Today’s seller Good price or no dice The Jag attributes its high mileage to a previous owner who used it for trips between San Diego and Boise, Idaho. That means it’s a decent cruiser, but will its price tag allow it to take the win?
Mario Andretti won his last Indy 500 in 1969 and took the grid for the last time as a pro at the Valvoline 200 in 1993. That victory capped one of the most successful and varied careers in all of racing. Then it’s too bad that 1995 Ford Mustang GT Mario Andretti Edition last Friday we decided he couldn’t continue Andretti’s winning ways. The fault was the car’s $29,700 price tag. Many of you feel that this is also too much to ask for the car, while others argue that there are too many more interesting options in this range. The result was a 75 percent loss with no dice for Mario and Mustang. Let’s hope that Andretti can recover from this bitter disappointment.
We all know the sage wisdom that says to stay away from premium model cars and trucks. The thinking is that such initial models usually do not have all the kinks worked out yet.
Today’s 2006 Jaguar X-Type Sportwagon not a first year model. However, it – and the X-Type as a whole – represents several firsts for Jaguar. The first of these firsts and the most obvious is its body style, which is that of a station wagon. It’s the first factory estate in Jaguar’s history and, ignoring tall hatchback crossovers like the F-Pace, one of only two in the range so far.
The next notable aspect is the drivetrain. The X-Type is built on a heavily modified version of Ford’s common CD132 platform, best known for underpinning the modern Ford Mondeo. This made the X-Type the first transverse-engined Jag and the first to offer both AWD and later FWD. In some markets it was also Jag’s first foray into diesel, adopting Ford’s Duratorq four.
Finally, with its introduction in 2001, the X-Type served as Jaguar’s first foray into the high-end small car market since the debut of the Mark 2 sedan in 1959. This may not have been such a good move, as sales the X-Type never took off, costing Jaguar and parent company Ford dearly in amortized development costs for each one sold.
This Sportwagon was one of those poorly selling models. According to its ad, fewer than 1,600 were sold in total here in the U.S. over the five-year period. That’s too bad, because in this form the X-Type can be a comfortable, practical and significantly luxurious way to get around.
This one has about 197,000 miles on it. Despite the fact that cats live up to their reputation for having nine lives, that big number in a Jaguar car usually means that pushing the proverbial daisies is long over.
Commendably, that is not the case here at all. The seller claims that most of the mileage was accumulated on trips made by a previous owner between San Diego, California and Boise, Idaho. This makes them mostly less stressful highway miles. The current owner bought the car in Idaho and claims to have made the transition from there to the San Francisco Bay Area with it without any problems. It has since passed California’s stringent emissions test and carries a clean title.
The car itself looks pretty clean too. Of course, there are some minor aesthetic flaws that must be acknowledged. The seller notes some issues with the clear coat in places, and the tow hook cap in the front bumper is conspicuous by its absence.
Remarkably, the leather and real wood interior appears to have held up wonderfully. The cabin also has electric and heated front seats, automatic climate control and Jaguar’s wacky J-Gate selector for the standard five-speed automatic.
Purring under the hood is Jaguar’s 3.0-liter DOHC V6 — sideways, naturally — which the factory says produces 228 horsepower and 206 lb-ft of torque. All of this is split 40/60 front to rear via the AWD system, with slip managed via ABS centered traction control.
The ad mentions neither service history nor, it should be said, problems with the drivetrain or other major components. He cautions that this is a “twenty-year-old car for $4,000, so a few blemishes are to be expected.”
This is actually a $4,200 car, as that is the price listed in the ad title. Let us now turn to the brass rings of this extremely rare wagon and its asking price. What do you think about this X-Type and this question? Does that seem fair to the car as presented in its ad? Or do you think this cat has given up too much of his life?
You decide!
San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslistor leave here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Paul Neme for the link!
Help me with NPOND. Hit me on remslie@kinja.com and sent me a fixed price tip. Don’t forget to include your Kinja handle.
