Guys,

I test drove a 2006 S-Type 4.2 yesterday, and it felt like one of the smoothest cars I have ever been in. Everything about it felt luxurious and comfortable. The best part about it, however, was the $23,000 price tag. I'm sure I can negotiate that down to $21,500 most likely, and I am planning on making a decision on whether to purchase it over the weekend.

What I want to know is: what is the average maintenance cost that you guys see on this vehicle? I see a lot of people in these forums noting the transmission slipping, lurch issue, etc.

The mileage on the car that I will buy will be between 20,000-30,000 miles. Basically I want to know if I am going to wind up upside-down on maintenance in 2 years.

 

I would get the Jaguar Certified Edition warranty thrown in as part of the selling price. This will cover the car for 6 years from original purchase date or 100,000 miles. If you have this warranty, your maintenance costs will be reduced significantly. Normal maintenance costs for oil changes, tire rotations and brakes etc shouldn't be more than $1,000 per year. If you can do your own maintenance costs for parts will be fairly reasonable. The R models will be more expensive owing to the greater power and complexity of the cars. R owners would be a better source of costs though.

Good luck

Mike

 

They are only a little more expensive to maintain than a "normal" car. Repairs can get expensive. I will ditto carelm's post above. Get a certified car. You should be able to find a decent amount of 06's out there since they are the ones coming out of 3 year leases. Last year it was the 05's. Remember though, these are very complicated vehicles compared to the mass produced transportation boxes out there. One of the biggest issues with Jags are people's frustration that they cost so much to repair. Many of them are lured into premium car ownership because they can get one for Toyota money. They don't realize that all the ride and luxury has a cost and that cost is complicated systems that make the car drive like it does. That said, my '05 just passed the one year mark with me and has not given me any trouble. Had some trim issues that were taken care of by the dealer and covered under warranty. I am a picky SOB as well and my dealer has been more than accommodating. The only other issue was fixed under warranty. The stability system and ABS systems gave me a warning just after I got it and it ended up being a master cylinder. I have what is called the "lurch". That is where the trans does a harsh 2 to 1 downshift at a stop and it feels like someone kicked the car in the rear. Also, another symptom that I have is the "hesitation" when taking off. These are annoying but I deal with them.... So does my cousin with his 5 series BMW. We have a theory that it has to do with the over proliferation of computer controls, ie drive by wire, but we are far from experts. But the ZF box is also very strong. His BMW has the ZF 6 speed and is a 2001. No problems yet, but the car also sits a lot. My other cousin, his brother, has a '98 3 series that is his daily driver since new and now has close to 180k on it. Different trans, but a ZF box as well. So, people keep trying to iron the bugs out, but the trans seems to survive well. I say go for it, get an 8 (my only regret), and enjoy driving a car that sold less than 8k units in the US for that year. Oh yea, the very low number of S types out there makes parts a bit more difficult to get and a bit more pricey.

 

Great post Jeff!! I would add that the more you know about the car the cheaper it will be. That's where this forum comes in. Plan to spend some time here reading. I know what things are common problems to my 2005 STR and keep an eye out for them!!
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The regular 4.2 will cost you less to maintain and insure over time than the R, no question about it. As already pointed out, the more routine maintenance you can do yourself, the better off your wallet will be.

If you want a smooth highway cruiser that will cost you less to own, get the 4.2. If you want more of a street racer and are willing to shell out significant bucks for maintenance and insurance, get the R....

 

If you're looking for a number, on a regular 4.2, I'd toss out an estimated $500-600 a year on maintenance, over a few years, and that includes hoidy-toidy synthetic oil changes. Covers tires and brakes also. Any other estimates guys?

 

As stated a couple times above.

DO not buy a Jaguar without a Warranty.
You have way too many High dollar repairs/ un necessary little electronic devices your risking and dealers charge you as if you you dont have a budget. I am amazed at some of the estimates I have gotten for my STR. I have spent over $7K maintaining a 42K mile car for drving just over 6K miles. It can be amazing. Just get a warranty so you can relax and enjoy the car for what it is, not have it as a liability.

My 2 cents.

 

Thank you for all of the feedback guys.

Things I will take away from this article:
1) Get warranty (especially powertrain)
2) Be prepared for moderately higher maintenance cost as these are luxury/performance vehicles, not civics.
3) Make sure to stay on top of the said maintenance, don't forget.

 

exactly..........check my torque converter post......3200 dollar repair. and it took 3 weeks. My extendend warranty picked it up, except the fluid which ran just under 300 dollars and yes that was just for the fluid.



However passing a guy at work last night ( like a rocket ship) on the highway in his sl500 at 130 mph put a smile on my face. He called me after we split and said he couldnt believe it. I just laughed and said nice try. Guy in Z06 corvette gave up at under 80mph and the same guy in the M3 from earlier this year didnt even try once i caught up to the pack. I got stuck at a red light before getting on the highway. Oh well, the rush was awesome though.

 

130mph? No ticket cos the cops don't drive STRs so can't catch you?

 

Yea those east coast people fly......... My Jersey driving doesn't fit well here in Ohio either....

Hey phd, are you old enough to remember the Front Street days in Philly? I had a 71 Torino wagon, yes a wagon, with a 351 Cleveland that would eat Z28's and Mustang GT's for lunch... The best was the look on their faces as the paneling flew by!

 

oh yes i am old enough...........also i ran on bartram...in my 66 chevelle 2dr. those were the days

 

there are certain stretches of roads that you can do whatever and no LEO's ever are there. time and place for everything i guess. However 130 is moderate in my eyes. I do 130 on the track pretty quickly on my sportbike

maybe one day ill get the video out from racing the UPS #88 car when i averaged 144.8 mph over 11 laps. All while i was 1 hand driving it. lol you know, i had my Pimp lean going on.....ROFLMAO