The Facts

• Used XF (previously owned by Jaguar, Brown’s Lane, Coventry)
Purchased in March 2009 from Grange Jaguar in Croydon.

• Condition of sale – Full Service – was lied to by salesman
and this was not done, (discovered later).

• I had intermittent engine management problems, including DSC light
and uncontrolled acceleration, causing me to contact Jaguar Assistance.
I was told on both occasions that "it is a software fault"
and "would be rectified at the next service".

• The car has nearly killed myself and my partner on at least 3 occasions.

- The first was on the M42 when the DSC light came on
and the car revs would increase in relation to pressure on
the accelerator but the speed remained constant or slowed,
bearing no resemblance to the pressure on the accelerator.
I was overtaking at the time and had insufficient acceleration
to complete the manoeuvre and had to attempt to get off the motorway.

- I was later advised by Jaguar Assistance to "re-boot" the car,
by switching it off and on again to "reset it" and then
proceed but "avoid using cruise control". At no time
was I advised that it was necessary to take the car to my dealer.

– At 39,000 miles, Catastrophic Failure - On December 31st,
travelling on the A2, heading onto the M25. At the junction
the car started to speed up without my accelerating. I tried
to slow it down, but as I did so the car "blew up", with black
smoke belching from the car, and a loud bang. The car started to
shut down and the steering lock came on, despite the fact
that I was heading onto the M25 at approx 60mph.

• The car was recovered by Grange Jaguar Brentwood
and was with them for approx 6 weeks.

• My dealer (Grange Croydon) would not enter into a dialogue
with me nor respond to my correspondence.
(Letter sent Jan 19th by email to: MD of Jaguar Cars,
my dealer, Grange Jaguar, Brentwood & MD of Swindon Motorparks).

• Jaguar Brand Manager at Croydon called me an “irresponsible
car owner” as there was no oil in the car, trying
to get out of their responsibilities under
the Jaguar warranty. This was factually incorrect.

• During this time, no-one at Grange Jaguar in Croydon,
their owners – Swindon MotorParks, nor at Jaguar HQ
would talk to me about the problems.

• February 6th – I visited the showrooms of Grange Jaguar in
Croydon and handed out copies of my letter to prospective
Jaguar Customers. Suddenly – someone is willing to talk to me!

• Contact with representative of MD of Jaguar Cars resulted
in my being told by that they had “no responsibility to me”
as my relationship was with my dealer.
Nor would they assist in the resolution of my problems.

• Engine was replaced under warranty, but despite my requests,
in writing, I was not told what had gone wrong with the vehicle,
as no-one seemed certain, nor was I assured that
the engine management issues had been resolved.

• The car was returned to me 12th February 2010.

• February 14th 2010 - On my second journey in the car
since its return to me – The DSC light came on and restricted
performance occurred. I reset the car. On the same journey,
this happened again, but this time whilst undertaking a
3 point turn. The car would not move and I had to push the
accelerator to make it move and it lurched forward and hit a taxi.

• February 15th 2010 – The car is returned to Grange Jaguar in Brentwood.

• February to March 2010 – Jaguar now became involved and
investigate the fault codes and session files.
(Why was this not done initially? Why did Jaguar ignore
their responsibilities to me when this was first reported?)

• Virtually ignored by all parties and not
informed of progress or what was being done.

• March 2010 – Told by Jaguar that: “the vehicle was
not dangerous at time of purchase, as the vehicle had
done 15,000 miles before the engine concern was
experienced at the end of December 2009. This clearly
highlights that the vehicle has accrued fair usage”. This
was not true as the engine management problems had been
reported via Jaguar assist prior to this!
(Jaguar is now very keen to change the facts for their own ends).

• March 26th – Jaguar insisted that I had the car back,
even though I believe that it is still dangerous
to drive. I accepted it back under duress. Still no contact
from Swindon Motor Park (Despite 6 calls and emails to MD).

• Told twice that my issues and request for a dialogue about
a refund or replacement vehicle have been referred to the
Customer Service Director at Swindon Motor Park
(Cambrian Autos), who has never bothered to speak to me!

• So... Here I am with a car that I paid £30,000 for,
which has caused 1 accident. I am not happy and
Jaguar and Grange do not give a damn.

• Ironically – the car still had a fault light on, when it
was returned to me, so this saga is not finished, not by a long way.

• My desire is to enter into a reasoned and rational dialogue
about a refund or a replacement with Jaguar, my dealer
and their owners, but to date after 3 months,
this request has been totally ignored.

• 07.04.10 Car returned to dealer as intermittant
fault code relating to the (new) battery.

• 07.04.10 Heard from one of my readers that a
“known fault” could have been responsible for the catestrophic
failure of the car. (Are Jaguar in denial about this
known fault – is that why they would not tell me?)
Here is what was suggested: “if the turbos overheated
the turbo oil seals could have failed and siphoned
sump oil into the engine. The engine would then run
on the sump oil and revs would be impossible to control.
You would have to stall the car to stop it.The lack of oil
left in the engine indicates that the engine ran on it and used it all up”.

SO, IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING A JAGUAR XF, ANY JAG
OR A CAR FROM DOVES, GRANGE, SWINDON MOTOR PARKS/CMBRIAN AUTOS
do yourself a favour and do something else with your money.

Please mention this site and pass on the word as the more people who know,
the more people will not have to suffer as I have, or possibly get killed by
cars that are dangerous to drive.

To contact us, click here

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