Jaguar Mechanic

Raheny

Hi All,

Recently bought a 2001 Jag XK8 and want to find a Jag specialist mechanic to do servicing etc., preferably on the northside of Dub or else in the Greater Dub Area (I was shocked to discover what main Jag dealer Spirit in Sandyford charge for labour and parts). I've spoken to Jag aficionado Derek Dickinson in Wexford, but Ferns is a bit too far for me to travel for a service.

Thanks!

Switcharoo

I know Derek Dickinson - good guy, but since he moved to Wexford, I'd only get him to do major jobs now. Luckily I haven't had to make the trek down yet!

I have a 2003 XKR, and I use Aiden Birmingham Fuel Injection Services in Baldoyle 01-8394580. They have done lots of general work on the XKR for me, etc. Couldn't be happier. I used to have an XK8 too and that's when I started using them, as they were recommended.

Spirit are a shower of w*nkers. Overpriced, sh*t, and a 2-3 week waiting list to book your car in!

Darragh29

Raheny wrote: »

Hi All,

Recently bought a 2001 Jag XK8 and want to find a Jag specialist mechanic to do servicing etc., preferably on the northside of Dub or else in the Greater Dub Area (I was shocked to discover what main Jag dealer Spirit in Sandyford charge for labour and parts). I've spoken to Jag aficionado Derek Dickinson in Wexford, but Ferns is a bit too far for me to travel for a service.

Thanks!

Haha, fur coat and no knickers are we!?!?! I know a good Jag mechanic in Dublin but I want to ask him is he taking private work before I send you on his number...

cianclarke

Darragh29 wrote: »

Haha, fur coat and no knickers are we!?!?! I know a good Jag mechanic in Dublin but I want to ask him is he taking private work before I send you on his number...

Oh cop on, Jaguar main dealers are absolute thieves for servicing, independents are the way to go.

And it's a 2001 XK8 - at that age, is it really worth continuing the Jaguar FSH?

Darragh29

cianclarke wrote: »

Oh cop on, Jaguar main dealers are absolute thieves for servicing, independents are the way to go.

And it's a 2001 XK8 - at that age, is it really worth continuing the Jaguar FSH?

Cop on!?! WTF is he doing buying a car that he can't afford to service & maintain!?! Jag are no more expensive than any main dealer, this fur coat and no knickers mentality is the bane of any mecanics life...

galwaytt

Darragh29 wrote: »

Haha, fur coat and no knickers are we!?!?!

Ha - hey, don't knock 'til you've tried it !

Switcharoo

Darragh29 wrote: »

Cop on!?! WTF is he doing buying a car that he can't afford to service & maintain!?! Jag are no more expensive than any main dealer, this fur coat and no knickers mentality is the bane of any mecanics life...

Stop spouting sh*te. I have a 2003 XKR - I paid around €80k last year. I have to pay my insurance, I have to pay my tax, and I have to put fuel in it - I can afford these costs, and they are mostly fixed.
But when it comes to a service, I can either pay €800 with Jaguar (that's what it cost me for my XK8), spend half the day driving over to Sandyford from Baldoyle & get public transport back (a feeder bus to Blackrock + DART to Bayside), have to wait 2 weeks to book it in, have to wait 2 days for the service to be done, and then spend another half day getting public transport back over & then drive back on the amazing M50. OR, I can drop it around the corner & pay €500 for a full service by an equally qualified & specialised mechanic.

Bottom line is I can afford the extortionate price that Spirit would charge me - but I'm not retarded enough to pay it, in additon to the hassle of waiting to book it in & trekking over there. That's all just common sense.

Anan1

Darragh29 wrote: »

Cop on!?! WTF is he doing buying a car that he can't afford to service & maintain!?! Jag are no more expensive than any main dealer, this fur coat and no knickers mentality is the bane of any mecanics life...

Who says he can't afford to service & maintain it? You really need to ease off on the assumptions, Darragh, this isn't the first hole they've landed you in.

Raheny

Darragh29 wrote: »

Cop on!?! WTF is he doing buying a car that he can't afford to service & maintain!?! Jag are no more expensive than any main dealer, this fur coat and no knickers mentality is the bane of any mecanics life...

