Good evening all. I've signed up to the forum as I'm looking for some urgent advice and feedback regarding a car that I'm considering buying.

I'm based in Joburg in South Africa and took a 2003 STR for a test drive on Friday. I'm sending it in for a full multi point check at a Jaguar dealership on Monday as I want to know a bit more about the current state of the car and minimise the chances of any major maintenance shocks early on if I do pull the trigger and buy it.

The car is a 1 owner vehicle with a Jaguar dealership service history. The mileage is extremely low - 37000 miles (60000kms). The vehicle seems to have been sitting and has only done about 2500kms in the last 3 years. My guess is that someone elderly owned it and either took ill or passed away. Whatever happened, the car has barely been driven for the past couple of years.

I'm looking for some advice and a bit of a heads up on what to look out for. The car drove really nicely, everything appeared to work properly and there were no odd noises, clunks or clanks. The car really drove beautifully. It will be interesting to see exactly what the multi point check picks up. There is some light cosmetic damage to the front bumper and rear bumper - the sort of thing that looks to have been done while parking. The left rear panel looks to have had a minor repair at some point but the work could have been done better. If I buy the car, I'll have that sorted out at the same time as the bumpers. Other than that, the car looks really clean and well looked after.

I did notice that there has been some fluid leaking towards the rear of the vehicle and I'm concerned about that. Exactly what that is should become clear on Monday. IF the multi point check throws up nothing absolutely horrendous, what should be the next move maintenance wise? The dealer that has the car is going to send it into Jaguar for it's 60000km service but given the age of the car and the low mileage that has been done in the vehicle recently, what other maintenance or preventative maintenance should be carried out over and above the service at the same time?

I really LOVE the car and but I don't want to purchase a lemon and a money pit.

Any help, pointers, tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hello,
Members of the S-type section will certainly be able to advise you about this car. Someone will be along shortly to direct you there.

However, if the price is right (you're the only one who can say about that) it sounds like a really nice example from here, on the other side of the planet.

Something to definitely consider is whether you'll be doing the work or hire it done. That can make all the difference between a true money pit or a car that merely craves attention from time to time.

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome.

As Elinor already mentioned, the S Type people will certainly give you a heads up, and then there are the "stickies" at the top of that section with mountains of advice.

Working on it yourself, OK.

Paying someone will be a money pit for ANY car out there regardless of the badge on it. The older they get the deeper that pit becomes.

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Thanks for the welcomes! I''ll certainly be having a good read through the S-Type section today. Looks like a great forum that you guys have going here. I used to own a Mercedes 190 AMG a few years ago and was a member of an enthusiasts forum for that car. The advice and knowledge was invaluable.

Unless something horrific is picked up by the Jaguar dealership when they carry out the thorough check, I'm pretty sure that I will take the plunge.

 

Welcome to the forum

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Joburger,

Good to have you with us.
As the others say check the tech section and post up any questions you have. S-Type / S type R Supercharged V8 ( X200 ) - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

Thanks Norri. I really like the car but my wife will probably kill me if/when I buy it...

I'll see how things go tomorrow with the vehicle inspection and then I'll probably have a heap of questions and queries that I'll then post in the appropriate forum.

 

Welcome to the forum Joburger,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

From the description you're unlikely to find a thirteen year old Jaguar with much better provenance. However, sitting idle can often be worse than covering high miles. Rubber components in both the cooling system and the suspension degrade with age. The dealership should pick up on this with their check but it could result in a significant cost to replace such items.

Follow Norri's link in post #8 to the S-Type forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.

Enjoy the forums. I hope the check works out OK.

Graham

 

Hi and welcome aboard, its good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums

Any useful site information you may need such as how to post pictures, edit signatures, add videos, using the
search facility etc, can be found here within the following link Using JF "How To"

There are lots of members local to you with the same interests with info on local dealers and possible meets.
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