I have two XJ6’s. One '86 & one '87. I took the '87 out of mothballs about a month ago or so and have been driving it. It was kind of low on brake fluid and I filled the master.
The brakes were so-so but the last week they got really worse. I suspect some of the wheel cylinders are stuck or frozen. I am 93 now, and normally would work on it myself, but thought I would get it repaired. I called six auto repair shops in my area and got the same response from all of them. I suspect they all are in the same organization thus all speak the same language. The answer they gave me is that they
cannot work on my auto because it is older than 2000 or 1999. This is now their policy and it does not appear that they will waver from this. So what does one do when you get older and they do no longer want to work on your vehicle? I am a little stressed out over this as the other vehicle I drive is a 1994 Lincoln. These are good cars and I do not want to purchase a new auto just so I can get it worked on.
What say you?? Does your state have similar auto repair station requirements? Has
our world just gone bonkers???
Lee Noga
Yeah most normal shops will not work on old Jaguars. They are too unpredictable. Join your local British car club to find out who the local specialists are. It might be some old guy working out of his garage that doesn’t even advertise.
People younger than 60 years of age will likely NOT KNOW ANYTHING about these cars.
There are no state or federal requirements, just SHOP REQUIREMENTS.
I can work on any GD thing I want and nobody has a say about that!!!
God Luck with your quest for repair.
It wasn’t Jag that was the reason, IT WAS THE YEAR OF THE CAR!!!
Lee
There are no state or federal requirements about ANY Model Year repairs!!!
Nobody wants to work on things they have NO INTEREST.
I personally work on British cars and VWs because I own them and have since the early 1970s.
I am also mostly retired but still keep a few old time customers happy with simple repairs in my shop.
We are a ‘dying breed’ and no one wants to ‘apprentice’ to learn.(everyone wants to type on a computer)
Motorcarman, my retirement plans basically are to be you. I never worked at a Jaguar Dealership, or hell any actual shop, but my dream is to be retired in the garage working on cars for cash. You’re living the dream.
If you say where you live, fellow members may be able to provide some local recommendations
In most cases you can find an independant shop that specialises in 'Classic cars"
I would never like some fool work on my Jags, or other older vehicles
I am much younger than you, but painful hands are letting me down, I can fix almost anything (until very recently)
My mate , who is a local pro mechanic rings me when the occasional Jag comes into his shop…he only says yes to them cause he knows me 
Most shops here will not work on old Jags (and most other older models)
We do have a specialist. He is very expensive
As I am sure you can understand they are in the business of making money, and as a tech, I can tell you working on a piece of equipment for the first time is not a money making proposition…so they say no
Be also wary of some that say yes, and rip you off
I beg your pardon! I’m 51, thank you! I started my apprenticeship in the early 1990’s,
But seriously, @motorcarman is unfortunately right, as I am one of two shops standing, snd I’ve moved over to Rolls / Bentley as Jags don’t pay the bills.
I push youngsters towards them any chance I can get, with a honest dose of DIY reality, but if the XJ’s get into the hands of those unable or unwilling to DIY, and they’ve paid five grand for a car needing 5 grand worth of work, the death spiral continues.
“Younger” shops don’t have the connection nor the patience (or education) to take the risk of eating labor on a learning experience. An XJS can cause a heart attack to a shop owner with an inexperienced crew and less than fully funded owner.
The funny thing is, they could learn the pre-X308 stuff very easily, and having a cut off at Y2K, is about the worst place to pickup the Jaguar story.
Have checked out shop specialising in brakes etc, Lee? Won’t solve general maintenance of course - but brakes are sort of important…
Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
Lee,
besides shops specialising in (specific types of) classic cars we still have a large number of independent car service shops which are quite happy to do “standard” job like brakes or exhaust etc. on classic cars, as they charge hourly and see what they are doing.
Most times they will refrain from jobs they don’t oversee. I have made the experience that it helps a lot if you take the interpreter role and take care of the car specific part of the job, find the info in the ROM, find out correct parts, purchase them etc. Under such circumstances any weathered and skilled mechanic will be able to tackle the jobs with confidence.
That being said: even on new cars most shops refrain from hardcore jobs such as cylinder heads, gearboxes and the like. So, with heavy metal jobs you will often be left alone …
Good luck
Jochen
75 XJ6L 4.2 auto (UK spec)
Lee, I tip my hat to you, sir, and salute your enthusiasm and commitment, at your age, to your classic Jags. I am 80 and can no longer carry out my own work due to fragile health. I have had to find a shop that specialises in classic Jags and other makes, to take on my car, but they are not exactly cheap. I do most of the research on parts availability and tech info in advance, and give it to them. As John said, I suggest that you check with your nearest Jaguar enthusiasts club or classic car club for advice. There may even be a member near you who is willing to do the odd job on your cars for you.
