I am looking to buy my first Jag. I am looking at 2006 S type. Is there a major difference, other than horsepower, between 3. and 4.2 engine. What should I be aware of when looking at used vehicles? My husband says I can't have one unless he is satisfied about the dependability of the car. Please help. I really want this car. Also, my husband wants to do the routine maintenance

 

I own and drive a 2006 S-type 2.7 diesel. If I were you I'd listen to your husband! As a car, the S-type is nice to drive, looks pretty, and you'll get admiring looks. But I'd sincerely advise you to read all that is written here in this website, paying particular attention to problems which can be excruciatingly expensive to fix. Top of the list for those must be the automatic gearbox, not made by Jag. but by a firm called "ZF". The later S-types have the 6HP26 model, also found in BMW, RangeRover etc.
When you test-drive your S-type, thorougly check out the autobox, that it shifts smoothly without lurches when slowing for the lights, that when doing over 50mph. on the motorway/highway you get no odd noises and the revcounter hunting up and down slightly. Not only can these faults be expensive, but very very aggravating!
Also be prepared for expensive spares, should they be needed. Get your husband to read this, I'm sure he'll be interested.
Leedsman.

 

I assume you're in the U.S. Location can make a difference in terms of parts availability, good quality service either from the dealership or an independent shop, etc.

I purchased a 2005 S-Type 3.0 for my wife in December 2008. The car was a 3-year corporate lease return with 18,000 miles on it. She wanted a comfortable luxury sedan that was also a great highway cruiser, not a race car. She loved the elegant looks of the S-Type. I knew they were very affordable to buy because of Jaguar's very steep early depreciation, but I really questioned the reliability. Like your husband, I do most of our routine maintenance and I am always unwilling to bring a vehicle into our stable that is going to keep me working on it all the time and cost me an arm and a leg to do so.

So I did on-line research for 24 straight hours before deciding to make an extremely low-ball offer to purchase the car. What I learned is that beginning with the 2005 model year, Jaguar's quality and reliability significantly improved compared to their long-time reputation of breaking down all the time. Ford owned Jaguar throughout most of the decade and carried many of its quality processes to Jaguar, and this certainly seems to show in the final four model years of the S-Type's production (2005 to 2008). That being said, just because you can acquire these cars for what I call "Honda money", never assume that you can maintain them as inexpensively as you can a Honda. Parts cost more, sometimes considerably more. Labor rates at most Jaguar dealerships are high. That's just the way it is with luxury brands, particularly European luxury brands. But if you can do most of the routine maintenance yourself, many folks decide that they can indeed afford these cars.

If you decide you're going to buy an S-Type, do what we did. Find one with low mileage and at least six months of factory warranty left. Use that time under factory warranty to get all the glitches worked out at Jaguar's expense, not yours. The glitches are well-known and well-documented - you can read about them all over this website. Your husband should dedicate some time to reading and studying here on a regular basis. If he is willing to do that, he can save thousands of dollars in maintenance and repair costs by learning from the folks here who have already been through the hassles and dealt with the issues. More than any of the other vehicle forums that I frequent, the guys here are technical and experienced with the problems of these vehicles and are always willing to help. We even have several actual Jaguar master techs who contribute here when they can. When they speak, your husband should listen very carefully.

We've owned our S-Type now for a little over 15 months. I've been a member of this forum for a little over 14 months. The car is my wife's primary daily driver. She's taken it from 18,000 miles to 44,000 miles during that period. Yes, I've had a handful of issues to deal with during our ownership, but thanks to the good folks on this forum, I've handled every one of them myself since the factory warranty on our car expired last July.

Our S-Type has proven to be a wonderful car, the best bang-for-the-buck vehicle we've ever had. My wife is more than 600 miles away in it right now, visiting her parents in Florida. She trusts it to make that solo trip, and that is one of the primary reasons we purchased it.

Is your husband willing to spend some time reading and studying (and contributing) to this forum as part of the care and feeding of your Jaguar? If so, then go for it. If not, then expect to pay a lot more than you'd like to keep the car in good repair.

Good luck to you either way....

