Dear Sirs,

sorry to disturb, I don't know anything about Jaguar, in fact about cars.
I test drived a MASERATI QUATTROPORTE S FULL OPTION, same year, because I liked the car from outside. After this drive, I decided to test the XF and I was impressed, as my wife too.
Nice car! A lot better behaviour than the Maserati. Big surprise for us.
We drive normally Porsche (Boxster & Cayenne).

So we decided to buy it. We found out that the suspension bushing needs to be changed now. It is said, 5 years or 80.000 kms.
The car was used all 6 years in Middle Easts ultra hot climate.
Does it really needs to be changed now? Or how can I test, if it is necessary?

Thank you for your kind help!

Best regards
CHROMA

 

Does the car seem extra 'bouncy'? I'd go to another mechanic and get a second opinion if you're having doubts

 

Which suspension bushing? Who said it needs to be replaced?

In general, if the car does not wander, or make an clunking noises, or have uneven tire wear, the bushings are ok. There's not much at risk driving a car until the bushings bushings fail. Which is probably why we never seen bushings as a scheduled maintenance item.

 

The authorized dealer stated, the maintenance schedule for suspension bushing is 5 years or 80.000 kms

And as the car is 2009, they want to change it now.

As I stated, the car drives nicer than Maserati (May be no news for you).

 

Now I got the estimate from the authorized dealer
To see in US$ multiply by 2.65 please

I hope this clarifies what have to be done (if you follow the dealers opinion)

Labour cost is not included (don't ask my why, I will need to ask again for the labour cost ...)

 

Oh wow, that's outrageous. They are basically saying that all the wishbones need replacing, plus the anti-roll bar links.

If the car is not making any suspension noise or driving poorly then there is no need to do this, not now anyhow.

It it not a scheduled service item in European or North American markets to change the wishbones. Yes the bushes do eventually wear out but not at exactly 5 years or 80'000kms...

The heat in the Gulf would not have any special affect on the life of the bushes in my opinion.

If you do not hear any knocking sounds, then the bushes are OK.

Also, the individual bushes can be purchased, it is not necessary to replace the entire wishbone. Although a Jaguar dealership might not want to do that.

 

Wow that's around $4600 usd in parts alone. I wouldn't walk, I'd run away from that dealer.

If you can find an honest independent mechanic. There's no need to change all that at any regular interval.

 

Ask the dealer if he has an official document from Jaguar that shows those are maintenance items at that interval.

Even if he shows up with something that is certified by the Queen herself, laugh in his face, because there's no way you need to do that work unless there is evidence in your car that those bushings have failed.

 

I live in Dubai, suspension bushes are wear and tear items like brakes, and definitely not part of scheduled maintenance.

My '10 5.0 has just had upper and lower control arms replaced under warranty, mileage is 46k. Reading forums, it does seem as though the rubber bushings on these cars are quite tender. However the likelihood of essentially all components being changed is pretty slim. There's a Jag independent in Dubai if you need a second opinion.

Ciao

 

Get a second opinion from an independent shop.

Generally suspension bushing do not need to be replaced until far higher mileages. I just lubed the bushings on a friend's Subaru with 250K miles. They are fine.

Once the car is raised in a shop a mechanic should be able to check the suspension for "free play" or looseness. I frankly doubt that all those parts would be in need of replacement, unless the car was abused something fierce on bad road (or off road) surfaces.

 

Thank You, Gentlemen!

I live in Bahrain. We only have the official dealer.
I went to another garage. Pretty big one.

The manager drove the car for 5 minutes and stated:
immediately: brakes only pads, discs are fine,
in next three month: change Sumitomo back tyres (even they look good to me - front is Goodyear)
in next 12 month: some bushes of Suspension, the suspension itself is fine.
accident: car had a small one on right front, but no mayor accident
All in verbal - pretty impressive

My question: Can you repair it? No, we do only bodywork and painting.

It does not look like that there is another independent garage for Jaguar in Bahrain. I didn't find anything.

To replace brake pads (and may be discs) might be not so difficult for another garage, I assume (or do they still need inch tools or any specials?)
Also to check and replace bushings a regular garage should be able to do, I assume.

I will buy the car now, price on the road with full insurance for one year is 17625 US$

Thanks again for your kind advices!

 

That sounds much better. The brake pads are very easy to change, no Jaguar special tools are needed. Any garage or "Do It Yourself" owner can change them.

As to the bushings; if there is no free play in the suspension then all you may need to do is to spray the bushings with some good lubricant. They should extend the lives of those bushings a great deal.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

Don't you need the special tool for the rear brakes to reset the parking brake?

 

In the "How To" Guide Sticked in the XF Forums, edobernig posted a guide on how to change the brakes on the XF S/C and XFR. It has a pdf of how to calibrate and reset the parking brake.