Hi I just got a 2003 Jag S type for 7.8k with 122k miles on it from a dealer. It's my 1st car. It's beautiful, but I'm scared of the costs after reading posts on here. Got it from a Honda dealer. They said they will fix the brakes and wheel alignment issues along with all safety checks. I'm still worried. KBB value is similar for 4.0 engine for 130k miles. Any advice for a newbie?

 

Wow... 7.8k for an 03 V6?

Think you overpaid pal... You can't give these cars away anymore...

What issues does it have that you;re aware of?

Have you taken it for an extended test drive?

How is the transmission? Is there any service history on the transmission? That would be my greatest concern, as most previous owners did as the dealer instructed, and did not service the 'sealed for life' ZF transmission. This usually leads to failure by 100k miles.

 

Given what you paid, they definitely saw you coming....

The best advice I can offer is to start a money market account maintenance fund if you have not already. Doing the work yourself, you'll want to have at least two grand available at all times just in case....

 

#2 Hi GTR, I think some transmission work was done at 122k miles by AAMCO transmissions in AZ. Its a 4.2L V8 according to CarFax. The car is stunningly beautiful to look at. I must have over paid $1k im guessing. Test drive was really good and lots of power in the engine. Im just worried about coil, AC and other problems that everyone mentions here. Im not in a situation where i cant afford more than 1k for repairs. I dont have any pics of the vehicle as its still at the dealership getting fixed. Will post some pics soon. My insurance rates are sky high after purchasing this vehicle. I cant buy road side assistance service for this vehicle, if i dont get full insurance. Comprehensive insurance for this vehicle is $1.8k for 6 months on my quote with Geico.

 

$2K has to come out of a magical box at this point. Its in good shape. Its a 4.2L V8 that i bought. Sorry even i was confused if it was a v6 or a v8. No alarm bells were ringing while test driving it at 80mph on highway except for brake pads and wheel alignment. I just checked CarFax and some work on transmission was done few months ago. I will try to contact the company and see what they have actually done. Anything else i have to think about?

 

Forgot to quote you. Sorry im new on here. There is an above message for you.

 

Ah, well a 4.2L makes it a bit better... If there was a significant transmission service or total overhaul at AAMCO somewhat recently, that is a good sign.

Seeing a transmission rebuild can be $5k +, if that was covered, and the car drives good and you're happy with it, keep it and enjoy it.

 

In my CarFax report it shows that my car was serviced in AAMCO transmission. Im not really sure what they did to it though. Anyways i will contact them today and see if they can tell me something.

 

Nice first car.
Even if you overpayed for it(which I have no idea of your prices) , I'll bet nothing was going to stop you having the car once you made up your mind you wanted it.

Don't you guys remember how cool buying your first car was! no matter what anyone told you.

My old man told me $100 was too much.

 

$3600 a year?

Buying an 11 year old high-end semi-exotic car without having a generous maintenance reserve in the bank is generally not a good plan. There again, most of us did exactly that when were young.

 

Congratulations.
a) Don't need road-side assistance - just get AAA maybe 100 bucks - get the more expensive option if you expect to be towed a long way.
b) As for Comprehensive insurance, my guess is any small accident your car will be considered totalled and the payout from Geico is going to be rather puny. It's your call, may want to save the Comprehensive insurance money and put it towards buying tools you are going to need (Harbor Freight).




Meanwhile don't stress out the car by burning rubber, use it for going from point A to point B, enjoy it while impressing the ladies (assuming you are single). Also, be prepared to become really knowledgeable and handy around cars in the very near future - sounds like someone traded it in for a Honda which says something in itself. It's really not all that bad once you're mentally prepared to address most car issues on your own.

 

Which is exactly what OP should have been looking to purchase for a first car!!! A 2003-2006 Honda Accord, maybe with the 2.4L and stick-shift would be a fantastic first car... An S-type though...? Not so much...

 

Congrats ! My 05 S-Type was my very first car I ever purchased as well. Really haven't had no issues with it except it needed a trans fluid/pan change which I did (learned on this very forum how to do it)...and a fuel filter...I paid a couple hundred dollars over $10K but that included registration fees and all. I didn't even have plans to purchase a vehicle when I did LOL...stopped at a dealership to burn some time (I was working out of town) looked at some vehicles...seen my baby and didn't leave the dealership without her.

I had absolutely no knowledge on vehicles...repairs..etc..prior to owning the s-type...now thanks to everyone on JaguarForums I have some knowledge on vehilces/repair...mainly S-Type's though LOL good thing though because it's the only vehicle I own ! And will own it till she dies.


Cost of repairs/maintenance is a little higher than your average car...but that comes naturally with your quality manufactures such as Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Audi...maybe should of researched maintenance/repair cost before purchasing...I know I didn't think of maintenance/repair costs when I was buying my s-type but I'll have to deal with it now

Good luck with your first car !

 

Im not going to buy any comprehensive insurance. I will get AAA that you mentioned. I really dint think about any research when i looked at that car!

 

To be honest there are no good cars for $6000-9000 without going through the pain of paying $1500 over the car price for plates, tax and adoption fees. All those cars have more than 100k miles on them. I know i made a mistake by buying this car at this point of my career. But it was beautiful and i dont really have many options. I looked at 5 cars on craiglist where they say the car is clean, but CarFax has a different story. Small shops pretend to be private sellers and lure you to look at their cars and put all cheap parts and tires. One car had 4 different tires from 4 different companies and 4 different thread lengths! I was tired looking for a decent car at a decent price.

 

Ricky,

Drive it and love it... The guys here are a wealth of knowledge, use them wisely. I'm sure if you dont know too much about the mechanics and electrics of a modern car, you're going to learn in a hurry!!!

I work on mine most weekends, some preventative, most necessary. Still have annoying front end suspension clunks to find and fix, but working on the car it is fun and theraputic!

Enjoy the looks you will get!

Cheers,

Doug

 

Its my first car and i dint really think too much. Im will surely take a big hit financially if i want to sell it in the future.

 

Well the real key is can you do your own mechanic work?

I can afford my STR just fine but I am cheap skate and try to do all the repairs and maintance myself. Always have as one of my hobbies is cars!
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As other members have indicated in their posts, there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum, but you must be willing to take the time to read and research each topic as many have already been addressed.

It is also helpful if you add a description of your vehicle to your signature indicating the MY and engine type since the 3.0 litre and 4.0/4.2 litre cars may have different issues.

 

I filled all that information while creating my profile. How can i add all that info now. I tried to tweak my profile and i was able to add 3 pics of my car. Im new here. Can you please explain?