Thanks, Darragh, for your "fur coat and no knickers" comment and for the host of assumptions you've already made about me.

The main reason I am looking for an alternative to Spirit, as others have since suggested in this thread, is down to value for money. Regardless of my level of disposible income, which is none of your business, I think most rational people look for value when making expensive purchases. Given that a major service for an XK8 typically costs around a grand in Spirit, I'd consider this a fairly significant outlay. Second, my experience with main dealer servicing on previous cars I've onwed from new makes me inclined to look at alternatives. Third, Spirit is not convenient for my home/work and charges for a courtesy car. Finally, I've heard there are many talented specialist mechanics out there who can provide servicing and maintenance to at least the same standards as Spirit at more competitive prices.

Thanks, Switcharoo, for the recommendation. Bayside isn't far at all for me. I've heard of a crowd called Dublin Automotive in Kilbarrack (closer again) that are supposed to be good. Anyone had any dealings with them?

Switcharoo

Raheny wrote: »

Thanks, Darragh, for your "fur coat and no knickers" comment and for the host of assumptions you've already made about me.

The main reason I am looking for an alternative to Spirit, as others have since suggested in this thread, is down to value for money. Regardless of my level of disposible income, which is none of your business, I think most rational people look for value when making expensive purchases. Given that a major service for an XK8 typically costs around a grand in Spirit, I'd consider this a fairly significant outlay. Second, my experience with main dealer servicing on previous cars I've onwed from new makes me inclined to look at alternatives. Third, Spirit is not convenient for my home/work and charges for a courtesy car. Finally, I've heard there are many talented specialist mechanics out there who can provide servicing and maintenance to at least the same standards as Spirit at more competitive prices.

Thanks, Switcharoo, for the recommendation. Bayside isn't far at all for me. I've heard of a crowd called Dublin Automotive in Kilbarrack (closer again) that are supposed to be good. Anyone had any dealings with them?

Yes, I know them well - they're good for bodywork. My Mam used to bring her Mazda there for services & repairs, etc, as they're cheap, but I wouldn't trust them with my XKR!

Ta me anseo

Switcharoo wrote: »

Stop spouting sh*te. I have a 2003 XKR - I paid around €80k last year. I have to pay my insurance, I have to pay my tax, and I have to put fuel in it - I can afford these costs, and they are mostly fixed.
But when it comes to a service, I can either pay €800 with Jaguar (that's what it cost me for my XK8), spend half the day driving over to Sandyford from Baldoyle & get public transport back (a feeder bus to Blackrock + DART to Bayside), have to wait 2 weeks to book it in, have to wait 2 days for the service to be done, and then spend another half day getting public transport back over & then drive back on the amazing M50. OR, I can drop it around the corner & pay €500 for a full service by an equally qualified & specialised mechanic.

Bottom line is I can afford the extortionate price that Spirit would charge me - but I'm not retarded enough to pay it, in additon to the hassle of waiting to book it in & trekking over there. That's all just common sense.

Jaysus lads that pretty angry stuff. Silly but angry nonetheless.

Indys are always better value because regular servicing could be done by a monkey. (Genuinely no disrespect meant to Baldoyle man or Wexford man) There is no troubleshooting or thinking in it whatsoever. Once you have a basic knowledge of the car then really anyone could do it. You don't need a main dealer for that unless you think a Jag FSH is important. When things go wrong, the main dealer will likely, but not always, be the best place to go, but if you have a trusted indy you use who can argue with that.

All the same, really the only complaints about Spirit Motors that I see here are mostly related to the fact that you live in Baldoyle and they are based in Sandyford. That's hardly a reason to fault them. If you don't like the DART, bus or M50 then that's your own problem.

I also fail to see how a two week wait for a service is a problem either. Since you seem intelligent :rolleyes: as given away by the fact that you felt it necessary to tell everyone the large sum of money you paid for your car when a simple "I can afford it" would do, surely you know when your car is due for service and can anticipate it. Or is the case that you suddenly call your indy in a panic on a Tuesday morning and say "My car is about to turn into a pumpkin" Help!" and he nicely fits you in that afternoon? If it takes two weeks to book a service that means they're busy. How dare they be busy? And what are all those other people doing using them if they are a pack of w**kers?


