only sure about communist Nj but here auto repair shops have to carry garage keepers' insurance that covers cars in the shop. most times shops will just pay out of pocket to repair any damage that happened while car was in their care

 

Guys, in my case the mechanic had insurance, a good one, but if we involve them the car would be totalled.... again. Shop owner paid a lot of money to put the car back on the road and in a fairly good condition. There are still some issues, they replaced the windshield with a heated one, we do not need those in Florida and I can't stand the vertical wire lines on it. There are some small spots on the paint (in some hidden corners) that will be fixed this Monday. Today our car audio guy took out the crappy Sirius unit and replace it with an original wood console on it, a lot of work because the unit is all the way to the back of the car, will post pics tomorrow, cost me $150.00 instead of the original $80. If any one want the Sirius receiver let me know I'll ship it to you for free, antenna and all. Have to travel next week, AGAIN, when back I will take Jinxie to our interior guy, will fix some wear a tear on the driver's side door handle and seat. Still looking for some mats! Sentinelist, you are safe, I need them in dove or whatever that color is called.

 

First night at home. Still some issues pending. Not liking the bumper mesh grille, a waste of money.


Welsh Enterprises wheel caps. A perfect fit unlike the ebay ones, by the way, the ebay ones are made in Italy and pretty good quality wise but doesn’t fit in Jaguar Custom five spoke 19” wheels.

 

Allignment went really well. Frame is in perfect shape.

 

What a beautiful Jag you have, MBJAG, hopefully it'll last you many more years.
BTW, I notice that your rear view mirror was replaced, was it like that when you bought it?

 

They replaced the windshield with an incorrect heated one. I just asked to be replaced again with the proper one. Rear view mirror was incorrectly installed, should be attached correctly on the new windshield. What a mess.

NOTE: I’m checking the pics of the car when I bought it and you are right! That’s not the original rear view mirror!

 

This is the original rear view mirror.

This is the one in the car now. Will find out what’s going on.

 

Omg, maybe they installed the windshield with the mirror still attached? lol

 

Salvage parts are sold to replace damaged ones.
Nothing wrong with that really if the part is in good condition.
Could be this heated front windshield is an upgrade, or an option.
An option or upgrade not needed in Fla, maybe handy in Canada, or Alaska
Never heard of a heated front windshield myself, just the rear
Just insist that the proper windshield is used, with your mirror.
They are the ones that damaged the original windshield after all.

 

Hell is waiting for them Monday morning, they are already looking for the correct windshield... but I feel really betrayed that they changed the rear view mirror without telling me, if the lost it I'll buy one with a compass in ebay... they will have to pay for it. The heated windshield is awful when driving against the sun, it looks like you are driving a jail house truck.

 

Beautiful! It's working out! Even with a weird mirror situation!

 

Thanks Sentinelist, it’s taking shape slowly. Tomorrow I’ll find out about the mirror. Will have an original installed, for sure! I just cleaned the tailpipes, after 15 years neglected. Only took 10 minutes using Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser, see the pics below:





Didn’t need to use polishing compound.

 

MBJAG she's a beauty, and good on you for saving her.

What a story!

Sounds like she's earned the name Jinxy - with you paying a high price in aggravation for the last month.

Hopefully you're near the end of all that, and can start enjoying it soon. It also sounds like you are only into it for around $6k so far? (and Dropsy for another $5k) - and it has been completely gone through and corrected - and repainted.
That's a pretty good deal right there.

 

Meatbag, we are around $9k so far if you include new Michelin tires, wheel paint, OEM spark plugs, engine (Mobil1 Full Synthetic) and transmission oil and pan (OEM), filters, installing a wood center console instead of the Syrius unit, etc, etc., which are things I would do to any used car I buy. I left the car at the shop for small paint corrections, the rear view mirror issue and correct windshield installation and a complete list of details to be checked, I'll be out the country for a week, so the owner promised me he would do it personally and without a rush. Will let you know when back guys. The car is a beauty, even after all this odyssey.


