Decision!

[John1943]

As like all X type owners I like my car very much.Its smooth comfortable and great to drive. And it still looks good. However having had it since new in 2003, and after nearly 80000 miles I have had to have a new alternator (£750) when it broke down, and it needs new pads and discs all round - £700 quoted. New tyres are not to far away from being needed. And the paint work has faded and starred on the bonnet. Incidentally I have just bought new fleece covers - £45 from Amazon - great value.

I now dont do many miles - say 6000 per year what should I do?

[J44EAG]

Both prices sound outrageous to me.

A good second hand alternator should be easily available via ebay and the same for new discs and pads. Having sourced the parts at rather more realistic prices all you then need is a competent man to fit them.

Maintenance does not need to be expensive if outther quotes and options are explored.

Mike K

[CliveRothwell]

Keep the car, get several other quotes from somewhere sensible eg Nene Jag in Peterborough or whoever is club recommended near you, and then get it repaired.

[J44EAG]

Full new front and rear Mintex brake and pad kits on ebay with free P&P for just under £70. The price above suggests the quote has enough slack in it to allow for above 12hrs labour!

Even if the car also needed four new brake callipers, that would only add another £170 to the parts figure.

A new alternator , again on ebay is available depending on the car model for between £90 and £105. Second hand, they can be found for £30 upwards.

I appreciate that a garage would have its own personal supply chain, the costs of their parts being subject to a profit margin and VAT but £700 for an alternator is just daylight robbery.

Mike

[John1943]

Thanks for the suggestions - much appreciated. I have had a quote now for £400 from a rural dealer for the brakes. The alternator was fitted by Halfords - where the AA towed me in rural Kent so I didnt have a lot of choice. A Jaguar parts supplier quotes £450 for a new one, and fitting and regassing bumps the bill up.

[J44EAG]

Halfords labour prices almost match Main Dealers. However their MOT charges are a bargain.

A while back I owned a rather tired V12 XJS which I put through a Halfords MOT. One of the things that the car failed on was an O/S front track rod end. These can be sourced for around £13 each. Halfords wanted to charge me £25 for the rod end and £125 inc VAT to fit it. Little more than a quarter of an hours work all in. I asked if that price included re-tracking the car and was told it did not. That was another £27 on top!! Needless to say, Halfords did not get my business.

One has to shop around for both decent parts prices and reasonable hourly labour rates. It is all too easy to get panicked into a high pressure corrner by aggressive salesmen or mechanics when a car throws up an issue. Always best to get a second opinion from another garage or to come to our Bulletin Boards where there is always good solid experience and advice available from knowledgeable members who know their cars backwards and typical ball park figures for many parts and hourly fitting times.

Mike K

[steve_m]

Couldn't agree more, the forums are a gold mine of information and advice.
Anybody know much to fit a new clutch on a 2001 Legacy Outback?

[J44EAG]

Off thread I fear ,Steve.

Dual mass flywheel and clutch kit is £640 on ebay.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-SACHS-Sub ... 1e9181b208

Clutch failure is common with these cars. A tall first gear, a small clutch and flat four engine with unusual "torque flux" ie irregular heart beat combine to make the units rather short lifed. (Honest John) Many owners have suffered premature clutch failure on these cars. Very strange considering the parentage of the car.

Back to the X-type now!

Mike

[steve_m]

I was only joking, honest.
Anyway, at that price and 174,000 miles maybe it's time to put the poor beast down.
I shall continue looking for an X Type (which was the reason I was on this thread in the first place!).

[Brakebuster]

to be honest, i don't think you can beat the X-type for value for money ,

i picked up my current x-type two years ago , it was a 54 plate and 8 years old at the time and had just about 100k miles with full service history

a mid spec car that was in great condition , all for under £2k !!

all i have done is basic running gear for the age and miles,
brakes, pads, some shocks and some bushes , along with tyres, but i don't count those
and a water pump and some belts

there are loads out there , so you can pick and choose

another thing , don't dismiss cars with non leather interior

i find mine very comfortable, hard wearing and most of all, warm to sit on


good hunting

BB

[steve_m]

Is there much advantage in having the 3 litre over the 2.5? (it must be petrol as I want AWD and an estate too).
I presume that there are performance advantages but are they offset by increased consumption?

[J44EAG]

AWD can be troublesome, Steve.

Most of the issue is that the transfer box only has 0.6 litre of transmission oil. Consequently the oil is worked pretty hard and needs to be regularly changed well before any remedial attention is needed. With a secondhand car, who knows what state the AWD unit may be in.

I`d go for a bigger engine every time. I don`t know what the official difference in consumption is but I work on a decrease in fuel consumption of about 8mpg for every extra litre of engine capacity.

a bigger engine means you will not have to work an engine and gearbox so hard and the drive will be easier with less gear changing or throttle pedal movement. Have the engine re-mapped and the power delivery and general drivability improves markedly.

i`m no expert on X-types but would favour two wheel drive over four just to stay away from the AWD issues. is it vital you have AWD?

Mike K

[steve_m]

I live a bit out in the boonies and have to be able to drive between 55 and 75 miles (Poole, Portsmouth or Weymouth) every week for work with the occasional drive down to Brittany if there are no direct ferries and I would hate to get snowed in. If I'm late it can cause problems.
I got caught out in France a couple of times, once almost sliding on top of a police car in a culvert because of black ice and once going sideways the full length of a small village high street; both times in an XJR6 where the traction control was useless in those condtions so AWD much better than 2WD I figure.

[John1943]

Has anyone experience re alternative tyres to Pirelli? I dont do many miles now and few are at speed so is there a cheaper alternative? Pirellis as recommended by Jaguar are about £100 unless anyone has found them cheaper?

[John1943]

Hopefully of use to others is the successful result of my previous problem with the cost of new discs and pads. I went to ATS who fitted new pads, discs and four new Pirelli P7 tyres for £768. OK not Jaguar parts but my cars is 11 years old now. Drives very smoothly!