Well, as part of my attempts to tart up my recently acquired 2000 yr XJ8 3.2 I have now had the seats 're-connollised' and the drivers seat which was awful now looks like new. I used a chap called Colin who used to do work for the Jag main agent in Ascot. Basically he comes to you, pretty much wherever you are in the South East and charges £100 per seat. His mobile is 07973633810 and I can't recommend him highly enough.
Secondly I have had a scuff on the rear bumper sorted out (they repainted the whole bumper. One bodyshop told me I'd need a new bumper and quoted over £800. Apple Coachworks of Chertsey have made a superb job of it for £150. They can be found at www.applecoachworks.co.uk and it's such a perfect match for the Emerald Green bodywork you wouldn't know it had been done. The bumper itself had cracked a bit too so needed filling and you can't see that either.
So two good places for those of you in the South East. The car is now booked in with CFS Motors of Coventry to have the timing tensioners and some other work done.
Hopefully they will prove every bit as good as the other two I have found.
Best regards,
Jonathan
Highly recommended body shop and seat repairer Surrey
Front seats
Saxon does your car have the Autolux Ivory Leather?
I have recntly had a problem with a small scuffmark on my drivers seat.
I do clean the upholstery on a regular basis, but was told not to use leather cleaners or leather feeders on the Autolux seats.
They said use warm soapy water and a small soft brush but dont drown them. Then use a dry cloth to wipe the residue off. But i found where the scuff mark was the coating that was on the leather has started to flake off. It looks like the Autolux leather is a fine grade leather with a coating of some kind on top.
Did they actually spray the coating on your seats?
it would be interesting to find out as i dont want my problem to get any worse,,........Joe
I have recntly had a problem with a small scuffmark on my drivers seat.
I do clean the upholstery on a regular basis, but was told not to use leather cleaners or leather feeders on the Autolux seats.
They said use warm soapy water and a small soft brush but dont drown them. Then use a dry cloth to wipe the residue off. But i found where the scuff mark was the coating that was on the leather has started to flake off. It looks like the Autolux leather is a fine grade leather with a coating of some kind on top.
Did they actually spray the coating on your seats?
it would be interesting to find out as i dont want my problem to get any worse,,........Joe
Seat refurbs
JoeJag,
I do have ivory leather but have no idea how to tell if it is Autolux leather or not - is there a way to tell? To be honest I wasn't aware of any distinctions in leather grades - I'd welcome more info on this.
My interior has the standard XJ8 fluted seats in ivory leather and the chap thoroughly cleaned the seats with water and a cleaner of some kind, then filled cracks with a flexible resin of some kind. The seats were then sprayed with what amounts to a paint matched to the specific shade of ivory in my car. Personally I am staggered at the transformation on my badly worn drivers seat - only wish I had some before and after pics but suffice to say the drivers seat is the best seat in the car and looks like you'd expect a seat to look after say 1 year of careful use!
Hope this helps,
Saxon
I do have ivory leather but have no idea how to tell if it is Autolux leather or not - is there a way to tell? To be honest I wasn't aware of any distinctions in leather grades - I'd welcome more info on this.
My interior has the standard XJ8 fluted seats in ivory leather and the chap thoroughly cleaned the seats with water and a cleaner of some kind, then filled cracks with a flexible resin of some kind. The seats were then sprayed with what amounts to a paint matched to the specific shade of ivory in my car. Personally I am staggered at the transformation on my badly worn drivers seat - only wish I had some before and after pics but suffice to say the drivers seat is the best seat in the car and looks like you'd expect a seat to look after say 1 year of careful use!
Hope this helps,
Saxon
ivory seats
Saxon I've tried ringing the guy you mentioned but no reply yet. All I can say is my car is the daimler version and i'm assured by Tony Ridge (the club concorse expert) thats what they call the type of leather.
It does seem to be coated with a coloured coating on top of the leather.
To look at it seems as though there is no grain in the leather at all, it seems smooth to the touch......but I will keep trying to contact the guy you mentioned. Anyone else with a Daimler and this type of leather who knows what type it is please let us know......Joe
It does seem to be coated with a coloured coating on top of the leather.
To look at it seems as though there is no grain in the leather at all, it seems smooth to the touch......but I will keep trying to contact the guy you mentioned. Anyone else with a Daimler and this type of leather who knows what type it is please let us know......Joe
seat refurb
Saxon, i have managed to contact Colin your seat guy........
he tells me that what i was told up here in Yorkshire, the flaking of the top surface is actually a polymer coating that is sprayed on at the manufacturer before the seats are sent to Jaguar.