If it takes 2 days to get back I expect it was because you left the car in mid morning rather than first thing. If you did leave it at 8am and it still took 2 days I would be confident that a simple "Lads, I need the car this evening. 2 days is too long." would have been ample. But perhaps you were looking at your bank balance or payslip or something like that instead and got distracted.

So that leaves price. 500 indy or 800 main dealer. That is about the same ratio of cost for every single make and model of car I have ever owned.

So the only thing I can't really argue about is the claim that they are w**kers. I use them for all work on my car. (I'm not telling you how much I paid for it. You'll have to guess. :cool:) Always found them courteous, helpful and very friendly. I live a lot further away than you but I use the time waiting for my car to pop into the city and shop, browse or meet friends. Otherwise, if it's available, I get a courtesy car from them. But this is such a subjective thing really. Perhaps they were having a bad day or maybe they were upset they couldn't get your bill up to 4 figures. Or maybe they had realised you are a plonker and were sick dealing with you. That poor lad in Baldoyle must be really pi**ed off that he keeps getting their knock off customers.....

Sorry, I just can't resist raising peoples blood pressure when they should know better. Have fun writing the reply!

VolvoMan

Switcharoo wrote: »

Stop spouting sh*te. I have a 2003 XKR - I paid around €80k last year.

You did not did you?:eek:

Plug

Im a second year apprentise and have serviced jags, not rocket science.

Fey!

You could always book into the G hotel in Galway for a weekend, and drop the XK next door into Bradleys. Weekend away, car sorted, and the expertise of the guy who has won the Jaguar Worldwide top technician award for the last 2 years!

Ta me anseo

Fey! wrote: »

You could always book into the G hotel in Galway for a weekend, and drop the XK next door into Bradleys. Weekend away, car sorted, and the expertise of the guy who has won the Jaguar Worldwide top technician award for the last 2 years!

But they're so far away from where I live? They must be absolute idiots and cheating, robbing gits! And don't get me started about that crowd in Kerry. Three buses, two trains and a taxi just to get new wipers! This country is really going downhill!!!

Fey!

Ta me anseo wrote: »

But they're so far away from where I live? They must be absolute idiots and cheating, robbing gits! And don't get me started about that crowd in Kerry. Three buses, two trains and a taxi just to get new wipers! This country is really going downhill!!!

??????????????? WTF ???????????????

Ta me anseo

Just slaggin the Switcharoo bloke. Ignore me..........

Darragh29

The only point I'm making is that the more expensive the car, the more likely the owner the will be on here saying that they don't want to have their car serviced at a main dealer due to costs, and at the same time, the first thing these folks want to have established as a fact before they buy their overpriced set of wheels from a main dealer, as is the case here, is that it comes will a full main dealer service history!

Esel

Build a bridge, Darragh! How goes the online business idea, btw?

Switcharoo

Darragh29 wrote: »

the first thing these folks want to have established as a fact before they buy their overpriced set of wheels from a main dealer, as is the case here, is that it comes will a full main dealer service history!

And? Nobody denied that, so you're arguing with yourself here. What a pointless & obvious thing to point out! Well done! :rolleyes: Yes, I got a full Jag service history on my car, and the person who buys mine won't, and that'll be reflected in the price. So?
And I've never bought any wheels or add-ons, BTW, so I don't know where your getting your "as is the case here" crap from - oh yeah, you made it up.

I can get my car serviced where I want, and there are better (& closer) mechanics out there than the lazy main dealers - that's the only point I made, and it's my opinion, which is subjective. I was replying to the OP, who asked if anyone knew anywhere to get work done on his Jag on the Northside, without having to go to Spirit - I have done for years, so I answered him.

And I don't know why "Ta me anseo" is getting so wound up & angry about what I choose to do! He suggests taking a day off work & go into the 'big smoke' for a days shopping while your car gets serviced? lol - spending the whole day hanging around and having to use public transport, just so you can wait around all day? THAT'S your suggestion? :P And that's better than dropping it in around the corner, walking back home within 5 mins, collecting it that evening, and paying 40% less? I see..... seems we're both getting the same end result, except I travel less, pay less, and get to stay at home - so how is your idea better? :rolleyes:

I just can't resist raising peoples blood pressure

You thought making a crap suggestion for how to get my car serviced was a 'zing' - lol. In your own little world, eh!

