The Voices

You might be suprised by an insurance quote, some companies will regard cars over 10 years old as 'classic cars' for the purpose of insurance.

Agreeing a limited mileage policy often helps as well ?

It would be really tough to choose between the Subaru and the STR, at the moment, I would choose the Jag due to it's versatility but I do need to do some A and B road driving to see what I make of the cornering abilities (probably wait for the new rear tyres)

I have a vague idea of selling the Impreza and buying one of the earlier 'classic' shape models and bank the difference.

The earlier model is lighter and even less refined but a bit more 'raw', which would probably be just the thing given the very limited mileage I cover in the Subaru (less than 3k pa)

For sale is my Jaguar S-Type 2.5 V6 Sport auto.

Registration number is YH53 HZX, it was first registered 14/11/2003 and is HPi clear.

I have owned it since 11/10/2015 and the only reason it is for sale is that I have purchased a 2006 STR.

Exterior colour is platinum silver metallic with the warm charcoal leather sports seats and grey birds eye maple veneer, the optional boot spoiler has been fitted as well as a stainless steel mesh grille.

Current mileage is 101,300 and the MOT runs until 14/2/2017

Since I purchased the car it has had a new radiator, replacement headlamp unit (due to failed adjusters), uprated Philips headlamp bulbs, tracking / wheel alignment, new rear brake calipers + rear discs and pads.

I have also fitted heated seat elements (2 way) and a replacement steering wheel with working cruise control and stereo functions.

We also changed the gearbox Oil and filter as a precaution, the gearbox changes smoothly and without lurching.

alloys are the 17” Heracles 5 spokes fitted with four new Goodride tyres ('B' wet weather performance and 'C' fuel economy)

Audio system is the standard Jaguar audio with single slot CD + AM/FM radio.

It also has rear parking sensors.

There are 7 services in the book, the last one was carried out at 97,000 miles when I purchased the car. The complete handbook set and leatherette folder are also present.

Receipts from previous owner show that the heater control valve and header tank have already been replaced, both common failure items on this model. There are also several of the previous MOT's and service invoices.

The car is in very good condition overall but is not a show winner !

The alloys have some kerb damage, I tidied them up and repainted them (in silver) when I purchased the car but ran out of time before the final lacquer coat was applied.

Consequently they need another quick clean and blow over before lacquering them.

I will try to get this done myself to save the new owner a job (but no promises !)

There are various small marks and scratches but nothing serious, with a small amount of lacquer peel on the bonnet about the size of two 10p pieces.

Currently requires a 'smart' repair to the front plastic bumper due to a scuff on the passenger side.

Drivers side wing has some corrosion starting to show, which is another common S-Type issue, I have a replacement wing in the correct colour which just needs some minor cosmetic tidying before fitting (I will supply this to the purchaser)

The fuel gauge has a mind of its own, usually reads '3/4 full' when it is full, tested the 'sweep' on the gauge and it is fine so suspect the fuel sender is the problem, used senders from £20 on ebay and easy access under the rear seat.

I have renovated the 'cloudy' plastic headlamp lenses with the Autoglym restoration kit, this has made a vast improvement to the cosmetic appearance, this, combined with the uprated bulbs has noticeably upgraded the level of illumination.

I viewed several S-Types of a similar age before purchasing this one and it stood out as an 'honest' car.

It is not 'mint', 'pristine' or any one of the other bulls**t phrases people use to describe 13 year old used cars !

But it is great to drive and puts a smile on my face.

I have reduced my asking price to £1,295 cash, I am not interested in a part exchange thank you.

I can be contacted on 07791 689184, leave a message if necessary as I cannot always answer my phone.

You can also contact me via this forum, I am on here most nights.

Hi Steve and Russ,

The insurance is in my wife's name, I have to use my 'no claims bonus' on the Subaru because it has quite a lot of modifications from standard.

Multi car policies tend not to cater for performance models or modified vehicles.

Trying to get a 'traders' policy is a nightmare and I am not really a trader !

