Leo

Mine

Store

Hospital

Wren (if I remember the coin correctly it had a wren on it)

Milk

Beer

Open

Chop

Hi Lawrence, and welcome to the Club! My first thought would be the battery: These cars throw up all sorts of messages if the battery is low. How old is the battery, and are you doing many short journeys? When I first bought my XK five years ago I had issues like this, due to the fact that it was not my daily drive. I bought a CTEK battery conditioner, and leave it charging when it is unused for a few days. Result: Battery always fully charged, and no more spurious messages.

I remember 40 odd years ago, when I had an early Range Rover with aircon (rare in those days), people used to approach me in car parks to tell me that my radiator was leaking. It was only the moisture extracted by the aircon. Actually, that aircon unit was rubbish: It used to freeze up if used for more than a few minutes, and the air circulation in the car was also very poor.

As Clive says, that is normal. Assuming that the puddle isn’t a small lake!

My XK has a lock behind the rear number plate, which you can turn with the key to open the tailgate if the battery is flat. Maybe the XE has something similar?

Mine is the later XK, so aluminium body. On yours you need to make sure it is rust free. Apart from that, I leave other XK8 owners to comment.

Welcome to the Club! Much depends on whether you would use the extra power of the XKR, or whether you would be perfectly happy with the performance of the XK. If performance is not the deciding factor, I would go for the best car you can find: I would want it to be in perfect condition with absolutely all of the electrics in full working order, and with a good service history. In my experience you know the right one when you see it. I have had mine for five trouble free years, and still love it!

Welcome to the Club Steve! My XK is 2006, and now on 37,000 miles, so I know how you feel! I have had it 5 years, and it has performed brilliantly throughout that time: I just love it!

Hi Larry, and welcome to the Club! This sounds battery related: How old is the battery, and what kind of mileage do you do on a daily basis? If the battery is more than 4 years old I would change it. If your usual runs are short it would be useful to plug it into a CTEK battery conditioner or similar once every week or so.

Roy, I notice that your details need to be updated: Still showing your car as a 2006 X-Type. I know that your query referred to the XF, but an update would make it easier to keep track of the model in question.

Maybe your battery is low: That stops it working.

I haven’t looked at the fuel consumption for years: I have the display set to show the range remaining in the tank, which is what matters most to me! I think that on a journey from Edinburgh to Newcastle I got about 23mpg. I dare say that it would be possible to get it to 25mpg, but most of the time I imagine it will be sub 20mpg, but have never checked.

I went from the XF 3.0D S to the XK nearly six years ago, and still absolutely love my low mileage 4.2. I have had no trouble at all in that time, and it still looks pretty much showroom both inside and out: Not bad for a 13 yer old car! I love the sound of the V8, and it still seems very quick indeed to me, so I have no desire for a 5.0. However, we are all different of course, so the choice is really down to the individual.

Hi Rob, and welcome to the Club! Your XK is the same colour inside and out as mine, which I believe is simply the best combination. I have had mine for over five years now, and still love it as much as ever. Enjoy both your XK and the Club!

It is unlikely that your daily commute will be enough to keep a diesel particulate filter clear. Do you do longer distances at above 50mph on a regular basis? If so, that’s great. If not, it would be my opinion that the diesel may not be best suited to your needs.

How long is your daily commute, and what does it comprise? For me it was ten miles each way in stop start traffic and would have led to DPF problems when I retired, since I would no longer be doing longer and faster runs on a regular basis. If you do go for the diesel, I would advise you to use premium diesel, which is much cleaner and results in far fewer regenerations.

Hi Rory, and welcome to the Club! I had the XF3.0D S five years ago, but sold it when I retired since I recognised that my mileage was going to make me worry about the DPF on the diesel. If most of your journeys are fairly long, and at 50mph or more, that worry may not be applicable to you. Yes, my XK is thirsty, but I have no regrets at all. Whichever you decide on, make sure that the one you are looking it has a full service history, is immaculate, and that everything on it is in full working order.

The CTEK will stop the battery being so discharged, but not stop the cause: There is no way it should be in this state every other day, even with short stop-start runs. There must be something going on, and I am wondering if something is causing a short circuit on a regular (but not constant) basis. If it were constant I assume that the garage would have found it.