Jaguar S-Type 3.0

[funkyrobot]

Does anyone have any experience of running one of these cars?

I have found an X reg (2000) one for sale from a local dealer. It is blue, manual, has cloth interior, has done 75k miles and is up for sale for £1495. Is this a good price?

I'm looking for a replacement vehicle for my mazda 3 (which I intend to sell when I have another car) and I fancy a big of Jag. I'm not too bothered about the fuel consumption as I'm only really selling my more modern car to free up some cash for a house.

So, what are they like to live with and are they expensive to run? I hear a lot of praise for the X Type, but not much about the S.

Thanks all.

[littleredrooster]

Delightful place to be, quiet, refined, comfortable. Engine and box are fairly bulletproof especially at that mileage.

Superb handling, 3 L will be a bit thirstier than my 2.7D, can be heavy on brake pads.

Don't be put off by tales of rear suspension bushes, they are cheap(er) to fix these days.

Jaguar forum.co.uk has lots more...

[jackh707]

Lovely smooth engine, reasonably quick without setting the world on fire, and a bit of a retardis, I.e. smaller on the inside than its exterior looks would have you believe.

Not an exciting steer, but a good proper smooth comfy ride.

[funkyrobot]

Thanks. Very tempted by this car and it's located at a dealer who is a mile or so from where I work.

[nagsheadwarrior]

Cloth and manual in a jag just seem very wrong to me.
A colleague of mine ran an auto one when i had a 3.2 xj8 and economy was the same.
Shop around and find an auto with cow or an xj instead?

[Dimski]

funkyrobot said:

Thanks. Very tempted by this car and it's located at a dealer who is a mile or so from where I work.

2000 would be the pre-update one. They were heavily revised in 2003. Can't comment on how much difference it made, I have no experience of the earlier one. Similar outside, but inside:

Earlier ones had this dash:


Later ones (without sat nav):


ETA Better pic.

Edited by Dimski on Thursday 24th January 22:20

[otherman]

I much prefer manual and cloth. Manuals are faster and use less petrol. And I've always found leather to be slippery to sit on and looks tired so much sooner than modern fabric seats.

[tr7v8]

nagsheadwarrior said:

Cloth and manual in a jag just seem very wrong to me.
A colleague of mine ran an auto one when i had a 3.2 xj8 and economy was the same.
Shop around and find an auto with cow or an xj instead?

My thoughts. Also facelift car much better post 02

[funkyrobot]

tr7v8 said:

nagsheadwarrior said:

Cloth and manual in a jag just seem very wrong to me.
A colleague of mine ran an auto one when i had a 3.2 xj8 and economy was the same.
Shop around and find an auto with cow or an xj instead?

My thoughts. Also facelift car much better post 02

Thanks. I'll do some more research before doing anything with this car. Your pointers are useful .

One good thing about this car is where it is being sold. The garage seem to have a good reputation and its rare to have something like this for sale local to me.

Anyway, time to take a look at the owners forums. Thanks again all.

Edited by funkyrobot on Thursday 24th January 22:43

[funkyrobot]

otherman said:

I much prefer manual and cloth. Manuals are faster and use less petrol. And I've always found leather to be slippery to sit on and looks tired so much sooner than modern fabric seats.

I seem to prefer cloth too, but it does depend on the vehicle. The leather in my dad's X5 is lovely to sit on. The leather in his old Rover 400 though was grey and cold (especially in winter).

[funkyrobot]

Dimski said:

2000 would be the pre-update one. They were heavily revised in 2003. Can't comment on how much difference it made, I have no experience of the earlier one. Similar outside, but inside:

Earlier ones had this dash:


Later ones (without sat nav):


ETA Better pic.

Edited by Dimski on Thursday 24th January 22:20

Good pics. The later one does indeed look quite different.

[littleredrooster]

funkyrobot said:

Good pics. The later one does indeed look quite different.

...even if the steering wheel is on the wrong side.

[Dimski]

funkyrobot said:

Good pics. The later one does indeed look quite different.

IMO the pictures don't even show the overall impact. In the flesh, the earlier one looks even more different than the pictures show. The centre console seems to bulge out of the dash, sort of like a Toyota Previa, whereas the later ones look very much Jaguar XJ a-like.

[Six Fiend]

Later dash is far better, as above very XJ and also more as used on X-type.

3.0 is a decent engine too

[paul99]

I liked my 3L S-Type (2000 model), comfy and refined, reasonable performance and surprisingly good fun to drive for a heavy car. My auto box shat itself at 90k but otherwise it was reliable and pretty cheap to run. I gather the manuals are much more solid anyway so it would be a good choice.

I would own another, but it would have to be the Type R next time

[jackh707]

Didn't realise it was a manual, they are pretty quick compared to the auto. Get it.

[funkyrobot]

jackh707 said:

Didn't realise it was a manual, they are pretty quick compared to the auto. Get it.

Well, for 1.5 bags, I think it's worth a punt.

Just going to do some more research first.

[funkyrobot]

paul99 said:

I liked my 3L S-Type (2000 model), comfy and refined, reasonable performance and surprisingly good fun to drive for a heavy car. My auto box shat itself at 90k but otherwise it was reliable and pretty cheap to run. I gather the manuals are much more solid anyway so it would be a good choice.

I would own another, but it would have to be the Type R next time

Auto would be lovely for wafting in. But, I need it to get me to work. So if the manuals are more reliable, I'll head down that route.

What has started as a half-hearted look for a replacement has seen me find this.

I'm still listening to the advice about though and need to check some things out before paying the garage a visit.

[funkyrobot]

Dimski said:

IMO the pictures don't even show the overall impact. In the flesh, the earlier one looks even more different than the pictures show. The centre console seems to bulge out of the dash, sort of like a Toyota Previa, whereas the later ones look very much Jaguar XJ a-like.

Never really paid much attention to these cars before so I'll do a comparison. Thanks.

[funkyrobot]

Honest John says beware of the following:

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Early V6 manuals criticised for baulky gearchange and too revvy engine management system.

Have been problems of misaligned propshafts, premature disc wear, porous heads on V6s and PAS pump failures.

Water leaks into boot compartment play havoc with electrics (because that's where the battery sits) as rear lamp seals and boot lid seal can fail. The seal needs to be cemented into place with waterproof silicone sealant. Boot lock solenoid also subject to failure due to moisture ingress.

Have been problems with Mondeo based electric window winding mechanisms. Typical failures on early cars include ignition coils, water leaks, seat motor, window motor, door lock and security alarm faults. Check all electrics as best you can before buying (particularly important with auction bought cars.)

Bonnet safety catch can corrode from road salt and seize open, so does not restrain the bonnet if main catch fails. Make sure the safety catch is well greased and working properly. Needs re-checking at least once a month in the winter.

Alarm problem may be due to a faulty 'boot open' switch. Misplaced sealing ring allows damp to corrode the switch contacts. Cleaning the contacts solves the problem.

Batteries prone to discharging through fault boot light switch.

---

So, check the electrics, the boot and the bonnet.