Project Dailying a XJR for the sake of the climate - Parts Ordered

[bangernomics]

That’s actually way less than renting a modern and running it per mile. I figure a std £250pm white box on lease is 47 gallons a month in fuel and you have to then fuel it. I reckon he’s actually winning and it’ll be worth what he paid if not more now it’s all fixed and stuff.

[Jazoli]

That’s actually way less than renting a modern and running it per mile. I figure a std £250pm white box on lease is 47 gallons a month in fuel and you have to then fuel it. I reckon he’s actually winning and it’ll be worth what he paid if not more now it’s all fixed and stuff.

To a degree it is, but moderns are pretty much fixed cost and don't really need any maintenance or repairs apart from a service once a year, I could get a Skoda diesel for £150 a month and do 1200 miles on the other 100 quid, and it'd be a brand new car with a warranty, but it wouldn't have a supercharged V8, running cars like this is less about the costs and how they make you feel, I always get out of my cheap jag with a smile, even though it only does 20mpg, and it's not ruinous as my commute is a 20 mile round trip so its a fivers worth of fuel rather than three quid in the avensis, if my commute was a 100 mile round trip I'd be renting the Skoda

 

Agree on the winning bit though, it's done its depreciating now and hopefully shouldn't throw any major bills, but that's the gamble we all take.

[bangernomics]

£150 pm and nothing down? That’s cheap I may change my ways.

 

 

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[Jazoli]

£150 pm and nothing down? That’s cheap I may change my ways.

 

 

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Latest deal offered was £450 down and £150/month on a 2 year 8k a year deal for a boggo Octavia so £170 a month in reality, still cheap though but I managed to resist, anyway back to Jag talk, I too want a V8 next.

[Guest Hooli]

That’s actually way less than renting a modern and running it per mile. I figure a std £250pm white box on lease is 47 gallons a month in fuel and you have to then fuel it. I reckon he’s actually winning and it’ll be worth what he paid if not more now it’s all fixed and stuff.

 

This is true & the most important part is I'm not having to drive some god awful uncomfy, shit to drive modern pile of shit with no character that I want to crash into things because it deserves to die.

[Guest Hooli]

I dropped this in the garage today and will have to take it back at some point because they don't have time to do the fuel pumps, my fault for telling them too late.

 

I got given a '08 XF running on the devil's juice as a courtesy car. You can see all the hints & references to a proper Jag inside, but it's horribly plastic feeling inside and just doesn't feel like a luxury car to me. Bloody touchscreen rubbish to use anything useful like heated seats and keyless entry that unlocks if you walk past it in the carpark even though the key is on my office desk....

It's not as comfy, if you get the seat comfy then the pedals are way too high so you're forced to sit like you're sat in at a dining table rather than driving a car. Plus the clocks are entirely hidden behind the wheel in any semi-comfy seating position. There is a dead spot at the start of the throttle like it's got a slack cable to make it crap in traffic. You can't see out at junctions due to the pillars and can't see in the mirrors as their silly shape means the bit you look in is missing.

 

Verdict, no wonder they are popular - they are crap.

[chodweaver]

Well I posted what I've found on a XJR owners group on FB & they all assure me I'm wrong. Faulty fuel pumps are never anything to do with an engine acting like it's run out of fuel according to them. The concept that one pump is dead & the other might be dying/isn't delivering enough fuel as it's worn/partly blocked/ has knackered pipework is a concept they can't appear to understand.

 

I love internet experts...

Expert comments.jpg

I too recently found myself flabbergasted and strangely smug at the same time - after checking the fuel pump relay was 1. present and 2. working correctly, then reading many similar forum threads, all suggesting that the in-tank pump was at fault, and then spunking 90quid on a used 'in tank pump and filter assembly' (as per eBay title and description), before dropping the tank to replace said assembly... only to find that while what I had bought WAS a direct replacement for what I found and removed from the tank ... there is and never was, a sodding in-tank pump... in either unit....both are just a filter and float gauge.... leading me to conclude that the forums I had consulted were at best unreliable, and at worst populated by knobs similar to the aforementioned experts.

 

Tl:dr Both satisfying and depressing at the same time to learn that I should trust my own reasoning over the advice of 'seasoned' owners on t'internet.

 

PS Loving the premise, your execution and documenting of the fixerating of this car. Winning.

 

ETA *completely different car and even fuel but similar experience.

 

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[Junkman]

*looks at every non-mechanically injected car from pre-1986 & sees a pump in the tank*

 

Weird. If I look at any non-mechanically injected car from pre 1986 I know, I see a huge mofo silvery shimmering pump near the tank, where anyone with half a brain would put them, so the tank doesn't have to be removed from the car to change it.

