XK X150

[threadlock]

Well if we're getting into pictures, here's a couple of mine from European road trips over the last few years.



The only colour in a depressing sea of greyness in a hotel car park in Stuttgart:

[deadslow]

I've had mine for a year. I love it!

Car has been faultless except I had the condensate drain hose (mad duckbill thingy) go wonky on me. Its a £5 item but they needed to pull out the dash to do a proper fix/upgrade, so bill was £1200.

Don't care. Still love it!

[paulguitar]

threadlock said:

Well if we're getting into pictures, here's a couple of mine from European road trips over the last few years.



The only colour in a depressing sea of greyness in a hotel car park in Stuttgart:

Looks lovely in that colour

[threadlock]

paulguitar said:

Looks lovely in that colour

Thanks It does get lots of compliments, but I had to wait 6 months to find the colour combination that I wanted.

[Simpo Two]

Pacific blue? I haven't seen an XK in that colour before.

Earlier XK paint colours are a little more imaginative, with some dark reds and greens, but these seem to peter out on later cars - eventually lining up with Aston and Merc into mostly black, silver and grey,

I normally find grey rather dull, but on an XK it works well, I think because it's a subtle colour on a loud shape.

Sure you don't want a convertible...?

[paulguitar]

Simpo Two said:

Pacific blue? I haven't seen an XK in that colour before.

Earlier XK paint colours are a little more imaginative, with some dark reds and greens, but these seem to peter out on later cars - eventually lining up with Aston and Merc into mostly black, silver and grey,

I normally find grey rather dull, but on an XK it works well, I think because it's a subtle colour on a loud shape.

Sure you don't want a convertible...?

It's certainly very elegant with the roof down. Plenty of time to ponder, I start my 4-month work contract today.....

[FezSpider]

Simpo Two said:

Aircon - this is a known fault involving a thing called the duckbill and most cars have had it modified by now.

i would not say most, alot of owners still suffer from this. The modification you might be talking about is cutting the duckbill. Have you tried that your self? Talk about an awkward procedure.

[FezSpider]

threadlock said:

The premature rear pad wear is caused by the traction control, not the parking brake
.

i have read about both theorys on the various x150 forums the general consensus suggests there are more in the electric hand break camp.
I concur with this theory mainly because my traction control does not kick it that often at all. Were as i am always using the electric brake, and i beleve from my reaserch the pads bind as they are released.
How ever most forums are full of st and siht theorys

[Simpo Two]

FezSpider said:

i would not say most, alot of owners still suffer from this. The modification you might be talking about is cutting the duckbill. Have you tried that your self? Talk about an awkward procedure.

I mentioned it to the dealer I bought the car from and they said it had 'been done'. Exactly what that means I'm not sure, but there are no problems so far (car is on 74K miles).

The evolution of cars (and anything else for that matter) never ceases to intrigue me. Designs are invented that work perfectly, and then replaced by designs that don't.

FezSpider said:

Were as i am always using the electric brake, and i beleve from my reaserch the pads bind as they are released.

I'd agree with that; you can hear the drag and clunk as you move off. See 'replaced ny designs that don't work' above. Does traction control really apply the parking brake? Seems bonkers to me.

[V88Dicky]

FezSpider said:

threadlock said:

The premature rear pad wear is caused by the traction control, not the parking brake
.

i have read about both theorys on the various x150 forums the general consensus suggests there are more in the electric hand break camp.
I concur with this theory mainly because my traction control does not kick it that often at all. Were as i am always using the electric brake, and i beleve from my reaserch the pads bind as they are released.
How ever most forums are full of st and siht theorys

We've had several Jags with the EPB, and my advice is to use it. Lack of use can cause the mechanism to seize up, which is a darn sight more expensive than changing the rear pads every few years. Plus, it's easy to use. Roll up to the lights, pull the lever. Lights turn green, step on the gas. So simple

[Simpo Two]

V88Dicky said:

Plus, it's easy to use. Roll up to the lights, pull the lever. Lights turn green, step on the gas. So simple

Or with your foot on the brake, push the EPB lever down to release it before driving off.

Of course a proper lever and a bit of bowden cable would be much simpler to make and easy to fix if it broke, but that wouldn't be progress would it!!

Still, it's better than the 'fly-off' handbrake on my old Mercedes - 'ka-poing!'

