Hey guys.. well as the subject line implies im ready to buy the BEAST.

but as i scroll around ebaymotors insearch of deals i cant help but notice one thing..all these cars have very low miles(well most) with nothing usually topping 75k..also they are incredibly cheap for what u get!(beautiful car inside and out with 400hp SC). This kinda makes me stop and think..why are people selling them so cheap and why havent i seen an STR with high high miliage?

I know about jaguars repuatation for being unreliable and pricey to fix..but is this the reason they are so cheap? if anyone has the low down on this it would be great..for those of you who have STR how has the car been all around?

i really want one..but i cant help but think im being cuaght in a trap when buying one...someone please enlighten me lol

I have plans to copy this guy and his amazing STR down to the LED lights on the bumper http://www.cardomain.com/ride/298151...-jaguar-s-type i dont mean to be a copy cat but the way that car is done is amazing!

thanks

 

What trap? Purchasing a 8 year old used vehicle?


I am not an "R" owner but the big problem that I have read here, is the coolant pipe that runs under the SC. The DIYers here say its a real PITA to change!

The "broken headlight fix", which is located in the FAQ section here by brutal also is a common problem, but has an easy and cheap fix.

Although "Jose's" vehicle is beautiful, I am not feeling the LED bumper lights, just my opinion. I believe that I have seen some of those pics posted in the gallery section here, Jose maybe be an old member here, but hasn't posted much in the past couple of years.

Good luck in your search!

 

My guess is a combination of factors: 1) very low production numbers and 2) many people who have these cars do not use them as daily drivers...or, at least, they have more than one car and sort of spread the mileage around.

I can think of one member that has, at minimum, a Corvette and a bike in addition to his STR; at the time I bought mine, it was a 5th vehicle (Mercedes/Saab/Lexus/bike). I'm sure there are many more owners that are in the same situation.

 

A quick look on autotrader.com and found an STR with 156K in the 1st page.

You won't find many - it's a rare car.

 

Wasn't total production from 03-08 around 2000 cars?

 

Secondary market dealers may also not know what they have. When I bought mine, the dealer had no clue that it was an STR and had a supercharger. They just thought it was an S-type.

 

Well, there are a few factors that lead to what you see in the market..

Some have been mentioned in this thread.. So the other factor to consider is that these cars, just like any other European import plummets in value right after it's new then after it tops 75k miles. That said, many of the owners that have them over that 75k point just keep them instead of eating a huge loss..

There are also other challenges to owning a Jaguar vs the other brands. This has nothing to do with reliability but everything to do with production. There are about ten times more of the competitors built vs the production from Jaguar. Check out how many 5 series BMW's, E class Benz's, and even Audi A6's are out there. Then again, look at how much a 75k E class is going for...Heck, I was looking at some old E class convertibles recently and they can be bought for a song considering how much they were new!

The other thing to consider before you buy is if you plan on working on your own car or have it serviced. If you don't DIY, be prepared to pay big money getting it worked on, even just basic service. You will also discover that many chain shops will look at it and say "sorry, we don't work on those". It has nothing to do with the car being all that exotic, it's just they don't have the equipment or experience to make any money on such a low production car.

Don't mean to scare you off but have seen many people jump into Jag ownership for the wrong reasons and end up hating their cars and the brand..

Me, I love cars and would go broke just servicing mine if I didn't do all my own work. And mine is covered by a warranty still. That said, I have looked at trading mine but find it real hard since I love the way mine performs day in and day out. It is far from the "best built" car I've had, but by far the most satisfying to drive every day.

 

No, the numbers that people toss around are US sales figures.

There were more than that built globaly, but close to that 2k number sold in the US.

If you do some searching on Ford's corporate site you should be able to find the sales numbers.. I posted links to them ages ago, but don't have them anymore..

 

I read 8500 STR's were produced from 03-08 of which 2500 were sent to the states. I have an 03 with 105k on the clock...Love it.

 

I'm with you on this... I couldn't afford my cars if I didn't do everything myself. Well ok, maybe I could, but I wouldn't like them that much and probably think they were money pit POS's. Every car I buy I expect to work on myself etc. I'm still on the fence about jumping into an STR myself. I've REALLY thought about it, and found some smoking deals, but I'd have to move cars around. Josworth - if you ever decided to sell / trade yours, pm me.

