I couldn't resist....

To answer the OP's original question...

Power - Go with V8
Gas mileage - Go w/ V6
Reliability - Toss up: the early 4.0 V8 cars (1999.25 to 2002) had issues. The V6 engines are more reliable but require stringent maintenance (V8 also) - 4.2 V8 - rock solid!

Other? Really, it's a personal preference - I prefer a V8 engine - both of my Jaguar's have V8 engines (4.0 and 4.2)

 

Mike,

Thanks for your input....

The gas station where we purchase 90% of our fuel offers two choices: 89 and 93. My wife always fills up with 93. If I'm filling up her tank and she's not with me, I'll go with 89 as long as she's still got half a tank or more on the gauge. When I do this, she rarely complains about engine performance. But if her tank is near empty and I fill it up with 89, she always complains about sluggishness or rough running....

I wish this gas station had a 91 mid-grade offering. I would certainly try it. But since it is a BJ's Warehouse Club station, their member's price for 93 is often cheaper than competing stations' 91....

 

Original OP here, lots of great input and yes I got more than I needed.
My primary concern is reliability. Power isn't as much an issue as I'm buying it for my wife.
Reliability questions and concerns on these cars certainly seem warranted, which it seems is why you can buy them at these prices ( seemingly because not too many people want them?)

In any case, I find the level of luxury I am getting for $13,500 and only 26k miles is worth the possibility of dealing with more maintenance. If I have to spend more money on the back end of the purchase, I'll probably still end up spending less than I would have if I'd bought a Lexus of similar mileage and condition. Plus, I still think the Jaguar brand has more Mojo.

Ended up with the V6, primary because it was a used car and everything else about it fit my needs and desires.

Thanks for all the great input. I hope to be around for at least a few years as an S Type owner.

Many thanks indeed.
skewzme

 

Glad the info helped. You'll most likely also find that the supposed reliability issues are very much a thing of the distant past, way before the S-type or any modern Jag was built. People have very long memories about the dark days of Jag, British Leyland and Joseph Lucas. This reflects still today in the resale value of these cars which works to our advantage when buying second hand.

US built cars still suffer to a certain degree with the same stigma. Everyone remembers the poorly assembled rust buckets of the 70s and 80s.

 

Congrats Skewzme. If your garage floor has ever been soiled by a fluid spill pursuant to other maintenance, rather than just a leak; And if you remain engaged here on the forum, I doubt you'll spend all that much on the back end .....and I'm sure you'll never longingly utter the phrase, "I could've had the Lexus."
Maybe derisively, but never longingly.

 

Enjoy the car. The more maintenance history you can track down, the more manageable your ongoing care requirements will be. First things first - if you can find no documentation that the design-flawed, yellow-colored factory IMT O-rings have already been replaced by the thickened-and-improved, green-colored ones, then do this as soon as you can. Two new IMT O-rings should be less than ten bucks from your local Jaguar parts department and there are several threads here in the S-Type section that will walk you step-by-step through the job. Every 3.0 eventually suffers from the oil leakage and misfire issues that the lousy factory IMT O-rings create, so if they haven't been replaced on your particular car, just do it....

 

Two things -
I discovered something had leaked on my garage floor from the car, after parking it the first night. Looks like an oily substance, and it was on the passengers side, around the door ( not directly under the engine)
Any ideas?
Secondly, when I looked underneath everything looks brand new, no evidence of oil leaking, and really clean, EXCEPT … there is a plastic cover of some sort directly under the engine. It's bent and loose. Appears to be something metallic just behind it and exposed, like a heat shield or something. This could be some kind of damage from the mover putting it on the cargo truck.
I'm going to have my mechanic put it up on a rack later today, but does anyone have an idea of what I'm talking about or what that is?

Other than that, the car looks brand new and drives like a dream.

 

skewzme..two more items to be aware of..do NOT let the gas guage go down near empty. The gas tank ...as you know,... is a saddle type with one half on one side of the drive shaft and the other half on the side. One side has a jet pump (memory fails me here, forgot which is which, but others will know). If the gas gets too low in the jet pump side, it can malfunction and you'll get erroneous guage readings. Replacing it will cost a lot of money, a dealer will stick you for $800-1000 to replace it.
The other item is the battery, if yours is still the original, or over 4 years old, just replace it now, otherwise, failing batteries will cause you lots of grief.
Good luck with the Jaaaag, sounds like you got a good one.

 

The car has a plastic belly pan (also called an undertray) to protect the low-hanging components such as the compressor and A/C lines. That is the plastic cover you are seeing. The metallic heat shield you are seeing could be the top rear of the belly pan that has peeled away. You'll need to remove the belly pan and get underneath the car to see for sure....

That oil leak could be engine oil that has leaked from the oil pan gasket (the factory gaskets are prone to leak), the oil pan drain plug, or the oil filter that has run down the belly pan and finally pooled enough to drip down onto the pavement. Or, it could be transmission fluid that is leaking from the electrical connector sleeve (the factory sleeves are prone to leak)....

You won't know for sure until you remove the belly pan (5 bolts, 2 screws, and 2 nuts) and get underneath the car. Take a good look at the top side of the belly pan - it can pinpoint where your leak is happening....

You need to add the year and model of your car to your signature. You'll get more help from various forum members if you do....

 

Jon89 -
Such a wealth of information and help! I can't thank you enough

The IMT O rings you mention - What exactly are they? I don't do the mechanical work myself, and I need to explain to my local mechanic anything I need to be done. Will he know what I'm talking about?
Thanks again. Can I buy you a pizza or something?

 

IMT stands for Intake Manifold Tuner valves. The short answer is these two valves help to boost power when you want it and maximize your fuel economy the rest of the time....

Using the search function here on the forum, type "IMT O-ring replacement short route" into the search box and press search. You'll wind up with several excellent threads initiated by Rick (forum name "joycesjag") that will tell you exactly what these are and how to replace them without having to remove the plenum. These two O-rings are found only on the 3.0 V6, not on the 4.2 V8. They are a dealer-only item with a part number of C2S40669. You'll need two. I paid $2.15 each in January 2010. The new O-rings are colored green. The factory O-rings are colored yellow, are too thin and do not seal properly after a few years, will leak oil and cause misfires, and should always be replaced as soon as possible, no questions asked. Just do it....

Study those threads. Print them out and give them to your mechanic. If he does not understand after studying them, I would find another mechanic....

You still need to update your signature with the year and model of your S-Type. You want that information to show up at the bottom of every post you type. As I said, you'll get better help from the forum members that way....

 

Got the car up on a rack today . The plastic shroud under the engine has been knocked loose and damaged. Looks like it would be easy to replace right? Would this be a dealer only part, or can I get one online somewhere ?

 

You can try this site:

Jaguar S Type Engine Assembly | Used Auto Parts

You also may want to see if you can re-attach it with the existing fasteners.

 

After 04 the V8 (non-supercharged) actually is rated better on gas than the v6 go figure. Additionally you will get better performance with premium gas, those extra few MPG can ad up fast although unless your racing around you won't feel a big difference in acceleration. It's the extra power and fun of the V8 that make driving this car a pleasure. This is a Lincoln LS get the 4.2L with the taxi police engine built to last. Skip the supercharger unless you plan to race this car, it also guzzles more gas.

 

No and No. The Lincoln LS got the smaller 3.9L version of the Jaguar V-8.

No Taxi or Police involved either??
.
.
.

 

Good call I stand corrected.
However for the OP get the V8 and you will have a lot more fun.
I have one for sale, just saying...