ArthurDaley

Many thanks for the reply trade vet - I'd imagine there will be a hefty increase in the premium if the named driver can't claim any NCD. It's me driving the car most of the time so I might be better off taking on the car myself [I'd imagine I'd have to register it in my name then if I'm insured as the main driver] and having mother as the named driver. In saying that though, I've only ever held a motor trade policy so all my NCD is on a trade policy. I'm pretty sure only Direct Line acknowledge a motor trade NCD, I think most insurers don't ever allow a motor trade NCD when starting a private policy. Thanks again trade vet, I've only ever had dealings with motor trade policies. I'll call the current insurer tomorrow and see what they say.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but my father recently passed away very unexpectedly. My mother was a named driver on his private car policy. Both my father and mother have 20 year plus NCD but my mother has only been a named driver. My father was with the same insurance company for about 15 years but changed to a new insurer a few months ago. My mother now wants to be the main driver. Does anyone have any advice? Am I right in thinking my mother won't have built up a no claims discount given she's a named driver or does anyone know of an insurance company that acknowledges an NCD for a named driver? Many thanks in advance.

Absolutely, I've been thinking the same! This is the first time I've been able to assess a car before it went through BCA so it was interesting to see all the faults and how none were declared. I'm just glad I got involved and viewed the car first as if I didn't, I'd have seen the car at BCA and would have thought it was a good one, having known the car from new. I'd have probably bid up to £3500 & I'd have been bitterly disappointed when collecting the car. The odd thing is the seller wouldn't budge a penny on their asking price yet they must have accepted less from WBAC as it sold for less than their minimum price that they wanted from me! The BCA reserve was £2800. Once I was aware of all the faults I offered £2500 but on reflection I'm glad I didn't get it as it would have been a fair bit of hassle getting it sorted. The aircon may just need a regas but at that age it could need a condenser which can end up costing £700 plus even before the air suspension issue is addressed.

Hi Jas, I'm the same, I've always loved Jaguars. The trouble is the ones I like are pretty ancient now. I knew this X350 from brand new and its the exact spec I'd have specified myself (Sovereign 4.2) Cutting a long story short, the suspension came up fine but soon started to go down again, the air con didn't work, the bonnet struts had rusted so badly they no longer held up and there was a faint burning smell on the test drive. Although I'm sure it was well maintained, the service history stops in 2015 and while I was promised a "folder full of receipts from the meticulous owner," this statement was a complete work of fiction! Such a shame as I'd have paid a good price if all was well. On close inspection, it had a lot of paint and was a bit ripply. In the end, the seller sold it to WBAC, I see it sold for £3k this morning at BCA. Typically, the Essential Check came up all clean apart from a mention of the cruise not working - not a sausage about the suspension, air con or bonnet struts! Once everything is sorted it would probably retail at £7k but I didn't fancy all the work. The seller MOT'd it before selling it and that showed rust on the subframe which doesn't exactly help either!

That is also a very good point - it's taken me a few weeks to sort out another old Jag, bought from BCA but I knew the previous owner who assured me it was "mint" after selling it to WBAC - his idea of mint is very different to mine - 2 very tricky but thankfully inexpensive jobs later, I'd say it's well above average but not mint! It's strange how people seem to big up their cars even when they've already sold it so they have nothing to gain by exaggerating its condition! I quite fancying trying classics especially as these days they still seem quite modern, I remember all the 80s and 90s stuff when it was new. One slight advantage I have now over the old days is that I only really see cars as a way to make money whereas decades ago I tended to buy what I liked and smoked around in, running up a big Auto Trader bill! I'm sure the most successful dealers have been totally money motivated from day one - I remember years ago a dealer telling me car enthusiasts make rubbish car dealers which can be true to a certain extent although it probably depends if selling niche or mainstream stuff. It definitely seems as though not spending any money is the way to make money! Personally, I'd like to spend a bit to add more value to the car but the most successful dealers don't do a lot to their stock. I remember talking to one old school dealer at BCA many moons ago about how I'd repair the trim on an old W124 Merc and he said he'd never spend on it! I later saw him driving out the car park in it! There's definitely a bigger margin with the classics but buying them unseen at auction is a gamble. I still find it frustrating that BCA will never reopen the halls. Going back to that X350 I'll check it out but I know the seller will think I'm trying to rob them if I offer its true value in the condition its in and even if I did get it really cheap, do I really want to take on a headache - even if I get it sorted, I can imagine me checking the suspension level every few days expecting it to drop again!

