I stole our 2005 S-Type seven years ago today during the depths of the 2008/2009 economic depression here in the USA. I'll never forget how my wife and I were the only customers in the local Jaguar dealership showroom for the more than three hours we spent there on the previous day, and the abject fear that swept over the sales team when my wife announced midway through my tire-kicking process that she was going to leave to go eat lunch (they offered to bring in pizza, deli sandwiches, or whatever she wanted but she politely declined). To their great relief she indeed returned, but we still left the dealership that afternoon without me making an offer since I had quite a bit of specific research to do after inspecting and driving the car....

Our S-Type continues to serve me well as it approaches 93,000 miles. I still enjoy its effortless capabilities as a smooth highway cruiser. But 2015 has been a costly year from a maintenance perspective with a pinhole-leaking A/C line diagnosis/replacement in April, an electronic park brake module failure diagnosis/replacement/reprogramming in June, a leaking upper radiator hose assembly replacement in September, and a new set of Continental PureContact tires in October. My cost/benefit analysis algorithm that I established for this vehicle shortly after I purchased it is still in green territory, but just barely. Once it moves into red territory, the cost of continuing ownership (meaning the sum of annual property taxes, insurance costs, maintenance costs, repair costs, and operating costs) essentially exceeds the present value of the vehicle and it should be sold. I expect to finally cross that barrier sometime in 2016, but the good news is that my initial financial modeling predicted a a six-year functional run and the car certainly exceeded that expectation....

So here's to the few of us remaining long-time S-Type owners who continue to wring every mile we can out of our cars while trying not to break the bank while doing so. Thanks to all of you who continue to contribute your knowledge and experience here for the benefit of anyone willing to peruse the threads and glean the obscure information we all need to keep our S-Types in safe, roadworthy condition. I hope I'll remain a part of the S-Type forum for at least a few months longer. I know I should get ahead of the financial curve by attempting to sell mine now since our recently-acquired AWD SUV can do everything and more that my S-Type can do, but I must admit that I still enjoy cruising the highways and byways far more in my S-Type than in any of the other three vehicles we own....

 

Good news!

Perhaps there's a value from enjoyment that ought to be added in to the equation?

 

Sorry John, there's no place in my financial modeling for an emotional enjoyment factor. Gotta stick to the economic fundamentals as originally designed and be willing to let the car go when my algorithm tells me that the time has arrived to do so....

 

Wouldn't such a cost model cause any vehicle to cross the line, no matter how reliable and irrespective of what shape they are in?

Jags, being unfairly punished for the sins of the distant past, have very low market value as used cars. A 2005 S-type is worth only a fraction of it's Merc or Beemer equivalents of the same year and condition. Your model would appear to continue justify owning them for X additional years despite them being no cheaper to maintain or operate.

I can see rising repair costs (vs. standard wear items) being a strong factor when deciding to stop throwing good money after bad but other items you mentioned (wear items, registration costs) are either a constant or will rise dramatically (property tax, insurance) with a newer replacement vehicle.

Just sounds like you're throwing the kitty out with the bath water, so to speak. How does the '99 Dodge escape the same fate?

 

Jon,

Doesn't work for me - on that basis I'd never have paid to listen to any music (such as by buying a CD), for example.

Also, I'd be living in a tiny house just barely big enough for my bodily needs.

And so on.

 

Aren't they all like that in Yorkshire?

 

Not quite - see Castle Howard or Harewood House for examples.

Not that I live in them

 

Mikey,

Yes, my financial model will eventually turn red on ANY vehicle it is applied to. The only question is when. I began developing my system about twelve years ago and first applied it to my wife's two Lexus RX SUVs purchased in 2003 and 2007. The system did not work as well then as it has worked for my S-Type. In a nutshell, my system is proprietary and I hope to sell the concept to the appropriate interested party at some point in the future....

I have never applied my system to my 1999 Ram for three primary reasons:

1. It is a pickup truck, therefore no other vehicle in our stable can provide the necessary hauling functions that it can.

2. It rarely breaks, when it does it is typically less than $25 to fix it myself, and the annual property taxes / registration / insurance I must pay to keep it on the road are miniscule compared to our other vehicles.

3. I've owned it for nearly 15 years and although it remains in great shape with just 68,500 miles on the odometer, its resale value wouldn't even begin to help replace it so I'm better off holding onto it as long as its ownership costs remain minimal and then donating it to charity for the tax write-off when the time comes.

 

Sounds like all the cars and toys in my stable, including the S-type.