It seems this forums has a lot of new STR owners that just bought theirs or are considering buying one. I thought we could share the time you bought yours, and what other cars you considered (to give perspective of whats out there for comparison).

I bought my 03 STR in October of 2011 with 50k miles. My other considerations were an 05-06 Pontiac GTO (the ones with the LS2 engines) and an AMG C55. I travel a lot from West Palm Beach to Miami and back for work so I wanted something I could throw tons of miles on and not worry about depreciation. I also wanted a lot of power because I'm a horsepower *****. Although the GTO was only nominally more on average than the 03 STR for like mileage, I decided against it due to it being a two door and I have two kids and needed a four door. Then it was between the C55 and the STR. When I bought the STR it was about $3k - $4k less than the C55 for like mileage, and has a more powerful engine so it's the car in my garage now. What about the other members?

 

Hi Underpressure. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on what you personally needed in a performance sedan and how it must fit the power you desired and the two children in the equation. My 03 was a just for "Me" thing and the occassional night/day out with the wife. Our four child family also have a Ford Explorer and Expedition for the "Family thing". IMO, the STR is awesome in comfort, quality, affordability, and recognition. Though I'm presently satisfied with her est. 450 chp, the prospects of a 200 chp bolt-on twin screw blower makes it even more enjoyable especially when trying to imagine myself in anything else such as a cheap looking and humdrum GTO or MB C55.

 

I wasn't looking for a Jaguar in particular, and got mine a little over a year ago. I came from a 2000 Mercedes E430 (which was totaled) and I looked at a couple of E39 540s, an 02 E55 AMG, 05 E500, etc. Originally I wanted a C55 or even C32 AMG, but there were 0 for sale within 500 miles, and E46 M3s were out of my price range, as were E39 M5s. I likely would've gotten the E55, but it was not in good condition paint and body-wise. I have no regrets getting the STR; it was a 60 mile drive to check it out, and was an easy decision once I got the price I wanted as it was in terrific shape and far better than any of the other cars I had considered. I like euro sedans (no kids), RWD, and the power sure is nice.

 

I had an XK-150 many years ago (see Avatar) and definitely wanted an STR for the power and because of the retro look. Having said that, the STR had to:
Be a 2005 or later model,
Have 1 non-smoking owner,
Be garage kept,
Be (preferably) lady driven,
Be dealer maintained,
Have less than 8k miles per year,
Be accident-free,
Have near-flawless exterior and interior,
Have used only premium gas,
Cost around $15k.

Impossible (or maybe improbable) I hear you say. Have a look at my garage. Good ole eBay, December 2011, $15k exactly. This forum provided me with all the info I needed for preventive maintenance, and despite a couple of problems I just love the car. OK, I would have preferred Jaguar Racing Green.

 

I chose the STR because it is the absolute best bang for buck 4 door rocket saloon in the mid teens. I was cross shopping 05-06 GTO's as well, and my father has an 04, but I knew if I got one of these it would be a manual and probably be beat. Also if I got a GTO, i know I would mod the hell out of it because the aftermarket and potential is endless. The other two cars were the S60R and the Crossfire SRT6. The S60R is down on 100hp, overall appearance, and aftermarket and the SRT6 is fugly although easier to mod and perhaps quicker than our cars but still cant get over the looks. And also why would you pay mid teens for a gently used Camry or Civic when you can have 400HP? It's and IQ test really. Did we mention, 40-50rwhp for $1K, not bad!

If an STR was a wine, it would be a Meritage, because its a subtle blend of power, aesthetics, and engineering. I am very happy for the aggressive depreciation on these cars making otherwise dreary drives to work beyond exciting.

 

As a long time Nissan/Infiniti fan, I had looked at Maximas and G35/37s. Also got excited about Pontiac G8s. The STR had all the luxury of the above as well as the power and then some. What did it for me was the unique looks of the S-Type as well as the Jaguar mystique! Plus it was $5K less than any of them.

 

I always loved sport sedans. So when I was looking to get something else I had my list narrowed to the usual E55, M5, STR, RS6, S60R and XJR. The RS6 has a lot of known transmission problems that get very expensive to fix so that got scratched and I had an Audi that had some symptoms with the same trans but had like 150hp less so I didn't even wanna open that can of worms. The S60R has wheel hub problems and it was very hard to find one optioned how I wanted. Plus wasn't a big fan of their interiors. The M5 had to be scratched because at the time it was possible I was going to have leg surgery and wouldn't of been able to drive a stick so had to scratch that. That left the E55, STR, and XJR. Since I was about to get out of the military and go back to school I started looking at parts costs. The E55's are pretty pricey for parts when they break. Look up steering racks and shock which are known problems, so I scratched that. This left me with the two Jaguars. I loved the looks of both but the STR being a little smaller then the XJR just seemed like it would be more fun to throw around so I started looking for one. I got mine around July 4th of 09 with 58k miles. Loved it. Then the motorcycle bug hit me so I felt like I was neglecting the STR because I never drove it. Since I am still in school and hated that I was paying a payment and insurance on something I never drove I sold her. Once I'm done with school I will return to Jaguar because I never had one major thing go wrong with my STR and had not one bad thing to say about the car. I took the money from the sale and bought a pickup and another bike. Now I rarely drive the pickup since it is mainly to get groceries and do laundry and my other bike fills my need for power. Hopefully in about 2-3 years I'll have an XF-R.

 

With the way fuel & taxes are going I figured it might be my last "silly" car. I looked at the Audi RS6 as well but consumables etc costs put me off it. The STR looked a fair gamble. I got hold of the workshop manual and read the forums to see what I'd be letting myself in for. So far the STR has been great. I liked its looks far more than many cars, including the RS6, too.

 

Just looking at the STR, then at the "others"...come on?

 

It's interesting to read about everyone's reasoning for buying their STR. I wasn't really shopping for a car but my husband just had to show me a pic of one for sale in our city and yep, I was sold. 3 days later it is sitting in my garage. You do not see too many of the STR's for sale in our area and this one looked great. Unfortunately the previous owner had not kept up with some maintenance so after over 3k in warranty work and another 4k out of pocket, it should be perfect for awhile. I love driving it, great for running errands and shopping, so easy to park and just fun! It is much faster than my old Lexus LS400, hehehe.

 

I came from a 540i/6 so I was looking for another 4 door sports sedan. I was thinking of getting an e60 but I wanted to be different. I never like the way the older Audis looked, had a Merc and I wasn't impressed, so I figured I would try Jaguar. I was like most people thinking that a Jaguar owner owned two cars. A Jag, and a car to drive when the Jag was in the shop. I am happy to say Ive never had an issue with the car that has left me stranded (the BMW's alternator went out on me and I couldn't get it home). I really enjoy this car and plan on keeping it for another couple of years.