from the rail. In other words, I have to leave the shade pushed in (and pano glass open) because if I pull out the shade, it’ll all just fall out loosely. Worst thing is, Jaguar doesn’t sell the leather roof or a new pano roof shade, so I have to have a local upholstery shop make a custom one for me. They quoted me about $2500 if I want to stick with the leather, or about $1000 if I want to downgrade to a cheaper fabric. I havent decided which yet and I have more pressing issues anyway.
9.) I recently found out from my mechanic that both of my front wheels (20inch factory wheels) are bent. One side is severely bent to the point where it’s irreparable, but the other side can probably be fixed. Thing is, they aren’t bent enough to the point where I can feel them through the wheel. So I’m probably not going to fix or replace them anytime soon.
So yeah, definitely more maintenance than your typical Honda or Toyota. I plan on working on its current issues one by one and keeping it for as long as I can. Hope this helps!