So bottom line is that I no longer like the way our world is headed. With this kind of trend, where will it end?? Will humankind, eventually get so lazy to not create or mfg anything anymore, and become mere robots, expecting others to feed them etc. They will eventually become a dying entity, with perhaps the animal kingdom becoming more prominent. Two things are against me finding an auto repair who will work on my car. The first one is age of the auto, the second is the fact that it is a Jag. So what is one to do??? Very few answers out there. Our country is going to hell in a hand basket!!!
Just Me/Lee @ 93
While I agree with you that the state of social affairs in general shows a decline in morals, ethics and values, it seems that you aren’t quite helping us help you in getting your Jag repaired. As stated in an earlier post, it would help us all if you would tell us where you and your car are located. There might be a forum member that can come by your place to help, or know of somebody near you that can help. So the first thing to do today is to tell us your location. It is like you are calling us from the side of the road with a flat tire, but won’t tell us which road you are on, so we aren’t able to come out to help, or even send a towtruck.
You’re conflating a lot of grievances and piling them into one basket.
Your difficulty in finding someone to work on your old Jag is nothing we haven’t seen before. Many times before. In fact, it’s perfectly perfectly normal and expected.
There was a point in time where dealers and repair shops stopped working on Model T Fords.
And there was a point in time when they stopped working on Auburns, and 1930s Packards.
Then there was a time when they stopped working on Studebakers, and 1950s Jags, and even '57 Chevies.
Then they stopped working on 1970s Eldorados and Lincolns…
Now they’ve stopped working on 80s vintage Jags. Did you not look at history and see this coming?
What did the owners of Model Ts, Auburns, Packards, Eldorados, and '57 Chevies do?
Cheers
DD
They banded together and helped each other!!
Sorry to not indicate my location. I am in the state of WA. In what they call the Tri-Cities. Three cities along three rivers, the Snake, Columbia & the Yakima. What used to be a great location until the last few years. We have had an influx of people here from other states such as California, where now the locale streets are packed with autos and is dangerous. Our area has not caught up with the influx obviously. Anyway all the body & repair shops and any area where they perhaps belong to a larger organization, they all band together. There seems to be no-one who still does independent thinking. And of course very few of the older mechanics anymore leaving the younger generation with their cellphones and computers. Seems like if you cannot find the answer to everything on your computer(cars) or whatever, you are lost in the woods. Times have obviously changed so my question again is — Where does that leave us??? I do not want to purchase a new car just because I can’t get anyone to work on my old one anymore. But at 93 there are few choices. I guess I am just ready to go to the happy hunting grounds. Life is just too difficult these days.
Just Me/Lee
Not sure if they’ve banded together. Maybe, I dunno. But there are many good reasons for a repair shop to stop working on older models or otherwise be selective about what work they take in.
There’s hope. There are repair shops specializing in British cars in Washington…but perhaps too far away to be practical…and you’d have to ask if they’ll work on the 80s vintage cars.
If all possibilities lead to a dead end, and you can’t do the repairs yourself, well it might be time to replace the car with something a bit newer and more mainstream. Hate to say it, but there it is. It wouldn’t have to be a brand new car.
Cheers
DD
I’m a rare exception being in my 40s and know these cars well. MG, Triumph, Daimler as well.
This whole conversation once again brings up a thought that I have had: knowledge-wise, I’m pretty well situated to be able to offer “services” on these cars: functionally, I have zero desire to work on cars for a living anymore.
If I could find some young person somewhere who was really eager to learn, I certainly would be willing to impart whatever knowledge I could to help. I haven’t seen any.
What really is the reason Doug? Logically and talking to one owner for about a half hour I thought he would relent but he wouldn’t. Again what is a logical reason Doug? There is none as far as I can ascertain. First of all I would think older cars are much easier
to work on. Parts are much easier to get to etc. They charge locally here $165.00 per hour, no matter what car they might be working on. Of course they can perhaps justify charging more for an auto that the customer recently paid $20,000 for, rather than an oldie that might only be worth $2000.00 or less. No matter what car it is, the cost of a brake job will usually run $500.00 to $1000.00. And most car owners should know that fact, whether their car is old or new. I have been is business once, and yes it is no picnic. But you have to treat the customer right in order to have repeat business. That is the key to remain in business. When I was in business a lot of new businesses sprouted up. Where they all came from is a good question? However they were not as well equipped to run a decent business and they soon went under. But it did affect me for a while until customers found that this new service company wasn’t all it cracked up to be and I soon got them back again.
My strong feeling is that there should be NO DISCRIMINATION of cars!!! Should work the same as Humans. Racial Discrimination is no different. As long as the car owner is told UP FRONT of what it could cost him and is honest with the customer, then there should be no discrimination of a man who is driving a pre-2000 year auto. I deplore all local auto repair shops in the area because of their discriminatory practices.
My Comments Only/Lee Noga