I just received an estimate for a complete brake job, front and rear, on my 85 xj6. $2900. Anyone interested in an 85 Jag xj6?

 

Scary amount of $$$$. In my '85 XJ6 rebuild, the "complete brake job" portion (4 new rotors, ceramic pads frt/r, caliper soft parts kits, stainless steel pistons frt/r, e-brake pads) adds up to about $900 in parts/shipping and I do all of my own labor. A very loose break down for shop time might be: $125/hr, which would allow about 16hr to do the job. My opinion is that any mechanic who is worth his roll-away and makes a living wrenching, should be able to do it in 16hrs. So, although I think that is a LOT of money, it might be somewhere in the ball park, maybe over by the left-field wall.

These old Jaguars are not particularly difficult to work on, but you need the proper shop manual and the curiosity and comfort with tools to see it through.

Dave

 

How much are you sell for?
post photos, It may have it way to mainland Africa

 

Most of the labour hours are for the rear discs that are inboard. If the quote is based on an inspection, it is likely the rear calipers need complete refurbishing especially the handbrake caliper. The rear brakes tend to get ignored and when work is really IS needed, the cost reflects that.

 

Sounds excessive to me. I was able to reuse my rotors and rear caliper pistons; total of parts was maybe 275 bucks for pads, hoses, rear caliper rebuild kits, and remanufactured front calipers.

It is possible the mechanic didn't want to fool with it and gave a high quote to scare you off. It amazes me why people are so afraid of working on these cars.

 

Well, we don't know what was included in the $2900 quote. If you take parts are full retail pricing (not online bargain pricing) and shop labor at $125+/hour, it adds up fast.

But, yes, a lot of shops don't want to be bothered with oddball cars and try to scare customers off. Most shops prefer the low hanging fruit and who can blame them? In the time it takes to do the Jag brake job they can bang out several Honda brake jobs...with their eyes closed and whistling a tune.

Cheers
DD

 

If you ask a barber if you need a haircut the answer is always going to be "yes". Do you really need a comple brake job? Or are they just saying that? If the calipers are not leaking or frozen just let them be. If the rotors have a huge lip or are warped then they need replaced or turned, if not, they are fine. The pads probably need replaced which is a do it yourself job for well under $100. Lots of YouTube videos on how to do it. You need to know exactly what needs attention and why, then you can make an intelligent decision.

Jeff

 

In buildings It is called "scope of the work".

 

Of course.

Since we don't have knowledge of the history of the car, nor any idea whatsoever what is included in the estimate, nor why xxx- is included, all we can do is speculate and ruminate.

It might be a huge con job rip-off.

It might just as easily be a shop not willing to do a half-way job on a 36 year old car.

It might be that everything on the estimate is 100% legitimate and justifiable.

It might be the shop doesn't want the job at all.

Cheers
DD

 

If I can't do it myself, usually due to time involved, and have to take one of my rigs to a shop I don't know, First thing I see a lot of them thinking is, "AHA! Ditzy Woman! Easy Mark! This should be fun! What will she know?"

Then I tell them Exactly what I need, what I want them to do and present them with the part(s). Their reaction tells me if they get any more of my business. I have settled on ONE shop and for almost all my repair needs. They treat me well, seem genuinely glad to see me, don't charge an arm, leg and rights to my first born. Best of all, THEY GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!
(';')

 

Don't we all expect this conundrum at some point?

 

not really , we do have the option of doing staged preventative maintenance rather than having things happen to us. Sometimes when you buy a car you have to bite the bullet , but for long term holds its really up to us and reflects our views on reactive, qualitative and preventative maintenance.

 

Preventative maintenance is the gateway drug to performing all DIY work on a vehicle, making the distinct possibility this conundrum will never appear (at least it hasn't for me).

 

Keeping any 30-40 year old car on the road exposes the owner to some hefty repairs bills. Without DIY repairs I'd never be able to afford owning a cool old Jag. I'd surely join the ranks of millions of others- making monthly payments on a modern car and trade it off for another before any major repair expenses cropped up.

Cheers
DD

 

Yup. Even as DIYer I plan ahead and then break things down into bite-sized chunks.

It's really no different than taking care of your home. The best time to repair something is before it actually needs to be repaired. You replace the roof before it starts leaking. You repaint before the old paint starts falling off.

Cheers
DD

 

I jacked up the rear of my S3 to look at the brakes and saw what I thought were 32 year old pads with 3 mm left. I ordered new pads and continued to drive the car to work and back, say 200 km total by the time the pads arrived. Jacking up the car the secone time I saw that one pad had disintegrated, its backing plate dropped out, and the brake piston digging into the rotor. I hadn't heard or felt anything while all this happened.

So my intended preventative maintenance was a week late, and the whole rear end had to come out. $1900CAD in parts from SNG Barratt and I think we covered about everything. Should be good for a bit. I really thought I could avoid it and that expense is why I put off having an XJ6 for years.

 

I agree completely but have found that being the custodian my car needs has taken me a bit of practice...years in fact, and mistakes were made, things not noticed in time...despite my good intentions!

...Just spotted this "Reality is nearly always sub optimal" haha so true, same car, the head gasket went at about 50,000 km, yes it was 30 years old but the mechanic who fixed it swears the original had been installed upside-down.

 

But nobody ever mentions depreciation of new cars, which is hidden until the car is traded in. Just to give you an idea, my XE was purchased for about £21k in January 2019 and was then not yet two years old and only had 10k miles on it, but this was about half the price of a new one, so the depreciation was £20k. So, Doug, maybe the bills for the older Jaguars aren't that bad after all. Why did I buy this XE ? I must be nuts I hear you say ! I suppose the attraction is not having to keep on fixing things every week and having a warranty.

 

Points well taken !

But, as you say, depreciation is invisible until you go to sell. The pain is at the end, some years down the road. Coming up with lump sums of cash for repairs is painful today !

Cheers
DD

 

We have always considered any repairs as Payments for the privilege of driving them.
As all of them are paid for and Addie is the newest of the fleet,we expect to have to make a payment once in a while.

We could buy a LOT of parts for a Monthly Payment on something I might not mind being seen driving.
(';')