Pat, I stay in Aberdeen but not far from Cults (close enough that the BBC weather app on my phone thinks I'm in Cults when I'm sitting in my front room!), if you've seen a black '08 XKR Coupe in and around your area then there's a good chance it's me.

Jamie, that sounds horrendous, what did they do to it? To be honest, the only issue I had with them was last year when they serviced the car, including a brake fluid change. The healthcheck showed that the rear caliper bleed nipples were corroded and couldn't be opened. When I queried how they had managed to do a full fluid change (or at least charge me for it) I got "umm... erm... well..." and eventually the confessed they'd only done the front end. I then pointed out that the healthcheck also found some corroded brake hoses at the rear and they'd need to change the fluid again after changing those, so why did they bother doing the fluid change at all?

Ever since then I've had no problem with them, they even managed to get warranty to cover a seized rear caliper last year. I do wonder if there's a tick box on the customer records that says "don't chance it with this one"... Like you, I'd now only be 15% less out of pocket making a day of it and heading to Perth so maybe next year.

 

Hi 8bit, I'm afraid the XJ aint me, did swither between the XF and the XKR but at the end of the day no contest! I do tend to keep an eye out for Jaguars and have seen a similar XKR to mine around Cults where I live! Must admit that the XKR hasn't missed a beat so not expecting any surprises at the service, I will have to read the warranty paperwork as there is some kind of MOT warranty included. Happy days now as I think we are heading into the nicer weather, bought a stack of detailing stuff I wanna try out!

 

Customer service there has been patchy to be honest. The girl that used to work there (Lorraine) was really good but she's moved on now. It was someone called Donna that I dealt with this time, she was very helpful and called or did stuff when she said she would so that was fine. I'd recommend calling the local place and asking for someone on the local service team though, if you say you want to book in for a service you'll just get someone at their call center in Glasgow - that's fine, but if you're getting something that's been a running issue looked at then it's easier to speak to someone who knows the history.

Pat, you don't also have a red, current-shape XJ with a private reg. ending PAT do you? One like that drives past my house every day...

 

Hoping that's some form of vote of confidence on the local dealer! My car is under extended warranty until the autumn and I have a service and MOT due next month. I had a minor warranty issue sorted a while back, no issue with the work but the customer services are a tad shoddy! Was considering a drive to Perth but as I am also a contractor I would prefer not to!

 

Yeah, I understood what you meant - just twisting it a bit for humorous effect.
Like you, I'm a contractor.

 

Good point! What I meant though is I'd have to take a day off to drive to Perth and back to get the car serviced and, being a contractor, I don't get paid if I take time off.

 

You'd have lost a day's pay at most main dealers!

 

Yep, no cause for complaint this time, even with the health check results. I only really used them to keep the Jaguar history up. I could have gone to Pentland in Perth or Edinburgh I guess but that would have meant losing a day's pay.

 

That's good, but I'm still not giving them my money. Wouldn't trust them to put the chain back on a pushbike based on the lethal state they gave me back my S-Type then asked for £400 to put their error right, some time at their convenience in the future having already been a day late. I also despise their efforts to keep you as far away from actually speaking to a mechanic as possible - instead talking to a call centre in Glasgow and pick from a bloody menu.

My XF is wanting a service and I am likewise not especially keen on losing a day's pay. On the bright side, the loss is 20% less than it would have been this time last year :lol:

I'll maybe book it in on a Friday and make a weekend of it. I'd ask for a go of a manual F-Type but last time they lent me a V8 F-Type I put 800 miles on it... ahem.

 

Did you go to the local dealer?

 

Car had its' seventh annual service last week, thankfully just an "A service" so a minor one. Health-check spotted a few fairly minor things which I'll try and sort out myself. Have to say though, the dealer actually did a decent job this time and even made a reasonable job of washing the car.

Managed to get the car swapped back onto summer wheels and tyres yesterday, much nicer

 

Just seen this thread, very nice! Very useful

 

Wow very beautiful car let alone look back. amazing.

 

Car now back on its' winter wheels and tyres:

I definitely prefer the Cremonas, they'll be back on come spring time. I renewed all the wheel nuts too, including a new set of locking nuts - the last time I had wheels off the car I found that they were a bit creaky and dry to loosen off so decided to change them, clean the studs and apply some copper grease.

Also gave it its' first wash in months!

 

Got round to fitting the paddles last week. In-car shots:

So having used these for a while now, the feel is good, not quite as positive and "clicky" as the standard items but more "premium" to the touch. They look great but don't quite 100% match any of the other trim in the cabin so OCD types may not approve.

Personally I think they're great, I use the paddles quite a lot when driving for fun so I like having that extra bit of tactility there.

 

So these arrived today:

Managed to get a really good deal on them off ebay. Hopefully fit them this evening

 

oocha beastie

 

Thanks Neil Pain in the backside to keep clean unfortunately but it looks great after a bit of effort.

 

You know something - Black is growing on me. Your car looks great

 

Passed a milestone at the weekend...

 

Paint and laquer bought today.

 

Cool, fingers crossed. I'd still recommend a couple of coats of lacquer to help keep them in place.

 

Ive ordered some off eBay so I'll see what they look like when they arrive. The boot logo idea might be a bad one if they stayed on.

 

I figured, but I'll give you a shout next time anyway, be good to catch up.

There was a thread about getting and applying decals rather than changing the plates, think you can get them on ebay. Someone on the US forum actually got some of the R logo badges like on the tailgate and applied them to his brakes with the self-adhesive backing - no idea how long they'll stay put for once the brakes get hot...

Cheers Ironically we'll have to wait til the wee man is a little bigger to get him in the back - he needs a rear-facing child seat until he's at least 9 months old IIRC and ours definitely won't fit in the Jag...

 

No worries, I was jesting.

I did see the thread about the borders run but I can't remember if I'm off or not.

The R logo on one has come off so I might see if I can source some sort of transfer decal to replace it.

Congrats on the new arrival. I remember those days, not a minute to your self. Good news is that a new born is about the only thing that will fit in the back of the car.

 

Sorry bud! Most of my solo runs end up being spur of the moment things. I'm sure I PM'd you about a Pistonheads run a while back but you couldn't make it? There's a thread about a run around the borders area next month, I was also thinking of sorting out an Aberdeen and North East run sometime in August or September too. We've just had our first baby about 5 weeks ago so free time is a bit scarce but if I'm going to get out for a run anytime soon I'll text you - still got your number from that forum run last year.

The logo plates I got will probably only fit the calipers on my car, I gather the calipers on yours are a slightly updated design, but I'm sure the ones you need are available in red. SNG Barratt give the part number C2P21067 as being a Red Logo Plate for a rear caliper, there's no photo though so I'd suggest giving them a shout and asking them if they'll send you a picture. The front ones are a bit trickier, for some reason the logo plate is integrated with the anti-rattle spring clip. SNG list a "spring" for a front caliper for the 5.0 Supercharged cars as C2D3798 but it doesn't say if that's red, or even if it's the spring with the logo plate attached. They're about £37 each and the rears are about £25 ea.

If you do get them, give them a good clean then a few light coats of high-temp clear lacquer, to protect the decals from peeling due to heat. I've got most of a tin of lacquer left in my garage, you're welcome to use that.