Sad day- had to take it in to get an oil leak looked at, and everything that needs doing comes to almost $6,000. I only just got off the phone with the shop, so I'm still a little stunned.
Anyway, I'll get it fixed and sell it off to a new home. $14,500 once she's put back together. Don't have any new pics, but there's one in my garage.

 

Hi general specific,

I would strongly urge you to get a second opinion. There are very few issues that can lead to $6,000 worth of legitimate and truly necessary repairs. An "oil leak" could be something as simple as hardening of the oil sump gasket. There have been far too many reports of shops willing to charge owners for as many items as they are willing to pay for, so I would recommend a second opinion before you spend a penny. Have you personally crawled under the car to see if you can determine the source of the leak?

Cheers,

Don

 

Absolutely what Don said!

 

And another +1 here.

And what could you get as a replacement for the 14.5 if you sell it?

It sounds like the shop is getting ready for Christmas ... at their place.

Why not post a detailed list of their shopping list for an opinion from other
owners here?

 

Put up the quote, let us pick it apart.

 

A massive Plus 1 to all of the above posts!!

Please post diagnosis / codes if you can and or the quote you received.

Lets see if the combined minds of some of the DIY and Tech gurus here on site can help to resolve for much less

Hope to hear..........

 

Agreed... What does the quote say?

 

Needs new paint too in that quote? Like the others I'd love to see what needs doing and the price break down.

Effectively you'll be selling a near perfect 04 XJR for $8.5K after it's fixed. Be good buy for some one.

 

+20 on what the crew says here. They dropping a new motor in? Some shop owners see a Jag pull up and start thinking about all the stuff they've been putting off buying.

 

DITTO all the above - Do NOT put $6,000 into a car worth about $6,000

Tom

 

I had a "massive" oil leak on my XJR that ended up being a leaking sump gasket. Replaced it for a few dollars (granted, I did the job) and 10,000 miles later no more oil drips.

Give us more info.

 

(I'll trump Jag V8) and suggest you get an elm 327 code reader. Sounds like you'll be needing one.

 

Thanks for the feedback- I was in a state of shock yesterday. I haven't authorized the work yet, but I'll be talking to the shop later today. I ask him to send me a detailed list of the repairs and I'll post it here.
I trust this shop- I've taken three cars there, and I've always felt like I was treated fairly. However, I trust this forum's collective knowledge even more, so I'd like to hear what everyone's thought are once I have the repair list up.

I'm in Northern Virginia, so if anyone knows a good shop for a second opinion, I'm all ears.

 

I was thinking more about this. If the oil leak is coming off of the timing chain cover (there are two of them - inner and outer) then this becomes a bit more involved but still does not justify the cost quoted.

 

Craig,


I venture a guess that if you trade in your Jag on a new one at this dealership that they will "not" put anything like 6 grand into it to prepare it for sale.


What you have experienced is not all that unusual. Dealership service quotes have to be "managed".

 

Just another perspective is that a Jag dealer will charge premium labor costs and premium Jag parts, which boosts any estimate through the roof. Or indy shops will see "wealthy" Jag owner and do the same. For instance, I had an emission code that I went to the Jag dealer for more detailed engine codes. They wanted to change the plugs for a mint and do an expensive upper engine clean. At any rate, I went the DIY route, finding reman or aftermarket parts and doing the labor myself. All in all I ended up having to change plugs, put in reman GB fuel injectors and new O2 sensors, and finally change out the cat converter before the engine code would go away. I was able to do it for pennies on the Jag dealer dollar. Otherwise the repairs looked awfully daunting in cost compared to the remaining value of the car.
So great if you trust your shop, general specific, but there may cheaper routes to follow. Looking forward to seeing your cost breakdown.

 

So, here's what the indie shop thinks needs to be done.

 

Thanks for posting up the quote.

A few things jump out at me;

Vibration dampner i.e. lower pulley, why does that need replacing? because of a squeak? that needs a belt and a tensioner pulley bearing at best...

Oil cooler, is it leaking? Never heard of anyone needing replacement of those.

Timing cover, is this where the major leak is coming from?

Valve covers, are you getting leaks from there?

$45 labour to fit a cabin filter is a joke

Transmission fluid/gasket change, why?

 

OH MY, time to rip it apart

So, he's got a whole slew of things it supposedly needs....

you took it in for an oil leak - why changing the water pump?
why replacing the vibration damper and belt - did you have a noise?
It says front main seal, I assume this is the major leak? or is it the oil cooler too for the nearly $1,000 part they want to change? I'd inquire on that heavily. They may just be 'replace everything that leaks just in case'. (i.e. also includes valve cover gaskets- are these leaking too?)

includes a lot of maintenance too - do you need these things? - air filter, cabin filter ($50??), tranny service? (filter change will NOT take 10 quarts he has listed; and at $19 a quart, doesn't sound like the correct fluid either, with his 100% markup)


He only gave you the PARTS break out it looks like, just lists the $2,600 in labor needed - what is their hourly rate? I'd like to see how many hours they think this will be.


They must be a pretty high end shop, they are charging 100% markup on retail pricing of parts, about what a jag dealer charges for parts frankly.


How many miles are on this jag?

 

74,000ish miles

Again, I appreciate the input.