I've not used the XJ6 for over a month, and it seems the last time I used it, I put about 150 kg of marble tiles in the boot (trunk) and forgot about them. On arriving at the garage, all four air suspension shocks were bottomed out, the car too low warning came on and soon thereafter the air suspension fault popped up. Whistling noise from the rear confirmed by my Jag mechanic to be a faulty air bladder on the suspension. Sigh.

So, the hunt begins. Looking for a good price, international shipping at reasonable rates, and preferably under US $680 so it does not get delayed for two weeks by customs and see 15% plus handling charges added. Probably want an Arnott AS-2889 (comfort rear) but open to other brands that forum members find OK. No, I don't want coil-overs. The pleasure of the X350 is the ride.

Since COVID shipping seems to have been turned upside down. A number of vendors don't offer international shipping anymore. I did email FCP Euro today and hope they get back with a quote (they don't list it), because they are rapidly emerging as the go to international supplier.

If anyone has recently shopped for air suspension, I would appreciate hearing who, how much, how long.

Thanks

 

bilstein or go home

i guarantee you complete XF coilovers will ride just as good as your car did on air

 

For those who are looking for a supplier of Arnott Air Shocks, FCP Euro in Connecticut USA carries them in stock. For international buyers outside of Europe, FCP offers good products, competitive pricing, responsive customer support, good shipping rates and times - and offers a lifetime guarantee as long as you own the car. This last bit is good marketing. Most people never use it because they sell the car before the part breaks again, but the very few who take advantage of it become part of their public relations budget.

I ordered the rear C2C41346 / AS-2891 https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/air...rnott-c2c41346

I called Arnott Tech Support Toll (Free Phone: 1.800.251.8993 Local Phone: 1.321.868.3016) to ask if I was OK just replacing one rear shock - meaning the other is probably the original CATS type, and they assured me there would be no problem or noticeable change in performance (existing are comfort, not sport).

Price US$588.30 plus $88.10 FedEx Shipping. They say they will arrive in 14 days, and the last order I placed with them in March 2022 arrived on the promised day. The price including shipping is very close to the NZ$1,000 threshold, so I will hope the NZ stays strong for a couple of weeks or so to prevent it from becoming lost in the purgatory of NZ Customs.

While I can appreciate Xalty's advice to only buy Bilstein, their brand of air shocks are very expensive and only can be justified if I plan to keep the car until I stop driving. As I am eyeing a Jag XK convertible - and my wife insists that I can't keep both - it would not be sensible to spend more than necessary. Converting to XF coilovers seems to be more complicated, if this thread is to be believed https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ersion-185446/ . If I was replacing all four, I might look at alternatives, but to replace one, it's a quick and relatively cheap job.

 

RockAuto had them for 479.99 and you could ship using myus.com which RockAuto recommends. Shipping is about 2-4 days international they say. Just be sure to cancel the myus.com membership if that's all you would use it for or you would get hit with the $9.99 membership fee.

 

Good lead. Cheaper than FCP Euro.

FCP Euro
$588 AS-2889
$ 88 Shipping
?? Sales Tax (not collected by vendor, may not hit NZ$1,000 threshold
$676 Total (and could be more if 15% GST is charged)

RockAuto
$480 ($91 less)
$ 58 Shipping (or use https://www.myus.com/pricing/ at $126)
$ 81 Tax
$619 Total

As they have not yet shipped, I'm going to email FCP Euro and ask why they are so much more expensive.

 

Update: Rock Auto sent a message saying the air strut had been shipped.
FCP Euro responded they do not price match because they offer a lifetime warranty on all items, but as they had not yet shipped, they cancelled the order at my request.

They wrote they do not price match because:

All of our products are guaranteed under our Lifetime Warranty throughout your ownership of the vehicle, which includes wear and tear items like brake pads, gaskets, rotors, filters, wiper blades, and even oil. More information is found here on our policy page. FCP Euro Lifetime Parts Replacement Guarantee

This is a rather remarkable policy, It means, for example, that one can do an oil change, keep the original bottles and return the used oil for a credit. One just has to be diligent and organized to keep everything that comes from them. It is less beneficial for those who live overseas where the return shipping can exceed the value.

Since I am not certain if I will keep the XJ6, or replace it with an XK convertible, I'll go with the cheaper option that will not get stuck in customs.

 

Arnott's have a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser so you're covered buying from RockAuto. FCP Euro has good parts and shipping. Lifetime warranty is good on some parts depending on shipping charges and cost of the product. But on Arnott's, FCP Euro's warranty means nothing.

 

I bought 4 brand new strutts with C.A.T.S connection! Not a resistor or non adjustable type

I Have a connection in China from a previous life product sourcing and bought them direct from the manufacturer in China 12 month warranty on them just show video of issue and refund money

Bought them June 2021 $1800au for the 4 including shipping

They are working perfectly I do live in a subtropical climate only problem I don't use the car very much these days

I replaced 4 strutt,divider block and fitted a bagpipe Andy kit to the compressor

​​​​​​IF anyone's interested just pm me
Most people only buy them when they're broken and need them in a hurry they took 3 weeks from order to delivery

The delivery is quite expensive as its air freight if sea freight was used there would be a good saving


My front left strut had died and the week before my mechanic said the back ones had no damping and where floaty
So rather than just repair the one I decided to update the whole lot

In the past I held quite a few parts for jaguars for forum members and as a sideline to keep costs of ownership down

I Have semi retired from a lot of commitments to take care of my 83 year old mum and family friend friend

I might drive it to north Qld in July though lol

PS I've got a good Arnott strut for the front they come with lifetime warranty apparently?

I'd sell that but I'm in Australia

 

Well, I'm impressed. On Thursday, April 21, 2022 07:14 PM Central Time, I ordered the Arnott Rear Shock for $479.99 plus $57.99 shipping and $80.70 New Zealand sales tax (GST). I billed it on my NZ Visa, so they showed the conversion at NZ$911.25 total.

Fedex shows deliver in origin time as well as local. It shows it was delivered to my door on Tuesday, 26 April at 3:16 pm which was 10:16 a.m. my time. I got a text from them telling me to check. Sure enough when I opened the front door, there it was - two working days after I ordered it. I did not feel like installing it, so I stopped by Europa in Parnell to ask if they could pop it on. Despite being very busy, they had it installed before the end of the day. Looks like we can take a two-day trip to Northland today to look at a replacement for the SLK.

Looking at the tracking, it was picked up from Lake Oswego Oregon on Saturday at 10:36, and let 4 hours later. It arrived in Oakland 3 hours later and left for Hawaii at 10 p.m. It arrived in Auckland at 4.p.m. on Saturday and because the sales tax was prepaid, it was cleared for delivery about 6 hours later. After that it was a local delivery.

The speed, I believe, is due to the prepaid tax. I suspect the reason the shipping was cheaper than Rock Auto was because the tax is prepaid, thus FedEx does not charge the same as quoted by FCP Euro.

The strut itself was made in Feb 2020, so it looks like they are not fast movers.

 

I hate it when others have good stories.
My Gear Knob was purchased April 5 and as at April 28 is still in the USA.
All eBay purchases attract GST at source. I'm not really worried because multiple eBay purchases have typically taken 4-6 weeks to NZ.

 

If your gear knob takes to long! I've got the old one of my XJ8
​​​​​​​ I changed it to a custom burled walnut one matching the the wood grain on the interior of my XJ8. It's in perfect condition made of wood just not as orange as my interior wood