Old Peter

Welcome to the Club, Nick. There are many diverse members in the club, all of whom have something in common --- they just love their cars. I am certain that any project you undertake will get some advice and assistance. Regards, Peter.

Hi Allen, and welcome to the club. I am glad you are finding the club useful, and you will enjoy the Jaguar experience. I live just over the hill in Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield. There is a mobile mechanic who does the Terraclean service based in Aldridge. He comes to your house and does the job there and is very reliable, It saves time if you car is warmed up when he gets there. Just Google JAMES PRICE and you will find his website. His number is 07949 13 76 29. A member of the club had the Hot Start issue and a Terraclean solved the problem. Jaguar give him a quote of £1200 to replace the injectors. His terraclean was £114. Regards, Peter.

Hi Mike, My s type came with a spare wheel as specified by the first owner, otherwise I would be looking for one, too. There are many sites you can find by Googling, but if you want a used one BreakerYard is worth looking at, as is eBay. You feel a little more confident and secure with a proper wheel. Regards, Peter. Lancastrian in exile.

Hi Ben, I had a lot of money off coupons fro Sainsburys 15 months ago and had the same experience. My 2.7D was showing 545 and now shows with a full tank 590. A trerraclean service helped both the mileage and the performance, Peter.

Toothpaste is the best, and brasso is good, too. A bit more expensive and harder work is T Cut. I would go for toothpaste applied with the finger as Trevor has said. Peter.

Hi Stephen, Could you add that garage with the address and telephone number to the list of independent garages in the Jaguar Owners Lounge. It will be very useful for our members in South West Lancashire. My wife is from Liverpool and we love the City and visit frequently, so it will also be useful to me should anything go wrong. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Chris. I did get 53 mpg on a drive up to Sheffield when the motorway was limited to 50 mph. The s type is a great car to drive, especially when you don't use supermarket fuel. Only the best for a Jaguar. Regards, Peter. P.S. The Rabbit was good, too.

Nothing on the back of my service manual, Rodger. I don't think that the Radio code is printed in any of the Jaguar manuals. It is written in the front of my service manual by by the main dealer. Peter.

Hi Andrew, That is a very big bill! Is it from a Jaguar Main Dealer? I am not an engineer/mechanic, but as an accountant in a much earlier life, I would first be incllned to get another quote from an independent garage. There is a list of recommended garages in the Jaguar Owners Lounge compiled by members. There are members who have replaced the gearbox oil themselves, and I would think that if you could do that job yourself replacing the sump would not be beyond you. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Stephen. Your experience will be invaluable to many members. The XF is a great car. I have only been in one - a sportbrake - when I was being driven to the dealer to pick up my s type, and I was very impressed. Regards, Peter. Lancastrian in Exile.

Hi Tel and welcome to the Club. i used to tow a caravan, and had a proper spare wheel, but it wasn't a matching one, just a plain steel wheel. That might be the route you will have to go. On the plus side, in over 20 years I never had a puncture. With my S type, I do have a factory supplied matching alloy spare wheel. Good luck and if I find anything I will get back to you. Regards, Peter.

Hi Keith, and welcome to the Club. I am assuming that your S type is a 2.7 Diesel. I am also assuming that the amber light comes on. Does your diagnostic check throw up a code, such as P0420? If this is so, the most common issue is a sticky EGR valve. This is something I have also had, and there are three cures. 1. Take off the valves, clean or replace. Painstaking or expensive. 2. Use some Wynn's EGR cleaner which is stocked by Halfords. A bit less than £10. 3. Take the car out and give it a good blast with the "S" button on. Very cheap and enjoyable! Let me know how it goes. Regards, Peter.

Hi Naim, I gave my S type [2.7D as yours] a good long run last week after its quiet winter, and the engine is now sounding better than ever, and just over 42 mpg for the round trip, mostly on country lanes. I use the Shell vitro, as a performance engine should get the best fuel and the extra cost is balanced by the better mpg. I also gave the engine a terraclean service which was well worth the money for the better mpg and performance. Regards, Peter.

Hi Marcus, [& Martin], There are not many 4.2V8s around as the 3.0 litre was the best seller between 1999 and 2004, and were mainly sold to people who wanted the classic Jaguar style. They were also never a company car [ the Mondeo was ],and generally did not get much hammer like sales reps give their cars. A friend of mine had the 2.5 V6 version and that was not a bad car either, and you could find a good example, although personally I would go for the 3.0 litre. Regards, Peter.

