Hello all,

Let me start by saying I am and have been a Ford Mustang enthusiast for most my life. My last three cars have been Mustangs. I love the power and fun to drive aspects of the Mustang but now I want something with more luxury without loosing out on those things.

That being said, I am looking into a 2006 Jaguar STR. I have found one in my area that was leased by the general manager at the local Jaguar dealership and his lease will expire in March. It has just over 25k on the odometer. I believe that the car has been meticulously cared for being owned by the GM. The dealership has said they are willing to have the 30k services preformed in order to obtain the Pre-Owned Certification and give me the extended warranty.

My question to you is what things should I be looking for when I test drive the vehicle? Are there any obvious mechanical flaws that would be showing up with this amount of mileage?

Thanks for the help,

Eric

 

Hi Eric,

I can only speak for myself since I recently bought a 2005 S-Type that was a Certified Jaguar. For a test drive, the car should feel like a new car since it has only about 25K miles. The onlythingsrequiring attention should be wear and tear items like tires and brakes. Jags are pretty hard on brakes. In addition to requiring the 30K service as a condition of the sale, get a CARFAX report to see if there any underlying issues. Good luck.

Mike

 

Mike,

Thanks for the info. What about all this I keep reading that says there are major problems with the transmission?

Eric

 

Be sure to check the tires for wear, they like to cup the inner edges of the front tires and make noise that sounds like bad wheel bearings and the rears like to wear out fast if the driver is aggressive regardless of the traction control being on or off. At 25k I would expect an STR to need rubber unless someones grandmother drives it. The trans is a non issue, you must be looking at posts for early model '03 or '04 cars and even then it was just a software concern. I've seen1 or 2 6 speeds replaced at the dealership in the last 2 years and I call that luck of the draw considering we have probably 2500+ 6 speed equiped cars on the road at my dealer alone. The one thing I don't quite understand is why a GM would be driving a lease, they usually drive demos and switch out before the federal max mileage for a car to be called a demo.

 

It was probably his wifes car

If you really want to know if its had any damage/paintwork eric ask them to paintmeter the car for you. If they say they dont have one they are lieing and something is strange, probably big time.

Pretty much each body panel should read pretty close to one another like 4s or 5s, if you see a big jump like a 8 or 10 you know its been painted...does this mean its been wrecked? no but that could be the case, never fully trust carfax!

 

Thank you for all the great info. I am going to go drive it today.

 

So; did you drive it? (and then did you buy it?)

If the car drove OK I bet you're still smiling!

 

I just bought a 05 STR and I am really happy with the handling of the car. I have a few vettes and the STR handles just as nice. Just dont have the raw power but, it will run...don't let the luxury fool you when you hit the pedal it will go.

 

It was a very nice ride. I was wrong about the mileage. It only has 20k miles. The transmission was shifting as smooth as butter. The get up and go was definitely there.

The lease is up in March so I will probably go drive it again closer to that time and make my final decision but I think that if the price is right I will get it.

I asked about why the GM was leasing instead of demo and was told that Jaguar no longer allows demos.

The GM also put in custom front seats with bigger bolsters and had the R logo embroidered on them.

 

The STR comes standard with bigger bolsters and the R embroidery in addition to 4 piston brembo brakes, 6 speed, charcoal wood and too many R badges for my taste. My only misgivings with the car is the lack of a Limited Slip differential.

Otherwise the car is quite adequate for its intended purpose...

 

Make sure the headlights function properly. Have them do a brake job before you take delivery, and as mentioned by someone else earlier, check the tires!

He may have taken good care of the car, but I'll bet he drove the **** out of it since he knew he'd be getting rid of it after only a short while....so the brakes and tires are probably close to needing replacement.

Brakes and Tires are costly routine-maintenance bills on an STR.

 

My 2 cents. Get the car inspected. Follow the advise to have someone take a paint gauge to the car. Also, if you know a reputable body man, ask him to inspect the car. Carfax is a nice thing to have but it isn't really worth a crap. The previous owner smacked the rocker so bad on my car the dealer had to have it cut out and replaced. When I freaked they told me the only way damage shows up is if there is a claim placed with insurance. I'm lucky to have a good dealer to deal with. If the dealer your buying the car from balks at you having the body inspected, I'd be afraid they were hiding something. As for the rest, the certified warranty is the way to go, plus the car should still be covered under the new car warranty. That means just about everything is still covered under warranty. If she checks out, Go For It!

 

Well, I am the new owner of a 2006 Jaguar S-Type R.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I will try to get pix up soon.

 

I'm currently in the market for a 2005-2006 S-Type R and wanted to know what the going price was from the dealer w/warranty. If you don't want to make it public could you pm me w/their asking price.

 

Around the DC area they are going for around 17-25K depending on condition. Price should include the warranty.

Mike

 

2006 S-Type R
20k miles
6yr/100k warranty
$29,500

 

Red 5, that's pretty exciting news. Have you been outside of the STR yet to take a picture, or are you still just driving it every chance you get?

 

I may have stepped out for a second or two.

 

Damn that's one fine ride. Luv the color combination. If ya ever come up my way we can make an STR oreo automotive cookie...