I don't care how good you believe the car's condition to be - if you don't have at least $2,000 banked away as your rolling maintenance fund, you're just whistling past the graveyard ($2,000 is minimum, $3,000 is better)....

We currently have three vehicles (2 Jaguars and 1 Dodge Ram pickup). I keep a minimum of $5,000 in a money market account that serves as my maintenance / repairs / insurance / taxes / unexpected disaster fund. Whenever I tap it, I always restock it to my $5,000 minimum within one week. That's an unbroken rule in our household that has served us well for the better part of 30 years....

 

+1 on a contingency fund -- for any car (other than in as-new warranty, I guess)

 

Well, you haven't said what the asking price is, but the car has a few flaws, so if you're also looking for trouble-free motoring...

Hopefully tires are less than 4 years old and in good shape.
Get the full service history, get the inspection done, check the recall work.

Price less than $6k, go for it, set aside $2-4k for all that's been mentioned here plus changing all upper and s/c coolant hoses, DIY assumed.

Price over $11k, walk away,

Anything in between, point out flaws, negotiate lower price, set aside $2-4k for all that's been mentioned here plus changing all upper and s/c coolant hoses.

No matter what, don't expect low-cost or trouble-free motoring from a 12-year-old Jag. But you will love the car.

Another $0.02 worth...

 

03's had the torque converter lining issue. Mine went out at 60k'ish miles if I remember correctly. Since the miles are so low, that may not be an issue now but could be in the future. Search for my thread on this and expect a $2k outlay.

Best of luck.

 

From my perspective if the price is right with only 36000 miles on it should be worth purchasing.

But, the car is 12 years old. This means the engine, trans and other drive-line components will be in great conditions. Unfortunately rubber hoses, and plastic parts on the car will age independent of the number of miles on it. I would plan on replacing all the coolant hoses. Especially the infamous coolant line sitting below the supercharger.

Best of luck..

 

I see the hose under the SC was finally mentioned. Hose is cheap but you need to remove a bunch of stuff to get to it.

I was worried and have all the parts to do the repair but my 2005 STR is at 112K miles on the original SC hose.

Also the early R's were known for short shifting. So take it to red line a couple of times and watch the tach to see when it shifts. Mine is right at 6050-6100 RPM.
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Have had an S Type since they first came out and am still running my 2004 S Type R which after 11 years now has 127,000 on the clock. Great car and good fun !


Aside from checking the electrics and ensuring that everything works as it should I would suggest you check the coolant hoses - often overlooked.


Going from memory there are something like 17 hoses and its false economy only to replace the one that's gone. I made that mistake and had different hoses need replacing for three successive months before I bit the bullet and had them all changed. Seem to recall the hoses themselves weren't particularly expensive - being about the same price as for my wife's Ford.


Of all the hoses the valley hose (a short 3" pipe costing £20) which sits under the supercharger is often overlooked or ignored. The reason being that it requires the removal of the supercharger to undertake and a bill of £959 (which is about £250 more expensive than usual as the bolts holding on my supercharger sheared when they tried to remove).


The STR is a great car and definitely a future classic - buy wisely and have fun.

 

STR have ZF transmissions, not Ford. The 2003 STR's were quite a bit better cars than 4.2 S-types up too that point.

I wouldn't be afraid of the car with only 36,000 miles if it were well cared for.