After reading what you have been told by the dealer i would NEVER use them. They have no idea what they are doing on the older jags and no matter what anyone says unless they have worked on older cars of the same era at the very least let alone the make/model itself they are unlikely to have the knowledge to do a proper job. If the trans oil is pinky red you "should" be ok with a change. If it has not been done on a regular basis ( Should be every 2 years i think along with full replacment of break fluid) and is more brown than red you have a higher chance of problems.

I have been lucky enough to have Paul Hands of Hyper Engineering live near me, just out side oxford in the UK (Infact thats who i brought my XJS off).

I have, hands down, never come across anyone with so much know how and experiance with Jags even more so the XJS. I beleive he has forgotten more than most even know about them. If you are in the UK and can get to him and you want work done you could find no better person. If not look and ask around near where you live. Local mechanics with the specific skills you need will be about and the local Jag members club will be able to point you in the right direction.

Like many here though i LOVE working on the old girl and have gained my own skills and learnt much from these forums. If you are mechanicly minded and have the right tools you will be surprised how much you can do yourself and make sure its done right first time every time

 

[QUOTE=sidescrollin;1090486]


Right. We horse around with these old Jags because we enjoy doing so. It's a hobby. We enjoy the tinkering and learning. If it takes us two hours ...or two days.... to get all the instrument clusters connections cleaned it really doesn't matter.

Very few professional mechanics have an interest in learning the quirks of older models and, in most cases, very few have the luxury of excess time on their hands. They know darn well that they can make more money sticking with more mainstream cars and problems. And thay also know that customers do not like to pay for learning curves and experimental repairs. From a business aspect there really isn't any good reason for a mechanic/shop/dealer to work on old Jags....unless they already have the knowledge.

Of course, if a few dozen XJS owners from the region were ringing the phone of the hook saying 'Please, please, PLEASE work on my old Jag. I have lots of money to spend', that would be a different story.




** Not if you're trying to make money at it **.

As you yourself mentioned they don't wanna loose money. Who can blame 'em? . Here's the conversation going on inside the mechanic's head, or shop manager's head:

"Hmmmm. Let's see here. On one hand I have a whole shop full of jobs I'm familiar with and can make good money on. OR I can f*ck around with that old Jag, which I know nothing about, and try to get all the instruments working.....knowing full well that I'll never be able to collect for all the time I've put into it".




Cheers
DD

 

I keep up with most of the stuff around here, 1915 model T, 1969 Ford 9000 AG Tractor, 1981 Harley FXS, 1995 Cadillac DeVille Concours. I knew what I was getting into, I just came to therealization that this was going to be another TRIP!
P.S. does anyone have a key for a Model T? We didn't get one with the car./