Hi guys,

As you probably know I have had 2 X308s, and an X-Type to-date, and am currently Jaguarless..

To cut a long story short I have located an S-Type 4.2 V8 2005 with 89000 miles locally available. I can't view it until Saturday - but am hopeful it will still be around.

It is badged as an ST-R, but is actually a standard 4.2 - I hate people badging cars up above what they are, as you will get caught out at some point.

I am used to the usual things to watch out for on X-Types and X308s, but could do with knowing what to look out for on an S-Type please.

The car is a little overpriced as always so I could do with looking knowledgable, and hopefully being able to locate any issues.

It has Sat Nav (a must to avoid all those arguments about my phones GPS and getting lost still being my fault), built in phone equipment (I assume that means bluetooth?), voice command, and electric seats..

I have looked at X-Types but concluded on experience that it would be tight with 2 teenage children, The XJ I love but good ones are out of my budget which brings me to the S-Type a mid range car - but this particular one has a 4.2 petrol engine making it esp interesting to me :-)

Any advice or pointers would be very much appreciated from you guys - just hoping it will still be there at the weekend.

Many thanks

 

Here is the blurb at the dealers site, minus the sales patter....

Vehicle description

Insurance Group 44, 18'' Triton Alloy Wheels, Memory Drivers Seat, Electric Front Seats, Voice Command, Built In Satellite Navigation, Built In Telephone Equipment, Climate Control, Cruise Control, Electric Mirrors, Electric Windows X4, Front And Rear Parking Sensors, Front Fog Lamps, Power Steering, Remote Central Locking, Steering Wheel Controls, Drivers, Passengers and Side Airbags, Alarm, Immobiliser, Body Colour Bumpers and Mirrors, Spare Key, Rear Headrests, Full Service History, Long MOT, This 1 owner from new automatic V8 saloon car has covered only 83,000 miles and comes complete with full service history, including main dealer Jaguar service history up too 2014 at 68,000 miles. The inside has full Warm Charcoal Black leather seats which are in very good condition, the outside bodywork is finished in Midnight Black complete with 18 inch Triton alloy wheels finished in dark anthracite and both are in very good condition and the car is a credit to its former owner. This car has been very well looked after and starts and drives very well as you would expect, it comes with full service history, including main dealer Jaguar service history up to 2014 at 68,000 miles, followed by regular services at independent garages with the most recent at 79,000 miles in 2016.

 

If you have not yet done so, go read the sticky threads at the top of the S-Type section very carefully. That is the quickest and most efficient way to get schooled on the information you must know before you proceed. There are multiple issues that must be resolved on these cars sooner rather than later regardless of the engine. The 4.2 is strong but maintaining the cooling system is an absolute must - numerous plastic parts should have already been replaced by now and not doing so greatly increases the risk of cooling system failure destroying your engine. As with any used car, you must take the necessary time to track down the complete service history so you will have a much better idea of what to expect if you indeed opt to acquire the car. And if you cannot obtain the financial deal you want, it is always better to walk away rather than overpay for what may turn out to be a pig in a poke....

Good luck and let us know how it turns out....

 

Hi Jon, Many thanks for that.. I have started browsing the stickies.

I agree with you regarding the financial side.. I am, and accept that I am, a person who buys with the heart not the wallet.. lol, for me it is how the car feels to drive ... so my wife will be along on the day, as she is an accountant, and adds a very solid finance angle to any purchase like this.. stabilising any decisions :-)

And I would not have it any other way lol

Meanwhile I am aware of the cooling issue being particularily important with the earlier V8s on the X308s - one of my two burst the middle pipe in the middle of nowhere and was written off due to it.. so yes I will look for that..

Thankyou for your input Jon, I appreciate it and yep I will keep you in the loop as I go.. :-)

 

If you have got a code reader take it along with you and see if the dealer will let you read the codes. They can be a great bargaining chip.

 

Drive it like you stole it!

Well, maybe not quite like you stole it, but seriously, give it a good lengthy test drive. And put your foot in it a few times, brake hard etc.
Then take it to a parking lot and hop out and have a look, listen, even smell (My S-type ALWAYS smelled of anti-freeze when we put it in the garage warm but I never found any signs of a leak.)
Pay special attention when coming to a stop. Mine lurched pretty bad and got annoying at times.
Probably has a belly pan -- not sure if you can see through the engine at any point, but if you can check for fluids (maybe take a flash light?) One of the first things I noticed on ours was a leaking trans pan.

 

4.2 V8 in black, with black leather, 18" wheels and low miles and majority of dealer history.
Most certainly worth a look. Sounds very nice.

I bid on an eBay 4.2 V8 sport in black with cream leather and 18s before buying the v6.
It went for about £1800 but with 130k miles on it.
Superb looking car too.

 

If it has full Jag history, ask for the Vin and ask a Jag dealer for the online history to see what work, repairs have been done.
Can be rather illuminating!


The Transmission filter and oil is over due for change , but Jag would not do that.

Make sure the heating and cooling works when on a test drive.
Test all the electrics, seat, windows, lights etc.

In Jag history.

See if the DCCV valve and the Thermostatic housing have been changed.
Also the coolant hose under the air manifold, (The valley pipe but not really.)
You should see the usual disks and pads changed, by Jag under warrantee in the first few years.
See if the Sway bar bushes on the front, have been changed.

