Leo

Have you tried any local scrapyards? Very decent X-Types get written off due to the cost of repairing quite localised damage, and items like this should be available in good condition if they are not on the damaged corners.

I find the paddles invaluable, and they do exactly what I want. My normal driving style is pretty relaxed, and the gearbox learns that style and acts in a relaxed manner. However, when I want to spurt past something in a fairly small gap the automatic relaxed style obviously doesn’t deliver, and I will always use the paddles. Having finished the overtake it reverts to the auto mode after 30 seconds or so (as Carole says), which is exactly what I want. If you want sport action all the time, use the Sport mode!

On the plus side my insurance is only around £200, so similar to tommac. Given the very low depreciation it has been a cheap car to run - so far.......

Steve, I have had my XK for well over 3 years now, and all it has cost me is one indicator bulb and one brake light bulb, about ten quid total. OK, the Road Fund Licence is 500 quid, and you may be right about MPG, but I never check that: I only do about 3000 miles a year, so the cost of petrol is not a major concern. I simply love my XK, and intend to keep it until it is too low for me to get in and out unaided!

Battery would be my first thought. If you are able to park somewhere where you can run a cable, I would advise plugging it into a CTEK Battery Conditioner (or similar) for at least 12 hours to see if this helps.

I use my CTEK weekly, and close the tailgate over the mains cable without difficulty, running it through the curve in the corner. The tailgate seal is deep enough to do this without marking either the mains cable or the seal in any way. I must have done this several hundred times now.

Engine runaway can happen when diesel gets into the oil: Oil doesn’t ignite, but diesel does, so it can ignite causing the engine to rev out of control, even when you don’t have your foot on the accelerator. You can try to stall it by braking, but sometimes that is not enough. If you stay in gear the car will then accelerate out of control, so all you can do is knock it into neutral. The engine will then rev itself until the diesel in the oil has all been burned, which can mean revving itself to destruction. Clearly, accelerating out of control is a life threatening event, so destroying the engine, terrible though that is, is the lesser of the two evils.

Hi Steve, and welcome to the Club from a fellow North Easterner. Sadly, I am not aware of any meets up in this neck of the woods: I am always on the lookout! Enjoy both your XF and the Club!

Shocking to hear this Bill! I guess that we all have that fear in the back of our minds when we are updating our satnav: I know that I did, though in the event it went perfectly smoothly. Did they give any indication on the time it should take to update, and did you do it with the engine running?

Hi Terry, and welcome to the Club from another member in your locality! Others with more technical knowledge than myself will be able to give better information than myself, but I do know that neither pads nor brake discs last like they used to. I think that is the same across all marques, so not particularly a Jaguar issue. I see that they say that the discs are corroded rather than worn out, so maybe they could be skimmed. Until your warranty expires I would have thought you should only use Jaguar parts.

Hi Peter, I totally agree with you: The present system is “one size fits all” which is patently untrue. Nobody is going to do anything about it though! David

My understanding is that the new tax applies only to new cars sold after April, and which don’t comply with the latest emissions standards. Apparently most cars don’t comply. It doesn’t apply to cars already sold. I agree with your other comments though. I am a bit aggrieved that, due to supposed emissions, I pay over 500 pounds a year for my road fund licence, when I do less than 3,000 miles a year. It’s worth it though!

Lochnagar whisky brings a smile, not a frown, to my face!

I have driven 4WDs for more than 40 years, mostly Range Rovers but also Defenders, Discovery, Nissan Patrol, Jeep Cherokee and Diahatsu Fourtrack. I used all of them off-road as well as on. My first Range Rover was the earliest four door model. It had narrow mud and slush tyres, and would conquer snow drifts so deep that they piled up on the bonnet. I also drove it through water that formed a bow wave at the bottom of the windscreen. I have climbed grass/gravel slopes at around the magic one-in-one angle with no problem. I never used chains, and in my experience it was my courage that was the limit, rather than the vehicle. Modern vehicles have wonderful 4WD technology which should enable them to outdo those old vehicles, but sadly are supplied with wheels and tyres which make them far less able than my first Range Rover. That said, all that an owner needs to do to make full use of their ability is to fit narrow wheels with all-terrain tyres. They will then have tremendous traction on mud slush and snow, but drivers need to bear in mind that performance on ice is not improved unless they fit nailed tyres, and whilst all-terrain tyres help when it comes to braking in snow or slush, it is better to avoid using the brakes whenever possible.

Where are you planning to take it? For road use in the UK choose a full set of winter tyres suited to the conditions in question, and you are unlikely to need chains. Chains may be needed for deep snow if you live a mile or more from the public highway in a very exposed location, but not on road. One of my business partners lives in a harmhouse a couple of miles off road way out on the moors. In the absolute worst winter conditions he fits heavy duty chains to his Defender, and uses it to get from the house to the road, where he leaves his Discovery to use on road. The chains he uses could never be used on road, and take more than an hour to put on the car and tension. They then stay on until the snow goes.

I know that feeling, and it lasts for years!

A friend’s son had the 182 Cup a few years ago, and I gather that it flew! Yours should provide plenty of weekend fun!

My satnav isn’t as good as my last two cars. I agree about the lady who gives the advice, but the maps are poorly displayed, and on mine north is always at the top: You can’t change preferences to show the destination at the top, which is how I like to use satnavs (especially when I am going south!). Having said that, I love the car and intend to keep it until I can no longer climb out of it, so the satnav certainly doesn’t spoil my enjoyment!

It’s everything about them - Well, everything except the satnav!

Sounds all good to me Ernie: That should keep the DPF as happy as can be achieved with UK traffic and speed limits!

There are Marlins around, but most seem to be over 4,000 pounds. There is one on the Bay of E for 2,500 pounds but, though they say it starts and runs, it sounds like a project.

You could just Google it: That will at least show you what I am talking about, which may or may not be to your taste!

Many years ago I used to have Marlin Roadster, which was brilliant around the country lanes. Not really all that quick on paper, but it is small, handles brilliantly, and you feel as if you are doing well over 100mph! I don’t know whether you could find one within your budget though.

Hi Iain, and welcome to the Club. I have had my XK for three years now, and the smile has never left my face! We would love to see a picture or two of your beautiful XK!

Sounds good Ernie! Do check that warranty though, so that you know exactly what is (and more particularly what is not) covered. Low mileage is great in terms of wear and tear to the bodywork and the interior, but not necessarily as far as the engine and the DPF is concerned. Low mileage often leads to problems with the DPF, unless the low mileage came from long journeys, which would be unusual. I would not expect the DPF to be covered by the warranty. What kind of mileage do you intend to do? If you intend to make mostly short journeys you need to bear in mind the possibility of problems with the DPF. This is not peculiar to Jaguars: The same is true of all modern diesels since they will all have a DPF. I don’t want to discourage you at all: The XF3.0D is a great car and I am sure that it would put a long lasting grin on your face - I know that mine did that to me - but I just want you to be aware of the potential DPF issues when you make your decision.