Test driving S-Type tomorrow - Things to look out for?

[adamtk421]

Good afternoon!

I'm in the fortunate position of only driving 9 miles a day to work and back (on some fun national speed roads!) and so am looking to trade in my basic and dull '06 Astra for something more refined! Couldn't believe my eyes when my car mad friend pointed me in the direction of the S-Type, just assumed they'd be over 10K a pop so never even thought I could aspire to such a lovely car!

The car I'm looking at is a '99 plate, 3.0 V6 petrol, manual, 108,000 miles.

It has a full service history (apparently) so of course I'll check the work that's been done, and popping the number plate into the MOT checker hasn't yielded anything too fishy. It would be really helpful if anyone could give me some pointers as to what else I should be looking for when I view the car?

With the age/mileage of the car, am I looking at any typical big jobs in the next 2-4 years, assuming a mileage of 7-8K a year?

I'm really hoping the test drive goes well as it'll make my old man jealous as hell if I pick one up! 

Thanks in advance everyone!

Adam

[Mr Lawrence]

Hello and welcome.  

As with any car of that age, make sure everything works as it should.

things to look out specific to the S type is lurch with the gearbox when putting it into drive, make sure the gear changes are smooth and not noticeable, it's supposed to be a sealed for life unit but can be serviced and flushed for about £250.

Rough running will definitely be down to worn plugs on the right bank as they have a life of around 100k and, due to it being a right faff to change them they get left, even on dealer serviced cars!! (Search YouTube for Stype plug change to see!!)

other things to look out for is rust on the sills, they rot behind the plastic covers into the floors and if bad can write off even a 2007 car!!, make sure the heater blows hot and cold as a dccv fault closes the heater water feed, not an expensive job but fiddly! 

Also, make sure the aircon blows cold as it's expensive to put right as it's usually the pipe that runs under the right bank manifold that wears out, £350+vat+fitting for the pipe!!

Try and have the car started up from cold as, although the V6 has a cam chain it's well documented that the tensioner can be noisy due to gunk sticking them up, listen for a tappety noise on startup until the Oil works its way round. 

Again, a flush and new Oil should sort it. 

Hope I haven't painted a bad picture as these cars are amazing and beautiful to drive!! 

Good luck and don't forget to post pics up when you've bought it. 

[adamtk421]

Brilliant, that's really helpful thanks! 

I will post pics ha! 

Cheers 

 

[TargetDan]

Also check the coolant reservoir - they sometimes crack and leak,  or the top hose nipples are easily broken so you will have orange gunk around the top rim. People recommend replacing the reservoir if that's the case.

 

Dan

[Leon S200]

How did the test drive go Adam

[adamtk421]

Not too well I'm afraid! 

The car itself was lovely to drive, engine and gearbox responsive and a comfortable ride too

Issues came with the bodywork which was frankly knackered. Heavy rust in the wheel arches so Lord knows what it would have been like under the sills. Bubbles of rust also present on the windscreen pillars which could have penetrated into the chassis. 

Car advertised as having a full service history, but on closer inspection it had history from '99 to' 04 only! Mileages very fishy also, got up to 77k at '04 but when I turned it on it said 97k?! Car hadn't changed hands..... 

I think I'll keep looking, see if I can find one with a better body and paperwork! Thanks for helping so far! 

[Mr Lawrence]

Keep looking and keep us posted

[Leon S200]

Hi Adam, if you are interested I am selling my s type sport 200 3.0 v6. If you are interested let me know. Some pics below. 

 

[bdogg]

Hi. If your still on the hunt for your s-type and you find one you like, try and get it up on a ramp before you buy to take a look underneath properly. I bought an s-type that on the face of it seemed like it had been looked after but on the underside the corrosion was so bad my local independent jaguar specialist told me to let it go because it needed a new shell. I am of course gutted and the car is still under its 3 month warranty and I'll be buying another one (probably a diesel) but that's slightly off topic. Just make sure you look out for that rust!

[O.T.H]

And another good idea is to run a MOT check on the car and it will tell you the problem's

the cars had in the past ?????

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/?_ga=1.167145726.1398065124.1463749831

Frank