Hi all,


Just replaced my 08 XK-R with a 5.0 XK Portfolio. Had a wonderful trip around Europe in the Pyrenees, Spanish GP and Picos de Europa. Great roads, great car. Slightly spoiled though by the fact that although I bought from a Jag dealer the car is not as good as it should be. During the trip I looked at the pre delivery MOT and it states advisories "both front tyres inner edge worn", "nail in rear tyre", "Slight sidewall damage". I raised this with the salesman on my return and he seemed to think that this was all within their limits and said wear and tear etc. Worst though is the fact that the lower grill has either been removed/replaced and doesn't clip in to the bottom spoiler. It would take a good push up to get the tabs on the grill to locate and I'm frightened they will snap off. Dealer suggests "it should be an easy fix" (although they should have checked this before sale (so should I) ), and to get an estimate from a garage for refitting and they "may" pay something towards the cost as a "goodwill" gesture.
I would take it back to the dealer and demand they sort it but they are 700 miles away at the other end of the country.
Any thoughts on an easy fix to get the grill clipped in? Lower spoiler appears to be sagged a bit in the middle and paintwork perfect for a 20k mileage car so I wonder if it has been repaired at some stage??
Lesson is take time to check before buying, I've bought from main dealers 5 times now and never any issues so just too trusting......

 

Perhaps posting photos may help illustrate your lower grille issue.

 

I'm waiting for an upper and lower grill from Mina which they say has instructions on removal and installation (they say I wont have to take the nose off the car to swap them). When it all arrives if it makes sense I'll post the instructions. I should have it this week.

 

As you can see, the middle three of the five clips aren't in. It takes a fair push to get the lower spoiler to rise and attempt to push the clips in and I fear they may snap if I do force it. (Apologies for the road kill, just done 3000 miles in Europe!)

 

Are the tabs broken off the bottom of the grill, or did they just pop out from hitting something? The tabs slide in to those slots. and then metal clips slide over the tabs.

 

Unless the lower portion is flexible I would think there would be a lot of stress on the grill. I would get new clips and use a flat board and a floor jack and put presser on the bottom and then insert the 3 clips.

 

Tabs are on and that was the way the car was delivered to me only I never spotted it until having left the dealership and on the ferry to Spain.

 

I did think that.... a flat board and jack and leave it in position to see if it stays up without too much strain. Do you think I would need clips? The tabs are there and would go through if it stays up.... heat gun before jacking??

 

I wouldn't think you would need heat just a board maybe 3 feet long. Jack it up until the clip slots line up and insert the 3 clips. You should do all 3 as only one would put to much stress on the clips.

 

You have to jack the car up, pull off the bottom pan, remove the bottom grill and insert it properly. Should take about an hour. I just did the same thing with my car.

 

So are you saying that the grill has shifted up out of position? Would it then be loose as it sits now? That would then beg the question of how did the clips get removed and why is the grill misaligned. Was the lower section repaired or replaced?

 

I have a feeling that is what has happened, lower section repaired as it is very fresh paint wise. Sloppy body shop if that is the case.....

 

I'll give it a go before I go to a body shop.

 

Did exactly this and left it with a bit of strain on with the jack for 24hours. All is good and appears to be holding in shape Thanks for the advice jagtoes

 

Update to the grill problem. It popped out again as it does need the clips to hold it in place. Went to my local bodyshop and we took the bumper off and repaired properly. It had been accident repaired and was poorly put back together with clips off the top too. There were two washers under one side along the shutline with the effect of lifting that side out of line too... All sorted now and looking good, sent Jag dealer an e mail explaining all and would they pay for the work and............. no reply I'll give them a day or two yet before contacting Jaguar customer care.

 

Update on the problems. Dealer aftersales manager has been in touch and has agreed to pay all costs including two new tyres. Happy with the outcome, just shows to persevere and be polite throughout and eventually you get the desired outcome.