I'm fairly new to Jaguars, and have recently sold my first car - a 2004 X-Type 3.0L AWD after a year of ownership. Today I looked at a 2003 S-Type R, and may pop for a PPI. Car has 80k miles on it, no CEL, ran smooth on short drive, appears to have been in Texas since new. Seller claims in excellent shape but I'd rate it Good at best at this point. Carnival Red Mica (CGG) on Sand (ADX) leather; needs thorough cleaning inside and out. Headlight lenses are heavily oxidized, and left low beam looks askew downward. Radio turns on and tunes but no sound out of speakers. Plastic trim strip where dash meets windshield is broken. Seller has no service history, hasn't driven it much in year he's owned it, and hasn't done any service on it. He's asking $9600.

Having no experience with the STR I'm asking members for advice on what to look for if I investigate this car further. I rate my DIY skill at about 4 out of 5 wrenches, so could do most of the work on bringing this car back up if I could buy it right - say $5k.

Any tips much appreciated, especially in area of suspension bits and supercharger upkeep.

 

Here's my answer:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/p...type-r-181373/

Looks like you just missed it.

 

Thanks. Not actively looking, but this one in thread could be a nice project if I could buy it right. I'm looking for advice on diffs between the X Type I just owned and the STR.

 

They're mostly very very different, though there are some similarities.

The STR is especially different as it hasn't even got a Ford engine (other than that Ford was the ultimate owner at the time).

 

There's essentially nothing in common. Different platforms.

 

As you appear to already be aware of, $9,600 for a 2003 STR is way, way overpriced....

 

Yes it is. Body appears straight with minimal door dings; some exterior detailing would be very effective. Same story on interior - a few hours spent cleaning would really make it spiffy. I'm thinking $4-5k purchase plus a thou on fluids, spares and cleanup has good project potential. Not looking at this as a flip but to experience for a while. Attached are a couple of pics. I just notice now that it has the (not sure of name) adjustable struts, which I'm sure are very expensive.

 

Fantastic value for money if any faults are fixed and an unusual colour, especially with the pale leather.

Struts made by Bilstein. Part of CATS.

 

Love the color - guy in my neighborhood has one and it looks sharp.
There are threads here concerning heating a headlight assy in an oven to be able to open so you can repair the sagging self-leveling mechanism. Replacements cost a fortune. Obviously, your headlights can be polished back to clarity.
A replacement demister panel can be found used on Ebay - I purchased one for my older car for around $100. It's held in by a number of clips.
Radio amp may be out or have a blown fuse. Lookup guide for fuse placement and check those first, obviously.
Supercharger rebuild is pricey and it's getting to that range where it may be needed.
Water hoses under supercharger, thermostat and associated housing, and radiator overflow bottle are also probably due for replacement if they haven't already been.
With the apparent lack of service on this car, I would walk unless it's really cheap.

 

Yes, one of the threads (in X Type section) on headlight adjuster repair is mine. I've also done same repair on my M5. Hella design, with emphasis on Hell, that. I'm sure many of the parts on this car are quite dear; the Damptronic Bilstein struts look to be $400 apiece. The more I think about it, I'm prolly walking away from this one, as seller is asking way too much.