Any advice i have had IE from Tony Ridge is quite correct, its not advisable to use leather cleaners and feeders on this type of seating.
The technical term is Connolising, its a process where the area that is flaking or cracked is prepared like a spray job on an outside panel.
Then the polymer is sprayed on to give an "as new" finish.
But the guy doing it must have the trim code to get the correct colour match. It is he said best to have the whole swab done and if the colour is a different shade, then the whole seat........a lot of main dealers have this connolising done to revamp upholstery on the higher end cars.
This type of info is valuable to guys who want as near perfection for their cars as possible.....as i suppose we all do....many thanks for your information........Joe
he tells me that what i was told up here in Yorkshire, the flaking of the top surface is actually a polymer coating that is sprayed on at the manufacturer before the seats are sent to Jaguar.
Any advice i have had IE from Tony Ridge is quite correct, its not advisable to use leather cleaners and feeders on this type of seating.
The technical term is Connolising, its a process where the area that is flaking or cracked is prepared like a spray job on an outside panel.
Then the polymer is sprayed on to give an "as new" finish.
But the guy doing it must have the trim code to get the correct colour match. It is he said best to have the whole swab done and if the colour is a different shade, then the whole seat........a lot of main dealers have this connolising done to revamp upholstery on the higher end cars.
This type of info is valuable to guys who want as near perfection for their cars as possible.....as i suppose we all do....many thanks for your information........Joe
Happy to help
JoeJag,
Happy my information was of use to you. Colin indicated to me that because a panel of my seat was so bad that its durability after he had completed the work would probably not be as good as the rest of the seat because he can't work miracles. On the other hand, he said he does know a trimmer so if that portion of the seat does eventually wear again I will probably go down the route of replacing a panel.
Anyway, as you say a big bonus of this site is sharing this kind of information and recommending good places to go. I'm due to pick the car up from CFS tomorrow after a huge amount of work including
New top tensioners, waterpump, thermostat, new front brake discs, one new UJ, new rear door kickplate, new rear heater vent (cracked), new ABS sensor, new front indicator lens plus tracing a petrol smell in the boot which involved removing petrol tank and replacing/repairing breather pipe etc. I gather they have also replaced a dodgy door seal. Unfortunately the bill for all this is an eye watering £1300, however it's a lot of work and I wanted it done to make the car as tip top as possible having bought it knowing about these faults for £4000 with an LPG conversion.
In addition I spent £150 having the rear bumper resprayed, £150 having the seats done and £106 on a set of car mats - so my £4k Jag has become a £5700 Jag now but I suspect in fairness that's probably not bad considering the car really is lovely and hopefully now mechanically sound and has a £2700 LPG conversion on it. ncidentally it's an 83000 miles W reg Yr 2000 3.2.
Just hope it doesn't cost me any more money in the medium term because I definately can't afford to keep spending at this rate!
Saxon
Happy my information was of use to you. Colin indicated to me that because a panel of my seat was so bad that its durability after he had completed the work would probably not be as good as the rest of the seat because he can't work miracles. On the other hand, he said he does know a trimmer so if that portion of the seat does eventually wear again I will probably go down the route of replacing a panel.
Anyway, as you say a big bonus of this site is sharing this kind of information and recommending good places to go. I'm due to pick the car up from CFS tomorrow after a huge amount of work including
New top tensioners, waterpump, thermostat, new front brake discs, one new UJ, new rear door kickplate, new rear heater vent (cracked), new ABS sensor, new front indicator lens plus tracing a petrol smell in the boot which involved removing petrol tank and replacing/repairing breather pipe etc. I gather they have also replaced a dodgy door seal. Unfortunately the bill for all this is an eye watering £1300, however it's a lot of work and I wanted it done to make the car as tip top as possible having bought it knowing about these faults for £4000 with an LPG conversion.
In addition I spent £150 having the rear bumper resprayed, £150 having the seats done and £106 on a set of car mats - so my £4k Jag has become a £5700 Jag now but I suspect in fairness that's probably not bad considering the car really is lovely and hopefully now mechanically sound and has a £2700 LPG conversion on it. ncidentally it's an 83000 miles W reg Yr 2000 3.2.
Just hope it doesn't cost me any more money in the medium term because I definately can't afford to keep spending at this rate!
