Used Cars: BUYING A USED CAR, jaguar xj8, cadillac cts

Question
I WILL BE BUYING A USED CAR IN JUNE, AND I AM LOOKING AROUND THE ''04-05''YEAR RANGE. I HAVE NARROWED MY CHOICES TO THE LINCOLN LS / CADILLAC CTS OR STS / AND THE JAGUAR XJ8. I LOVE THE JAGUAR, BUT I HAVE BEEN TOLD I COULD NOT AFFORD THE REPAIR COSTS ON A JAG. IS THIS TRUE? EVEN AFTER FORD TOOK OVER. AND I JUST SEEN ON THE NEWS THAT FORD SOLD JAGUAR. WHAT WOULD YOU BUY. AND HOW WOULD YOU RATE THESE CARS. THANKS DOUG...

Answer
It really depends on what you are looking for in a vehicle.  The jaguar probably would be higher to work on, but it is also by far the best choice of the group.  The lincoln LS and the cadillac CTS or STS are ok cars, but  you can rest assure you will have to fix more things on those cars over time.  In my opinion, if you can afford to buy one of these cars, you can afford to work on them, with that being said the jaguar would be my choice.  There is not much cheap about a lincoln or a cadillac either.  Just make sure you do all the research such as a carfax report, and if it is new enough, you can go to a local franchise dealership that sells that brand, and have them run a Warranty History Report for you.  That way you kind of know in advance what has been done to that vehicle under the base warranty.  And most importantly, once you buy your vehicle, just do the maintenance like you are supposed to, and it will severly decrease the chances of problems in the future.  Good luck.