Jaguar World – July 2019

July 201 9\JaguarWorld|8 3

CRAIGCHEETHAM|OURJAGUARS

A

COUPLEofmonthsago,ajobin
Hertfordshirewasfollowedbythe
needtocatchatraintoLondon,so
Ileftmydaily-driverX-TYPEparkedina
quietsidestreetinHitchinandwalkedto
therailwaystation.
WhenIreturnedacoupleofdayslater,
tomydismaysomeonehadclobberedthe
driver’ssidedoormirror.Allthatwasleft
wasthemirrorbodyandsomebroken
glass,thoughIwaspleasedtofindthered
mirrorcapinthehedgeacrosstheroad.
Luckily–andrarely,thesedays–
theresponsiblepartyhadleftanote
apologisingandleavingaphonenumber.
Honestygoesalongway,sohaving
managedtoreassemblethemirrorfrom
thepartsIfoundlyingabout,allIneeded
tofixitwasanewmirrorglass.Ifoundone
fortheprincelysumof£4.86oneBay,so
Isenttheladywhohadhitthemirrora
textmessagethankingherforbeinggood
enoughtoleaveamessage,andincluding
myemailaddressshouldshewishtopay
the£4.86I’dhadtofindforaneBaymirror.

Instead,shesentmeaverysincere

apologyanda£ 25 Amazonvoucher–proof

thattherearestillsomedecentpeopleinthe

world.Sothankyou,Emma.Yourgesture

restoresmyfaithinhumannature.

Withthemirrorreassembledand

winteroutoftheway,Idecideditwas

timetoattendtoajobthathadbeen

buggingme.WhenIboughtAE52AAX

lastautumn,partofwhatattractedmeto

itwastheX-TYPE’simmaculatePhoenix

Redpaintwork.Yes,it’sabitbrash,but

it’sbeenmyfavouriteX-TYPEcolourever

sincethecarfirstappearedin 200 1.AE52

AAX’sbodyworkismostlysuperb,and

mypurchasewasinfluencedbythefact

thatIknewithadbeengivennewsills

onbothsidesin 2015 ,anditsonebubbly

wheelarchwastheonlythingthatletit

down.Otherwise,it’sinastonishinglygood

conditionfora1 55 ,000-milecar.

Asthecarissolidred,Idecidedtobe

braveandattemptarepairmyself,soI

sandeddownthearchtoseewhatwas

beneath.Itwas,thankfully,justsurfacerust

–althoughthefillerandprimerunveiled

bymy1,000-gritwet-and-dryindicateda

previousbodyrepair.Ithinkthearchmay

havepickedupascrapeatsomepointand

beenrepairedwithoutproperrustproofing

underneaththe‘new’paint.

Oncesmoothedandsanded,Itreated

ittosomerustprotectionofmyownand

leftitforacoupleofdayswhileIordered

upsomepaintfromPaints4U.At£20per

500ml,itsrattlecansaren’tcheap,butpast

experiencewithmy 1965 RoverP6proved

aperfectmatch,soIdon’tmindpayinga

littleextra,notleastbecausethecolour

balanceisperfect.

Unlikemyrepair.But,Iadmittobeing

ultra-critical–youdon’tspotitunless

you’reactivelylooking.And,withthe

uglyrustbubblesconsignedtothepast,I

electedtotreatAE52AAXtoafullpolish

andwaxtoremindmyselfjusthowgood

theX-TYPElooksinPhoenixRed.

Myopinionhasn’tchanged;Istillthinkit

looksmega, 18 yearssincethecolourfirst

mademewantanX-TYPE.

CRAIGCHEETHAM–SENIORCONTRIBUTOR

2002 X-TYPE 2.0 Sport

Craigneedstoreplaceabrokenwingmirrorbeforetackling

abiggerissue,arustywheelarch

Rustbubbleson

wheelarcharetheonly

thingslettingdown

Craig’sX-TYPE

Primedandreadytopaint Repairisn’tperfect,butitisveryhardtospotNewwingmirrorglassisamere£4. 86 oneBay

Withthepaint

removed,evidence

ofapreviousrepair

becomesclear

Paints4U’sPhoenixRedisaperfectmatch