I lost transmission on early 90s BMW to claims of "sealed for life". At about 8 years old it croaked and all used replacements were in as-bad shape, so it made no sense to swap with an about-to-fail used part. It cost me $3K to have transmission fully rebuilt to as-new state, and then with regular ATF changes that transmission made to some crazy mileage (back in my road warrior days) and never gave me any issues. I had that car for another 14 years and its retirement mileage was over 400,000. Transmission was still working well.

I am pretty much certain that if I were to disregard 'sealed for life' and change ATF regularly form the beginning transmission rebuild would have been avoided.

Generally, you want to change transmission fluid and filter every 4 years or 60K miles, but if you do it at least ONCE you are already ahead of the game and would likely double its life. The only exception - don't change fluid if it is already slipping. Fluid shock will accelerate about-to-fail transmission's demise.

 

+1 : The fluid includes corrosion inhibitors which get used up over time. The system is also not really sealed and water is absorbed at the caliper seals and the header, which is vented. Regular flushing is a very good plan and it is cheap and easy.

 

You got a fair price. Then again it is about what OP paid.
I would not have done the plugs, but no harm.

 

I change the brake fluid every season on my Aston's and Lotus...

 

That doesn't sound too far off the mark for what you stated above

 

How could he replace rotors pad and sensors for $200? $200 a wheel? Just the Castrol oil alone is over $85 for that car and filter should be maybe $20? That's never including service and disposal fees...

 

Agreed - an inexpensive oil change is in the neighborhood of $100. My new brake pads alone were $120. Add rotors, sensors, fluid and labor and a brake job is going to be much more. Easily $500 for someone to do all that.

 

Guess you guys missed my reply six posts back.
If all y'all pay that much for parts, I don't want to live where YOU live. I just got last year four rotors for a total of I think $85? They WERE on some sort of sale, but regardless. Porterfield pads were $29 rear and something like $43 front. Sensors???? What sensors?

Also, last time I bought oil it was Valvoline Modern Engine oil and I paid $52 for TEN quarts. Filter was like $6 from Amazon or RockAuto or somewhere, can't remember. There was also an import auto specialist near me that charged $82.50 for a complete oil change using Castrol. They're gone now, turned into a Used Car place.

 

Valvoline is not OEM oil, and were they OEM rotors for $85 for 4? I seriously doubt it. Perhaps they are after market brands like the Porterfield pads? Same with the filter? Was that an OEM Jaguar stamped filter? The Castrol spec oil used is not the run of the mil Castrol oil either. Autozone and like charge about $12-15 a quart.

I am a stickler for only using OEM parts. Nothing worse than seeing a fancy car with miss mash of who knows what's in it parts. It says to me the owner didn't care or didn't have enough money to maintain it correct or deserving. Not saying that is the reality, but the appearance. When I trade in or sell my car, the next owner can assured it was maintained and cared for as best it can be.

 

Why the HECK would I pay an extra $700 just to have a sticker or a stamp that says "jaguar" when they probably aren't even as good as other stuff? Do you also use OEM 2011-style tires? 2011 oil?
You know, stuff gets better than it was when it was new. Especially oil.
Rotors; of course they are aftermarket. I'm not going to pay Jaguar an insane amount of money for a lump of steel when they probably are no better than any other lump of steel that is literally 1/8th the price. There is a Negative chance that Jaguar has the absolute best product on every single piece of every single item on every single piece they sell. Hell, I'd buy aftermarket bolts and such rather than OEM hardware because I know that other makers do it superior. Maintaining everything 'Jaguar' just means that you don't want to upgrade to better stuff even when it's available and most likely cheaper. Perfectly happy to live in the past using old, unimproved everything.
I will NOT pay a ridiculous markup just to say three letters (oem) and have no better of a product.
My daughter is like that..... will only buy cRapple phones because 'cRapple' and that's the entire reason. She doesn't care about specs or performance, but dang it, it'd better have a shiny picture of a chewed fruit on the back.
Nothing worse than someone who pays way more for a label just because "label".
Besides, all Jaguar does is buy Chinese manufactured stuff with a JAGUAR embossed on it. Lowest bidder and all that.
I bypassed the middleman.

 

one would think steel is steel, especially when its just cast and not machined...

BUT. Even by the lowly parts store standards**, they have multiple levels.
1. Crap that will get the job done and the car sold.
2. Crap that we will give you a 6 month warranty
3. Not junk and half as good as OE quality 12m warranty.

In other words there is levels of quality even among thieves.

** they dont have to make a part that will last the length of car warranty, or even emissions warranty, they dont even have to meet any performance metric whatsoever. Nor do they have to worry about reputation.

 

I seem to recall that OEM parts are the lowest supplier cost parts based on meeting the specifications. As for the $7500 charges I'll never see it because my family will be selling the car. I do maybe 4000 miles a year so I now have 24K on the car. If I live 10 more years the car will have maybe 64K miles on it. So I wouldn't be doing a similar 60K tune up.

 

Why don't you just take it with you, and go in style? She did. https://m.mysanantonio.com/150years/...#photo-7545967
Lots of photos in the article.

 

they saw your deep pockets

 

I can buy a set of aftermarket drilled and slotted rotors that are far superior to OEM for a fraction of the price.

 

We've been into OEM versus aftermarket debates before here. The big savings is doing your own labor, it's easily saved me 15-20k in 9 years of x100 ownership. These cars are relatively easy to work on as well, especially considering their near exotic looks!

Just to throw in the two cents of the aftermarket topic... There are aftermarket brands that I will use on my cars for certain applications, that doesn't mean the cheapest, the most expensive, etc; it depends on the part quality and application. I've has factory OEM parts be trash and aftermarket be awesome, and the other way around.

 

My two cents:
The labor rate where I take my car is $140/hr. (Rusnak Jaguar Pasadena, and I think the rate may have gone up.) I think they're awesome, really knowledgeable, and it's usually covered under warranty so I'm happy to have the warranty company pay. (FYI, just got the motor mounts replaced under warranty. Didn't even know there was a problem with 'em. SA-WEET!)
I change my own air filters; I buy an oil filter and take it to a pretty good pep boys where they stock the Castrol Edge that I use. They charge me for the oil they sell me plus twenty bucks for the change. I either buy a Mahle filter on Amazon (about $25) or I go to a Jag dealer (about 30). The eight quarts are $72. So for me, filter and oil alone are about $100. So I think anything in the 100-150 range is reasonable for these cars; ask around and find a Jag dealer who occasionally has oil change specials, or go the Pep Boys route.
Your $7500 figure seems high but not crazy high. I have no idea about the dealership cost on replacing the belt. I DO know that pads, sensors, and rotors all around will run you about $2000-2400 at a Jag dealer.
So I really wouldn't feel too bad about the cost. But from now on, dip your toes in the DIY waters a little more.

 

Well, Jaguar and Rover dealers here charge $175 and up per hour for service, so the rest of you who need to use a dealer have it good. Good thing I can do "most" things on my own.

 

What's the old saying, if you don't like how someone else does it, do it yourself...

 

My dealer plays it a little sharp. They charge $80/ hr and has a sign up . It's a little hard to see the 1/2 hr part. Oh oil service is $160 . This is oil , filter , fluids checked and topped , reset service reminder and their standard checklist. The older I get the less I want to do. .