Well I think i have purchased a 2003 STR black on black working out a few minor details. but i come from a Audi TT quattro. and i have had many turbo cars. which I have always used a boost controler and a retune. and got a few more ponys. who is selling pulleys for the STR and is anybvody doing a computer tune? thanks

 

Check out these two sites........

http://eurotoysltd.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=49

http://www.minagallery.com/index.htm

 

Came from an Audi TT Quattro huh??? I know a little about those..

 

Still have it, but it looks like you got more goodies. i have the diode mod, boost controler, intake, vent gauge, and snow water meth. i hold 21 psi all day long. but i have had it almost three years. and havent drove it much this past year..( I was on my chopper mostly this summer) I'm kinda bored with it. and the next step which sounds like you have dun, will cost $5,000 - 7,000 with a new clutch and everything just to get 300-350 hp. but mostly i have fallen out of love with her. I my girlfriend cant drive stick, and we cant trally take it on long trips. that why the interest in the STR. The seller says we have a deal. and hopefully i will be picking it up the weekend after christmas. I like doing a lot of little mods. and trying to get the most out of a few well planed upgrades. we have agreed on $14,000 it has 52,000 miles black on black , 18's, nav, and the vin according to the dealer says the past 2 owner took it in for regular maint. and a couple of recalls and on rattle in the exhaust, so it doesnt seem like a problem child. sound like a good deal?

 

RIGHT NOW is the time to buy one! V8s just are not selling.. you can't even give them away (lets not forget the supercharger!)

>Also if you haven't noticed, we have an annoying problem with our apostrophes multiplying on the forums, in case you were wondering.<

Having the same car you did right before this one here is my advice:
-It does not handle like an audi! you were used to understeer.. get ready for oversteer.
-Drive it around for a week or so before you start turning the traction control off.
-Going from AWD to RWD you have to keep much better tires on the car.. (you can't run worn/treadless pirellis on this beast or you will wrap her around a pole)
-The extra space takes some time to get used too. (I didn't even know what to do with all of it for the first month lol)
-The softer adaptive suspension in the STR in an amazing and welcome change from the rock solid ride of the audi.
-The gas mileage in the Jag sucks; just get used to it. (if you have your foot in it all day like I do, launching from every stoplight expect about 14.5.. if you can control yourself 20 avg isn't too hard to achieve)
-DO NOT turn on the instantaneous mileage feature on the dash, it will make you sick to your stomach haha..
-Also this isn't a TT, you better pretty much love it how it is, because reasonably priced mods are few and far between..
-Like the TT its a six speed, but don't expect to be able to manually shift to 1st, the J-Gate takes some time to get used to..
-The Brembos bite pretty hard, but a full brake job (rotors & pads) will set you back around a grand..
-You really will not miss the AWD till your in the rain or snow.

As far as the power band:
-Your going to notice a night and day difference in you low-end and mid-range power in the STR (the eaton gets you moving quickly)
-The downside is that you lose that top-end turbo power that I've grown to love..
-The boost does not spike quickly like it does in the TT, it builds up much more smoothly..
-The best mod available is an ECU reflash for this car about 1k, but expect around 85ft/lbs. of torque and around 45hp with a decent exhaust..
-The only way to tell the STR is going fast is to look down at the spedo, it feels a lot slower than your actually going.. (just watch the cars disappear and your rear-view and you'll see what I'm saying)

Maintenance:
-Extremely easy to work on!
-When you start working on the engine you really can see fords influence..
-An oil change can be done in 10 minutes..
-Spark plugs - 1.5 hours
-Air filter - 30 seconds
-Fuel filter - 30 minutes
-Blower belt - 2 hours
-Just like the audi, nearly ever bolt is 10mm lol

All in all, you will love the STR, it really grows on you the more you drive it.. You might miss the little TT for about a week, but no longer than that.. It sounds like your getting a HELL of a deal on that car so I would get it while you still can.. The build quality of both cars is on the same level, the germans are just always more complicated.. Its going to take about twice as long to wash , but your getting black so its not too bad.. The JagForums are excellent, I got soooo sick of VWvortex or whatever I used to go on.. The people on here are much more polite and mature (except for me and a few other members hehe).. Other than that, its a great car and great brand with an excellent heritage..

