Because I almost never see other S-Types on the road here in central North Carolina, I've been casually looking for information on how many S-Types were sold or leased in recent years. I have a 2005 so that year's sales volume particularly interested me.

Yesterday I came across a Jaguar article published in early 2006 which stated that here in the U.S. only 8,897 new 2005 S-Types (3.0, 4.2, and STR combined) were sold or leased during calendar year 2005. So across all 50 states and D.C., that averages out to less than 175 cars per state for the 2005 model year.

The article also mentioned that approximately 22,000 S-Types were sold or leased in the U.S. during calendar year 2000. From that point, sales volume declined every year. At that rate, I guess I wouldn't be surprised if the final model in 2008 didn't even sell or lease 5,000 units.

There's no question that Jaguar dramatically improved their quality and reliability ratings and image from 2000 to 2008. All of the so-called car experts rate the 2005-2008 model years as the best S-Types ever made. So what factors combined to prevent the S-Type from ever coming close to Jaguar's sales targets? The car got better and better each year but overall sales and leases diminished considerably each year as well. Was the S-Type finally done in by a continuing perception by the U.S. car-buying public that Jaguar remains too risky to take a chance on? Was it due to low resale values after just a couple of years? Or does the S-Type truly NOT deliver the bang-for-the-buck against its supposed competition like the BMW 5-series, the Lexus GS-series, and whatever else it has to go up against?

 

I think it comes down to design in one way, people wanted more streamlined cars and the newest thing out. As the S types almost stayed the same from 2000-2008 with little differences. Don't get me wrong I love the lines on my 03 S stype especially the R model. But for 2005 and forward lots of other designs from car companys came out, to keep a car for 8 years with the same basic line is beyond me.

 

I would tend to agree with both of you as to why S-Type sales kind of petered off. I think the primary reason is the continuing quality issue that still plagues Jaguar. This impacted not only the S-Types, but other models as well. Since I buy used Jaguars (this my third) the depreciation issue is something I count on because you can get a great car for the price. I bought my 2005 Zircon 3.0 for pretty much the same reasons Jon outlined. I plan on keeping it until it is fully depreciated and then would probably update it rather than selling it. Since I'm not too far from retirement, this may be my last chance at a Jaguar.

So far, I've found it is a joy to drive. It feels a lot lighter and more agile than the XJs I've had before. Suspension is a little stiffer than the XJs which is to be expected given its handling prowess. It also has the most comfortable seats I have experienced in a car. The steering is dead accurate, and tracks absolutely straight. I attribute this to a thorough prep job done by the car dealer I bought it from. The only issues so far were a dodgy rear seat cupholder which I fixed myself and a cd player that didn't work at first but then I pushed the A.Mem button and it started working fine. This one was somewhat of a mystery which I can only guess the CD player needed to be initialized.

As far as styling, I really like it because it has a distinctive shape with some styling cues from the old MK II which was quite a nice car. Apparently in England some outfits that are refurbishing MK IIs with modern running gear and conveniences. They are also doing somewhat the same thing with Series II and III XJ6s.

In the DC area, we have three Jag dealers within about 20 miles of each other so service shouldn't be a concern. I would have to judge this area as pretty strong for Jags. The other strong market is Southern California.

While shopping for my car, I noticed that the quality Certified cars went quick, a little too quick for me since I lost a chance at a 2004 Jaguar Racing Green STR and a BRG 2005 S-Type 3.0. When my car popped up on Autotrader.com, I snapped it up. Things were OK until I noticed that a Zircon 2003 STR came up for sale about two weeks after my purchase for about what I paid for mine.

 

The Miami / Fort Lauderdale area also seems to be a strong market for Jaguar. I've noticed that several members of this forum are from that area. Our S-Type was a three-year executive lease in Fort Lauderdale and certainly was not abused by the original owner although he stuck by the 10,000-mile oil & filter change interval as published in the Owners Manual. Hope I won't be dealing with engine sludge down the road as a result....

Even the certified S-Types don't sell very quickly at our Jaguar dealership. Several of them that were available when we bought ours on December 19th are still available today. I'm sure that the recession has a lot to do with that. In better times, as attractively as these cars are priced they may turn over more frequently....

I've never seen our local dealer offer a pre-owned S-Type R for sale. There are a few 4.2 cars, but the vast majority of them are the 3.0 like ours. Again, maybe the economy is driving the decision to concentrate on selling the 3.0 more than anything else. The dealer apparently finds these cars coming off lease (mostly in Florida, it seems), picks them up at auction, and manages to bring 3 or 4 of them up each month. The last few weeks have been mostly 2006 models....

I still say that for the money, this is the most car we've ever had. Over a two-day period a week before Christmas, I managed to negotiate my best-and-final offer down $5,000 from the price published in the newspaper ad that first drew my attention. I still wonder if I could have bought the car for perhaps even another $500 to $1,000 less....

Mike - at what point will you consider your 2005 S-Type 3.0 fully depreciated?

 

Hi Jon,

I would consider my Jag being fully depreciated in another 6-8 years. By then, it should be around the 150K mark. In the DC area where I'm from, the S-Type market seems to be about 75% 3.0, 20% 4.0/4.2 and about 5% STR. For some reason, the market seemed to be picking up somewhat in Jan.

Last night, I did a search for S-Types for sale nationwide on Autotrader.com and came up with 1756 cars. There are plenty to choose from.

Mike

 

I'm quite curious as to whether these S-Types can routinely go 150,000 miles without having to spend more money on major repairs than the car is worth. I'm still debating on whether I will pursue some sort of extended warranty once our factory warranty runs its course on July 19th. I've found one that will protect our 2005 S-Type 3.0 for an additional 5 years or 100,000 miles beyond the factory warranty with no deductible for $2,995. To get this price, the car must be registered for the extended warranty program prior to its odometer reaching 24,000 miles (our S-Type is sitting at about 21,500 miles right now), and no part of the exhaust system is covered. If anyone else out there is interested, the company is Auto Advantage Inc., its president is Hal Moses, and his phone number is (800) 933-9190. They're based in New York and have successfully passed my investigative efforts thus far. I'm certainly not at a point to be able to recommend them to anyone else out there, but they've been very open with me about what they do and do not cover. If you plan to consider an extended warranty, they are certainly worth a phone call and an e-mail exchange with pricing for the various coverage options that they offer. Keep in mind that S-Types with more than 24,000 miles will pay somewhat more for their coverage....