Go on line and view the last few MOT recommendations, comments. Brake line, worn bushes etc etc. So you can bring up when you speak to the chap selling.

Also make should it has a good battery, less the 3 years old.

 

Thanks for all your input guys.. if the car is still available on Saturday I may well treat it as a two visit job, as the reg number has been blanked out in the pics so I will need to see it and test drive it to try to get the vin and reg number to check back on it.. I had read that the brakes can be grabby on S-Types, so will watch out for that and run through the usual checks for leaks, air con, electrics etc.. plus the boot seal, battery, gear change and engine noise.. the valley pipe is something I hadn't thought of but yes that is what went on my first X308 - pretty catastrophic unless you happen to be in a good place, which I wasnt at the time..

Meanwhile we are also still trawling through XJ, XF, and XK adverts here (yep hedging all our bets) .. lol, with two children the XK is more a dream for us than reality I think, XFs are on the borderline for us, and good XJ's quite rare in our budget but we are working on it. The dealer that has the S-Type, also has a LWB X308, and a XJ6 Series 3 all within our budget range so may have a look around the three of them.

Biggest issue seems to be (aside from budget) that we want petrol rather than diesel.. nothing against diesel before anyone comments :-) but for us it's petrol, and larger rather than smaller as this car will be for weekends and holidays not commuting. And there is a lot of diesel engined Jags out there currently compared to petrol...

 

Hi Steve,
If you can obtain the reg number, you can check its MOT history which includes its annual mileage here:
https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

Very useful and I checked my cars MOT and mileage history before purchase.
It confirmed the stated mileage was correct.

 

Any chance you can get it on a hoist? It can reveal a lot. Why is the V8 so desirable to you? With your fuel prices I'd have thought the diesel to be a better prospect. They're certainly not short on poke, if Clarkson's punt around the Nurburgring is any guide. It'd be the one I'd be hunting down, if I ever ditch my 99 S-Type
I may have missed it, but what's the price for this beauty? & how far, realistically, do you think you can talk it down?

 

This is just a standard small car dealer so my options for inspection will be a bit limited to what I can find on a test drive and looking her over on the tarmac.

As for engines.. two factors for us.. one is the taxation on Diesels will change over the next few years,more so than petrol engine tax and secondly I *love* the larger petrol engines. :-) And fuel economy is not such an issue with this as the backup/leisure vehicle.

The advertised price is just over £4500, which would need to come down a bit if we were to go for it.

 

I had a poke around eBay UK this morning and by using search "Jaguar V8" in cars it came up with quite a few choices of S type V8s and STRVs.
Some around 3k.

 

We didn't work through e-bay, but did check prices around the UK and for some reason the south east is just plain expensive for cars.. e-bay I am just cautious with - though to be honest it's no more a risk than any car dealer.
This dealer is just 10 miles from home so relatively easy to get to, and back if needed.. so it's a good starting point for us...

 

These caught my eye.

2001 Jaguar S-Type 4.0 V8 Immaculate throughout 52000 mls & upgraded tensioners | eBay
Preston not too far up the M6

Cheap but needs work.
JAGUAR S TYPE R 4.2 V8 supercharged, 2002, full spec,76000 miles,needs attention | eBay

A 2000 car but looks very clean.
2000 JAGUAR S-TYPE 4.0 V8 - LOW MILES - FSH - EXCELLENT CONDITION | eBay

STVR with a gearchange problem. Could probably beat them down hard on the price.
2002 JAGUAR S-TYPE R 4.2 V8 SUPERCHARGED | eBay

Plain V8 SE in nice condition.
ULTRA RARE JAGUAR S-TYPE V8 4.2SE AUTO TOUCH SCREEN AND SAT NAVIGATION. STUNNING | eBay

 

Most car dealers have an eBay page nowadays.
I am always cautious but its still a gamble.
I hope this one works out for you.

 

I appreciate the links, but we are looking ideally at 2005 forwards and not needing work - but we will see.. :-)

Meanwhile many thanks to everyone for your pointers, I really appreciate your help and thoughts and will apply them on the day, assuming it does not vanish before we get to view it :-)

I will keep you in the loop as to how it goes though :-)

 

Overall it sounds to be and probably is a good car.

The phone may well not include BT (but you can add it with some hassle/cost, if you care).

+1 it won't have had its trans oil changed but needs it

The valley pipe is easier to get at on the NA than SC I gather.

I expect they'll have trouble selling it as a large-engine petrol car is just what Brits do not want - a great point in your favour.

In case you get tempted by a diesel be sure you do lots of miles - and avoid the DPF cars!!

 

OK guys, Here's the actual dealer ad.. 2005 (9) - Jaguar S-Type 4.2 V8 Sport In Black With Full Black Leather Auto 4-Door it looks like a clean car but as always will know on the day..

Apologies for being vague till now :-(

Hmm.. the trans oil and filter change is likely to be around £200 I am guessing?

 

The interior does not look to have done that mileage and may have had a spruce up, a bit too shiny for my liking. Overall, looks to be a good, straight car and a thorough test drive may be able to get the price down slightly depending on what you find.

Good luck Steve.