Saxon
Satisfaction
Saxon its great to here of stories like yours, a few guys in here do their own work , so the hands on information is what we are all after achieving too.
Its the old bottomless pockets syndrome though, the decision to keep the car is an important one before any work of a significant nature is taken on.
Perseverance and not settling for the cheapest way out is also a keen factor, that is one purpose of this forum.
Information between people with the same interests, backed by the specialists at our disposal can save a lot of time and cash.
So anything you seem to be insignificant, may be invaluable to others.
Joe
Its the old bottomless pockets syndrome though, the decision to keep the car is an important one before any work of a significant nature is taken on.
Perseverance and not settling for the cheapest way out is also a keen factor, that is one purpose of this forum.
Information between people with the same interests, backed by the specialists at our disposal can save a lot of time and cash.
So anything you seem to be insignificant, may be invaluable to others.
Joe
Collected car
Joe,
Well I collected the car and it's running beautifully plus Chris at CFS was absolutely superb - not even charging for all the time it took to find my fuel smell. They really really know Jags - that's for sure and are true gentlemen. It's quite a treck for me to go there but to be honest I'm not sure I'd go anywhere else now - except maybe for very mundane things.
Nice to share info as you say Joe. I have bought a tub of Bilt Hamber auto balm and a clay too so plan to give the Jag a serious going over with that - by all accounts it is stupendous stuff.
Two things I forgot to get sorted out at CFS - the blue down arrow switch on my heater controls has seemingly lost a bit of the black paint so there's a bit of the blue showing through underneath. I'm not sure painting it black will look any good really so does anyone know if these buttons just pull off and if I can get a spare and just change it over.
Secondly the Jaguar logo on my rear boot button is badly scuffed away - again is it a simple job to prise it out and change it? The mech is fine.
Third - the rear number plate is looking rather worn - any idea how much a new rear is likely to be and if it's legal to get a black/silver one? I thought that might look rather smart!
Saxon
Well I collected the car and it's running beautifully plus Chris at CFS was absolutely superb - not even charging for all the time it took to find my fuel smell. They really really know Jags - that's for sure and are true gentlemen. It's quite a treck for me to go there but to be honest I'm not sure I'd go anywhere else now - except maybe for very mundane things.
Nice to share info as you say Joe. I have bought a tub of Bilt Hamber auto balm and a clay too so plan to give the Jag a serious going over with that - by all accounts it is stupendous stuff.
Two things I forgot to get sorted out at CFS - the blue down arrow switch on my heater controls has seemingly lost a bit of the black paint so there's a bit of the blue showing through underneath. I'm not sure painting it black will look any good really so does anyone know if these buttons just pull off and if I can get a spare and just change it over.
Secondly the Jaguar logo on my rear boot button is badly scuffed away - again is it a simple job to prise it out and change it? The mech is fine.
Third - the rear number plate is looking rather worn - any idea how much a new rear is likely to be and if it's legal to get a black/silver one? I thought that might look rather smart!
Saxon
Saxon
It is illegal to display non-standard number plates, and a regular maker/supplier will not supply an illegal plate. All plates have to carry an identification mark, and a supplier can lose his licence if he alters the standard specification.
Try Halfords for a replacement if you need one, I cannot remember the cost but I think it was about £20 for my special order large size, less if they use a standard size plate and make it up on the spot.
I chose Halfords for my new plates because their identification mark is small and discrete,unlike some which are used as advertisements and look "tacky" (in my opinion).
It is illegal to display non-standard number plates, and a regular maker/supplier will not supply an illegal plate. All plates have to carry an identification mark, and a supplier can lose his licence if he alters the standard specification.
Try Halfords for a replacement if you need one, I cannot remember the cost but I think it was about £20 for my special order large size, less if they use a standard size plate and make it up on the spot.
I chose Halfords for my new plates because their identification mark is small and discrete,unlike some which are used as advertisements and look "tacky" (in my opinion).
recommendations
It would seem the CFS of Coventry are a very competent option for all us Jag lovers if you are anywhere near the area..........that's the information we need,......if YOU have had good work done personally at a good price.
Dont be scared of listing in here, any garage that gives you personally those guarantees..........theres more Jag owners around you than you think that need this information. ....Joe
Dont be scared of listing in here, any garage that gives you personally those guarantees..........theres more Jag owners around you than you think that need this information. ....Joe
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