As far as E320 cabriolets... We just picked one up, it's going to be for my brother - 94 - Midnight blue, 121k, new engine wiring harness (MAKE SURE that is done, they biodegrade literally, and if they short they can take all sorts of $$ modules with them). Make sure the top works and there are no hydraulic leaks at the pump OR any of the latches / valves. They are $1k each from the dealer. Pump is 2k. I have a guy that can rebuild everything if needed, but don't touch a car with it failed.
The trans in those cars is a ZF four speed, it needs some agressive driving to get it to perform well, but it's tough, except for one flaw. Reverse. These cars tend to "run out of reverse". On flat ground put it in reverse, take your foot off the brake. If it doesn't roll @ idle, and you need to apply throttle to get the car to move backwards, expect a trans rebuild in your future.
Our car needs a windshield, Passenger side headlight lens, and the bumpers refinished. that and I need to find some AMG wheels for it. My brother got the itch for a MB Cabrio after I got mine, but wanted something with a semblance of a back seat for his kids.

Take care,

George

 

Somewhere on this site I read that only 205 '03 STRs were sold. Anybody know where I saw that at?

(edit: I found the thread, but there was some confusion regarding whether those were UK, US, or worldwide production numbers)

 

Damn really? Seems like they've all been on ebay at some point then LOL. These cars don't see THAT rare when looking for them. I would figure with 2k cars total out there, figure 10% got totaled, that would leave 1800 cars. Yet there are alot of cars for sale at any given point in time.

Interesting...

George

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=40394

I spoke directly to Jag archives and got these numbers.
03-04 had the most STR's.

Someone else said they were going to speak to a friend and try to confirm my numbers ??

 

Depreciation always hits high-end cars the hardest. Take my pops SL65 V12 AMG for example. That car was over $200,000 new, and he bought it with 8900 miles for $65,000, with a full MB warranty. That simply amazed me. Compared to my 06 XKR, that car is in an entirely different league.

The maintenance on these cars arent that bad. Ask someone with a Benz how much their service costs are. A friend of mine had an S55 AMG with jut under 40k miles on it, and every time he went to the shop it was A $2000 bill. Every year it was at least two trips.

Try to buy an R with under 30k miles and a Select Edition warranty. You'll probably have to get one from a dealer like that, but its worth a couple grand more.

 

If you take it to a dealer for everything, Jag or MB doesn't really matter either will eat you out of house or home, unless you have the coin to not care (but then you typically wouldn't buy used)... Dealers don't care if you buy it new or used, their rates are the same. As far as your pal with the S55 I bet he could have spent way less than that at an indy shop, and less than half that if he had DIY.

These cars are designed and dealer maintenance costs are in line with someone who has the coin to buy them new. That's half the reason the depreciation is what it is (because of the future mainetnance costs). The dealer network really doesn't care about customer satisfaction of 2nd and third owners, except possibly in the Certified pre owned market, where the dealer gets to cherry pick the lease returns and certify them before the rest to go the auction.

All they care about is making the new car buying experience as pleasurable as possible, and churing cars over by locking people in lease after lease, ensuring subsequent new car sales. I wonder how much smaller the luxury car segment would be if it weren't for leasing...

Take care,

George

 

Those production numbers look plausible. The UK apparently got 1274 STRs.

 

There's a few in the L.A area

http://www.cars.com/for-sale/searchr...6&alMdId=21851

 

I wonder what percentage of STR owners are on here then.... I didn't realize the numbers were that low...

George

 

George I'm going to disagree with you on the dealer comment. I've had a few secondary Jaguars and LR's and they treat me like I buy one from them every week. I do 90% of my own work but farm out things when time or expertise run low. I'm sure they make more money on servicing the vehicle over its lifespan (regardless of 1st, 2nd ,3rd owner etc) than on the profit margin of a new vehicle. This is with the assumption that a majority of owners have the dealer do most if not all servicing of their Jag.

They certainly care about customer service - they have gone above and beyond for me several times and I've never purchased a car from them new (Bobby Rahal Jaguar/LR).

Sorry to go a bit off topic OP.....

To your question - take a drive in an STR. You'll soon have it in your garage.

 

X2 on that Chris...I believe most would agree that a drive in an STR vs a MB, Audi, etc. would cause one to lean to the STR based on its looks, comfort, and umph.