Hi All,

I just stopped over from the x100 forum to ask a question.

I have liked the retro design of the s-type and have been checking out the prices on various sites. I am aware of the sharp depreciation of our cars and the s-type is no exception but there seem to be a large number that are so inexpensive that I just have to ask the experts on this forum.
Are there any specific issues with this model that only an owner would know or is it just the typical Jaguar price curve?

Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

Cheers,
John

 

Primarily because there is almost no demand for the S-Type. I was fortunate to be able to get top-dollar for my 2005 S-Type 3.0 when I sold it back in May. I held out for the right buyer. He is happy with my car, and I am happy with what I was able to sell it for after more than nine years of ownership....

As you know, it is a different story for our XK8s and XKRs. There will always be a demand for them....

 

Hi John, the s type and x type seem to go for similar money here in UK. There are probably more X types for sale which are seen as the younger man's car compared to the s type. My partners music teacher (saxophone) and her husband have one of each X and S type and she said the S type is far more comfortable to drive and as a passenger. Based on that we chose the S type. EBay is full of cheap s and x type, but there is no saving money that way. For between £1000 and £1500 here in the UK you can buy a very decent V6 auto. The STR is obviously in a different league and yes I would love one, who wouldn't. Handling on the S type is surreal its that good. Its not a sports car but it stays on rails round the twisties. Far better than the 5 and 7 series BMW's I've owned. Fitted Bilstien rear shocks on mine and got a pair of Bilstien ready for fitting to the front.

Cheap prices for all older luxury cars are because potential owners are scared of the repair and running costs. But the reality is DIY, or having a good independent garage, or a good mate who can do the work or help out. I've been looking at chips money BMW 7 series ex fleet cars on ebay and not just diesels. £80k motor cars going for £5k because they've run out of warranty and expired service contracts. I'd rather have this Jaguar for several personal reasons.

Jaguars are an enthusiasts car and because of that there is a large parts network and support network.

 

Like busa said ...the s type r in great condition is getting hard to find...i got lucky on mine...6700 and i have put another 1000 in for making it perfect...been offered 9500 for it by the "right" buyer but no sale ..i love this car

 

 

I once thought about getting an X-Type wagon but holly hell were they completely overpriced here as a used car. After I drove one it was even worse. The S-Type is light years better. To me the X-Type is a pretender. I know that lovers of the older XJ cars think the S-Type's interior feels cheaper and it is but the rest of the car is all luxury and smoothness. The interiors on the S-Types are a bit bland looking. Older XJs are too fuddy duddy for me.I had my eyes on an STR since it came out because of that engine and frankly the 05 styling really make that car pop. I get Thumbs up every time I drive it. Fortunately for me it was a complete flop in the marketplace. That said there are quite a number of mechanical issues with these cars when compared with a Lexus, Infinity ... etc. My Infinity Q45 had one major engine issue which Jaguar copied ... plastic chain guides. That cost me $7K to fix and I should have just taken the car to the junkyard. But it didn't have all the PITA issues I've had with this STR. The STR drives much nicer of course but then all cars do over that time period. That was 1990. The 4 wheel steering was a complete bust as implemented from a performance stand point. Even so I entered it in the open road race The Silverstate back in 1990 and we averaged 147 MPH.
I passed a 73 Ferrari Daytona spider and was he shocked!

 

The pre-2005 cars suffer from wiring loom problems with chafing and corrosion where the wires go across behind the front bumper. The later cars do not have this problem.
There was also a rust issue on the sills under the plastic covers, but again the 2005MY update sorted this out.

Most of the normal cars in the range are still going down in price but although still very good value the S-Type R's have gone up in price over the last three years.
The R's are by far the best model in the range with a great many components that are different to the 'normal' S-type.
There were also very few made for the UK market with only about 830 left now.
However second hand they still offer amazing performance for very little money.

 

Hi Staatsof, yes I picked up very quickly after joining the forum that the Jaguar marque have rarity and exclusivity factors stateside. People still associate them with their luxury car heritage although in reality the brand's quality and reliability varied under different company ownership. However the luxury car feel is still very present in cars like the S-type, Ford didn't kill that. I've owned loads of big fast sedans over the years in the form of BMW, GM, Ford incl a Cosworth. But the Jaguar is unique in many ways.