Ta me anseo

Switcharoo wrote: »

He suggests taking a day off work...And that's better than dropping it in around the corner, walking back home within 5 mins, collecting it that evening...?

Well it would seem that your idea could only be better than taking a day off work if you work from home. Assuming you run your toys and prams business from home then you win! :rolleyes:

I not so much angry or wound up as a little tired of people who slate businesses or services for the most idiotic reasons. A waiting list for servicing and particularly having a long distance to travel to them are perhaps some of the worst reasons I have heard for calling a place a shower of w**kers! Also your price claims put Spirit in the same category as every other main dealer in the country and your 2 day service says more about you than them!

Anyhoo, each to their own. Have fun!

Sorry OP, back to your thread. Hope you find a decent indy nearby....

Ta me anseo

Switcharoo wrote: »

And I've never bought any wheels or add-ons, BTW, so I don't know where your getting your "as is the case here" crap from - oh yeah, you made it up.

Sorry, last time I promise! Didn't spot this funny comment till afterwards! The "Wheels" Darragh refers to aren't the roundy rolling things at the four corners of your car, it's a commonly used term on Planet Earth to mean the car itself.

All done now, bye bye.....

BrokenSpiral

Hi Raheny,

Just some general comments really.

For routine work you are 100% correct to stay away from Spirit, I had a particularly tough time with them with my 97 XK8!

Almost anyone can do the work but I bought the parts from http://www.britishparts.co.uk/ myself as they are seriously good value and cheaper than any mechanic will get them in ireland!

But, for any major work definately get down to Ferns or over to one of the Jag specialists in Wales.

You may already know about the Nikasil problem with the early release of that engine so find out of you have the Nikasil lined bores or the steel ones which came later in 2001. If it's the Nikasil bores then get some specialist advice on the potential problems or let me know and I'll fill you in on my experience!

Happy Motoring!

Switcharoo

Ta me anseo wrote: »

Well it would seem that your idea could only be better than taking a day off work if you work from home.

I work for myself: so I do work from home a lot, but I also have an office 10mins up the road in Howth. So yes, my idea is better either way.

I not so much angry or wound up as a little tired of people who slate businesses or services for the most idiotic reasons.

lol - so being more expensive, being 25 times further away (literally: 15miles vs. 0.6) , and not being able to book it in on a day that's suits ME, are all idiotic reasons...?

So next time you have to take a day of work to drop in your imported X-type, and drive in rush-hour traffic over to Spirit in crappy Sandyford Ind. Est. traffic, then get on the bus into town and hang around aimlessly all day, then get a bus back to Sandyford, then hand over 40% more cash for the same job, and then drive back to bogsville in rush-hour traffic again - just relish in the fact that I'M the sucker, and you're a total winner with your amazing life hack! lol

The "Wheels" Darragh refers to aren't the roundy rolling things at the four corners of your car, it's a commonly used term on Planet Earth to mean the car itself.

Ah yes - I'm so stupid for thinking that "wheels" actually meant "wheels" - what was I thinking??! I didn't realise this was Too Fast, Too Furious, and there was a requirement on this forum to use the ghey lingo, or face be ridiculed by the kule kidz. Maybe I should hop in my wheels, kick the stick into overdrive, crank up the soundz, and put the pedal to the metal.... that okay for you, Vin?
The only people I've ever met that actually use phrases like "Sooo, what kinda wheels ya got?" are total cocks. They're same people that say Heino, on your tobler, beamer, happy days, show me the money, and sure it has to be done - cocks....

Switcharoo

BrokenSpiral wrote: »

Hi Raheny,
For routine work you are 100% correct to stay away from Spirit

Well - Ta me anseo says you're wrong, and even the most logical reasons, like y'know, cost & distance, are "idiotic".

I had a particularly tough time with them with my 97 XK8!

Ta me anseo says that past experiences are irrelevant and you must follow his amazing life hack for getting your car serviced.

