The car I purchased; a 2003 S Type with 5 Speed manual transmission, and 83K miles works perfectly for the purpose I purchased it for. Teaching my son how to drive with manual transmission!
The engine is smooth, transmission is great and very forgiving (you can move from standstill on second or third with no issues). Rear wheel drive and a mid size car! However, when it comes to electrical issues, it is a puzzle that may be elevated to a disaster level if it is your only car!
Hence, for a reliable day to day only car use, and still I am talking about my very own experience, it is a no no!

Amadauss experience of his car utilization may be very similar in terms of daily use. And I spend hours with the service manual and tracing many issues step by step, some of the issues I was successful with and many cluless!

 

Please detail the actual electrical problems. As I said, you are approaching being unique so I do think it would be helpful to state the actual issues rather than an unhelpful generic statement.
Also, is your VIN before or after M45255?
Lastly, are there any non-jaguar electrical items at all (i.e. any aftermarket etc add-ons/changes)?

 

Contributor Sempire asked about reliability; may I say the most reliable car I EVER had was a Mk.I Ford Mondeo diesel. I had it for six years in constant daily use and it never broke down. In the last month I had it, it managed to break the offside (left) road spring. I just kept it fed with engine oil, diesel and tyres, and away it went.
Current up to date cars? Oh dear! In my experience of cars (lengthy) predicting reliability is like predicting the weather. If the blogs were anything to go by, modern cars have dodgy electronics. My modern problems have been anything but. A Citroen C4 EGS set itself on fire, a write-off, while I was away from it shopping. A Renault Megane had a stiff clutch and a dodgy injector. A Peugeot 206SW broke a road spring, rattled a lot, and had a slipping clutch at high revs. Any of which you could have had with a car from previous decades.
Reliability of my S-type Jaguar? It hasn't broken down yet, but I've had the typical autobox problems due to the "sealed for life" nonsense. If the ATF fluid had been changed as usual like in older designs with a dipstick and filler, there would have been no probs. I think since Ford took over Jaguar, there have been improvements.
Truthfully, it's down to you to REALLY, REALLY check out a car before you buy it. You should drive it for at least half an hour on a hot engine, even handing the seller a dollar or two for juice, or pull in and put some in yourself.
But most of all, READ a website such as this for typical faults, what to watch for. Forewarned is forearmed!
Leedsman.

 

I hear all the horror stories abouty the early S 00-03 but the way I look at it all of them are not bad you hear about the problem ones but the ones that motor on into 100K without issue you never hear about. I purchased a 01 S with 37K for under $8G a similar BMW 5 would have cost well over $12 so the way I look at it if I drive it for another 60K I can put $4G into it before I break even. I drove a BMW 5 series before this and I get way more compliments and attention with the S. And the 5 has it set of problems (cooling system, suspension); all car will have some set of problems but it does not affect 100% of the cars. As far as the people spending $3G on a warranty - I ask why are you betting against your car when the warrenty company is betting on your car? Believe it or not the warranty companies usually wins out and they make money, thats why they are in business.

 

Quote.
. As far as the people spending $3G on a warranty - I ask why are you betting against your car when the warrenty company is betting on your car? Believe it or not the warranty companies usually wins out and they make money, thats why they are in business.[/quote]

Same reason I buy house,car,health and life insurance. Piece of mind.They all cost lots of money but it IS worth it

 

Black Cat - Agreed I would never go without life, home or health insurance, they typically cost about 1-2% of the damages that they could cover. You buy a car because you belive in its quality and reliability not betting on it breaking down and needing a huge repair. The car is given a 36 month warrenty to work things out after that I would rather bank my money bet, on my good judgment and believe things will work out. If there are some repairs, fine if they start to reach an incredible level you can sell it. Can't do that with your health or home (now days).

 

I bought an 03 with 83k and I can say I've been nothing but completely satisfied. I've had two things I've had to change. I had a coolent leak because the nipple cracked, it was easy to change and didn't cost much. I also had one of the o2 sensors go out, not a big deal either. I've had the car for three years so I don't consider those things anything other than normal maintenance.

I'll be buying another Jag when I'm done with this one.

 

1. once again we are on a moot subject. There are only opinions and no right or wrong answer. (see, what kind of oil, gas or beer do you buy)

2. I only buy ext warranty coverage when my factory warr is running out.

3. my first Jag 01 stype 3.0 would have fallen into the POS category if I did not have my ext warranty. Paid for itself many times over. Helped keep me interested in Jags. Bought an 06 STR and ext warranty after factory warranty expired.Its a Jag and cost me allot of money to buy. Another few grand did not even cause me to flinch even a little.

4. you stated that you are betting against your car when you buy the ext warranty but is this not the case when we buy any warranty or insurance.
I have paid thousands over the years for home and car insurance and have NEVER made a claim.Probably enough if I had saved the money as you mention that I would be able to pay for major repairs with the saved cash.If you can save the cash and never touch it until you have a car repair I applaud your dicipline,most people say they will do this but never get around to it,or use the money on something less urgent.
If I go to the end of my warranty and have never used it I will consider myself lucky and not worry about it.

My 06 has gone 1 year under the ext warranty without use. Next week it goes in for rear bushings,this is a common fault and all my bushings on the back end are gong to be replaced under the warranty. This is a very expensive repair. My $100.00 deductable will gladly leave my wallet, and better yet I get it done at a Jag dealer and not some corner garage.

Remeber this is all Just my opinion. I think its still allowed.