So What Did You Do to your Jaguar today ?

It's Happy Birthday to my old X-Type, first registered 21 years ago today. I bought it in June 2008, it was just over 6 years old, 60k miles and had a full Jag main dealer history, a service every year with all the receipts.

I'd had a 1990 XJ40 4 litre for 7 years, but the front subframe had rusted away on that and the top wishbone had become detached so it had to go and with a holiday booked in Devon the month after I really needed a car fast. From the minute I saw it with the mesh grill catching my eye, I just had to have it. I only paid £5300 with 6 months road tax but it was really immaculate. That trip to Devon was amazing, 900 miles in a week and the car performed faultlessly and got me hooked.

Apart from servicing every year it's hardly needed anything, the biggest outlay was sills 5 years ago (£900), fuel pump last year (causing a few random cut outs) and a few suspension bits and bobs. Radiator, 2 expansion tanks, 2 sets of tyres, brakes etc.

It was hit outside the house in 2019, insurance wrote it off(CAT N) but I bought it off them and repaired it, new wing, headlight and had bonnet, bumper repaired and repainted.

It's been the most reliable car I've owned, I can't believe how attached I am to it. I still miss that XJ40 and wish I'd have kept it, certainly won't ever sell this one.

The original Ebay advert






The old XJ40




How it looked just after I bought it, 2008



Written off in 2019



How it looks now

Out for a wee trip out to the house of bruar.... Tea and cake.
And I just had to park next to him.... Is it you.
PS.... I left a calling card for him to join the forum.

Today I started work earlier than normal so that I could get an early finish and give my X-Type a good wash.

It had come back from the track day at Castle Combe looking like I'd been rallying through farmyards rather than going round a metalled race track. The dirt was largely a result of Navmii sending me through loads of country lanes which were almost completely covered in... muck, let's say, when I decided that the first thing I would do during the Lunch Break would be to add some more fuel so that I didn't end up stranded.

For a change I did manage to finish work at the intended time and set up my gear. I started off by carefully removing the Newbie Cross of Doom from the X-Type's rear bumper, getting it off intact and putting it back on its carrying paper. I tried to get the Noise Test sticker off intact as well but it had rained earlier in the day and the sticker broke up. Oh well.

A prolonged rinse with a hose pipe, courtesy of living in an area where there's lots of water and a house that's Unmeasured, got a large amount of the crud off. I then set about washing the car with the increasingly tatty sponge and a bucket containing the usual Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo and Conditioner. I'd just done the roof and windows when Dad called me in for Dinner.

Having eaten a lovely home-cooked meal of Chicken with Chasseur Sauce I did my duty and made a nice pot of tea for the family. Once it had masted I poured myself some into my pretty Jaguars At The Cotswolds mug and ventured back outside to finish washing the car. It was still pretty light when I finished washing the bodywork but the wheels took a while to do so it was dark by the time I finished drying it off and moved it back into its parking space. I'm sure it'll look lovely at the JBC event at the Great British Car Journey on Sunday.

Must remember to pack!

managed to get an hour on the XFR today. Its 13 years old in June and still looks good. Cars have improved in how they keep their looks so much over thepast 30 years or so all the Car that were 13 years old when I bought my first Car were in the Scrap yard

j777stp said:

managed to get an hour on the XFR today. Its 13 years old in June and still looks good. Cars have improved in how they keep their looks so much over thepast 30 years or so all the Car that were 13 years old when I bought my first Car were in the Scrap yard View attachment 65207

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There are always exceptions and some [email protected] to voice it -
When I bought my first car, it was 24 (yes, twenty four) years old and no sign of rust anywhere.
However, the red oxide was showing through on the spare wheel cover from decades of polishing.
The year was 1962 and the car a 1938 Ford ten.