Speaking of past experiences, I had an intermittent ignition problem with an XK8 a few years ago: I left it into Spirit for 4 days, and they couldn't find it, and charged me €430 for nothing! Good work! It kept happening afterwards, so I then dropped it into A&M Gearboxes on St. James's Street, and they found it the same day, ordered the part, and fitted the new inhibitor switch the following week. €240 + the part (which was covered under the dealer's warranty, which they reimbursed me for). But screw it - I should have just dropped it back into Spirit for another 4 days! It must have been an "idiotic reason" why I didn't.... I guess I just don't enjoy paying through the nose for nothing! I'm such a sucker...

Ta me anseo

I'm all done. Switcharoo scares me too much. OP, sorry again for distracting from your thread.

P.S. Switcharoo; Good detective work by the way! Hope you didn't spend too long reading through all my previous posts.......

Darragh29

Switcharoo wrote: »

And? Nobody denied that, so you're arguing with yourself here. What a pointless & obvious thing to point out! Well done! :rolleyes: Yes, I got a full Jag service history on my car, and the person who buys mine won't, and that'll be reflected in the price. So?
And I've never bought any wheels or add-ons, BTW, so I don't know where your getting your "as is the case here" crap from - oh yeah, you made it up.

This is the problem with people who buy Jaguar, BMW and other "marque" brands. They think they need a "specialist" mechanic to service their vastly overpriced car. Why don't you get a Haynes Manual and learn how to service it yourself??? You'd be surprised at how easy it actually is! Alternatively, why don't you get someone to recommend you a good indy mechanic??? What you do need to get your head around though, is that your car can be serviced & maintained by any good indy mechanic, seriously, it isn't rocket science, despite what the main dealer will have you believe...

Anan1

Darragh29 wrote: »

This is the problem with people who buy Jaguar, BMW and other "marque" brands. They think they need a "specialist" mechanic to service their vastly overpriced car. Why don't you get a Haynes Manual and learn how to service it yourself???

The same reason we don't knit our own socks?

Darragh29

Anan1 wrote: »

The same reason we don't knit our own socks?

But we don't pay $$$ for a pair of socks! If we did have to, we would learn how to knit pretty quickly! I can't understand how people pay to have their car serviced, it's easier than cutting your grass!

Anan1

Darragh29 wrote: »

But we don't pay $$$ for a pair of socks! If we did have to, we would learn how to knit pretty quickly! I can't understand how people pay to have their car serviced, it's easier than cutting your grass!

I can only answer for myself. I simply couldn't be bothered, I value my time more than the money.

Switcharoo

Darragh29 wrote: »

This is the problem with people who buy Jaguar, BMW and other "marque" brands. They think they need a "specialist" mechanic to service their vastly overpriced car. Why don't you get a Haynes Manual and learn how to service it yourself??? You'd be surprised at how easy it actually is! Alternatively, why don't you get someone to recommend you a good indy mechanic??? What you do need to get your head around though, is that your car can be serviced & maintained by any good indy mechanic, seriously, it isn't rocket science, despite what the main dealer will have you believe...

What are you talking about?? I'm the one who said you DON'T need a main dealer or specialist mechanic - I drop mine around to an indy guy around the corner - did I not make that clear!

Darragh29

Anan1 wrote: »

I can only answer for myself. I simply couldn't be bothered, I value my time more than the money.

I want to make this point though, that as someone with "indy mechanic" in my blood, there is nothing more infuriating than seeing someone on here cribbing about main dealer rip off prices, especially when they have bought a car from a main dealer and wouldn't have bought the car if it didn't have a "main dealer service history". Once they buy the car, then their own self imposed "genuine only" rules on "it must be serviced by a main dealer" are out the window and then all of a suddden, an indy garage is good enough. In the trade, we refer to these folks as the "fur coat & no knickers brigade".

What makes it more difficult to deal with these customers is that parts for their cars are always substantially more expensive and when you do up a price for them, often you will get this attitude from them, "you're just trying to charge/screw me more because I'm driving an X5 or a RR Vogue, or a Jaguar" or whatever...

These same folks wouldn't blink if they went to their "marque" main dealer and got an invoice for 800-900 Euro for a service, but the minute they go near an indy garage, they think they've just walked into a St. Vincent De Paul office...

