'coupla grand !! Pfftt Nothing. I just open the Bonnet/Hood (what ever you Americans call the engine door part) and just throw that amount in there every few months with the engine running just in case.

 

Very big bill.

And duplication in labour charges. It is very difficult to justify a labour charge for changing sparkplugs when 98 percent of the work has already been charged for in the valve cover gasket replacement. The only thing left at that point is to unscrew the old sparkplugs and screw in the new ones before putting the new gaskets in place.

The valve cover gasket labour is also quite ambitious, as is the labour for the thermostat housing and the accessory drive work.

Of course, that is without a breakdown of the hours charged. Hourly rates are geography dependent, but the number of hours is not.

If you don't mind, that's fine ... otherwise some comparison shopping is in order.

 

Plums, you have to understand that those of us who are lucky enough to live in San Diego must pay the increased rates for everything as a 'tax' for living in the greatest spot in the world... the cost of living IS somewhat higher here.

Jeanette, welcome to the forum - I'll be looking for your BRG VDP as I cruise around SD - in what community of San Diego do you live? As far as age, I'm about half way between you and those 'retirees'... but I did get my XJ from my father (now 89) once he became too old to drive it anymore, LOL!

The great news is that once you get most of the current issues out of the way, you can hope to expect a long while before any huge bills show again.

 

QuadManiac...AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH re:living in San Diego.

But I'm ok with the charges. My shop charged me $100 an hour for labor and the total labor charges were only 1/3 of the bill. The rest were parts as I had A LOT done to my little kitten. She's riding soooooooo much nicer though! I do have another little issue that popped up with the CEL sometimes on, sometimes off. O2 sensor sometimes working, sometimes not is what the codes are telling us. As she literally just passed smogged, I'll be getting that done on her next oil change (by now about 2,000 miles away) unless it gets worse. Next plan with her is to take advantage of some of this "spring cleaning" motivation I have and work on some of the little cosmetic things on her and give her a really good TLC detail. I'll probably do it myself since I'm a total control/neat freak and plus I really just love the time with my kitten. I'll post pics when I'm done! Might even work on a new stereo depending on how far my motivation goes.

As far as what area of San Diego...I live in the Mira Mesa area and I believe I'm the only dark green, tinted window Jag cruising around those parts (as I've only seen a couple silver ones and a burgundy one-none with tint-I think the tint is more for the less "seasoned" owner) ;-) But my works takes me all over the county (I'm a make-up artist who specializes in photography make-up so photo shoot have taken me and my kitten everywhere from the beaches in San Diego, to the desert to Beverly Hills).

QuadManiac-Are you a member of the San Diego Jaguar Club? I will be becoming a member soon!

Anyhow, thanks guys for all of diagnostic help! Truly appreciated!

 

Great to have you aboard.
Steve

 

Tis a sad, sad day for me and my kitten. :-( Trannie failure. :-( Getting is rebuilt to the tune of $4k and shall be without her for two weeks. Darling hubbie wants me to ditch her but with everything we've put into her...I just can't. :-(

 

So sad to hear Jeanette......we're here for you if you need a shoulder to lean on.

Hope she's back with you as soon as possible and better than ever