Because Sue has usually been a named driver on my policies, she has not accumulated her own NCB and pays quite a bit for insurance.

The 2.5 V6 was about £500 pa I think with both of us on the policy, just charged another £160 for the remaining six months to change the policy to the 'R'.

At renewal time she will have another years bonus and I will shop around the 'performance' insurers to see if I can get a deal.

I though long and hard (well, for me at any rate) before buying the 'R' with such high mileage.

The service history is pretty reasonable, car covered 60k whilst it was under warranty so any big issues would have been sorted.

Next owner purchased the car at 3 years old and kept it until this year, so once again I have to presume that he kept on top of the upkeep due to the mileage he covered (95k in 7 years)

The engine sounds sweet, my personal opinion is that you could cover up the odometer and most people would guess 70k or less.

Luckily I have driven all three cars in the last few days so I can give you a quick overview.

The Impreza, well it is noisy, rattly and has plastics on the interior that look like a 1970's Datsun.

It does however go like a bomb, standard cars is rated at 5.3 to 60mph, the same as the 'R', my car is running about 70 bhp more than 'stock'.

The car feels more involving due to the manual box, you really need to chuck gears at it in quick succession at the redline appears very quickly.

Sticks to the road like chewing gum to your best shoes but you feel every bump and bang, Sue hates being a passenger and was getting fed up of driving it (she used to be a 'girl racer' !)

A long journey in it is like being rolled down a hill in a metal dustbin but the flat four engine has a certain character that the Mitsubishi Evo will never have.

The S-Type 2.5 Sport auto, great old car, smooth and relaxing to drive and has adequate power if you don't get ambitious.

It can't really go fast enough to get you into trouble from a handling point of view, it has never given me a scary moment, even on the budget tyres that I fitted.

Drove it today for 20 miles or so and got out thinking what a 'nice' car to drive. My only complaint would be that it sounds a bit noisy when it has to change down when you want a bit of extra 'urge'

The STR, well now...............................

Everything I remembered from driving them when I was selling them new.

It can tootle along nicely like the 2.5, behaving in a civilised fashion when you just want an effortless drive but when you put your foot down ?

As Russell Crowe says at the battle at the beginning of Gladiator, 'on my signal, unleash hell !'

Speed is deceptive as the power delivery is more linear than the Subaru.

Early days to comment on the handling but might be a handfull in the wet ?

Rear tyres are Continental Sport Contact 3's that are down to about 3mm, I will think carefully about the replacement tyre choice.

Currently considering some Wanli fieldseekers (similar to Linglong ditchfinders) made out of plastic rather than rubber, heard from some guy on the internet that you can get 60,000 miles out of a set ?

Coming soon, The Voices writes his version of War and Peace.

Fitted the replacement lambda sensor today (£60 on ebay) and that seems to have cured the fault codes and engine management light.

Swapped the clear side markers from the 2.5 and fitted the replacement engine cover (another £30 well spent on ebay), at least now I can look under the bonnet and read 'supercharged' !

Stay tuned folks !

Glad the auction went well and for such a worthy cause.

Most people are not keen on the early S-Type interiors, not very 'Jaguar' ?

I would go to look at as many as you can to get a view of the best and the worst that is out there.

Drive the 3.0, 4.0 and 4.2 if possible, you will know when you find the 'right' car.

Oh no !

Not gold.

They are bad enough on an Impreza, especially if it is painted 'kn*bhead blue' as well !

I have just bought a cheap S-Type R and believe me the V8 is in a different league !

3.0 V6 is a great all rounder, 4.2 V8 is smoother and has an extra 60bhp, STR is 400 bhp and lots of fun !

Hope the charity auction gained a respectable sum ?

We used to see a lot of S-Types and XK's with the champagne wheels, looked nice on certain colour cars but just make me cringe now !

Kind of an 80's vibe even though they were late 90's !

Hi Steve,

The 'van' looks the business, everyone needs a 'happy place'

I really didn't have the cash to buy the STR but at the price, I 'had' to buy it.

