Hello everyone,

I am a new member and in the market for an S-type-R looking to trade in my E46 M3 due to needing more door as I am having my first child, also the M3 costs a fortune to maintain. I have done plenty of reading on the internet and see that the s-type can suffer with electrical gremlins which can be solved with a new battery and the 'lurch'. Would there be any other common issues that I should be looking at? the car I like has 65k on the clock and is 04 facelift.


Thank you for reading and sorry for all the questions..
Ben

 

An 04 model is now 11-12 years old. Just as any car, depending on how it was treated and maintained it might be ready for the scrap heap or be a jewel. Not sure if an S-type is cheaper to keep running than a comparable Bimmer or Merc.

Aside from what you've already discovered, the coolant hose under the supercharger is a source of problems.

 

Coming from a member with small children take this for what it is worth.

The back seat of an S Type was not designed for an infant carrier nor in the future, child safety seats. I will not try to talk you out of purchasing a wonderful STR, but in reality, it is not a "new family friendly" vehicle. Not to mention the interior of a Jaguar really isn't designed for spit up, exploded diapers nor breast milk, well........

Search "Bull27", (I believe). He was a former member here that absolutely loved his STR. Baby #1 came around and wifey convinced him that a mini van was a better suited family vehicle. My wife and I decided to keep our S Type for her and decided that I would get the "station wagon" as my daily as I am an at home dad, chauffeuring the children back and forth to school, sports, etc, blah blah. Oh, my station wagon is not a mini van btw, its actually a very well suited vehicle for our family.

Take an infant carrier with you when you decide to test drive and you will see what I mean. Good luck and welcome to fatherhood!

 

Welcome to the forum Ben, and congrats on the baby news.

I know this is a Jaguar forum but my 2 cents if you want a luxury family car with all the space for kids and the mountains of stuff that comes with them, and you want something that's nice with a bit of power, then get yourself a...

...Supercharged Range Rover Sport.

There I said it.

The supercharged engine is the same one that's used in the Jags, they have all the room you need for kids, and you still have something nice to drive around in, not a minivan (or station wagon, sorry Rick!)

 

6.0/6.2 litre Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum


No offense taken!

 

Those other cars will have more room but just on the S-Type - they have isofix fittings so take a standard baby seat (as we call them).

That said, I would not want a baby in my STR.

 

Ben, welcome to the forum and congrats on the baby!

As others have stated sbove, shop around for the STR, and hopefully the one you choose was well taken care of in the past. I don't think it would be cheaper to maintain than the BMW though, the STR is an aging,high end car.

As for children, I have an '03 3.0 S Type, and for me, it suits me fine with my 20 month old son. ( I'll really get to test it out next year with two kids... my wife is now 9 weeks pregnant).
Easy to fit baby seat whether forward or rear facing with the latch/ tether system.

My car has "the lurch" too, like many. S Types with the ZF 6HP26 gearbox, but mine must have a mild case of it, really not an issue ( for me anyway). The main issue as you know on the STR is the valley pipe issue ( aka coolant hose under the supercharger).

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose, however the STR is a nice choice, especially if you DIY on maintenance/ repair, and read this forum!

 

Welcome to the forum Ben, don't forget that intro in the new members section.

Take a look at this one, not really local for you though https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/p...r-sale-153059/

 

hey!

I'm 5'4 and with the desired seating position that I have, there extremely little backseat space for adult passengers. Now, if you're seating a baby/an infant, it'd be no problem at all.

If you're handy with tools, the S-Type R is a great vehicle to own. I'm not gonna lie, it is not the most reliable vehicle. But the maintenance and repairs on it is really easy to do. My car has 68K miles on it and these are the things I had to do personally.

1) Coolant reservoir and hoses ($100)
2) O2 sensor ($68)
3) 8 Spark plugs and 1 coil ($225)
4) Rear window regulator ($80)
5) Transmission flush with new gaskets/plug/etc ($225)
6) Differential flush ($10)
7) Supercharger fluid flush ($25)

These are just maintenance things along with some unexpected parts that went amiss. I've driven a E46 M3. In fact, I have owned one before (SMG). It was an absolute joy to drive, but you're right. The M3 and STR are apples to oranges. I've come to a place in my life where I needed 4 doors and a more comfortable drive. The STR does all of that for me. It is FAST (faster than my M3), quieter, more comfortable, has back seats, a huge boot, handles well for a luxury saloon.

My car only has 68K so I have not experienced any electrical gremlins. My DCCV is still functional, everything works. This car is extremely mod friendly. I am running a 2lb pulley and a full exhaust system which makes the supercharger pretty loud.

This car runs well in the cold weather (right now). But runs like a slug in the hot weather due the ECU pulling timing with the heat. Methanol injection or Killer chiller changes that of course which is on my next to do list.

Your location says Newport. Is that Newport, CA? If so, I live pretty close to you so you're more than welcome to drive my vehicle to see if you'd like it or not.

Good luck!

 

Who are you using for the transmission flushes? Dealerships typically do NOT want to do it. They would rather replace the transm

 

Who are you using for the transmission flushes? Dealerships typically do NOT want to do it. They would rather replace the transmission unit ($6000), as the unit is "sealed for life". Most independent service shops opt against it, as well I have experienced.

 

Jaguar have had the info that it is NOT sealed for life on their tech site (*) for at least 5 years. There is NO excuse for dealers to be so ignorant. Yet some apparently are!

(*) together with the schedule

It could be lots longer than 5 years, but that's about when I read it.

 

Me! I've been doing all work to my cars since almost forever. I've installed a turbocharger in my 2006 Toyota Camry, restored a few vehicles in my garage, etc.

Also.. This forum was SUPER helpful as always.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ics-faq-30991/