It has ~141,000 miles & the dealership where the car is has it listed for $1,500, I negotiated $1,500 out the door including taxes, fees, etc. I left a $50 deposit and plan to pick it up Friday (12/07/12), hopefully a few people can give me some advice, it will be my 1st Jag...

#1. The transmission slips. I test drove it and it seems to slip out of gear at times which makes the engine rev like the car slipped into neutral, and it jerks... But in one instance when I started accelerating from a stop while I was on my way back to dealer from my test drive, it shifted through all forward gears smoothly. Drive & reverse engage smoothly all the time. Could this be a software/fluid problem? I've seen on this forum that these ZF 6-speeds don't usually need rebuilds. Wish it had a dipstick...

#2. The rear wheels are angled slightly inwards at the top, the rear tires are EXTREMELY bald, as if this has been an ongoing problem for a while. It seems to drive fine, no rear-end noises & it rides good, but the rear wheels are "bowed" inwards at the tops, I can't imagine that's normal for these cars. Not sure what this could be??

#3. It leaks oil from the valve cover gasket (passenger side) and burns on what looks to be a heat shield. The antifreeze is also leaking, it was low on fluid. I can see a little antifreeze (the red fluid) that has leaked out near the front of the engine bay, but can't find the source. The heat did not blow warm, guessing it's because of the low antifreeze??

#4. A few warning lights are on, one of which says something like "reduced power", and the ABS/traction lights popped on during the test drive. The battery was dead & needed a jump when I got to the dealer and it says "Jaguar" on the top of it, so I'm guessing it's a 9 year old battery... Think a new battery would solve some of these issues??

The engine runs strong, the transmission shifted normally during the last 2-3 minutes of my test drive, it DID NOT overheat (I let it idle for 20+ minutes), and everything appeared to be working aside from the heat, plus it looks GOOD, the body is in great shape (I saw no evidence of paintwork, body filler or replaced body panels), and so is the interior. Do these problems sound major? I want to take the plunge, but hopefully some S-Type experts can weigh in. ANY advice would be appreciated. Worst case, I'll get my depsit back if you guys tell me to leave it. Thanks.

 

I would not recommend getting a car with problems hot or using it much!! You could cause damage it didn't already have.

It will drive poorly after a dead battery as it has to relearn.

Change battery. Fix fluids, especially coolant. Get an OBD tool (see General Tech forum) and check it works. As battery will have been off check you have no codes except P1000. Post here without starting engine if it has anything else, would be my strong recommendation. If it just has P1000 then idle engine till warm and recheck for codes. If still only P1000 go for a calm drive. Repeat after engine is cold (codes & drive). Should get P1111. (Stickies have codes PDF which explains.)

#3 might be IMT - see stickies

Ignore other lights till you've changed battery and done the above. ABS should go out if you get as far as driving above a few MPH.

Grab JTIS - free download.

Otherwise, could be a great & cheap car. Have fun.

 

Welcome 2003 S Type, Jagv8 summed up some great advice. Pop in a new (correct) battery, perform a hard re-set of the ECU (see stickies). Bald and bowed rear tires likely indicate worn tie-rods. No heat? May be burnt dual climate control valve ($80), Oil leak? New cam cover and spark plug well gaskets. Coolant leak? New coolant expansion tank, thermostat with gaskets. Replace the intake manifold runner control gaskets, etc. You got her cheap, now let's get her fixed up.

 

Changing battery is a hard reset, too.

 

+1 with the advise above.

After a short drive I would check the oil reason being if the vehicle had run hot for any length of time (with prior owner), it could have warped the heads which would compromise the head gasket(s) causing antifreeze to mix with engine oil, which would be very visable on the dipstick.

I am not a self proclaimed expert nor professional tech, but I have done alot of extensive work on a MY2003 3.0, and our 2005 3.0 (see how to guides), I don't know if I would purchase the vehicle.

The engine work does not present the problem, the transmission does IMO, replacement price could sky rocket.

As the price of these vehicles are coming down in the previously enjoyed catagory. I feel that you would more than likely break even if you DIY most everything. DIY is a MUST in this case!

Good Luck

 

I would proceed with caution here - be wary of the following: why would the dealer be looking to "cut bait" on a vehicle for only $1,500 (grossly under priced for an 03 - even with issues) and not invest a few bucks and sell it at a higher price. Out of the list you provided above - the only issue I would be concerned with would be the transmission - all other issues are easily tackled.

I believe the 03+ models have the ZF - 6 speed trans units - these are costly to rebuild. Good advice given above otherwise - Good Luck and I hope the Jag purchase works out for you.

 

Be aware that if the transmission has been operated with low fluid levels for an extended time it will destroy the transmission. If caught in time you should be OK.

As you know it's not a simple operation to even check the fluid level. So you can bet it's not correct. People have also found the transmission over filled but this is much more rare.
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That's what I was thinking. The fact that it shifted smoothly toward the end of my test drive made me feel that it was a fluid issue, but of course, couldn't be sure since there's no dipstick. I decided to pass on the Jag though, thanks for the responses everybody. Guess I'll be a Jag owner later in life. To anyone in or near Michigan who might be interested, it's located at Dick Scott Nissan in Canton, MI. It's black on black.

 

No offense but that vehicle was driven hard and put away wet!

Used 2003 Jaguar S-Type V6 For Sale | Canton MI | VIN: SAJEA01TX3FM48597

Believe me you made the right decision.

Good luck in your future quest. If you do happen to come across one that you like, COME HERE FIRST.

 

I'm also relieved he passed on this one.

 

Ditto... "If it's too good to be true... it probably is"...