​​​The use of these garuanteed to fail plastic components in critical locations is a very poor decision by all of the prestige car brands and they are all guilty of it. That is one area where Jaguar are basically saying they are no different to the rest. So they lose their exclusivity by making the same design decisions as the competition.

What I consider is the environmental issues of building these ever more oppulant and faster new luxury cars which end up as scrappers in salvage yards because no one is able to or can afford to repair them because of their vast complexity. Did the car manufacturers forget about the environmental damage of building them in the first place. Sorry I'm heading off thread there.

 

I have to agree with point about the enormously complex and expensive vehicles being produce for well over 10 years now.
It's all pulled off via the magic of leasing and tax deductions for it. Well that can change overnight like the home mortgage interest deduction did here. It's quite ruinous when it does.
I haven't bought a new car since 2001 and it was only $21K at the time. I think I paid less than that for my STR in 2010 and it had but 14K miles on it.

Let the other suckers depreciate 'em for you ...

 

 

Exactly the same here in the UK, although most drivers don't know that 95% of these new or very recent, high cost and luxury cars they see on the road are company leased.
As the story goes: No job = no car.
So I am quite happy cruising along in my old car because its mine, I own it.

 

Certainly in the UK, the biggest petrol engines take the biggest hit in depreciation.
Before I bought my 2004 BMW 545 V8 I was in a BMW main dealer and wandered over to see a LWB 760iL that's the V12.
It was a one owner (CEO company car) and chauffuer driven with all the extras on it and 22k miles with screen price of around £25k
I cant remember exactly but it was around 6 or 7 years old.
That is the true value of the car. Or less if you haggle?

 

I once heard someone say, "You can sell a young man's car to an old man, but you can't sell an old man's car to a young man." I think the S-Type is an "old man's" car. That means it only has 1/2 of the appeal of some of the more sporty models.

This was reinforced a few weeks after I bought my 2001 when a young lady in my office remarked, "Could you get any more grandpa than this?" Ouch! My wife also says it looks like a Ford Taurus with a really cool grille. Nevertheless, I like my Jaguar and was happy to only pay $3,700 last year for a fairly low mileage vehicle!

 

 

They wouldn't say that about a face lifted (2005 ->) STR. Plenty of young guys give the thumbs up to mine all the time. It's pretty damn rare too. The earlier S-Types were more of a woman's car and still a very nice form, very evocative of the much older styling. Inspector Morse ...

Compare pricing on a 2003 M5 and any year STR. That should tell all you need to know. https://www.carsforsale.com/2003-bmw...r-sale-C139411

BMWs are expensive to maintain as well and hardly WO fault. Jaguar spent many years building their reputation here. It will take many more to undue that with a lot of folks. That said the much newer ones are selling pretty well here. But the older cars will always carry that stigma.

The STR was no slouch but definitely softer than a M5 and that was the intent. I've not driven an XJR so I can't comment on that model but curiously it is lighter than the STR.

I think they should have pushed the more sportier yet plush interior on the STR. They had this but it was hard to find in the NA marketplace. Jaguar really didn't know what they were doing here at that time. When I shopped for mine I came across two cars with this combination but the condition of the cars wasn't up to what I was looking for so I passed. I think it's a stunning look especially in the face lifted years, particularly in 2005. The Brembo calipers complete the look IMHO. As brakes go these haven't been a lot of trouble and the Akebono pads make them very livable. Rotors are not expensive either.






I really appreciate the simplicity of the dash controls and operation of them compared with today's cars. Yes the nav system blows but what nav system from 2003 doesn't? Use your cell phone ...

They picked some dodgy suppliers, same as all the others though ... That headlamp design is just god awful to maintain if you have the HID. The Oil cooler designs are terrible and the dreaded under the supercharger coolant hose has as yet to bite me in the ***. But it's coming! Thankfully there's a lot of help on here for that issue. Ditto the coolant reservoirs. My 38 year old Maserati also has a blow molded reservoir which is translucent. I've replaced it once in all that time and it wasn't leaking. So it CAN be done right. It still has it's original radiator which is aluminum with crimped on end caps too.

The newer (replacement) models brought in a lot of what you see in those pictures and I think Tata is doing pretty well with the marque. I'm still not a fan of the new XJ styling nor the XF but plenty of others like it.

 

The XJ has more aluminium alloy I believe.

The STR is a sort of sleeper car - though the fat tyres are a giveaway (11" / 275mm at the rear).