 

EXCELLENT post Jon, just about sums everything up Deejay

 

Following up on some of the above comments. As Jon mentioned, try to find one that is under the Certified Edition program. This is an excellent value for the money. Generally, the 3.0 V6 models outnumber the 4.2 V8 by about 3 to 1 so finding a good 3.0 will be a lot easier as well as being somewhat cheaper. Normally the spread is around $2K or so but this varies depending on your location.

I have a 2005 3.0 S-Type and it has been a great car, although there have been issues addressed under warranty. Compared to other cars in its class the S-Type is on par or slightly better reliability wise and is significantly cheaper to buy.

I would recommend your husband get a copy of the JTIS manual and go through it. Even though the most recent version only goes up to 2004 (I believe) almost all of it is still valid.

Good luck,

Mike

 

Agree with looking at the "Select Edition" which carries a 6 year or 100,000 mile factory warranty. It can save you $$$$ as long as it is in effect.
I have a 2006 3.0 and love it...

 

I agree with what everyone else has said..So, that will make this unusually short for me....

I definitely would consider getting one from a Jaguar dealer and purchasing it as a "Select Edition" certified car. The big thing to remember about the Select Edition warranty is that it covers the car from it's original in service date for a total of 6 years and 100,000 miles... So, if you drive low miles and will run out the warranty on time before mileage, get the newest car you can find. That could mean an 06 that was originally purchased in December of 06 verses one that was purchased in January of the same year. Another thing to shop for is the dealer themselves. Talk with more than the salesman before you buy the car. I personally talked with the finance guy and the service department before I bought it. While the finance guy is a bit of my own angle in buying a car, the service department is a must. You will get an idea of what to expect when you go back to them. I made the decision to buy mine based on the quality of the dealer as much as the car and couldn't be happier. Expect to pay a bit more for a Certified car through the dealer but if your financing the purchase they almost always have a special rate through Jaguar.

Now about the choice of car... 3.0 vs 4.2 vs R.... If I had it to do over again I would have gotten the 4.2. That is based on my driving style. I tend to give my 3.0 quite the workout on my daily commute. Also, I would get the same MPG out of the V8 that I am currently getting out of my 6. Also, it seems to me that the 4.2 will also hold on to it's value better in the long run than the 3.0. If you do a search on older S types you'll find that the 3.0 keeps dropping in value the older it gets. The R seems to drop even faster has the mileage climbs. The 4.2's though seem more stable as they age.

Ok, that was a bit winded... Good luck on your quest and be sure to post back on what you decide...

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. What a lot of good information I am getting. I plan to use the car as my primary vehicle but I do not work outside the home and so I won't be putting many miles on it in a year. I think that your responses will help us out in making a wise final decision. Again, thank you.

 

@deejay

Something that wasn't discussed. Remember, when the average person thinks of a jaguar they rank it in the same category as bentley, mclaren, and benz, so don't be too surprised if you see your car keyed or jaguar leaper pulled off, theres a lot of idiot teens who do this type stuff.

and one thing is for certain, make sure you get a warranty, I suggest you don't even consider buying it without a warranty, the repairs are too costly.

 

I own a 2006 S-Type VDP with the 4.2 V8. I bought mine as a "Select Edition" (CPO) car off the local dealer with 48K miles on it. It now has 61K on it, and, is under the Jaguar CPO warranty until late 2011 or 100K miles. It's had 2 minor problems since I've owned it - the hood pad had to be replaced, and, its rear sun shade got stuck. Both problems were fixed under warranty at no charge. I do my own maintenance so I minimize that cost of ownership. These folks have given you excellent advice. I will tell you, no kidding, that the Jag gets better fuel economy, than my 2010 Honda CRV does.

Regards:
Oldengineer

 

Make sure you don't do TOO FEW miles. Not good for a car. Try to do at least a journey of 20+ miles every week, weather permitting.

 

Agree. You don't want an S-Type sitting around most of the time. You want to keep the seals moist and the battery charged. Best way to do that is to drive the car at least 20 miles every few days as JagV8 duly noted....

 

Thanks everyone for the good advice. Now I just have to find the one I want. I will definitely post a pic. Although it could be weeks.