PaulT

It was around £1,200 that I paid for an XFS for cambelt, aux belt, fuel belt, water pump and service on a 3ltr XFS at an independent.

Oh, go for the 3.0 XFS. It is good on consumption and the acceleration is silky smooth. Cambelt at 112k miles but it is normal to replace the water pump and auxiliary belt at the same time, throw in the fuel pump belt - should be done at 144k - with a service about £1.2k from an independent.

Have a look on tayna.co.uk who give good service and their prices are normally keen. Think the AA, RAC and Halfords charge more because people who do not do any searches find it easier to go to them and pay their prices.

RP can be caused by a partially blocked fuel filter.

Dare say the oil companies are also saying 'cheers Putin' as they look to raise prices by more than needed and see their profits rise.

Saw somewhere once putting thin plastic tube into the door seals to stop wind noise to counteract them becoming flat with age and use.

Different seals used in petrol and diesel fuel systems. As the car has been driven needs checking that seals etc are OK. Fuel spitting back as you fueled means that the petrol nozzle had triggered the safety flap to try to stop petrol being put in to the tank.

On Rover 75 by taking out the o/s wheel liner the cables to each bonnet catch could be accessed. Do not know if you can do that on an XF but you could find another one and look under the bonnet to see how the cables run.

The XF does not like having the battery disconnected. When these problems occur Jaguars solution is to replace both the Front and Central Junction Boxes and reprogram - cost over £1k. Find a garage with Autologic software and they will reprogram without changing the JBs normally for under £100. If you change the battery always connect a slave battery with wires to the clamps so that the car never loses power.

The door locks are a little fragile and go frequently

My VX Insignia was top of the range and had front sensors and camera as standard. My XF Portfolio gad these but they were an optional extra! I only have facelift brochures. Go on to eBay and buy sales brochure and price list for the pre-facelift, these will show what is standard and what is an option. At the bottom of adverts there is normally a statement that the spec of the vehicle has been filled in using a third market database and exact specifications should be ascertained from the dealer.........which is !Removed! annoying.

Prior to buying the XF I had a Vauxhall Insignia on 20" wheels. The test drive seemed OK but once driving it regularly I did not like the ride and fitted smaller diameter wheels. That was replaced with a 2013 XFS Portfolio Sportbrake once again on 20" wheels. However, was quite happy with the ride so you should not have any problems with the ride. Good choice going for the Portfolio as there are some nice extras - though I am unsure exactly what extras on the pre-facelift as I had a post-facelift.....mind you I was quite surprised what were optional extras that on other makes would have been standard on top of the range models.

'- Fuel system problem, including a clog in the fuel line or an issue with the pump.' A partially blocked fuel filter will cause RP intermittently.

New engine block because it cuts out....sounds a little fishy to me.

Think the chassis number is the last six digits of the VIN though someone more knowledgeable will be along.