Hey Scotty and moderators, I was looking at some Jaguars and I was wondering if there are any semi reliable models? I know that most Jags were absolutely atrocious but didn’t Ford own them for a while? Were those any good?
Ford may have gotten Jaguars to the point where you could drive one across a shopping mall parking lot without the electrical system totally failing but that's about the extent of it. No matter how you cut it they are, to coin a phrase, endless money pits.
I really don’t know Jaguar too well. If I were to throw a dart and guess which the most “semi-reliable” Jaguar would be, my guess would be the X-Type with the non-turbo 2.5 and 3.0 V6, and an Aisin transmission. Or the S-Type with the non-turbo 2.5 and 3.0 V6, and a ZF transmission.
The AJ-V6 is based on the Ford Duratec, which was designed (and perhaps manufactured) in collaboration with Mazda. And Aisin and ZF, for the most part, are known to make reliable transmission. Many Toyota transmissions, are Aisin transmissions.
But then again, these cars are approaching 20+ years old, so age may be catching up to them.
A Jaguar only became slightly less of an endless money pit when Ford owned the brand in the early 2000s. Some of their electrical problems were lessened, and they shared some technology with Ford vehicles, I think some Ford engines were used in them, V8s come to mind. The partnership didn't last, and whatever improvement they made in their short period of ownership didn't make much of a difference. It's not like they went from Alpha Romeo quality to Lexus. Ford sold the brand because it never was profitable for them.
The only Jags I had experience with were the ones where the owners took out the Jag engine and replaced them with a 5.7L 350 SB Chevy crate motor. Then they became semi-reliable.
