[akj53]

Yesterday when I opened the bonnet, a small metal disc fell down from the bonnet. It had glue on one side and somehow came loose. After closing the bonnet, car started to display the warning ‘Bonnet open’. I tried to locate the place from where it might have fallen but failed. Then the car refused to lock and kept on beeping. Contacted David and went to him, he located the spot and fixed the disc due to which the bonnet was not closing from one side and causing all the problems. When I came back and was parking the car in our parking, the front sensor did not beep in time and the car got scratches on the left corner of bumper. It spoiled my entire day. Normally parking sensors works very well but yesterday it failed somehow.

It taught me a lesson not to rely on technology too much.

Read the manual later, it says that there is a switch to activate front parking sensors also. Normally the sensors have been activating automatically and this was the first time they failed. The manual further says: It remains the driver’s responsibility to detect obstacles and estimate the distance from them. Some overhanging objects, barriers, small children, animals, thin obstructions or painted surfaces may not be detected by the system.
Now I know the cause, the damn pillar is painted yellow and black, so the sensor failed to detect it.

Lesson No. 2: Always read the manual properly and fully before operating the vehicle or any other expansive item.

After I cleaned the surface properly, most of the scratches are not showing, barring one which is about 3-4 mm wide and 4-5 cm long. On this, the black paint has come off and bare metal is shining.

Can anybody guide me please if there is any spray paint can available for repairing metallic paint scratches and do they really work. I would like to avoid getting the bumper opened for such a small issue. If there is any other remedy, please advise.

I will try to post the balance review by today evening. Please bear with me

[noopster]

Ouch. That is the car owner's equivalent of watching your child taking her first steps, stumbling and falling before letting out a massive howl. Only in this case the howl comes from you!
If you ask me, let the scratch be. The first dent is the worst! Besides it gives the car some character.

[magikrider]

oh that must hurt... a scratch on a new car is a scratch on your heart!
I saw a product by Telebrands on TV and they had a good product about getting rid of scratches on your car... you might want to try that if you can find where and how you can get one in your place and country. its called "Fix it PRO". try on their website if you can find it...

[sachinj12]

Chanced upon this thread now!!

Sir, many congratulations on the new purchase. A very well written and detailed review. Wishing your son Sidarth many happy miles with the beauty.

And oh, we are waiting for your Jag once you are back in India

[akj53]

@ Mods: Page No. 9 of this thread is not being displayed. That had my previous posts and today's earlier post also.

Please check and restore it. Thanks

[akj53]

Mods have separated my posts of the Wales and the recent trip and created a new thread which can be seen on:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...jaguar-xf.html

I will continue further posts on the new thread.

[akj53]

I returned to India in November 2010. Last week I enquired about XF from Siddharth. He was pleased to tell me that FE has increased now to 36 mpg overall i.e., 12.75 kmpl. He has not noted the highway milage but says that he now regularly does Manchester - London return trip of 900 kms., in one tankful of diesel.

How is this efficiency for a car with a kerb weight of 1820 kg with 6 cylinder 3000 CC engine producing 271 bhp and driven hard all the time. The FE will improve further if he drives it sanely.

The car has now crossed 4000 miles with no problem experienced so far (touchwood). Before coming back we had driven to Scotland and it proved to be a fabulous and memorable drive.

[akj53]

Though slightly off topic but news is relevant.*

Jaguar tops the JD Power satisfaction survey 2013

Jaguar has topped the recent survey in UK for 2013 and Jaguar XF has been nominated as one of the Best Cars to own. *

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/mo...on-survey-2013

Jaguar has been named the best manufacturer in the 2013 JD Power customer satisfaction survey.

The survey of 16,000 car owners in the UK covers 116 models that are between a year and three years old. Owners rank their vehicles on 66 criteria, which are grouped to deliver an overall score. Points are accumulated for good reliability, performance, service and running costs.

Jaguar's victory came off the back of the Jaguar XF, which finished third overall in the entire survey, as owners rated it as "excellent" in every area. In particular they praised reliability, dealership service and servicing and repair work.