[threadlock]

FezSpider said:

threadlock said:

The premature rear pad wear is caused by the traction control, not the parking brake
.

i have read about both theorys on the various x150 forums the general consensus suggests there are more in the electric hand break camp.
I concur with this theory mainly because my traction control does not kick it that often at all. Were as i am always using the electric brake, and i beleve from my reaserch the pads bind as they are released.
How ever most forums are full of st and siht theorys

Touché

I just find it hard to believe that the tiny amount of movement of the wheel before the parking brake is fully released (since the wheels can't rotate at all with the brake applied) could wear the tyres in any way comparable with the amount they get worn by the foot brake during normal driving.

It could be a combination of both, I suppose. I know that I almost always park on level ground and hardly ever use the handbrake, but the traction control gets plenty of use In my case therefore the pad wear (and the dirt on the back wheels) is therefore almost certainly from the traction control.

[FezSpider]

threadlock said:

Touché

threadlock said:

The premature rear pad wear is caused by the traction control, not the parking brake wink

.
Not at all mate, although to me the wink implied you were dismising the EB theory, and that your theory was the absolute truth.
.Although now the good out come is that the OP now understands both sides of the argument so he can understand both theorys

Edited by FezSpider on Saturday 10th March 18:16

[threadlock]

FezSpider said:

Not at all mate, although to me the wink implied you were dismising the EB theory, and that your theory was the absolute truth.

Sorry for giving that impression. On mine it's the traction control but it may not be for other people.

[FezSpider]

threadlock said:

Sorry for giving that impression. On mine it's the traction control but it may not be for other people.

No problem brother, thank you

[paulguitar]

Great info everyone, thanks.

Can I get some views please on mileage? One car I have been looking at has 141,000 miles on the clock. Do you guys think that is a non-issue or would that be a bit much to consider?

Thanks in advance.

[OddCat]

Have had my 5.0 XK since last August and have done around 8k miles. And have enjoyed every one of them. Tremendous car !

[Simpo Two]

paulguitar said:

Can I get some views please on mileage? One car I have been looking at has 141,000 miles on the clock. Do you guys think that is a non-issue or would that be a bit much to consider?

Personally I'd prefer lower, but if it has a good SH and certain essential work has been one - eg I know S-Types needed a new cambelt at 105K miles so maybe XKs do too - then you could get a bargain. If it's a private sale you can also get an idea of the car from the buyer's house, garden etc - if it's well cared for, chances are the car is too.

That said if you have a budget for, say, £20K do you really want a car that's only £10K?

[paulguitar]

Simpo Two said:

paulguitar said:

Can I get some views please on mileage? One car I have been looking at has 141,000 miles on the clock. Do you guys think that is a non-issue or would that be a bit much to consider?

Personally I'd prefer lower, but if it has a good SH and certain essential work has been one - eg I know S-Types needed a new cambelt at 105K miles so maybe XKs do too - then you could get a bargain. If it's a private sale you can also get an idea of the car from the buyer's house, garden etc - if it's well cared for, chances are the car is too.

That said if you have a budget for, say, £20K do you really want a car that's only £10K?

Well the budget is around the second number, rather than the first, sadly for me! This is, of course, on the low end for one of these, but looking around, there appear to be some tidy cars for not much into 5 figures. They do tend to have 100,000 plus milages, but I suspect many of then have been driven mainly on motorways and longer commutes, properly up to temperature.

Another encouraging thing I have noticed is that many seem to have been sent to Jaguar for a service once per year, sometimes more, irrespective of miles covered. That speaks of conscientious ownership in my view. I suppose a few may have fallen into the wrong hands, now that the earliest are 12 years old, but I think there are many well looked after early examples out there still.

[V88Dicky]

Simpo Two said:

paulguitar said:

Can I get some views please on mileage? One car I have been looking at has 141,000 miles on the clock. Do you guys think that is a non-issue or would that be a bit much to consider?

Personally I'd prefer lower, but if it has a good SH and certain essential work has been one - eg I know S-Types needed a new cambelt at 105K miles so maybe XKs do too - then you could get a bargain. If it's a private sale you can also get an idea of the car from the buyer's house, garden etc - if it's well cared for, chances are the car is too.

That said if you have a budget for, say, £20K do you really want a car that's only £10K?

Don't worry about cambelts, all petrol engined Jags have chains. However, at 141k miles I'd recommend a thorough check of the timing chain to see if it's worn or stretched. If not already done, the suspension would need a good refresh at that mileage.
As Simpo suggested, it would probably be more prudent to pay a little extra for a more 'lightly used' car