Yes I agree Halfpenny - although it looked similar to the previous model, the X350 was packed with then new technology. I drove a 4.2 when a few months old and I was blown away with how well it drove and always fancied getting one. I've had my eye on the one with the suspension fault since it was new - I know it has been very well maintained over the years but it's over 17 years old now and even if I can get the air suspension working again, there's almost bound to be other problems. I'm in the trade so was looking to buy it to re-sell eventually so it needs to be fully sorted and realistically, I'd need to get it for next to nothing to see any sort of margin as diagnosing and repairing the air suspension isn't going to be cheap. If the suspension held it's height and everything else checked out ok I'd have gone for it. It's a shame, as the X350 is one of my favourite cars but you have to buy cars with your head, not your heart. In the past I've bought Jags mainly because I liked them and did reasonably well with them but at the time they were only 4 or 5 years old at the time and these were XJ40s, X300s and X308s before the days of air suspension. I agree that if I was going to keep it for myself and bring it back to life money no object it would be a nice car but once you are in the trade, there's no way I could throw money at a car way beyond it's resale value.

Many thanks for the replies - yes I definitely won't jump start it. I was thinking of connecting a Ctek charger but it's likely that the battery is beyond recharging. The previous owner died a few months ago. I'm beginning to think it would have to be very cheap to be worth the hassle. It is a shame because the car has been maintained without any regard to expenditure, the owner had it from new when it cost almost £60k. The trouble is, the seller doesn't seem to acknowledge that the suspension fault is a problem and it's likely to be a pain to diagnose and pretty dear to resolve. It would really need to be about half the asking price to be worth the hassle and there are loads of X350s for sale. If it was a very low mileage, I might chance it (some X350s with 30-40k are going for £10k+) but even when sorted this one's not going to be worth a fortune with over 100k.

I have the chance to buy a 2006 Jaguar XJ X350 but it hasn't been on the road in months, the battery is flat and the air suspension has dropped as low as it can go - both sides are extremely low so it looks as though the top of the wheels are going up into the wheel arches. The seller tells me that the car should rise up with a new battery and that in the past the car would dip down a bit if not used and rise up to the correct level once driven a few miles. Has anyone on here experience of the XJ X350? I've never had one before and can't say I'm a fan of air suspension - the compressors aren't that dear but new air shock absorbers are £1k so I'd have go for used ones. Even if not driven though, I'm sure the suspension should stay up at a reasonable height. I can't recall any dealers complaining of X350s dropping on their forecourts while in stock. Greatly appreciate any advice as to the likely cost of sorting out the bottomed out suspension? The seller wants more than CAP Clean for it - I think a fair offer would be CAP Clean minus the cost of sorting out the suspension so I'm trying to come up with a rough idea of the cost. If an X350 went through BCA or Manheim with a collapsed suspension I can't imagine it would make very much!

Has anyone changed a battery on a 2012 onwards facelift X250 Jaguar XF with the keyless entry? I've read online that it definitely needs a software reset afterwards, otherwise the central locking will not work at all. Some people have had nightmares after changing batteries with warning lights coming on and various items no longer working. I've had early XFs (2008/2009) in the past and I easily reset the windows and handbrake myself but I've never changed a battery on a later facelift model. Greatly appreciate any advice from someone who's changed a battery on a later XF. I know some people keep the power supply going when changing a battery using jump packs but I don't fancy faffing around with that.