The other car I want is the E39 BMW M5 and the prices have already started to rise, you could buy a sound but high mileage one for £5k not long ago and now that is impossible.

My worry is that the STR will go the same way, I don't think they can get much cheaper than they are now.

I look at all the cars I 'could' have bought over the years for sensible money and missed out (E30 M3. Sapphire Cosworth,E30 325i Sport, etc) and don't want to be left in the same situation in 5 years wishing I had bought the STR when they were still affordable.

How long will it take for the prices to rise ?

Who knows !

At the moment I would only pay 'sensible' money for one and probably not a fortune for a low mileage one.

The low mileage car will be more likely to gain in value but what is the point of owning a car that you are scared to drive because the mileage will go up ?

Next thing you know, it can't go out in the rain in case it gets wet and goes rusty, can't drive it quick in case it gets stone chips and so on !

As I get older I worry less about the what ifs ?

Lost a very good friend of mine almost 2 years ago at the age of 50, he fell asleep on the sofa and his partner came down in the morning to find him dead.

Since then I have decided that I will pretty much do what I want to do rather than hang fire, none of us know what is around the next corner.

My advice ?

Sell the current car and find a reasonable 'R' if it fits in with your other priorities but always look after the number 1 person in your life.

I am an incredibly lucky man, my wife and I have been a couple since we were 16 and she has always put up with my stupid obsession with fast cars and the money I have 'wasted' (for want of a better term)

She loved the 2.5 when I bought it but the 'R' has put a smile on her face !

They actually look fantastic and 'original' in the silver finish, I was only 'thinking out loud' when I mentioned Technical Grey.

The various BBS wheels always look well on a Jaguar, not a fan of the champagne finish they offered on some models though !

Hi Steve,

Not a daft question at all !

My first S-Type is the 2.5 V6 model rather than the 3.0 V6.

I had a 2.5 as a company car when they were new to the range and thought it was a nice car but the auto box seemed to need to change up and down a lot.

When I decided to start looking for a cheap S-Type last year, I was only looking to spend up to £2k and really wanted a 3.0 V6.

After going to look at loads of miss-described cars I landed on my 2.5 Sport auto by accident, price was right and seemed an 'honest' car.

I have a company car (currently XE 2.0D 180 R-Sport) but unlike everyone else in the motor trade, I have to have something 'quick' of my own as well.

Currently on my 5th Subaru Impreza (STi Type UK running 330/330) and before that I had five of the BMW 325i models (before the 328i and 330i models came along !)

The plan was that my wife would drive the S-Type as she likes an automatic gearbox and I would keep the Impreza as my weekend toy.

Problem is that I like the S-Type as well and drive it more than I anticipated, the 2.5 V6 is just not enough 'gun' for me so the logical move was a 4.2 V8 or STR.

My recent purchase came along at the right price, I could easily have spent as much (or more ?) on a non-supercharged V8 so it was a 'no brainer' for me.

The STR is an absolute world apart from the V6 (in my opinion), with respect to the responsiveness and smoothness, as much as the performance difference.

The supercharger noise on the 'R'  is addictive, always promised myself one after getting one up to (GPS verified) 162mph on the runway at Elvington when we were involved with the 'Speed of Sight' project.

I have seen reports of cooling system failures after fitting the 10% pulley but not on the STR (mainly XK ?)

Sure that I read that the STR has better/more efficient intercooler but I need to do more research.

How about 'technical grey' from the XKR-S ?

Beggars can't be choosers !

I didn't set out to buy a black one , my choice would be lunar grey with grey/charcoal leather but this one was much cheapness !

The oxygen sensor has arrived and I bought the 22mm sensor removal sockets, just have to cross my fingers for good weather if I decide to change it myself.

Had a quick look but there is lot going on in that engine bay, I presume best access will be from under the car ?

Then all I need to make my happiness complete is a 10% smaller top pulley (but need to modify the nose of the supercharger), intake pipe, panel filter, sports exhaust, HR lowering springs, uprated discs and pads, remap................................

Wait !

