Old Peter

Welcome to the Club, Christine. That sound a practical solution. My solution for years was just hit it with a lump hammer, but I think that might damage the body work, Regards, Peter. p.s. I am now going to see if my s type throttle pedal can be adjusted.

Hi Andy, I always try for a second opinion, so I walked round to the Car Accessory shop and spoke to the owner. He tells me that if it was the alternator at fault it would not charge the battery at all and the light would stay on when driving. When I told him what battery was on the car, he said immediately that it was the wrong battery, and that a modern car needs much more power. Let us know how you get on. Peter. PS --- I am originally from Widnes, and here via North Wales & Sheffield.

Welcome to the Club, Phillip. There are a lot of helpful members who will offer you their experiences. You can download an owners manual from the internet, and I am sure that there are some genuine ones out there that you could possibly find on ebay or Gumtree. The intermittent parking sensor could be which could be over waxing and could be cleared with some car shampoo and warm water. It could also be one of the four sensors or the way out, which happened to me on an x type over a year ago. A replacement will cost about £20. Finding which one is a bit more difficult. The air conditioning unit is a bit more difficult, and these days I do not get oily hands, so my inclination would be to look in the piggy bank for £40 and take the car to one of these places that advertise regassng the unit. Regards, Peter.

Hi Eric, There are quite a few fabric adhesives available, and I think that you willl find them in craft shops. I used one on a caravan seat some years ago, but I can't think of the name. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Matt. And a very useful first post. Exchanging experiences is always helpful. Regards, Peter.

Euro Car Parts are supposed to be very good, and they are a national company with stores everywhere. Just Google them and put in your postcode. Very close to me is an Auto Accessory shop - quite independent -where I have bought batteries over the years, so I am a bit spoilt. I would tend to avoid the Kwik fits and tyre companies. Also google "Car Batteries 80ah 110A" and print off the results. There is nothing like knowing the answer before you ask the question. Let me know how you get on. Peter. PS __ What part of Lancashire are you from?

Thanks for the Photo's, Andy. It now becomes clear. The 64 ah 510A battery is extremely suitable for older cars --- those made in the 80's --- with far less electrical equipment on them. What should be fitted is a 80 ah 110A battery, I am no electrical expert but I do know that you need the correct battery for all the electrics to work properly. Peter.

Andy, The correct battery should be 110 , and 70 or 80 amp. The price for a new one should be around £70. Peter

Andy, Looking for the cheapest option first can sometimes save you money. If the battery warning light comes on, it ought to be the battery. If it is, that is easier to fix. If the dealer said he has replaced it and hasn't, he should do the honest thing. As you say, it could be a poor quality thing, and Jaguars do need the right battery as they have so many electronic features. If it is the alternator, the dealer should have sorted that out before he sold it. Peter.

Andy, It is possible that the battery - if new - might not necessarily be the correct one for you car. You could check that out -- Google might assist. And a visit to the dealer might be worth while. Peter.

HI Andy, I would be inclined to have the battery output tested, which ought to tell you if it is charging properly and holding its charge. Peter.

Hi Tomas, The colour of the wheels seems to take away some of the looks of the F Type. Silver of grey would be much nicer. Add to that, I think the wheels are a bit too big. As for the drive comfort, I would hesitate to give an opinion with our a test drive on a bumpy lane. Regards, Peter.

I have always kept my cars sparkling, Trevor. When I had a company car, which I had for almost 30 years, my car was always known as the "Pride of the Fleet". Owning a Jaguar, built only 6 miles away, does encourage me to keep it in showroom condition. Peter.

The saddle soap seems to working on the Driver's seat, which is the only one that really needs cleaning. But like everything, it does need a bit of application, in both senses of the word.

I have buffed up the seat, and have found that there were certain marks of where the seats had had dirt removed -- good sign. I think that the seat will need a bit more hard work till the colour is restored. The leather on my car is Dove Grey, and the overall trim is two tone - dark grey and dove grey on the doors, and I do like to keep the car in best order. Peter.

Hi Trevor I use Saddle soap quite a lot on boots, handbags, shoes etc and it does a great job insofar as the cleaning goes. I have relied on reviews of other products and what people have said about the preservation of car seats. However, just to make sure, and prove the point to myself, I have just done the cleaning of one car seat - drivers - with Saddle soap, and will be giving it the final buff up now. I will be back in 10 minutes to announce the result! Peter.

Hi Kevin, That is not a bad price. The overall issues of out of date software is something that the main dealers make a lot of money from. Peter.

Hi Kevin, and welcome to the club. I have not heard about this problem on this forum, but I am sure if someone has experienced this they will share their experience, The bits to replace it do not seem to be that expensive, but the labour charges might be. Regards, Peter.

Saddle soap is great for cleaning seats, but you still need a product for feeding the leather, and Mer and Autoglym are both good. I currently use Scotts Leather cleaner and preservative [which came free with my X Type] and that is quite good too. I used both Mer and Autoglym on the Rover Sterling for 12 years and the seats still look perfect when I part exchanged it for a Jaguar. Regards, Peter.

Hi Amanda, I used to have to go to a lot of places and I agree that Sheffield is not the same as the drive over to Glossop or Stocksbridge from where we lived in Derbyshire -- driving over the moors meant I usually carried a spade, a blanket and a large piece of carpet in the boot. I was quite mystified when I came to work in the Midlands as to why some people used to put chains on their Range Rovers when there was a mere 3 inches of snow on the ground. The Rear wheel drive on the XF is well managed by the DSC, and the weight of the car itself does mean that it handles well in bad weather. Prior to my S Type which had less than 50k on the clock when we bought it I had an all wheel drive X Type [which was carjacked] and I find that driven properly the S type hold the road very well, and will its successor, which you have got. Regards, Peter.

Hi Andrew, and Welcome to the Club. The Road Fund Licence is a factor in costs in any performance car. Being a pensioner it certainly affected my choice -- my S Type 2.7 diesel costs £285 as against over £450 or so for the 4.2 litre petrol. There are several XK owners who will give you some good advice. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Amanda. The Jaguar experience is quite unique. After 30 years of company cars and a beautiful Rover Sterling, which I had for 12 years [like your Frontera] we bought our first Jaguar. The salesman sad you will never drive another brand of car. He was so right! Our S type is a great car to drive, and only a year younger than your XF --- Indigo Blue is a great colour! And I wouldn't worry too much about the Yorkshire winters, either. I worked in Sheffield for 12 years and only got snowed in once. You will enjoy your car, Regards, Peter.

Hi Phil, My X Type headlights usually had to be supplemented by my fog/driving lights. It could be that the lens's need cleaning or the other solution could be a change of bulb to those bright ones. The terra clean I has made a tremendous difference, even to my newish engine. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Ian. I have tried on my S type, without success, although I have done some jiggling around with the brightness and contrast, Regards, Peter.

Hi John, Hope your new life in Italy will be absolutely fantastic. The Italians will see that we build nicer cars in the UK! I have not been to Italy since 1950 while they were rebuilding most of it! But the train ride from Dieppe to Rome was brilliant. Regards, Peter.