Heres how bad she was leaking in a twelve hour period:

 

I hope we've not put people off buying what are normally very good value cars!

 

Certainly not my intentions. Even with the problems in the beginning, we would purchase this vehicle all over again.

I must say that as far as wrenching on the S Type it is one of the easiest to work on. I don't understand why the professional garages refuse to touch these cars.

Some of you will remember back a few years ago when a fellow member brought his '03 MY for the mentioned seals to me, Jaguar quoted him $5,400.00 I did the work for half the price and half the time. I had a buddy visit who owns his own shop with 3 certified mechanics specializing in Mercs and BMWs, they refuse to touch Jaguars. "Danny" my buddy could not believe that I could do such work without IDS and blah blah blah....

 

Probably "just" the unknown. Good old FUD....

The STR can be a bit more awkward as the engine bay is kinda full.

 

John,

Rick's just being honest about his initial experience with Joyce's car. He's not attempting to scare anyone off. But I fully believe that unless you enjoying spending big bucks with dealerships or not-quite-as-big-bucks-but-still-enough-to-hurt with indy shops, you need to be able to do at least the routine repairs yourself. We all know there are indeed quite a few of them....

 

True enough. I wasn't actually meaning Rick or any one person, just that it all seemed to be getting a bit gloomy.

 

Well put Jon, thanks.

No gloom and doom here.

Joyce enjoys her vehicle so much, I came across a great deal on a previously enjoyed low mileage, every record, one owner 2008 Cadillac STS V, she turned it down.

I have to admit that the S Type has grown on me since day 1 and I am glad that she did turn down the Cadillac.

I was talking with a friend last night and we were discussing how the American auto manufacturers are returning to the retro look. Maybe TaTa will follow suit and redesign a former S Type, wouldn't that be grand.

 

Trouble is they're selling far more Land Rovers (incl Range Rovers).

 

3.0L S-Type of 03 or later vintage should serve you well. Little issues will arise, as with any vehicle, and being a Jag instead of a Ford or Chevy, you will need a wad of cash or a plan to deal with them. DIY is undoubtedly the best way, but failing that, if you can find a reputable independent and stay on top of things yourself here on the forum, you should be no worse off financially than if it were a Ford or Chevy. Earlier this week I caught a ride to one of the kids' ball games with the wife in her 05, and noted the Pax grab handle was hanging by one mounting point and the check-engine light was illuminated. When we got home, I scanned the codes - was a MAF value "out-of-range" (get those about every 2 mo. or so since changing the MAF to eliminate the P01717/174) cleared it, prised open the screw cover on the grab handle with a screwdriver, drove the fastener back in with a Torx, confirmed it wasn't stripped, re-seated the cover and done. I may be mistaken, but I told the wife if she took that to the dealer with those two discrepancies, I suspect she wouldn't get out for less than $150 and only then if she fought off the probable recommendation of MAF replacement, otherwise, double that. Alternatively, she could've run it to AutoZone for a free read and perhaps got out without buying parts and got one of the kids to fix the grab-handle. Maybe friendly independent would charge her $50 and say let's watch it and see if the code returns? That's all speculation on my part, but gives you an idea of some niggling items that come along that must eventually be dealt with.






I dunno, Rick....I've made no secret that I don't care for the new design direction at Jaguar (I call it, Avant-Honda) ..but looking at these Tata offerings.....well, perhaps if your historical theme is "stupid-looking" then a "new direction" may be an improvement.....I'm just having a bit of trouble imagining anything as graceful and beautiful as an S-type or X300/308 rising from the ashes that designed this lot.

 

Since those four cars look like copies of (from the bottom up) a Hyundai Accent, some ugly thing, a Toyota Matrix, and a Smart Fortwo, I would suspect that any new Tata "S Type" type of car, will look like an S Type.

But it will be more spartan and practical, not luxurious. You know, crank windows, 4-speed manual gearbox, and vinyl all around. Hey, they want the same margins as the Nano.

 

The Nano may be a copy of the Smart ForTwo, launched in 1998; but I believe the original design inspiration is clearly evident in this model from 1979:
Little Tikes Cozy Coupe Car

 

Oh Zane I hear you loud and clear on the "new" Jaguars. Not my liking as well although the booty end of the new XJ is definetly an eye catcher for me but the front end pifft.


Well put!

Hey we even have one of those in our stable, the Cozy Coupe that is.

 

Now that we have throughly hijacked chazroos thread (ah just like the old days ).

Chazroo how did the test drive go?

 

Hehe, sorry Chaz. FWIW, we've had our 03 since 08 w/56k now @106k and the 05 since 09, 28k to 84k mi and neither have yet had Rick's belly-pan leak, though the 03 did have a seepy left cam-cover gasket about 90k or so, much easier fix as I'm sure Rick will attest.

 

Well, it's official. We are now a two Jaguar family. My wife picks up her 06 S-Type tomorrow morning in Ft Lauderdale. It will join my 07 XK coupe in the driveway. We got it for $13K plus registration. I think that's pretty good. The car is immaculate. Here's a link to the new addition:
Used 2006 Jaguar S-TYPE 3.0L V6 For Sale in Fort Lauderdale | Miami, Coral Gables, Florida | P12215

 

Congrats!!! She looks beautiful, I am sure the wifey will love it!

When you pick it up, see if the dealership will toss in a radiator splash shield screw that its missing.

 

Rick,
Radiator splash shield screw? Where and what is that? How did you notice it?

 

Second from last pic of the front of the engine, you can see the black screw on the left and the hole on the right.
They don't call him Hawkeye for nothing!

 

That seems like a pretty high price? Has the S Type stopped dropping and maybe rebounded a bit?

Could be the STR takes a bigger hit on depreciation too.
.
.
.

 

There should be 4 total, 1 very right and left side, the one with the arrow and the red circled missing one.

People think I am crazy when I ask to post up potential S Types for ownership. I have an eye to look for abnormalities.