MajorCommonBody & Rust

Jaguar X-Type: Rust in sills, wheel arches and underbody

Rust in sills, wheel arches and underbody is a common body & rust fault on the Jaguar X-Type on the 2001–2009 cars, and we rate it major. Putting it right costs $800 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 9 documented faults on the Jaguar X-Type.

Vehicle: Jaguar X-Type
Years: 2001–2009
System: Body & Rust

This page covers the Jaguar X-Type as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Jaguar X-Type faults9 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Body corrosion yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

X-Types are now 15-25 years old and serious sill and chassis rust is listed alongside transfer case and transmission failure as a main reason these cars get scrapped. Corrosion starts in the sills, rear wheel arches, door bottoms and floor/subframe areas, and NZ examples include UK imports that lived on salted roads, which rot much faster underneath than NZ-new cars. Surface bubbling on an arch is often the visible tip of structural sill rust that will fail a WOF and cost more to repair properly than the car is worth.

What you would notice

Paint bubbling along the sills or rear wheel arches
Rust bloom on door bottoms
Crusty or flaking underbody seam sealer
Previous WOF/MOT notes about corrosion

How to check it

Where to look. Sills below the doors, rear wheel arch lips, door bottoms, jacking points and floor seams

Crouch down and sight along the sills under the doors, press gently on any bubbled paint (soft = advanced rot), and look inside the rear arch lips with a torch. If possible, look underneath at the jacking points and floor seams. Ask whether the car is NZ-new or a UK import, and check old inspection sheets for corrosion notes.

Parts involved: Body corrosion.

What it costs to put right

$800 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Is this car NZ-new, a Japan import or a UK import?”
“Has it ever had rust repairs or WOF corrosion flags?”

Now check the Jaguar X-Type you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

Go-Parts 'X-Type parts car' evaluation (sill/chassis rust)
BreakerLink 'How reliable is the Jaguar X-Type' guide

Jaguar X-Type buyer questions

Is rust in sills, wheel arches and underbody serious on a Jaguar X-Type?

We rate it major and common on the Jaguar X-Type. X-Types are now 15-25 years old and serious sill and chassis rust is listed alongside transfer case and transmission failure as a main reason these cars get scrapped. Corrosion starts in the sills, rear wheel arches, door bottoms and floor/subframe areas, and NZ examples include UK imports that lived on salted roads, which rot much faster underneath than NZ-new cars. Surface bubbling on an arch is often the visible tip of structural sill rust that will fail a WOF and cost more to repair properly than the car is worth.

How much does it cost to fix on a Jaguar X-Type?

$800 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Jaguar X-Type years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 2001–2009 Jaguar X-Type. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.