When the garage guy you phoned starts "Are you sitting down?"

[Paddy]

I had a similar tale on my Alfa 166, worth about 2k, garage man quoted me 2.3k to fix it!

I only took it there because I wanted a quick MOT and thought it would pass! In the end I took it a local lockup-type place on recommendation and it was all sorted for £280 quid. Take it there every year now.

Get mirror from scrappy/Ebay, exhaust local company can make them to fit, service from local small garage, caliper from scrappy, discs/pads online Motor factor, brake bulb/module tricky, is there an online forum for this car? We Alfisti do!

Realistically though car's worthless, scrap it and get another.

Similar to me some years ago. MOT garage wanted £600 for a repair, took it to another garage who charged £70 for the same.

Take your car to a local authority MOT centre. They do not do repairs and have nothing to gain by failing your car.

[OwlHoot]

:::

It IS worth keeping, I've kept an eye on the price of good nick XJS's, a lot of the rotboxes have been scrapped now and the price of the good ones is only going one way.

That's what I reckon too (if you include XJ6s in XJSs).

Admittedly my first XJ6 could be fairly described as a "rot box". The suspension was knackered for a start, and it felt like driving around in a bouncy old armchair, not that I knew any better at the time as I thought that was just how a Jag normally was!

But there's no sign of rust on my current car, as far as I can see - Open the bonnet and it looks sleek and new(ish), no horrible crumbly dodgy looking nooks and crannies etc with bits falling off (apart from the exhaust it seems). So I reckon it has a good two or three years with care and attention, which is why this huge estimate was such a surprise.

As the garage (Marshall Jaguar, Cambridge) seems to have an associated Jaguar dealership, I wondered if they aren't exaggerating the problems and expense to steer me towards buying a new one from them; but in fairness, they haven't broached that subject, and the guy seemed fairly honest and forthright.

Marshall are a big company though - They have a large industrial site there, and deal with several different kinds of cars and trucks. So I wonder if they are charging the equivalent of "large IT consultancy" fees as opposed to what I would be paying some one man and his dog outfit.

[Churchill]

That's what I reckon too (if you include XJ6s in XJSs).

Admittedly my first XJ6 could be fairly described as a "rot box". The suspension was knackered for a start, and it felt like driving around in a bouncy old armchair, not that I knew any better at the time as I thought that was just how a Jag normally was!

But there's no sign of rust on my current car, as far as I can see - Open the bonnet and it looks sleek and new(ish), no horrible crumbly dodgy looking nooks and crannies etc with bits falling off (apart from the exhaust it seems). So I reckon it has a good two or three years with care and attention, which is why this huge estimate was such a surprise.

As the garage (Marshall Jaguar, Cambridge) seems to have an associated Jaguar dealership, I wondered if they aren't exaggerating the problems and expense to steer me towards buying a new one from them; but in fairness, they haven't broached that subject, and the guy seemed fairly honest and forthright.

Marshall are a big company though - They have a large industrial site there, and deal with several different kinds of cars and trucks. So I wonder if they are charging the equivalent of "large IT consultancy" fees as opposed to what I would be paying some one man and his dog outfit.

Marshalls are expensive, they used to service my RangeRovers.

[OwlHoot]

Why does the caliper need changing?

Are all those prices +VAT ?

Because intermittently, when I go round a bend and apply the brake it starts chirping like a demented grasshopper.

Also every now and then, on the motorway the car starts juddering and the steering wheel rhythmically shaking and pulling slightly to the left.

Last time that happened, with my previous Jag, it got worse and worse until it refused to steer straight, and doing 80 on the M3 it suddenly steered me across two lanes onto the hard shoulder. Luckily I had the presence of mind to brake at the same time, or or I'd have been going round in circles like the Bismarck after being torpedoed.

[Clippy]

About 10yrs ago I owned a Mitsubishi.

My local Mitsubishi dealer would charge me a fortune for servicing so I phoned around other dealers in the area.

Found one about 20 miles away who charged significantly less and, luckily, was within my fathers business' area.

I'd book the car in, the dealer would collect it, service it and return by the end of the day and I was quids in.

Not sure about nowadays with the cost of everything so high but perhaps worth calling another dealer in the area for a comparative quote.

Similarly, I've heard of a few examples where some VW/Audi owners get their car serviced from Skoda dealers - they're part of the VAG group so the service is to the same standard but cheaper.

[AtW]

Marshalls are expensive, they used to service my RangeRovers.

How much is a service on a Range Rover, and how costly are repairs?

[Sysman]

Actually I think you'll find that LPG is recognised as being less efficient than petrol / diesel. I think I was quoted a 20% difference.

It still does work out cheaper though.

I had a dual petrol/LPG Beemer many years ago and it depended how much I thrashed it.

15% less efficient was the rule of thumb I was given. In practice I'd use petrol when I was in a hurry so would floor it more. About equal consumption with that mix.

[stek]

Real contractors get a crappy old bus for 125 quid with a 12 month ticket, use it and abuse it, and get another knowing it will fail the MOT.

Rover 825's, Old Pugs, OP's old jag for 250 after he's spent 3k on it...

Strike me down dead if I ever buy a Subaru tho - Chav-mobile. I've had seven Alfa's, only one was tulip, cheap, reliable (they are!) the 166 is solid, luxury, 3.0 Busso is the best mass-produced engine ever made, you get a near Ferrari, for Mundano prices.

[Sysman]

As the garage (Marshall Jaguar, Cambridge) seems to have an associated Jaguar dealership, I wondered if they aren't exaggerating the problems and expense to steer me towards buying a new one from them; but in fairness, they haven't broached that subject, and the guy seemed fairly honest and forthright.

Marshall are a big company though - They have a large industrial site there, and deal with several different kinds of cars and trucks. So I wonder if they are charging the equivalent of "large IT consultancy" fees as opposed to what I would be paying some one man and his dog outfit.

You have got it in one. Don't forget that their fancy showrooms cost a lot to run: try adding up the cost of all the cars both in the showroom and on the forecourt to get an idea of the capital they have tied up. Those diagnostic machines they plug into cars run into tens of thousands apiece as well.

You end up paying for quite an infrastructure that the one man and his dog outfit doesn't have.

[lilelvis2000]

As long as I've owned cars - I only have every taken it to the dealer to sort out problems on warrenty. Regular maintenence has always gone to the "guy and his dog". Aside from the one time when he wanted to replace the head..but its always worth getting a second opinion for big jobs.

Best mechanic I ever had was a 5ft tall Italian chap in Winnipeg. Have yet to find anyone as good as him.