I'm not familiar with these transmissions, but otherwise it could be a deal, depending on repair costs.

2000 S Type Jaguar

 

Far too many issues with the early S-Types. If you indeed want one, the newer the better. By the end of their run (2008), they can still be great bang-for-the-buck highway cruisers....

 

Sure, for that kid of money what's to loose?

HOWEVER!!!! I would set a firm budget for repairs and not exceed them by one cent!!!

It might be a sweetheart or a devil in disguise.

If you have $3000 to "play with" and do not need the car as a daily driver then go with it as a toy. But if it exceeds that $3K get rid of it immediately without looking back.

Otherwise you could fall down the money pit...

Or, pool your money and look for something newer
==================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

I'm surprised by the frequent 'dissing' of the pre-facelift cars. Aside from a few easily attended to issues like tensioners and transmission solenoids, why the dislike?

 

Things to consider...
1) Seller did not list mileage.
2) There are no pics of right side of car
3) Can't tell from pics how soon tires will need replacing
4) Like my '01, the 2000 MY most likely has a AM/FM radio with cassette player, no CD, no bluetooth, no aux port, no USB - if sound system is important to you, plan on paying $$ for an upgrade
5) It's a 5-speed tranny, not 6 (if this matters to you), and he theorizes the problem with it is "it's just a solenoid", but really doesn't know for sure

Otherwise, it sure looks purdy.

 

>It's a 5-speed tranny, not 6 (if this matters to you), and he theorizes the problem with it is "it's just a solenoid", but really doesn't know for sure

Ya, but it's an off the shelf FOMOCO transmission. Any AAMCO transmission repair shop can deal with that. In this case that's probably the single best Ford part to have.
================================================
Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

I'll keep an eye on the ad and see what happens. Similar ones go for 6-8,000 here.

 

I confess to really liking my '01 5-speed Ford trans better than my '03 6-speed "maintenance free, sealed for life" ZF trans. FYI: Many folks on this forum say to avoid AAMCO 'tho I have no personal experience with them.

Check Kelly Blue Book for more realistic price ranges. The range you quoted IMHO is way too high for this car, at least in my area of the U.S. Might be different where you are, but worth checking. Good luck!

 

Please stop repeating that myth. Jaguar have had a fluid replacement schedule for the ZF on their site for YEARS. They DO NOT say it is sealed for life.

 

Prices in Canada are definitely higher than the US. $6,000 is a reasonable price here.

 

JagV8 - you fail to recognize sarcasm when it slaps you in the face.

I'm poking fun of this myth, not agreeing with it.

ZF STILL perpetuates the "Lifetime" myth on it's YouTube video in which it demonstrates how to change the pan/fluid on this trans.


The voiceover clearly states that ZF Lifeguard 6 fluid is "designed and tested to retain characteristics through normal lifetime operating conditions per the OEM's specifications" and only "in instances of extreme driving conditions, special environmental considerations and driving factors which place an increased load on the transmission, is it advisable to perform a drain and fill between 50,000 and 75,000 miles or 8 years".

I don't see or hear any mention of a regular "fluid replacement schedule" anywhere in this video. They could have mentioned one but, except for the 50-75K/8 years extreme driving conditions exception, they did not.

Clearly, the lack of a dipstick tube to check, top off or install fluid, and the convoluted non-user friendly way fluid must be changed and tested at a certain temp with a special tool and non user-friendly fill system with the likelihood of burning one's arm on the exhaust pipe provides further evidence that these transmissions were probably not intended to be serviced regularly.

Some folks report here and elsewhere that Jag and ZF backpedaled and developed a maintenance schedule only AFTER it became apparent these trannies were failing prematurely without periodic maintenance.

So it seems the "myth" has a pretty solid basis in reality, perpetuated by ZF themselves.

All this to say that the point of my previous post was that the '01 S-Type 5-speed Ford Trans lacks all the ZF drama, and IMHO seems to work equally as well. Moreover, as a non-mechanic I can still do the simple service tasks on the '01 trans in my driveway without having to pay a real mechanic, thus lowering the total cost of ownership compared to my '03. In that regard, I like the Ford trans better than the ZF.

 

The video says to adhere to the manufacturer's change interval. Jaguar have it on TOPIX.

 

Here in the US it seems that the lion's share of Jaguar dealerships continue to proclaim these ZF units as "lifetime", i.e. no ATF changes regardless of the condition of the vehicle. Perhaps they simply do not want to be bothered with providing that service even though they will be happy to charge you a fortune for doing so if you insist. The clued-in dealerships seem to echo what ZF tech support told me during a phone conversation I had with them in March 2010 - consider changing the ATF between 80,000 and 100,000 miles as a reasonable measure of protection....

Remember that NO fluid in a vehicle could ever be reasonably expected to serve for a "lifetime". I've had a couple of Lexus service managers tell me that my wife's previous 2000 Lexus RX300 SUV needed fresh ATF every 15,000 miles because they knew but would not admit that those transmissions were weak designs. A decade ago the Lexus forums were full of owners complaining about early failures. After doing my own research I concluded that a 15,000-mile ATF change interval was serious overkill so I settled on a 30,000-mile change interval for that vehicle and always did it myself for about $20 worth of fresh Toyota Type T-IV ATF and less than half an hour in labor. But that vehicle had a transmission dipstick / fill tube and an easy-to-access drain plug. It was easy to monitor the condition of the ATF, simple to perform a drain-and-fill every 30,000 miles, and cheap to purchase the required fluid. Three key factors that unfortunately do not apply to our ZF units. This remains my biggest pet peeve regarding both of our Jaguars....

 

Nice hijack! And here I keep thinking people have an opinion on this car............

 

Heck, don't buy it.