Advice on S Type Jag purchase
Discussion
As the title says really. Can anyone provide advice on buying a 2nd hand Jag S type? The machine in mind is a w reg 3.0 V6, 100,000 odd miles, manual gearbox, we think FSH, stealer looking for £3K.
How does it stack up against equivalent cars in its class and if any one has experience of owning and driving one and can provide some insight that would be grand!
All advice greatly appreciated!
How does it stack up against equivalent cars in its class and if any one has experience of owning and driving one and can provide some insight that would be grand!
All advice greatly appreciated!
I can't give you specific advice on issues to look out for with that age of Jag, other than to repeat the accepted wisdom that the later a car you buy the better, and to go for a Sport model. What I can say is that the S-Type is a delight to drive and own. Comfortable, nippy, smooth and handles. Its not a track racer, obviously, but it is fantastic value these days.
Edited by cardigankid on Thursday 12th March 18:14
Jamie,
See my post, and those of others, here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
R.
See my post, and those of others, here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
R.
Not really a comparison, but I had a 2004 S-type Sport (facelift model), Slate grey with black leather, 19" wheels and colour-coded mesh grille and absolutely adored it. Never missed a beat and what a drive. Not the fastest mo'er but heaven to float along in. Really well built. Sold it because I wasn't using it, but would absolutely buy another one if the need arose.
As the other post says, buy the best one you can afford.
As the other post says, buy the best one you can afford.
I've owned 2 S-Type Sports. One Auto the other manual.
The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
We bought our S-Type because it's a manual and although when I first get in it I struggle to get smooth gearchanges and often stall,much to my wife's(the main driver)amusement,I soon get used to the slowish clutch action. Saying that ours is on it's original clutch at 167,000 miles. The major advantage over the competiton is that elusive'feelgood factor' I recently came close to buying an e39 530d which felt about as special as my Espace in comparison.
Make sure that the fsh is complete and that decent oil has always been used-ours has only had Mobil 1 since the first oilchange.Very few problems apart from dash rattles,just wedge bits of foam under the trim beneath the screen even if it sounds like the noise is coming through the vents.And the boot will leak into the sparewheel well,so don't keep anything under there and make sure it can drain out and not get up to the ecu's and relays!
We will never sell ours and it has joined my old Discovery in semi-retirement,just need an everyday car for her indoors now-2.7d 6 speeds must be getting cheap!
Make sure that the fsh is complete and that decent oil has always been used-ours has only had Mobil 1 since the first oilchange.Very few problems apart from dash rattles,just wedge bits of foam under the trim beneath the screen even if it sounds like the noise is coming through the vents.And the boot will leak into the sparewheel well,so don't keep anything under there and make sure it can drain out and not get up to the ecu's and relays!
We will never sell ours and it has joined my old Discovery in semi-retirement,just need an everyday car for her indoors now-2.7d 6 speeds must be getting cheap!
mxi933 said:
I've owned 2 S-Type Sports. One Auto the other manual.
The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
Mine is an '06 Sport Manual, Midnight with Black. While I understand where you are coming from on the manual box, I really like it. The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
On the downside, until you are used to it, it is easy to stall. I think it is a fairly heavy clutch, and when it bites, if you haven't got the revs more or less right you will get a shudder.
On the positive side, once you are used to it, and try to make accurate gearchanges, it is exceptionally smooth. It is 'only' a five speed, but has a chunky mechanical feel, and a nice short shift. I tend to heel and toe to blip on downchanges and it is as smooth as silk. I accept that if you get an automatic you won't have to worry about any of that. This will seem an odd comparison, but I think it is a better manual box than the one on the Boxster S I used to have, which was very long. I would also say that just imho, the build quality on the Jag is as good as the Porsche. Some might find that controversial, but I can only tell it as I find it.
I would also say that I had occasion to race an impertinent ned through a roundabout at the weekend. He screamed past me going into the roundabout, so I just didn't brake, knocked off the DSC, took the ideal line through the roundabout, floored it and shot past him on the way out. The car doesn't roll as much as you might expect, and the handling is precise and very neutral. Very impressive.
Edited by cardigankid on Monday 23 March 10:58
mxi933 said:
I've owned 2 S-Type Sports. One Auto the other manual.
The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
I have had a manual S Type 3.0L for over a year.The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
Gearbox is great,I think the one you drove may have had a faulty clutch/gearbox.
Nothing wrong with a good manual 'S'in fact the manual cars are more reliable,thats why I bought it.
Having said that,it does have to be driven in an unhurried way to avoid any nasty jerks.
Steve
Edited by sb-1 on Tuesday 24th March 18:12
Edited by sb-1 on Tuesday 24th March 18:13
sb-1 said:
mxi933 said:
I've owned 2 S-Type Sports. One Auto the other manual.
The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
I have had a manual S Type 3.0L for over a year.The Auto was excellent - I loved that car and would easily buy another.
The Manual was horrible - terrible clutch - impossible to get a smooth gear change.
Trust me if you get the manual you'll wish you hadnt.
Incidently I thought at first that it was just me but it seems to be quite a common complaint about the Manual gearbox.
Hope it helps
Gearbox is great,I think the one you drove may have had a faulty clutch/gearbox.
Nothing wrong with a good manual 'S'in fact the manual cars are more reliable,thats why I bought it.
Having said that,it does have to be driven in an unhurried way to avoid any nasty jerks.
Steve
Edited by sb-1 on Tuesday 24th March 18:12
Edited by sb-1 on Tuesday 24th March 18:13
As for driving it in an "unhurried" way. Occasionally you may want to drive an S-type SPORT as it should be driven withour having to endure a crap clutch and box and a clunky change.
Bad design - it happens!!
Jimbeaux is absolutely right. I had a 4.0L V8 SE for three and a half years. Nice car. Then I got an almost new 4.2L V8 SE which I've had for over 5 years now. The 2003 model year upgrades makes for a far better car: the new 6 speed auto box is far better in terms of performance and smoothness, the front suspension is far more robust, and the interior is really what one expects from a Jaguar as opposed to the previous Ford attempt. I also think the 2003+ is marginally better on fuel consumption. In my view go for the 2003 onwards model, and a 4.2 if you can find a non "R" one.
R.
R.
Gassing Station | Jaguar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff