Hello all, I'm Kolby and im a Bmw enthusiast to the fullest extent BUT, after my 840ci was totaled 2 weeks ago by a careless driver I decided that I wanted to buy a bmw 335i and after 2 weeks of being scared to do so I came across the one for me. Well it sold today and I didn't buy it so i got back on craigslist to search for another 335 and BAM!! there it was, White 2003 Jaguar s-type r with 130k miles for $7000 obo (https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/4580936941.html) As much as I claim to love Bimmers, the car that made me like cars was an 89 jaguar xj6 that my parents owned when I was little so Jags have always had a place in my heart. Sad to say but the str also seems to be more reliable than a 335i and both are way more reliable than my 840ci which taught me how to be a pretty good mechanic. I do have a few questions though.
1. I drive alot like 35k a year a lot. Is the str good at daily duty?
2. I have about $1500 bucks in my "repairs" account is that enough?
3. Doing mostly hwy driving is an average of 20mpg obtainable?
4. Any tell tale signs of a lemon?
5. Any maintenance that I should do right away?

Pretty excited about owning another one of my dream cars and I hope its a great experience. I will keep studying the forum and thanks to who ever answers.

 

MPG will be good at decent speeds if you use cruise / keep your feet off pedals. In any car, constant brake/accel kills MPG.

130K seems quite a bit if you're to do 35K pa. Mine's on 110K but I do 8K pa. They're fairly rare cars so we really don't know what happens at highish mileage and 10+ years yet. (With the price of fuel over here it's unlikely anyone can afford to do the miles!!)

At that age car you may want to consider replacing aged items like coolant hoses.

If the autobox fluid hasn't been changed it's overdue by quite some miles!

Plugs were due at 100K in case not done. NGK iridium IFR5N10.

At the very least get an ELM327 so you can check for OBD codes and look at LTFT (see my sig) to make sure it's running right.

 

I get roughly 30mpg highway/18mpg city with my 2003 3.0 6cyl; I've read the STR is about the same. As JagV8 said, the key is CruiseControl.

...Including Thermostat. Also fuel, air & cabin filters.

ZF Transmission Company posted a great video on YouTube on how to service the ZF 6HP26 auto trans. Do it ASAP unless you know it's been done. BTW - they use a BMW in the demo but it applies to the Jag too.

Also, if you don't know the age of the battery, change it. A failing battery can cause all sorts of electronics problems with these cars, and also false-positive error codes.

Good luck!

 

You really want to check the service records because, as JagV8 says, 130K is pushing it, especially as you do 35K per year. All the advice so far is right on the button.

That car has the potential to leave you high and dry at short notice because the temp gauge stays at normal until it's nearly too late. The elapsed time between "Low coolant" and "No coolant, major engine damage" is measured in seconds if you have a burst coolant hose.

So, the coolant hoses are a must, and the hoses alone will cost close to $1000. I think a first-year budget of $1500 is a little low.

Finally, check the age and condition of the coolant tank and the thermostat housing, the climate control operation, put some lithium grease on the fuel tank latch, check the torque on the prop shaft bolts, check the bolts on the tranny cable and make sure the lug nuts are one-piece.

 

Well, I decided to go with a newer 2006 with 90k miles. Also comes with a warranty so that gives me a bit more peace of mind.

 

Is this 06 also an STR?

Congrats!

Main thing to look out for is the 6-speed ZF transmission... at 90k miles, it might not have been serviced yet, and its due. These cars are pretty reliable, but the transmission service can be neglected by previous owners...

 

Welcome to the dark side! As the current Jag adverts say "It's good to be bad". The STR is indeed a great daily driver. I find it to be much like Clark Kent/Superman. Mild mannered and dependable, but able to leap onto a 70+ mph interstate in a single bound!

 

2006 Jaguar S-TYPE R / NAVIGATION Dallas, Texas | Delta Autogroup

Yes it is a str it also comes with the option of buying a warranty that I definitely will. I will have a pre purchase inspection done on the car before I buy also.

 

Smart. Good luck and welcome to the forum.
Steve

 

Kwiley, I made a good post here I think you could consider reading... this way you can go over the car yourself as a precaution!

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