Just (mentally) spent the price of the car on performance upgrades and it will then implode and create an artificial black hole !

Is there a 'superchargers anonymous' support group for victims and their families, I think I already have a life changing addiction ?

Pictures now taken after a very quick wash, not touched the interior yet.

Hope the upload works ?

Ordered a set of mats, didn't come with any for some reason.

Hmm................................

True glory might be a slight overstatement !

I need to give it a wash first, unfortunately work is getting in the way of my real job (S-Type R primary care provider)

Well, here it is !

Set off this morning at 8am (got a lift from a friend), good trip down and arrived in Brentwood at about 11.40.

Sorted the paperwork and used the sat nav to find a Shell garage to fill up with V-Power Nitro, luckily the filling station was still Shell despite the age of the navigation disc !

The engine management light that was showing when I drove it previously had now vanished as well.

Managed 27mpg on the 250+ miles back home, car seems to drive brilliantly.

The temperature gauge never moved above halfway, even when sat in a traffic jam for a few minutes.

It is deceptively quick, my Subaru is a totally different style of power delivery.

Went out in the car later and the engine management light came back on, codes indicate bank 1 upstream sensor, I have ordered a genuine replacement one as a first step.

It needs a louder exhaust to appreciate the V8 but the supercharger whine is nice !

I now need to sell the 2.5, will have to get round to writing an advert.

No problem, keep us posted !

Here is the news !

Collecting tomorrow, a friend has offered to drive me down (I will of course pay for fuel and lunch !)

Hope I make it home in one piece.

Hi Gary, I would 'spread the word' about the auction on a few car forums so that people realise it is for such a good cause.

The 'trade' value on the 4.0 V8 would be peanuts (even with the low mileage), probably £1500 or less, we recently gave £750 for a reasonable 2000 registered 4.0 V8 that had done about 60k.

It is worth what someone is willing to pay, myself I don't rate the pre-facelift S-Type at all (poor interior, poor gearbox, handbrake that is in the wrong place, etc) but a great car if they are cheap !

Putting my prejudices aside, I would be looking to pay no more than £2500 if it is a really nice example but I am still convinced that it is not a Sport version (not a big deal but sellers who can't describe the vehicle accurately annoy me !)

It would also need to have very good service history to get top money.

You really need to drive the 4.2 version (all 4.2's are the facelift model with 6 speed box and electronic park brake) it is a world apart from the early version.

Will this particular 4.0 be a collectors item one day because of the low mileage, who knows ?

Glad to hear that your good lady is doing well, auctioning the ZT is a fantastic gesture.

It might be worth putting details on the Rover/MG forums to help get the best price to benefit the charity ?

Let me know if I can be of any help when you are ready to take another look at a Jaguar.

The 4.0 V8 looks a reasonable car in the photos but would need to be a lot more than 'reasonable' for me to pay £4k.

A 4.2 or S-Type R would be the way forward for me ?

Still waiting for the ISA funds to appear in my account so that I can pay the balance and arrange to collect it !

Thank you for the suggestions and your kind offer.

I can probably arrange for one of our delivery drivers from work to collect it and pay my employers for his time but really want to drive it back myself to get a feel for what needs sorting.

I would also feel awful if something happened to the car whilst our driver had it in his care (even if not his fault)

At the moment I am waiting for the funds I moved out of an ISA to appear in my account (I had 'zero' intention of buying another car) so cannot arrange things until I have a date.

Getting impatient now as I just want to get on with it !

I just need to arrange to collect it now !

My wife does not fancy the 10 hour round trip to drop me off.

I could try a cheap flight from Manchester to Heathrow but if I add check in time, travel to Manchester airport and from Heathrow to the dealer (55 minutes), it could still be three hours plus ?

I will talk nicely to our Jaguar master tech (or I can take it back to my previous dealership) for advice and work at 'mates rates'

Once the car is mine I will speak to the previous owners and servicing dealers to see if I can find out what has already been done.

Has to be worth a shot at the price I have paid for it (I hope !)

How did you get on ?