My first Jag

[Saxon]

Well I have finally joined the rest of you as a Jaguar owner with my 2000 reg XJ8 in Emerald Green with ivory leather and walnut. I bought the car privately last week after loving Jaguars all my life. My car is unusual because it has a prior LPG conversion.

I bought it privately from a chap in Dundee after an inspection by a local Stratstone dealer which made for a mammoth drive down to my home in Chertsey Surrey. The Jag performed faultlessly and was a superb car for such an epic drive, covering the 475 miles in just 7 hours. I arrived home remarkably refreshed. Fuel consumption averaged 22mpg which at 49.9p a litre made the car equivalent to almost 50mpg on petrol

Our other cars are also British - a Land Rover Discovery 2001 model year V8 with LPG conversion and a TVR Griffith 4 litre V8 built in 1992. I feel immensely proud of the fact that each is a car so perfectly suited to its purpose and in my view at least superior to any of the continental alternatives. The Griff is utterly gorgeous, surprisingly practical and incredibly fast and visceral. The Discovery is seemingly hewn from granite, carries enormous loads with consumate ease and offers a feeling of tremendous capability even in treacherous weather. The Jag is the most comfortable, refined and graceful mile muncher I have ever encountered. Best of all it handles incredibly well and feels very sure footed on all road types. It's so refined I find myself covering ground at a phenomenal rate.

I would love to post pictures but can't find which section you chaps are uploading your car pictures to or how to do it.

Finally I plan to have the secondary timing chain tensioners, water pump and thermostat changed for the latest versions. I have had a quote of around £600 + VAT for that little lot. IS this reasonable? IS it worth doing as a precaution and how much have you paid for the work if you have had it done.

Best regards,

Saxon

[daveji]

Hello Saxon and welcome to the Forum
To enter your car on to the register and provide pictures so we can all admire it please look at the top of the BB page and click on the link "X308 Register and Gallery" which is highlighted in bright Yellow !
You will then see "Enter a car into the register"
Click on that and you will be presented with the registration page.
Follow the instructions and see how you get on!
E-mail me if you need help.!

[daveji]

Hello again Saxon
Re tensioners.....please see the posts in the Engine Section of the BB
Regards
David

[Dragonfly]

Hello!!

[joejag308]

Saxon re the quote for the tensioners and waterpump ect i have just had a quote for mine doing, along with the 30,000 service plus spark plugs.
Aprox £600 plus plugs from West Riding Jaguar.......Mirfield....
Top Jaguar mechanics, Jaguar spares, not a bad price either....Joe

[rtddci]

Saxon
Want to have the same work carried out on my car and have been looking for a garage. Would like to know details of your quote and how you get on.

[joejag308]

rtddci......depending on how far away from Nottingham or from Mirfield you are it will be worth a quote from David Marks for the work doing also Dave Bye at West Riding Jaguar of Mirfield.......im naming these two sources as being a safe option and a good reliable job doing.
You may have a Jag specialist nearer so dont be put off asking for a quote.........Joe

[Saxon]

Well,

Many thanks for the replies so far. My quote in fact came from http://www.xjmotorservices.co.uk/ who are based not 5 miles from my house in Surrey. They're a specialist indie with a labour rate of £55ph.

I also intend to get a quote from the mechanic I have been using on my Passat, Discovery and even occasionally the TVR for the past 7 years or so. He is scrupulously honest and fair and has worked for Ford main agents in the past. He works from home now and charges a labour rate around £30 ph but he's not a Jaguar specialist. I will check what he estimates the wortk will cost and report back.

To be honest I'm not quite sure whether I'm better using the Jag specialist or my trusted mechanic in light of the potential for damage if it goes wrong. IS it a job well within the capability of any competent mechanic or should I really entrust it to a specialist?

Lets keep each other posted on who we decide to do the work and how much they charge.

Best regards,

Saxon

[joejag308]

saxon go with the person who has given you the best service,and not tried to cheat you......he probably knows as much about jags as the next man..........if you are a working mechanic dealing with a range of vehicles across the board they are sometimes the best option.
If you trust this guy and hes been good up to now go with it.
If he turns out to be what you want let the board know too......Joe

[daveji]

Take care Saxon
I believe a special tool is required to stop the camshafts from slipping out of timing.
Your non-Jag specialist will need the tools and the JTIS info so he knows what he is doing.