Lets hope she doesn’t jump again.

 

Well, I'm abroad, the mechanic called me Jinxie spurted all the coolant while being detailed. He said it's a broken radiator and that I have two choices, an unbranded one for $150 or a trusted one for $300. Labor will be $400. I'm not happy, not at all.

 

Unbelievable. I don't understand why the responsibility doesn't fall on the mechanic. It's one thing if they found evidence of a long term slow leak necessitating replacement. A complete failure of a component while under their care, especially as a direct result of the activity they are undertaking, should be their responsibility. Furthermore, how can they show that this failure wasn't a consequence of the car falling off the lift? Either way, whether it is because of their carelessness while detailing the car, or because of the shock from the impact of the car falling off the lift, they should be responsible. I don't even see how this happens from being detailed. What exactly broke on the radiator anyway, the inlet/outlet or something else?

 

parts fail. i don't think anybody did anything to cause this to happen and its better it happened while not on the road. it might have been a lot worse.

 

My X350 has gone to my stepson who I hope will keep the car in good nick. So far so good and he is a bit of a petrol head with 3 cars to his name now. More of a chick magnet than his other cars because it looks so elegant and different amidst the throng of modern cars.
I replaced it with a turbo 2L XF Portfolio, not quite as nice to drive as the X350, not quite so different.
The X350 was only a 3.5L NA V8, but more than enough power for me and I was glad it had no turbo or SC.
That being the case it had less plastic parts in the cooling system but I did have to replace the plastic thermostat housing at 110,000km.
Not because it broke, but an O ring was leaking coolant and possibly the housing was a bit warped with age. For a spare part it was not too expensive, maybe since many fail and there is a big turnover in the part.
A recent post on the X260 ( late model XF ) forum told a tale of woe with an engine ruined when a plastic part failed. That generated other stories of plastic failures. Seems it could be rare for any modern Jag with a substantial burden of plastic items in the cooling system to reliably get much beyond 100,000 miles unless many are replaced or at least carefully and regularly checked. There are suggestions the plastic blight has the same effect in the engines of many cars.

 

I recently had to replace my supercharger, which sounded as though the needle roller bearings for the rotors were worn, and indeed there was noticeable play in them. As part of the process, I had to disturb some of the heater connections. As I have rear air con, there are two Y-connectors at the back of the engine bay. I found one of them had fractured during my efforts to remove the false bulkhead. I managed to get a metal replacement made, and then realised after assembling everything, that the other Y-connector had broken in a different place. That was not good news as a long-planned trip of about 2000 miles was due in about a week. After some thought, I had a brainwave. I replaced the Y-connectors with lengths of heater hose, exactly as is done in cars without rear aircon. It was summer, I had no rear passengers, so who cares? The repair went as planned, the car performed perfectly, and the replacement parts from Jaguar Classic spares arrived while I was away. Cost: NZ$300. I am trusting that the new parts will last as long as the originals (about 14 years). The black plastic parts seem to suffer some degradation due to the coolant and the temperature cycles. The inside of my engine appears very clean. I always refill the engine with R.O (reverse osmosis) water, which is very pure, and the manual specifies distilled water. At some point my coolant has been changed from orange to green type, but it works ok. Some time soon, I must fit the replacement Y-connectors and restore full functionality to the rear aircon, but it's about a two or three hour job for this old man.

 

The radiator was leaking from the top, through the rubber seals. They will replace it with an OEM one. I'm pretty sure the leaking was caused by age, not because of the fall. The car is still at the body shop, they have to fix some imperfections on the respray. I finally decided to replace the passenger side fender because I don't like how it looks after the repair. They will paint it for free. One tip for you all, the trim around the windows is made of aluminum, these guys managed to polish it with compound and nowit looks almost brand new. See below. I tried to upload some videos but don’t know how.