www.jec.org.uk

My local Jaguar dealer is quoting £19.22 each for the red badges = £76.88 per set of 4. Righteous or ridiculous I ask myself? Bearing in mind that every time we need to remove said wheel centre badges slight damage is likely to the plastic edges as no provision is made for a pointed instrument to be inserted. Never mind as that will probably be the least of our Jaguar water ingress problems.

Looking on the eBay dreadie I see a range of prices for these, many or all of which are replicas. I am tempted by a set of 4 good looking replicas at just £24.99. I emailed the supplier to query the quality and they replied "They are high quality reproductions not to be confused with the cheaper ones available". I appreciated the honest answer.

I spotted a supplier claiming his products were all original manufacturer supplier and he was charging £15.95 per badge= £63.80 per set of 4. Hmmm I thought, is this guy just a mighty cute operator? His badge looked identical to the picture of the £24.99 replicas. I ordered just one badge and it appeared to be good quality and fitted the wheel nice and tightly. I then emailed the supplier asking for verification that his badges were definitely Jaguar original equipment as I would need a further 3 items to make up a full set. He replied that yes he only sold OEM badges but was now out of stock of the red Jaguar badge and would let me know when he had new stock in!

Can anyone advise me on this topic? I wouldn't mind a replica for this item so long as the quality is good. £76 from the OEM Jaguar dealership seems like robbery for a few pence worth of plastic.

Sadly, the originals were not brilliant quality so what have you to lose by trying a non OE set? At 100mph, you can't see the difference! Mike.

Think I will take your suggestion Mike and order the 4 for £24.99. That will also have the added attraction of being able to compare with the one so-called OEM badge I received. I have a feeling that supplier is a rascal.

I received the "replica" badges this morning. They are not as good as the "OEM" badge but they look to be good value for money, all things considered.

The plastic blanks are very similar but about 0.020" larger on the OD. The tags measure the same dia on both blanks so these replicas will be a tight fit. Main differences are the JAGUAR at the top is red on chrome instead of black on chrome, the growler face is a different animal, I prefer the OEM face (but I am splitting hairs here), and the red background in the main body of the badge looks like it might be a transfer as there are multiple tiny white dots that look like air pockets that were not ironed out. Every time I pick one up my thumb is trying to iron out the tiny air pockets, the sort of habit that will irritate my better half who will say "no one else will notice".

So the jury will have to keep an eye out for potential transfer disease. I might ultimately be back in the market for another 3 OEM badges to match the one I bought.

Just drive quicker. You'll be too busy to spot the dots. Mike.

My wife says "don't encourage me Mike"