Old Peter

Hi Gavin, My car will be looking for new tyres in a couple of months, and my research { used to be a Cost Accountant many years ago] points me to Goodyear Eagle Assimetrico XL which is in first place in a recent quality tyre survey. Rolling resistance good, Road noise meeting the oncoming EU standards, and a good acquaintance of mine who has been a tyre fitter for 40 years told me never to touch Continentals. Have a look on Halfords site which gives very good detail, as does KwikFit, Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Gavin. The boy racer in me wants the S Type R, but I now have to be more sedate and just cruise with the 2.7D moving quickly but sedately! You will enjoy the Jaguar experience. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Jim. The 2.5 V6 is a very good engine, quite agile, and relatively economic on long runs. Let us know how you get on fixing the "minor bits". Sharing experiences is what the club is about, and there are quite a few members who do the work themselves, which is of great help to others. Regards, Peter.

Hi Nick, Thanks for your reply. I have had my s type since June 2013 and got a full service history. I have only done 59,000 and the service history indicates that a new engine was fitted by Jaguar at just under 22,000 miles, so other than a EGR valves warning -- rectified by a good blast -- there have been no problems. I don't do very many long runs nowadays, being well retired, so it could well be the battery needing a charge on a regular basis. I will do that weekly, I think. Regards Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Nick. Park brake issues on the S type are never old. It seems to me that the cold weather is not helping my S type. It had the Parkbrake fault twice today! It has been perfect for months and then the cold weather and less use of the car seems to affect it. I will not let it win! Peter.

Welcome to the Club, David. An XF owner will be able to tell you that, and there are a lot of helpful XF owners in the Club who will assist. My s type has a proper spare wheel on a matching Alloy rim - specified by the first owner, so I appreciate what you want to do. Regards, Peter. Lancastrian in Exile.

Trevor has just asked the appropriate question, Neville. Regards, Peter.

Hi Neville, There is a "delete" on the bottom bar. Just click on. Having said that, there is not that facility on this post. Regards, Peter. P.S. That facility might only be available to me as a moderator. It is rare that I use it.

When one of my sons had a car that refused to start I hit the starter motor with a lump hammer. It started. Times have changed somewhat!! My skills with cars haven't changed much! Regards, Peter.

Hi James, and welcome to the club. When buying any used car in general, always try to get one towards the end of its production run when some faults have been ironed out. I have always bought from a main dealer,where possible, as they keep the best cars to sell themselves and send the rest to auction. A main dealer will give you a warranty [as will some other large dealers] and there will also be as service history. Jaguars are quality cars but like anything mechanical or electrical things can go wrong. Trevor has pointed out most of the issues. The XF is a very good car, and I do know of drivers who have found it a better car than the BMW. Regards, Peter.

Hi Mike, I do believe that your S Type V8 was the fastest "Road" Jaguar ever made when it was first produced. One of the things I would like to do would be to take my s type, albeit a sedate 2.7 diesel onto a track and push the revs up to the red line. Certainly at 70 ish it does seem like walking quickly. I had company cars for 29 years starting wit Ford Escorts and i was in line for a Rover 623 when BMW pulled the plug on them. Regards, Peter.

There will be a full set of Goodyears on mine when needed, possibly before the MOT in June.

Well done, Glen. The diesel engine always needs a good thrash. A friend of mine was a mechanic working for MANWEB in the good old days prior to the energy industry being privatised. Every time a certain van driver brought in his van for service the first job was to take it out on the Chester by pass and give it a bit of pressure with the right foot to clear out the system, as the driver bragged that he never did more than 30 mph. Filters are always worth checking, and I must admit that I always check my air filter every now and then. Regards, Peter.

This is a quote from what Sir William Lyons said when he introduced the Mk1 Jaguar in 1955. This iconic car was built by Jaguar between 1955 and 1959 when it was discontinued and replaced by the Jaguar Mk2. The Jaguar Mk2 was built between late 1959 until 1967, and is possibly the most famous of all Jaguar cars, and still can be seen on British roads. When Jaguar was owned by Ford the S Type [Jaguar Mk3?] appeared in 1999 and continued in production until 2007. This car was designed partly in Detroit ---- the Americans do like Jagwars, as they call them. They also bought almost a third of the cars produced, and particularly liked the 4.2 litre and the 3.0 litre. The 2.5 litre petrol and the 2.7 diesel do not appear to have been sold in the USA. I do not know how well the "Grace, Space and Pace" newer style models are selling in USA, though I expect the F type will do well, but do members think that a Mk 4 Jaguar based on the William Lyons design would sell well both in the USA and the UK? Just thinking out loud! Peter.

