S-type Jaguar
 

I'm having a real questiony day today!
Please could anyone tell me what I might have to look out for when looking over a fifteenish year-old S-type 3 litre?
Many thanks :)

There is an Honest John review here :}

Have a read of this - it was useful when I was looking at one to run along side my ZT-T.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/The-Comple...7591672/g.html

Rust, in short. Sills are a particular weak spot, particularly at the rear ends. Look for uneven rear tyre wear, too.

The "S" types were produced in Jaguars pepper pot era and suffer from poor quality elec connectors among other things. :o

They drive like a plank and quite frankly are one of the worst cars Jaguar ever made. They even forgot to remove the brace each side of the rear window that was needed when the plan was a mid engine, but they then decided against that but forgot to alter the drawings innit.. do'hhh. :duh:

Almost any of the saloons would be a better buy.... :}

PS. watch out for rust around the headlights of old Jaguars. Paper was stuffed in and filler piled on to hide it on many of them..... :(
...

I was always led to believe the main killer of early S-Types were the auto gearboxes..

as said watch for rust on the sills, at the ends and under the plastic covers! the electric windows are very easy to break but are also an easy fix, budget £60 per window and 45 mins fitting if there broke ( done 2 today)

mine is abit wishy washy but its still a nice drive, heats up fast for the winter and is very comfy. i just picked up the 4.0 v8!

James James James, What have you been taking today. I cannot even recognise my car by your description of it. There were two series of S-Types, the first being a development of the late 50s and 1960s MKII with production running just into the early 70s. The second series of the S-Type was introduced in 1998 and continued in production until 2007.

I have had my 2005 S-Type for over 8 years now and am as pleased with it today as I was the day I bought it. It is a beautiful smooth running car and it has given a very good account of itself over the years, with the running costs similar to that of the 3 previous Rover 75s I had. I changed to to the Jaguar as I did not like the facelift version of the 75 and thought Jaguar had made a much better job of their late 2004 facelift than MG Rover managed to do with the 75.
The first 1998 S-Types had a different front suspension setup which was revised and much improved in 2002/3, and I would say if considering an S-Type that 2003 m y (model year) and beyond would be the better models to go for. Also in 2003 they introduce the ZF 6 speed auto box, replacing the previous 5 speed Ford unit. The interior was also updated at this point to a similar dash arrangement to the Rover 75.
The V6 Petrol (2.5 or 3Ltr)was also available with a 5 speed manual gearbox which mine has, along with its silky smooth 2.5 ltr V6. A manual 6 speed ZF gearbox was also available for the 2.7 V6 Diesel version. All V8 versions were fitted with automatic transmissions, at first with the 5 speed Ford unit, then 2003 onwards, the ZF 6 speed autobox.

A couple of photos of my S.

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...r/100_0897.jpg

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...r/100_2034.jpg

Regards
Telfer.

Another thing to watch for on the 3 litre is a slight misfire which often results from lack of plug changes on the drivers side bank of cylinders. They are often left because the inlet manifold has to come off to get at them.

I also agree the auto box is a weak link so make sure the changes are smooth and the kick down works as it should. The early ones have a 5 speed Ford unit. After about 2003 a 6 speed ZF was fitted and is generally regarded as a big improvement.

I have not much knowledge with the Jags, but I drove my boss`s -07 2.7 litre diesel S type a 75 mile trip once. What a fantastic drive...