Hey, I'm looking to buy an S-Type R in the coming weeks and found two around me that I'm considering purchasing. One is a 2003 model for just under 10k and the other is a 2005 for just under 8k. The 2005 has about 120k miles on it whereas the 2003 model has only 70k. The 2003 seems to be in slightly better condition but either way both cars have clean reports and I wouldn't be opposed to buying either but I wanted to make sure there aren't any differences mechanically between the two.

To the best of my knowledge they're nearly identical but did Jag make any refinements to the car between 2003 and 2005? Any help is much appreciated, thanks so much!

-David

 

Nothing worth mentioning but stay out of snow & ice!

 

Rear spoiler is smaller on the 2005. Rear trim wraps around on the 2005. Seems to me the 2003 with a lot less miles would be way to go, based on what you told us about it.

 

Thanks for your help! What's the reliability/repair costs like on these cars? I know that it's obviously going to be expensive but I've heard that it's less than BMW/Audi/Mercedes, any truth to that?

 

David-

There's 1000 of rumours and half truths about these cars.

Repair frequency is no better/no worse than any other car on average. Repairs costs are similar to any other high end car.

The only significant differences between an 03 and 05 is a minor cosmetic face lift.

 

Well if that's the case I'll probably go with the 2003, it's got less mileage and is in better condition. There's some rust underneath the rims of the 2005, I'm not an expert but rust usually isn't a good thing. Lol

 

rust on the hubs is not a problem, as long as you can get the wheel off.

 

The STR is pretty reliable, would take it any day over most other (german) luxury brands,

03-04 R are the same, with brembo brakes,
05 was the mid-cycle-refresh, which had both front and rear ends revised, much nicer gauge cluster, last year of the brembo brakes,
06-08 last years of the R, very few in numbers, did not have brembo brakes,

When shopping for an STR, you'll mostly be comparing 03's to 05's, which really just comes down to personal taste,

I strongly prefer the styling of the 03-04 R's, but the 05 is likely better overall due to its many revisions, and that sweet looking gauge cluster is it's biggest sell imo.

I have a post here worth checking out detailing most common trouble spots,

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...74/#post770622

 

Awesome, thanks for all your help everyone! I do like gauges better in the 05 but I'll just decide based on which dealership will give me a better deal.

 

Good review GT42R!
Sums it up very well.
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Ive done some reading on the difference between the 03-04 and 05. Seems like the 05 has a 10% better rigid body, most due to a metal bar added right behind the instrument panel that goes clean from one side to the other of the car. Weight is a little lower in the 05 as the wheels are alloy and if im not mistaken there is a part of the suspension that was changed from iron to aluminum, forgot the name of the piece. The hood is also aluminum in the 05, making the hood 30 pounds lighter then the 03-04 it seems. However these are very small changes and besides the cosmetic details, there isent much that sets the cars apart. In this case i would go for the 03.

 

Well thanks for the help, I really like both cars so at this point I'm just going to see which dealership will give me a better offer!

 

The 05 is the better deal. 8k is below kbb trade in. Plus 05s look a lot newer. The only strs I've seen besides mine are 03-04s and one 07. That's what I love most about them, there rare. You won't be disappointed with either year, there great cars.