S type – good idea or not?

[MadDad]

Help, I am considering buying my first Jag and thought I would ask the experienced before I take the plunge. I am currently driving a FIAT Barchetta which is an excellent drive on sunny days but I am commuting from Berkshire to Devon and back every week and its not quite the job (in terms of size and safety).

I am considering buying an ‘S’ type 2.5, it seems to score well on Parkers and they seem to be a lot of car for the money. I am only going to have about 5-ish k to spend but have seen a few decent looking cars on the Autotrader for the money.

So, the questions then;

What are they like to live with/drive?
What should I look for when buying (common weaknesses)?
Should I run for the hills with a high miler or are they OK with a full service history?
What are the running costs like?
If you have owned one in the past would you buy another?

Thanks in advance for the advice, money is hard to come by at the moment and I want to ensure that when I part with mine it will be well spent!!

Edited by MadDad on Saturday 24th January 19:17

[VX Foxy]

I heard the gearboxes were crap. Have you driven one? They certainly look good value. That said, you can get an E39 5er for 5k. Having had both, I'd go for the 5.

[Jaguar steve]

TBH if money is a bit tight then the last thing you should be looking at is an older Jaguar. They may be cheap to buy - especially at the moment - but can be ruinious to run unless you buy very carefully and really take care of the car once you've got it.

I hate putting people off buying a car they really like but have seen it all before. You may get the bargain of a life time or you may get absolutley screwed.

Don't forget even if you buy for peanuts you're still maintaining a £30k plus car. Which - trust me on this - costs when things go wrong.

[MadDad]

Thanks, that is sound advice! I looked at the car in question and to be honest it was not that good at all - another case of a dealers idea of immaculate and mine being poles apart!

I may lower my sights a bit, I looked at an X-Type today and really liked it - I guess I have never considered them to be a 'real' Jag though.

Difficult decision to make, I urgently need to replace my car as I am hammering the miles on and its not taking them too well - also I would not stand a chance in a crash!

I have a 'conventional' car, the right thing to do is buy a Mondeo or Vectra and just whack the miles on but my toes would curl every time I got into it!

[Simpo Two]

MadDad said:

I may lower my sights a bit, I looked at an X-Type today and really liked it - I guess I have never considered them to be a 'real' Jag though.

My 2001 S-Type is on about 136K miles and going very well, though I've had to replace both front suspension jobbies (common weakness I believe). I don't regard it as a 'real Jag' either, having had a lovely XJ40 once, but it looks good and seems to impress!

[The Leaper]

I reckon that if you had a Mk 2 in the '60s you may well feel that an XJ40 is not a proper Jaguar either.

The recent S-Type is likely to be a far better overall experience in all respects currently than something produced based on Jaguar's capabilities 10-15 years earlier. In time, the recent S-Type may well be seen nostalgically as an acceptable Jaguar too, despite it's supposed shortcomings. This is what's great about the make: everyone has their own favourite model(s) for whatever their reasons, but not necesarily strictly logical reasons.

R.

[mxi933]

ive owned two S-type 3l sports.
One manual and one automatic - GO FOR THE AUTOMATIC !!
I didnt get on with the manual at all. The clutch was awful and the gear change was very clunky.
Overall the car was excellent. I would have another most definately

[black1]

933 your right about the manual gearbox just sold my 2.5 manual, had it over 3yrs it never went wrong

but my left arm-leg went wrong all the time !! one of the worst gearbox-clutch i have ever had !!