Hi All,
I am a Volvo guy, who happened upon a very low mileage 2007 S-type with only 22,000 miles.
Any tips or things I should be aware for that model year? The ceiling headliner (especially by the moonroof) is coming down, reminds me of the old Volvo's.
Otherwise, it seems to be in pretty good shape. Just putting new tires, and wipers.
Thanks,
Scott

 

Hiya Scott,

Welcome to the forum.

With a sagging headliner, the typical problem is the foam (between the fabric and hard shell) starts to disintegrate. Not all the way through, just the outer surface where the glue was. I've run into this twice with other vehicles. It looked so simple to spray some special upholstery contact cement in there and glue the fabric back in place. Looked great, started patting myself on the back. About a week later, it all started falling down again. I thought the glue had failed, but upon closer inspection, I found a thin layer of foam still securely attached to the fallen fabric. The foam itself had failed again, and was basically shedding a thin layer each time.

The only fix is to completely remove the original foam layer under the fabric. (Either that, or buy a complete new headliner assembly.) New headliner fabric has a foam backer already attached. I redid the headliner myself on a pickup and a Suburban. Not too difficult, as the surfaces were fairly flat and I had good access to remove the complete headliner.

The headliner on a Jag has more complex curves. I'd recommend letting an upholstery shop do a complete recovering. You can remove and reinstall the headliner yourself and save some money, so the shop only has to do the recovering portion. Details at this link. Not fun to remove, but removing the front passenger seat is much easier than removing the rear window:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...al-how-129199/

That's an early model in that thread, but I believe the same basic principles apply to later models, too.


This next thread is applicable to later models, but there are some unnamed chuckleheads having an off-topic party, too:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...r-time-189153/

 

If you do the headliner removal you do not have to remove any glass. It bends and comes out. There are threads and experienced members to help. karl’s links may be one of them. The sunroof cover on my 06 str has the same problem. The headliner has to come out to remove it. I have studied up on the removal. Not too daunting just takes time. Good luck and keep us posted

 

Hi Scott,

If you are a Volvo V50 guy, you are looking at the S-Type cousin. Both are from the Ford era, which is a good thing. Ford dumped about a billion dollars into Jag making them reliable while not emasculating Geoff Lawson, the Jaguar designer. But the driving experience is completely different. The Volvo is very sensible, but... I've owned Volvos from the 144 to the V50 and never loved any of them. My dad crashed two of them and walked away until the judge took his license away due to dementia. They are safe to the enth degree.

I've owned two Jags, S-Type and X350 XJ6 and have a deep affection for the experience in them. The Jag is all about balancing comfort and ride, silence and old-world style.

Think Chariots of Fire* vs Abba‡.

+.Bring me my bow of burning gold
...Bring me my arrows of desire
...Bring me my spear, o clouds unfold
...Bring me my chariots of fire

‡.Yes a bang, a boom-a-boomerang
...Dum-be-dum-dum be-dum-be-dum-dum
...Oh bang, a boom-a-boomerang
...Love is a tune you hum-de-hum-hum

With the Volvo I would immediately open the sunroof. In the Jag, I leave the climate control on auto, windows up, classical music on the radio and never notice the road rage unfolding around me.

By 2007 Jag have worked out the early car niggles, and 22,000 miles sound like it was someone's pet. A while back I bought an S-Type Sport that was owned by an 87 year old guy whose wife drove it to the club and supermarket in a town with no hills and no potholes. Those are ideal cars, provided they do not deteriorate from lack of use.

Researching the forum you will find all sorts of tips, but overall they are good cars. As you are in New York, read the UK forum postings on rust, although at 1,500 miles per year, it sounds as if the car may never have been driven in snow or salt. As others have said, the headliner is a common issue. Do a quick forum search and you will find recommendations on shops that provide this. As by 2007 you are driving a computer, best to invest in an OBDII Code Reader. This will tell you about your car's health and allow you to manage repairs before they leave you stranded on the roadside.

And in the autumn, be sure to take it on the Route 100 leaf drive in Vermont. It's that kind of car.

 

My uncle had a used car lot and had access to any car. He chose volvo. 4 times. One stolen. 2 wrecked and the 4th to my dad when he passed away. I drove it a lot and honestly based my choice of my str on it. It was a tank on steroids

 

I've owned a lot of great cars over the course of my life. Some more reliable, some less, but none of them put smiles on my face like Jaguars do. I'm now 80 years old and currently own four of them. Still crazy after all of these years.