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Friday, 10 January 2020

My 'new' Jag died - such is life

The 1999 S-type Jag I bought in late 2019 stopped working in the middle of last year, after only using it a couple of times. The anti-theft steering lock came on after the second time the battery had mysteriously gone flat when the car wasn't driven for a couple of weeks. After a bit of mucking about (several times) recharging the battery and attempting to disengage the steering lock myself, I had two call-outs for NRMA roadside assistance (battery and then mechanical) that both couldn't get the steering unlocked, and then a visit from a Lubemobile mobile mechanic (no luck either). The local garage was uninterested in even trying to find and rectify the problem, so I got the NRMA to provide a free tow to the nearest specialist Jaguar service garage.

They spent a couple of weeks trying to get their 'diagnostic tool' to 'talk' to my Jag, before deciding that the main control console was faulty and replacing it with a second-hand unit. After that, it turned out that there was a further fault with a rear control module (probably associated with the fault that originally caused the battery problem - a rear light that stays on continuously). At that stage the Jag 'specialist' mechanics also gave up, as there could be a whole series of computer components that had been damaged by whatever the main electrical fault is...

I've now paid around $8,600 for the initial purchase, $150 for the Lubemobile service call, and about $2,500 for work done by the Jag specialist. The car still isn't driveble and is now also out of registration, so my only real option is to sell it to a wreckers for $300. All-in-all a loss of about $11K.

I don't think I'll be buying another second-hand 'luxury' vehicle any time soon...

(ps. My old Mark II Jaguar has also been quite expensive to restore and maintain, but at least when something goes wrong it can be identified and fixed. When a new 'computerised' car develops an electrical fault it can be impossible to even work out what needs to be fixed).

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1 comment:

Financial Independence said...

Yes, British cars were never been known for their reliability or quality. You should have bought Lexus or BMW 7 to have some luxury feeling.