I'm thinking of buying a 2005 STR with 84,000 miles to replace my 2003 S Type with a NA 4.2 engine that has 75,000 miles now, both well maintained. I was wondering if in general the 2005 STR would be more troublesome than my 2003. My 2003 has been very dependable, no leaks, the seller says his has no leaks either. Can I get a history of the car from a Jaguar dealer with the vin number? If I could get some feedback on if I'd be better off sticking with the Goldilocks model or go for the STR, that would be great. I've only seen pictures. The car is red. Is that a fire engine red, or more a burgundy color?

 

I had a 2005 STR for 127K miles. Very reliable daily driver. When you said well maintained be sure that this stuff has been done.

ALL coolant hoses with a BIG "For Sure" that the under SC hose was changed.

Top radiator tank replaced.

DCCV has been changed as well as coolant flushes.

Transmission service with the sealing sleeve and pan/filter replacement with the up-sized pan bolts. What fluid was used? Just like your current car the level is not easy to check and it needs to be right!

If the A/C compressor has not been changed at least check if it has any greenish/yellowish stains on the bottom of it. That is a sign that's it's leaking. The leak is slow but the compressor will need to be replaced. This is difficult to do because of the extra sub-frame brace in the way on the STR's.

I found it to be a very solid car. But the under SC hose was certainly one of the most difficult repairs this shade tree mechanic has done! Plus I ended up doing it twice!
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Thanks for the advice. It's funny, the car was for sale for a month and the day after I talked to the guy and decided to go 400 miles to get it, it got sold for the full price. I'm pretty happy with my car though, I"ll see what happens in the future.