[Guest Hooli]

Update from the garage.

 

I collect it in the morning & will need to book it back in for the faults they've found (that I asked them to look for).

 

The gearbox was a twat, most of the sump bolts snapped when they tried to do the filter, I'm glad I didn't do that job then! But it's all fixed & back together. It's got new diff, gearbox, engine & supercharger oil.

 

It needs a MAF, they checked the readings & it's way out. Which I bet explains the even worse than it should be OMGMPGs.

Front drop links are dead, explains the clank & lurch over bumps.

Rear shocks or their bushes are gone (I forget what he said) which explains the rattle.

Still needs the fuel pump/s replacing.

 

Looks like it'll be an expensive month really. I'll change the MAF but I don't really fancy any of the other jobs so it's going back for all of them. I could do most them (the tank needs special tools for quick* release connectors) but I'd rather not have a bad back for a week after struggling under it all weekend.

[Broadsword]

That is a bit of a list you have going on there, but once it's all done the car will be so much better for it, which might soften the blow of the bill. MAF is an easy fix at least and you will notice a difference, which is nice. Will be interesting to hear how much of a difference you feel with all those vital fluids replaced.

[Guest Hooli]

I'll tell you tomorrow. I'm not expecting much as it seemed pretty damn smooth before, so hoping they all keep it that way.

 

It is a bit of a list, but it's all stuff that dies at this sort of age really so nothing that makes me worry if I got the wrong car. I knew it'd need bits as it was too cheap for it's mileage etc, but it'll mean I've got a solid example that should last years if looked after. I just hope the rear shocks are bushes not the actual shocks, as I suspect being electronically controlled the shocks will be really* cheap.

 

You never know, the improved MPGs might save me the garage bill in fuel this year....

[Guest Hooli]

Update on prices, I've been looking on SNG Barrett. Looks like it'll be about the following plus labour -

 

Drop links £70 the pair

Rear shocks £270 each! this is why I hope it's the bushes

Fuel pumps £80 each, I'm thinking of having both done. If one's died the other probably isn't far behind

MAF £190

 

Total £880 with shocks £340 without. I suspect I'll find out the answer early tomorrow.

[Guest Hooli]

Updatings...

 

I thought the car was smooth & quiet before but it's noticeably smoother now, I have to pay attention to feel the gear changes for example. The car feels freer & quieter on the motorway too, which I'm assuming is a mix of the box & the diff as old Jags often get diff whine. OMGMPGs actually appear better just in one trip to work as well.

 

Prices are in, I wasn't too far off in my guess work for parts.

 

Rear shocks, I have two options. The proper fancy electronic shocks it's got at £656+vat fitted or normal sports shocks at £450+vat fitted.

Fuel pump is £298+vat fitted, most of that is labour getting the tank out. I'll probably add £80 to that to get both pumps replaced as it seems daft not too.

Drop links & MAF I'll do myself.

 

So that's about 2grand! more to spend on this to get it up to spec. I guess the usual story of 'should have bought a sorted one' applies, but then they were all a lot higher mileage so it balances out in my head. Plus I want to keep this long term so I want it working more than to have an imaginary profit if I sold it.

[Guest Hooli]

More money has just been spent on this, I've just placed an order for a new MAF along with two front droplinks & their bolts/nuts. For the sake of a few quid I can't be bothered having to save the old nuts & bolts, this gives the easier option of getting the grinder out if required to make the job easier.

 

Still awaiting the garage ringing about if the expensive shocks are on offer currently or not, They can do them as it's too much of a bugger to get under there myself. Plus the fuel pumps of course.

 

That'll be it sorted then, apart from the damn wobble & rattle from the drivers seat recently. I'd look at that today, but having a severe case of the 'can't be arseds' after my interview went shit (not shite).

[Jazoli]

Nice to see you throwing money at it and sorting it, so many cars of this type suffer from zero or very little maintenance as they are bought by folk who can't really afford to run them but the price of entry is relatively low.

 

Hopefully should be all sorted soon and provide plenty of years reliable service.

[Guest Hooli]

Aye well I plan to keep it a long time, so sorting it out makes sense. As you say it'll last years once done & that'll let me pay the credit card back. Shouldn't work out any worse than buying a boring modern on finance really.

[Broadsword]

It all balances out quite well on the cost front, as Jazoli said, given price to entry for these is incredibly low. These are specialist cars (think how much a new one was!) and to be fair the sort of maintenance needed is relatively uncomplicated. Any of the others out there on the open market won't have these very important jobs done, which sets your car well apart from them. I suspect it will take on its future miles well.

[Guest Hooli]

Exactly, to buy one with everything done would have cost a lot more & I've not seen any for sale with such low miles. It makes sense to sort it & enjoy it.