Anan1

Darragh29 wrote: »

I want to make this point though, that as someone with "indy mechanic" in my blood, there is nothing more infuriating than seeing someone on here cribbing about main dealer rip off prices, especially when they have bought a car from a main dealer and wouldn't have bought the car if it didn't have a "main dealer service history". Once they buy the car, then their own self imposed "genuine only" rules on "it must be serviced by a main dealer" are out the window and then all of a suddden, an indy garage is good enough. In the trade, we refer to these folks as the "fur coat & no knickers brigade".

What makes it more difficult to deal with these customers is that parts for their cars are always substantially more expensive and when you do up a price for them, often you will get this attitude from them, "you're just trying to charge/screw me more because I'm driving an X5 or a RR Vogue, or a Jaguar" or whatever...

These same folks wouldn't blink if they went to their "marque" main dealer and got an invoice for 800-900 Euro for a service, but the minute they go near an indy garage, they think they've just walked into a St. Vincent De Paul office...

Duly noted. Now can you recommend a Jaguar specialist or not?

testicle

Darragh29 wrote: »

Jag are no more expensive than any main dealer

Yes they are. All you have to do is to get one of the Jags with a Ford engine serviced in a Ford main dealer, instead of a Jaguar one, and you'll know all about it.

Drummerboy08

Darragh i'm with you on this one... I've seen people like this before - happy to take out finance on a 80k car but when it comes to servicing costs etc they simply put the blinkers on and ignore the world going by, and in a lot of cases they dont do a whole lot except argue the costs.

And did you seriously pay 80k for a 03 XK?!!!!

pburns

Darragh29 wrote: »

I want to make this point though, that as someone with "indy mechanic" in my blood, there is nothing more infuriating than seeing someone on here cribbing about main dealer rip off prices, especially when they have bought a car from a main dealer and wouldn't have bought the car if it didn't have a "main dealer service history". Once they buy the car, then their own self imposed "genuine only" rules on "it must be serviced by a main dealer" are out the window and then all of a suddden, an indy garage is good enough. In the trade, we refer to these folks as the "fur coat & no knickers brigade".

What makes it more difficult to deal with these customers is that parts for their cars are always substantially more expensive and when you do up a price for them, often you will get this attitude from them, "you're just trying to charge/screw me more because I'm driving an X5 or a RR Vogue, or a Jaguar" or whatever...

These same folks wouldn't blink if they went to their "marque" main dealer and got an invoice for 800-900 Euro for a service, but the minute they go near an indy garage, they think they've just walked into a St. Vincent De Paul office...

Surely when a car reaches a certain age (and value) it is entirely logical to switch from main dealer to indy? If I were buying a s/h Jag i'd like to see at least the first 2-3 years ramped and stamped at a main dealer OR a very well known specialist.

There is probably some merit to your fur coat no knickers jibe - people selling the grandma to buy a flash motor when they can't REALLY afford the running costs and are waaay out of their league. We say lots of that during the CT years. Quite sad, but I think it's plainly not the case in this situation.

Switcharoo

Darragh29 wrote: »

I want to make this point though, that as someone with "indy mechanic" in my blood, there is nothing more infuriating than seeing someone on here cribbing about main dealer rip off prices, especially when they have bought a car from a main dealer and wouldn't have bought the car if it didn't have a "main dealer service history". Once they buy the car, then their own self imposed "genuine only" rules on "it must be serviced by a main dealer" are out the window

You still have no point - people can have one set of rules for buying a car (i.e they want a main dealer FSH), and another for owning it - it's their car - no idea why you have a problem with that. You're saying it's two different sets of rules: correct, but it's for two different situations, FFS: buying & owning. Your point is redundant!

In the trade, we refer to these folks as the "fur coat & no knickers brigade".

I know that's a nice little phrase you & teh boyz can throw around & think sounds cool, but it's simply not applicable in the way you're trying to apply it. Think about what you're saying.

These same folks wouldn't blink if they went to their "marque" main dealer and got an invoice for 800-900 Euro for a service, but the minute they go near an indy garage, they think they've just walked into a St. Vincent De Paul office...

