New to Jag and to Austin
 

I recently moved to Austin after being medically retired from the Army after 12 years. Bought a little project car for myself to get looking good for the GF and daughter. It's a 00 S-Type mainly need little bits and pieces so used parts and suggestions on good shops you've had good experiences with (paint and body, upholstery repair etc. would be of great assistance. Thanks

Steelcowboy,

I'm new to Jaguars, too. I bought a '97 XK8 this past spring. I have not had to take it to a specialized shop yet, but here is what I have learned so far:

• Don't waste time on the local dealer. They don't want to touch anything over 10 years old (not even to top up hydraulic fluid), and their price quotes for parts seem to be double what you can find OEM parts for with some looking around.
• The guys at Jag Techs are friendly and helpful over the phone. If I really need expert help, I'll probably start with them.
• I was pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable the car audio install guys at Best Buy Gateway were when it came to replacing my stereo. I think the guy is named Nick. He does a great job at understanding the task, doing independent research on the car, and communicating what he is doing. Head and shoulders above the dorks at custom sounds.
• The things I have had to work on so far were easier to get at than I had anticipated. You may be able to do more stuff at home than you think.

Good luck!
Tom

Agree with TLynch. Many things are easy enough to tackle on your own with help here on the forum and you can get far better pricing on parts online than at the local dealer. I've had good luck with JagTechs in North Austin, if you do have to take the cat into the shop. The main guys there are former head mechanics at the previous Jag dealer here in town and are very knowledgeable and, IMHO, easy to work with.

Welcome to JagTechs - JagTechs - Jaguar Specialist of Austin

No affiliation, btw.

I have now done business with Jag Techs. I had a front wheel bearing fail, and I wasn't in a position to let the car sit until I could do it. I had the car towed over to them on Friday afternoon, and they were done Friday evening, minus a test drive. I picked it up on Saturday, after the test drive had been done.

Saturday hours alone are enough to keep me in the fold. As with my earlier phone experience, this time on the phone and in person they were friendly, helpful and fast.

Tom

Cool. Saturday hours is news to me.

I almost thought I heard a choir of angels singing, and I may have done a happy dance. :icon_dance-tap:

This car is my daily driver, so it is a pain to have it in the shop. Especially in a shop that is far from my beaten path. Finding Saturday hours, even if limited, from a specialty shop is very nice to have.

Tom

Greetings and welcome! Either/and to Jag and Austin :-) I am lesser new to Jag than to Austin (2.5 years now) but can relate to what has been said here: stay away from dealers, but they don't want to touch 10+ year old cars anyway. A lot of 'regular wear / maintenance" can be done by self, and most parts can be easily found and at reasonable price. And this forum will be your best ally! But I have had my limitations in what I can actually do myself and referred my '01 XJ8 to JagTechs for front suspension bushings/ball joints/link arms replacement (parts purchased myself, hence JT labor only). Clean serious work, friendly relationship.

We may be neighbors. I live near Milburn Park.

Tom

Yeah I like that JagTechs will do the work with your own sourced parts. A lot of places will not do that. I find often that I have projects I haven't gotten to, so I take the Jag to them with my already purchased parts and they take care of them for me.

I do too tlynch. Will PM you

It's a small world!

Tom