Hi Marcus, I do about 6500 miles a year and the saving in road fund licence of £200 is worth having, plus the fact that I get a much better mpf. However, I have a model that was in the last run of cars coming off the line. Cars within your budget would be the very early diesels with q ite a high mileage. Peter.

Hi Trevor, There are loads of statistics, and the difficulty of zoning vehicle entry into an area makes the idea unworkable. Buses and coaches are a big problem as many of them were on the road prior to the Euro emissions initiative. The latest Gemini diesel meets euro 4 targets, whereas the big diesels that are on the roads do not have the DPF and from the visible fume trail on many appear not to have EGR valves either. Worldwide air pollution figures look so much at vehicles and put low down on the list the pollution from many manufacturing plants. The aluminium now being used by Jaguar is all recycled material, and the lightness and rust free attributes of the material makes it easy to get the same engine performance in a car from a smaller and less polluting engine. However there will come a time when there is not enough scrap aluminium in the world and there will have to be a return to either steel or the smelting of aluminium ore [bauxite] which is a terribly polluting process. The two Aluminium Melting shops in the UK closed down years ago. There are so many quandaries and the EU committees are notorious for taking a long time to reach decisions. [i was a member of several EU committees.] Often the problem has gone away before the decision was reached. There is much rook for a very wide discussion. Regards, Peter.

That is a good point, Martin. The engines that are being made by Jaguar in Wolvehampton will be the latest design and will start with smaller petrol and diesel engines - 2litre 4 cylinders. The 2.7 diesel in my S type meets the Euro 4 requirements, but Brussels will keep on trying to reduce emissions and are still in a quandary as to what can be done with the older diesels powering 'buses and lorries. Idea by some governments across Europe of having more low emission zones is not particular feasible and I think will prove, if implemented a complete failure. Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Naim. The S type is a great car - Grace, space and pace -- Sir William Lyons. Regards, Peter. Lancastrian in Exile.

Hi Richard, and welcome to the club. Andrew has made a good suggestion. There must be craftsmen out there who could do a good job at a cheaper price than a Jaguar main dealer. Regards, Peter. PS. The company who was on Wheeler Dealers is based in the West Midlands at Cradley Heath. Just look up other sites by Googling Auto Trim.

Hi Frank, When I noticed that you lived in Malvern, I was reminded of a practical joke three rather inebriated middle aged men perpetrated fairly close to the Abbey Hotel. We were coming away from a very nice dinner on a balmy evening when we saw a large number of traffic cones at the top of the hill plus a few directional arrows. It didn't take very long to arrange a distribution of these cones plus arrows and road closed signs to divert traffic coming up the hill. I meant that every 10 minutes or so the same cars were repeating the journey. On the third time, one car driver, probably muttering something about the council, got out of his car, moved aside three cones, drove through, and then to our surprise, put the ones back again. It was just a pity it was a few days after the first of April! Pleading Guilty if you were one of the drivers! Regards, Peter.

Good idea, Frank. Air Pockets --- I never thought of that, especially as Donald's car had been in the hands of a mechanic. We all assume, not always correctly, that if an "expert" has had the car in his hands then he has done everything correctly. My son found his mini leaking oil after a reconditioned engine was fitted. I found that the rocker box gasket was twisted. I had a old beetle that a wheel came loose and nearly off after an MOT. Regards, Peter.

I did have a quick look on Auto Trader for S types under £3k and with less than 60k on the clock. There were about 6 or 7 and priced around £2k. I didn't look at diesels because they would be a touch more expensive, and the ones that were not would be high mileage. Diesels were only fitted to Jaguar s types in 2004 - the Gemini 2.7 Diesel engine. Peter.

That's good, John. You do need a handbook as it is quite complicated. Peter.

I have a 2.7 diesel and I think it is great and on a long run I get over 45 mpg. But if you are just having a car for the weekend and not doing long runs there could be EGR and DPF issues [you need to give the car a good run and a bit of a blast every now and then]. But with £3k to spend and not wanting a high mileage car I assume that something pre 2004 is being looked for and the 2.7D only appeared in 2004. It will be an interesting quest to find the right car, but there are a few around. Meanwhile, enjoy the search. Regards, Peter.

Hi John, Try -- NAS Touchscreen and Jaguar Voice -- I googled this and found that it appears to be the same manual as the one I got with my s type. It is a long manual - 160 odd pages - but unless your car has the TV and voice commands you will only need the first 117 to read. Let me know if you get the download OK. Regards, Peter.