So I hope this helps make up your mind. Best of luck, Eric

 

Wow, thanks for the comparison. I recently did the timing belt on the Audi and also injector seals, which was a major pain , and one of the injectors got damaged, causing it to run terrible, i have been frustrated with it for about 6 months tinkering with it off and on. finally got it figured out with the injector problem. now i don't even want to really drive it. How worried should I be without the warranty? should i try to find on on the internet? the seller just took it into the dealer, and they found a faulty parking brake switch & he had it replaced for me which was nice. and a oil change. He is a small dealer with only a few cars, mostly selling on the internet. Our schedules do not pan out till after Christmas , I'm planning on flying out that Friday or Saturday. So another week of waiting. Are there many technical guys on these forums? you had many problems with yours? I'm actually looking for a more luxury ride. is the STR? what would you compare it to? when my girlfriend of 14 years rides in our cars recently on long trips, she gets motion sickness, weird i know. and we have be taking several weekend trips this year and plan on many next year. your gonna laugh but my other cars are the Audi TT and a 08 Toyota Yaris 3 door. I got as a cheap comuter, i drive over a hour one way to work everyday. she has a mini cooper which has also been upsetting her stomach. She has a 03 ford explorer. which does not give her stomach problems. so we will probably share this car and trade off from time to time, and probably get rid of the mini and the Audi.

 

There are quite a few techs on the forums and they are very helpful.. I know exactly what your talking about with the TT, I had to do everything your talking about and I started to hate it.. First I had to do the clutch and flywheel, then timing belt, then I did all of the coils, then the injectors and plugs, 2 new convertible tops (vandalism), haldex service, then my turbo broke and I yanked the engine, then from then on I had a money pit that gobbled up every one of my paychecks for months (rods, pistons, crank, cams, gt28rs, stg3+ clutch, manifold, custom charge piping, BOV, WG, custom tune, custom exhaust, injectors, port work, etc.......) and my Duster would still annihilate it on the street.. After it was done I realized that I could have built a custom coilover suspension for the Duster and I would have had a super muscle car that could outhandle AND outpower everything on the road, so I made a huge mistake.. but you live and learn.. German cars are fun, but unless you have a sponsor bankrolling all of your upgrades your going to hate yourself..

The STR rides very well, a little stiffer than a 7 series, but a thousand times softer than a CTS-V (they drive like crap).. The car handles very tame, but can also cruise right over speed bumps without rattling your brain like the TT.. If you put a soft tire on it, the softness of the ride is on par with an E class and BMW 7 and many midsized SUVs.. as far as your girlfriend driving it, the car has a lot of power, so be careful.. But she shouldn't get carsick driving it, its no worse than an explorer and a hundred times softer than a mini, TT, or yaris..

You definitely want to get an aftermarket warranty for the car, just for the piece of mind and in case you have a catastrophic failure.. The warranty company I use is called Auto Repair Warranty they are a very good company and you can get a no deductible warranty from the for a little less than 2k broken up into payments over a year.. You cant file a claim for like the 1st two weeks I think, but after that your golden.. They dont cover coil packs, hoses, cosmetics, brake pads, and small things that always break, but almost everything else.. Hell for an extra hundred dollars they cover the eaton supercharger.. Their warranty also covers the entire braking system, Brembo calipers and all which by itself would cost $3k+ to replace. Their website is HERE, but I would recommend calling them..

I have not had any REAL problems with my car yet (knock on wood), mostly just ones that I caused by modifying it.. First I deleted the software for the control center while in the diag. menu, then I had a fuel line disconnect itself from the pump inside the tank ($0.35 to fix it... hose clamp), then I leaned out the car by modifying the intake and killed a coil and I also screwed up my supercharger.. But other than the fuel problem, I caused all of the rest, so I cant complain.. Working on a Jaguar is different than an Audi though..
When you work on an Audi its usually cramped spaces, small clearances, cheap beer, tons of time, and everything made out of plastic snaps in half when you look at it wrong..
When you work on a Jag, you get a nice glass of whiskey or scotch, roll up your sleeves and just appreciate how much room there is to get to everything, sip your drink & take your time, and its very easy to work on, maintenance work is easy (except for the accessory drive and belts).. Lol if you cant tell yet, I like my cat very much.. you just love getting into it every morning, its relaxing to drive..

 

Oh yeah and my warranty is for 5 years and 80,000 miles I think, I bought it when the car had 39k so it will take me all the way past 120k miles... not bad right?
It covers: pistons, rods, basically anything inside the engine that moves.. as well as power steering, rearend, torque converter, trans, etc etc etc... for the price you cant go wrong..