So we're a two Land Rover family and my dealership happens to be a LR/Jag place so when my '99 Discovery went in for service for 2 weeks (there were a lot of things being done and I LOVE my Disco) and I got an S-type as a loaner. Everyone in the family is very happy with an actual car (as opposed to a truck) so I found myself back at the dealership talking about what they had in pre-owned/certified S-types.

I'm somewhat of a car guy but have not been keeping up on the specifics of the S-type so here are the newbie questions:

-What are good or bad years for the S-type? I'm likely looking at something in the 2004 - 2005 range.

-Functionally how dramatic a difference are there in the engine sizes from the 3.0 to the 4.2? I'm keeping my Disco but would be happy to have the Jag around for days when the pavement is dry... Clearly even the 3.0 will be a lot different from my 8 cylinder Disco but will I shortly regret not having the bigger engine?

-I usually don't mind paying a little more for a certified car from the dealership rather than elsewhere. I'll likely keep the car for 5 years (or more) with annual mileage around 10,000. Is that money well spent or thrown away when I could get a better price on a non-certified car elsewhere (again assuming that I do diligence on a non-dealership car)?

Greatly appreciate thoughts/comments/answers to the above.

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the replies and information! I'm starting to search now - nice thing is that there isn't any rush and I can wait for the "right" one.