Hello from the other half of an Owner!

[secretagentmole]

Hello all, my other half is now a Jaguar owner!

It started when her Astra ate it's head gasket as those Fiat diesels are wont to do! With the GM crudheap in the proverbial dustbucket the search was on for a replacement that could take us, mother and 2 dogs in relative comfort somewhere. 

In a cheap car lot we found something long, low and blue, registered in 2004, those lovely double lights at the front, alloys, from what we could see a leather interior. We could not see any contact details so got them off of another car!

Gave the chap a phone call and he said it was not for sale, it had a few problems. Well we said we were interested still so he said, it would be sold without any warranty as it was faulty. Had a look at the beast. Bodywork was fantastic apart from the odd ding, closer examination revealed sensors. The interior though grubby was intact, full leather, the centre console had a touch screen and lots of interesting buttons, like sat nav, phone, the cd player had a cdc button, all well and good, but there was not enough power in the battery to start it. A booster was produced and the car roared into life, it sounded as though someone was playing the spoons under the bonnet and trying to hammer their way out of the transmission below 1500 rpm. Instant diagnosis, new clutch and flywheel needed, along with new injectors at worst case scenario.

The purchase price was agreed at £350, along with delivery to the front door! Got home and she bought a single mass fly wheel, clutch, clutch master cylinder, bearing and starter motor, online for £150. Enquiries at a local garage told us the work would cost £200. So it was booked in. The engine fault we were warned about soon made it's presence felt, by the engine cutting out. It was in limp mode. The guys at the garage ran the diagnostic tool over the car, said it could be the Fuel Flow Metering Valve, which was a Delphi, this put us in touch with Advance Autos in Lincoln, who had one for £60. 

Delphi bought and fitted for £20, problem still persisted, time to get the injectors tested, Advance Autos at Lincoln tested them, all failed! Cost of test £36! Found someone breaking a Mondeo online, the injectors were alleged to be good, the only reason for the car being broken was the clutch master cylinder failing and the car being old. Set of 4 Delphi 501Z injectors, £44! Then on a shopping trip the temperature shot right up, managed to get it home, thermostat housing broken. Rimmer Brothers at Bracebridge Heath, new thermostat and housing £26! Fitted by us and working.  

Back to Advance Autos, Lincoln, who swapped and coded the injectors for £120 inc VAT. 

Oooh Mother! Now the centre console had to be unlocked. Investigation showed that pressing three buttons on the CD player would do this and lo it did. fancy beep tv screen enabled. The beast is back! Now it is quiet, it purrs along. Before starting was hit and miss, now, not even one turn over on ignition and it is off, purring happily to itself. MPG around 55 to the gallon! An Asda sim has been fitted to the onboard Nokia and £5  month gives an onboard emergency phone. She even cleaned up nicely after a trip to a car wash! Handles well, no squeaks or rattles from the front or rear suspension. Does not pull left or right under braking or acceleration. 

All we need now is that DVD for the sat nav....

[Guest]

Hey Mike and Welcome to the Club,

Looks like you got a bargain albeit you've have to put a few things to rights. Hope your other half has lots of fun with the now purring S / X Type?

Cheers,

Steve

[secretagentmole]

She loves it. She has always wanted one ever since she saw one! 

[Raistlin]

2 hours ago, secretagentmole said:

She loves it. She has always wanted one ever since she saw one! 

What is it Mike?

[secretagentmole]

1 hour ago, Raistlin said:

What is it Mike?

X type 2.0 D. no rust, with more optional extras than a little.