15
GENERAL
GETTING SERVICE: Keeping your Jaguar in good working order is like anything else: If you want it done right, do
it yourself. Doing as much of your own maintenance as possible is highly recommended, based on experiences shared
on the online discussion lists (many of which are related in this book). You might be thinking, “Yeah, but wouldn’t I
be better off hiring somebody with a lot of experience working on these cars?” The answer: You’re holding all the
experience you’re ever likely to need. That’s why the book was so named.
Nevertheless, there will be owners who don’t want to get dirty, or don’t have the time, or don’t have the tools, or don’t
have a garage, or for whatever other reason would simply prefer to pay someone else to work on their car than do it
themselves. There’s nothing wrong with such a strategy; it simply must be made clear that such a decision should not
be made with the expectation that the car will get better service. More convenient, maybe; quicker, quite possibly. But
a long history of experiences with Jaguar dealers, specialists, mechanics, and the like indicate that the XJ-S owner
should expect more problems if he takes his car somewhere for service than if he maintains it himself using this book as
a guide.
That said, some guidelines on finding a good mechanic: First, note that the XJ-S has been out of production for some
time now, and Jaguar dealerships are not likely to be all that enthused about working on it. Some dealers might be
lucky to even have a mechanic on staff that was there when these cars were built, and all the newer mechanics will have
been trained on the current models rather than the older models. When you pull into a dealer for service, don’t be
surprised if the only enthusiasm displayed towards you and your car comes from a salesman anxious to talk you into
trading in that old pile of junk on a brand new whatever.
With a car such as the Jaguar XJ-S, you will invariably be far better off finding an “enthusiast” -- a guy who loves these
cars and loves to work on them. Even if he works in a dilapidated shack, you’re likely to be much happier with his
work than you would taking the car to a shiny dealership that doesn’t care about your car.
Of course, enthusiasts can be hard to find. One excellent idea would be to ask other Jaguar owners who they take their
cars to. If there is a Jaguar club in the area, ask them. Finally, if there simply are no enthusiasts in your area, consider
finding out where the nearest one is anyway; even if you don’t take your car that far away for oil changes and the like,
there may come a day when you need someone to call who can really help.
Striking out totally in the enthusiast search, your next best option would be to simply find a good independent
mechanic. If he’s willing to tackle a Jaguar, he will probably be capable of fixing most of the problems likely to crop
up; it’s not that different from other cars. If you do a little reading in this book before you go, quite likely the two of
you can get started in the right direction towards getting your problems sorted.
I’d like to suggest that you simply make a copy of this book and give it to your mechanic to help him work on your car,
but experience shows that this doesn’t work very well. Many mechanics seem to consider it an insult that you would
suggest that he needs help from a book. Others apparently can’t read. And almost none of them are inclined to put that
kind of time into learning about Jaguars, especially since they have never seen a book like this one and are unaware
anything of the sort exists. So, perhaps you might offer a copy, or perhaps just discuss your car with him and if he asks
how come you know so much you can tell him about it. If you happen to find a mechanic who expresses an interest in
the book, I’d suggest you have a keeper; if he actually reads a significant portion of it, he will be the best mechanic
you’re likely to find.
Meanwhile, if you will read this book, you will find yourself far better able to judge whether or not a mechanic is up to
snuff on the Jaguar XJ-S. You will become an informed consumer.
PARTS REPLACEMENT STRATEGIES: For those obsessed with keeping their cars in original condition, obviously
only original parts will do. The suggestions throughout this book are for those who simply want their cars to run and to
minimize cost and grief in the process.