I agree with this post 100%.
As I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, having owned a 3.0 and a 4.2 I would now go with the 4.2 everytime. Just more enjoyable to drive.

As for the "hot rodding" It seems like most owners of STR's are rodding in some form or another.
According to a member on the British forum his research states that only around 2000 STR's were ever produced during its production run.
Having read that I have decided to keep mine 100% stock original.
I love rodding cars but this one will not get the treatment.
I wonder how many have been wreaked or broken beyond repair or slightly rodded.
The numbers will drop quickly over the next few years.

 

Any rodding that I do can easily be undone at a later date....I have an oldie (1961 XK150) and I keep that one "stock".

 

I purchased a 2002 S-Type with the 3.0. It's a blast to drive. I am an aggressive driver and I like to get on it when I want to... It has great pick up speed even from 60mph. It easily does 90 without hesitation. I'm glad I have the 6 as the price was just under 11k when I picked it up. I do wish I held out for an 8 for the additional fun factor, but if it isn't your thing, then the 6 will be perfect for you.

 

My ST is 4.2 - and I will not even consider a 3.0... On the long run I was able to get 28-30- mpg @ 70-80 M/H - not bad for a V8... I've read that you are looking at 04 4.2 - that's a good year - no issues as with the previous models.. 50K miles for this engine is nothing... Go go 4.2 in 04 or later and enjoy the cat

 

Thanks for all the input folks. I ended up buying an 03 4.2. I'm going to pick it up on Monday.

 

Ahiman,
Congratulations on the purchase of your Jag. I'm glad we could help you decide on which S-Type to get and wish you all the best with your car. Keep us posted on how things work out.
VMV

 

Congrats on the new ride... Share some more details with us...

 

bet you cant wait to get your 8 mate
lovely bit of kit hope you like it

 

I'm looking at an 03 4.2 and had read some posts about the 04's and up being better. Whats the cons to the 03 4.2s?

 

The only con regarding the 03 vs later years are the fact that it was the first year for the mechanical updates. The updates however were not anything new. The increase in displacement came from modifying the existing 4.0 V8. The new trans is was a change from the Ford 5 speed to a ZF 6 speed. The ZF box had been around for a few years already. In my opinion the 03 and up cars should all be about the same.

 

I purchased an '04 4.2L V8 S type a week and a half ago. Before I made my purchase, I did a lot of research too on the V6 and V8. An interesting thing that an owner of one of the delearships I went to told me, was that on a V6 S-type, if one of your wiper motors dies, you have to drop the motor because they're located tucked underneath. Can any V6 owners confirm this? When I heard that, I stayed away from the V6. I've had wiper motors go in other cars and I wasn't willing to pay the bill to have the motor dropped just to change a simple wiper motor.

Something else for potential buyers to think about when they contemplate the V6.

What I can say, is that the V8 is one of the smoothest engines I've ever driven. It's fantastic!

 

Congratulations on your choice of the V8. It's a great engine. If I had it to do again, I may have chosen one.

I changed the wiper motor in my car. You do not have to remove the engine to get to it. It is located under the plastic cover between the engine and the firewall.

Changing the wiper motor requires that you remove the cover and then maneuver the wiper drive assembly (the motor plus the connecting rods that drive the wipers) out from underneath the cover.

The whole procedure takes no more than 1 hour for a shade tree guy such as myself.

 

Lifting an engine in order to change a wiper motor? Man, some whoppers really get told in the dealerships, don't they?! What's even worse is that gullible customers actually believe them....

 

Good thing I didn't purchase from him then!

I was only looking at the V8's at the time and he said this in passing. Wonder what else the bugger was bs'ing on at the time too...

Oh well... that's why I asked for clarification from the V6 owners.

Cheers!
Rob

 

I would try and buy the 4.2 if they weren't so sparse at the dealers...