Hi Glen, A terraclean is worth doing first as it is a relatively cheap fix. You haven't mentioned the battery so I assume there is not problem with that. The cheapest fix is the best one to try first. Whatever you do avoid the main dealers. Regards, Peter.

I have Pirellis on at the moment but they do not score as well on the scale that you can get on several tyre sites. While I have found the P Zero assimetrico quite good they only come 7th out of 10 , with Goodyear Eagle Assimetrico coming top and Vredestein above Pirelli. Goodyear Eagle assimetrico score a C on rolling resistance affecting fuel economy --- Pirelli [as above ] scored an F GY scored an A on wet grip -- Pirelli still good with a B Sound wave GY two bars [70 decibels which meets future EU limits - P gets 3 bars 73 db 3 over the future EU limit. This also affects exterior noise. Regards, Peter.

Hi Gary, I came across Nexen when I was looking at tyres. They are classed as a Budget tyre, although they have the correct criteria for a powerful car. In a survey they were rated a 70% on those tyres suitable for a saloon, with a note that they do not perform that well in the dry and are a bit low in the comfort rating. They appear to be very good in the wet, though. Personally I would not use a Budget tyre on a performance car, as tyres are the only thing between you and the road. The two best tyres that came out top and second were Goodyear [which is very high in all factors -- look at Halfords site which gives all the details] and Vredesetein. From all accounts Nexen are not a bad tyre, but you have to ask your self if you are going to put a cheapish tyre on a quality car. Regards, Peter.

Hi Quinny, Replacing an EGR valve for £1k is over the top. You can buy a new genuine Jaguar valve on e bay for £170 each. Having looked at them it does not look too difficult for a DIY job, but if you want it done cheaper and reliable garage will probably of it for no more than three hours about charge. A Jaguar Main dealer will do the same job for about 5 hours [which will include a tea break or three] at about £140 an hour. The other and cheaper option is a terraclean service for you car -- this is very good for diesels, and coupled with the Millers EGR cleaner will save you quite a few shillings. Regards, Peter.

Hi Quinny, The 2.7 diesel has two EGR valves on either side of the engine, but when they get stuck the engine warning light comes on and if you have a OBD2 code reader it will flash up the code, P0420, I think which indicates too much exhaust gas in the area not getting into the Valves. There are several EGR valve cleaners on the market - I used Millers EGR valve cleaner once and it worked [less than tenner from Halfords]. The other way to cure a sticky EGR valve is to get the car on to a fast road, press the S button and give the car a blast. Cleaning out the valves manually is possible, but I don't get dirty hands any more, so I haven't done it. But you don't need diesel fumes in your car, so you are choosing the right course of action. Peter.

Welcome to the Club, John. Try switching on the interior air circulation, and if that stops the fumes coming in then it must be a leaky air circulation duct. Also try closing all the air intakes and switching off the climate control. There could well be other suggestions that could assist. Regards, Peter.

Possibly, Richy, although my x type had that too, but just the CD interchanger and the space for the sat nav. Peter.

My s type will get its service in late May and the MOT at the same time. It wil also get some new tyres on at the time. I am going to fit Goodyear Eagle Assimetrico XL which at the moment are £148 a corner. Research says that they are a better tyre that Pirelli P Zero assimetrico. Peter.

Hi Louisa, I think you must be right about a loose wire somewhere. There is a Jag expert in Doncaster -- listed in the Owners Lounge -- that is highly recommended by those members who have used this garage some coming from a fair distance away. They could be worth trying if you have no success. I don't think the skin graft has worked!! Regards, Peter.

Hi Richy, and welcome to the club. I had a 2005 2.5 AWD petrol x type which also did not have the touch screen, and also examined the idea of a retrofit. I am not expert in electrics so my plan was to source the parts required and have it done by an expert. I eventually decided it was too expensive and abandoned the idea just before my car was stolen. But I do believe that there are members who have done this job and will assist with their exeperience. My s type has the touch screen and it certainly looks much better. Regards, Peter.

Hi Louisa, Some good news there. On the beep -- It is 50 years and 7 months since I took a young lady for a day out to the Lake District on my venerable Triumph T100 for our first date. On the way back a crunching noise occurred which I correctly diagnosed as a con rod going through the crankcase so causing the engine to seize just 40 miles from home. A beep means nothing to me now, so I wouldn't worry. Regards, Peter. P.S. We have been married for almost 48 years, and the only beep I get is when I am exceeding the speed limit.