And I'm assuming you're not referring to me, since I've been making it clear for the whole topic that I go to indys, and avoid main dealers for everything except necessary parts & free warranty work. And I'm assuming you're also not referring to the OP, since he was asking for a mechanic who wasn't a main dealer. So who exactly are you talking to in this topic?? You're arguing with yourself!

And I have bought my cars from Cameron Cars (twice - and they're indy), Private (once, Buy & Sell) Parkside Motors (once, indy), Park Motors (once, Mazda main dealer), Spirit (once) and 2 imports from the UK (XK8 & XKR) - I don't care where I get it as long as I get it checked beforehand, and I get a warranty. The only cars I asked about the FSH on was the XK8 and the XKR, because of how much I was paying, and the fact I was importing and would have no recourse once I paid the VRT. And on the other side of that coin, I don't care where I get it serviced, as long as the mechanic is good.

But I'm still not actually sure what your point is though: do you want people giving you work or not? Or do you just not like it when someone drops a Jag, BMW, or Merc in to be serviced? You're not making it clear - you're a mechanic, but you're moaning about having to work on nice cars!!??

And another example I just thought of that's current: I rang the Spirit Parts Dept. this day last week looking for a price on a part for my XKR, and they have yet to call me back. This has happened before when my mechanic was looking for an oil filter & a set of plugs to service my car last month. They didn't return his call for 3 days, and he called twice every day. Another reason to steer clear of them. I really hope business stays so good for them that the parts department are too busy to call back a customer - it seems they're recession proof!

Switcharoo

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Darragh i'm with you on this one... I've seen people like this before - happy to take out finance on a 80k car but when it comes to servicing costs etc they simply put the blinkers on and ignore the world going by, and in a lot of cases they dont do a whole lot except argue the costs.

And did you seriously pay 80k for a 03 XK?!!!!

No, sorry: it was an €80k car, according to the VRT site.
It worked out around €67k in costs after I imported it. The VRT valued it at €80k, so that's what I paid my VRT on. I paid GBP£26k for the car (from a Main UK Dealer in Derby w/ a 1yr approved Jag Warranty) + VRT.

Here's 2 pics I took last X-mas day outside the inlaws - had the camera handy & had gotten it washed the day before! I friggin' love it!

Drummerboy08

Was thinkin 80k was a bit much - the oul lad let a 07 XKR go a few weeks ago for 94k....

Gorgeous car, you have me all jealous....

I've driven a 08 XK and an R, great car to go, especially the R, cant really beat that low down V8 sound behind your head..... I've driven an SV8 XF too -same engine as the XKR - fantastic car!

Good luck with it!

Switcharoo

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Was thinkin 80k was a bit much - the oul lad let a 07 XKR go a few weeks ago for 94k....

Ah yes, but times have changed! I bought mine in late 2007.

I've driven a 08 XK and an R, great car to go, especially the R, cant really beat that low down V8 sound behind your head..... I've driven an SV8 XF too -same engine as the XKR - fantastic car!

Yeah, was hoping to get an XF for the wife late next year. Beautiful cars!

Good luck with it!

Cheers!

Raheny

Thanks, BrokenSpiral, for the tip re parts.

It seems this thread has turned into a bit of a rant. Not too many suggestions on good local mechanics, but I am now convinced I am making the right decision to avoid Spirit for the reasons I outlined earlier. I should also point out that the car does not have a FSH with a Jag dealer (though the first two services were done by Jag and thereafter by Ford), and I didn't buy it from a Jag dealer.

Darragh29

Anan1 wrote: »

Duly noted. Now can you recommend a Jaguar specialist or not?

Yeah had a chat with the Jag lad I know last night and he's too busy at the moment. No can do I'm fraid.

jamie11

there is a good man just out side killucan in co westmeath. he worked in jaguar in the uk for 15 years. and the good thing about him is that he will also go to your house.try him he good,and very helpfull.michael is his name,

galwayrush

Guy near me here outside Galway,mostly works on Jags and Mercs A service (S type, 3 L ) including new brake pads to the front and a bushing to the front left cose me just under 500 euro.

biko

jamie11, this thread is over 4 years old. If anyone asks again you can advise on good mechanics.