In the manufacturer standings, Jaguar headed Lexus and Honda. Lexus scored highly for dealer service and reliability across its range, with the fourth placed overall Lexus RX topping its results, as well as winning the best large SUV award.

The Honda Jazz finished in sixth overall and as top-placed Honda model. The XF was only beaten by two models from Skoda, the Superb and the Yeti, with the Czech manufacturer finishing fourth overall in the manufacturer rankings.

Chevrolet came at the bottom according to the survey, with the Chevrolet Spark ranked last overall.

The JD Power survey, which is compiled in conjunction with What Car?, measures vehicle ownership and customer satisfaction based on 66 parameters. Vehicle appeal, quality & reliability, ownership costs and dealer service satisfaction form the four main areas of the survey.*

Respondents involved in the survey had an average age of fifty. 58 per cent were male and 52 per cent were female; in total they collectively drove 340 million miles.

The full results of the survey are available at What Car?.

*******

I am very happy that I made the right decision in picking up XF in 2009. The car has not given us any cause of complaint and has provided us sterling service and a very happy ownership experience.*

Next month I am going to UK for few months and from there I will post our long term ownership experience.*

XF will be completing 3 years with us in September and then we have to decide whether to keep this or buy some other car. Let us see what future holds in store for us.

[AbelAFC]

akj53, is there any reason you are considering moving the XF on already? You seem to be highly satisfied with it!
I bet you had great time on the UK roads. I was in the UK for about three months last year, and the roads are incredible. I only hope I can one day move there and buy a similar car. Btw, has Siddharth tried out the XF on the autobahns?

[akj53]

Originally Posted by AbelAFC

akj53, is there any reason you are considering moving the XF on already? You seem to be highly satisfied with it!
I bet you had great time on the UK roads. I was in the UK for about three months last year, and the roads are incredible. I only hope I can one day move there and buy a similar car. Btw, has Siddharth tried out the XF on the autobahns?

We had bought it on 3 years lease which expires in September. Then we can either keep it and pay the balance cost or return it and buy some other car. As you said rightly we are highly satisfied with the car and may decide to keep it for few years more.

Driving in UK is a pleasure and stress free in any car as the roads and associated infrastructure are very well planned. People observe driving laws and road manners and best of all environment, weather and scenery is simply incredible. Britishers have kept their country mostly garbage free which is an added advantage. All this is a big factor in keeping the people relaxed and calm. I have never gotten angry there for months together while here in our India, mind become hotter than the engine after spending just half an hour on the road.

I am posting few pictures taken by me in 2008 from our flat balcony.

Can we ever imagine such scenes of orderly road manners and sensible parking in India

These cars had stopped before a crossing. See how everybody keeps his car in center of his lane and at a safe distance from the other car. That's why their cars don't got dented frequently and it keeps the tempers down.



This was our parking. Observe how the the cars have been parked in center of the their neatly marked area.



This picture shows an Aston being picked up by the police. I was witness to this drama. This car belonged to some paki who argued with police trying to explain his violation but the police did not buy his theory and called this truck to pickup the car. Here police would not have dared to book any owner of an Aston Martin or the owner would have pulled out his mobile, called somebody and gotten the policemen fired. So there law is same for everybody which is again a big factor. Sadly we just try to speak English without picking up any of their good habits.




Siddharth has not taken the Jag abroad though he travels to Europe frequently. But I do have a wish to tour France and few more countries, with family and by car. Let us see when we are able to do that. But we do travel frequently to interiors of UK leaving the highways, which is a pleasure.

I do hope someday you will be able to move there and buy even a better car.

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by akj53

..

I know what you mean, sir. I have spent a fair amount of time in England too, the driving manners are impeccable. I have never seen so many people stop for me at a zebra crossing even if the signal is green. Not once did I hear abuse hurled, a finger shown, and I think heard honking just about three times over a six-month long period.

Tellingly, one of the people who I heard honking turned out to be an Indian. But it must be said that the infrastructure and facilities provided, and the strict policing as well makes them toe a straight line.