On a 1997 XJ6 what would I expect to pay to have a shop replace the headliner? The local shop here was all over the place on a quote, from $350.00 to a possible $1200.00. What have you guys paid to have this done?

 

Depending on market competition, $200 on the low end to $350 on the high end. You'll do better having it done in the city due to more shops in competition. Of course, if you have to burn an entire tank of gas to get there, then that must be taken into account..

You can do it yourself for under $100. It's a fairly simple process.

 

Just did my LWB myself. The process is doable but tricky. I've got a couple of air pockets around the sun visor indent and the fabric is several shades away from the lighting console / sun visors. Had to take all the seats out to get the board back in. Ripped two pillar trims getting them off and had to buy a load of trim clips off eBay as they all snapped. Still can't find any clips for the alarm unit.

Next time I'll pay someone.

 

Likewise, I did mine myself at a cost of about €60.00. I didn't have to remove any seats and fortunately, didn't do any damage.

It can be a bit tricky, but very do-able. Air pockets can be caused by a lack of adhesive in places, or by stretching the fabric a little too much, especially around sun visor areas, as the fabric will try to return to its' original "flat" nature.

It's no harm to leave the headliner out of the car after it's done, even overnight. Lay it flat, upside down (Fabric showing) and place some weights, books for example, on it, especially around visor areas. Putting it straight back into the car requires some wrestling and bending which can disturb the fabric adhesion. Then gravity is working against it.

 

FWIW I paid about $300 to have the headliner replaced on my older XJ6 a dozen years ago.

I'd say $300-$400 sounds about right. I can't imagine $1200.

Also FWIW I replaced the headliner myself (well, an extra pair of hands from my brother was very helpful) for $50 in material and spray adhesive. Took about 4-5 hours as I recall. We didn't do the sunroof section.

Cheers
DD

 

Heh heh....better to not know how many clips they busted and jammed back in with a bit of tape or whatever would hold to get it out the door, eh?