The Voices

It was quick but my Impreza is quite rapid and I drive some of the quick stuff at work so maybe I have become de-sensitised to speed ? (LOL) The chap selling it is totally honest about what he does, he has about 50 cars in a yard that he buys 'as is' from other dealers, some have cosmetic issues, higher mileage or older than the dealers will retail. Just adds a bit of profit and moves them on as 'trade' sales, no time to fix problems on individual cars, what you see is what you get. I suppose you pay your money and take your chances ?

Yeah it's the black one ! I have committed to buy it for a bit less than the asking price. Money where my mouth is time, soon find out whether it is a bargain or not........................................ Once I get it home and replace the air/ fuel sensor we shall see where we go from there. Think it might need the heater valve as seemed to blow cool air whatever the setting ? Worst case scenario, I can probably break it for a significant chunk of what I am paying for it. Interestingly, for all S-Type R price watchers, the Glasses Guide price (trade) is less than £2k ! Not that you are likely to buy one anywhere as cheap as that !

2 days over the cut off date is annoying ! I went to view it today, 10 hour round trip thanks to the useless UK road network, unable to cope with moderate traffic volumes. Cosmetically very good for the age and mileage, needs two back tyres soon. Seemed decent to drive but had engine management light on and fault codes p0031 and p0131 which relate to bank 1 oxygen sensor. It was not as quick as I remembered but might be due to the fault codes ? (or the fact that the last time I drove one for any length of time was in 2003 !) A lot of car for the money but still undecided !

I thought about the road tax last night ! You can't win, get something newer so hopefully some of the bugs ironed out and it virtually doubles the tax !

The car is a 2006 '56' plate, less than half the price of a similar car with 80k on the clock. Just being moved on cheap as a dealer part exchange, we do the same thing with anything older or higher mileage than we will retail. Unfortunately it is 200 miles away from me but very tempted to make the trip, all I have to lose is the cost of fuel !

Chance of a cheap S-Type R with 155k on the clock. It has dealer and independent history but involves a long trip to view (and collect ?) Am I absolutely barking mad ?

Plus the 4.2 has an extra 20 BHP !

I had a look at the link on Autotrader and the description is 4.0 V8 Sport, I would expect it to have 17" alloys or above but it has the standard 16" (Dynamic ?) alloys found on the 3.0 SE ? You really need to drive the 4.2 before the 4.0 and you will really notice the difference.

That is very, very strong money for a 4.0 V8 ! I appreciate that the low mileage is a big attraction but there will be some nice 4.2 versions around for similar money. General opinion is that the later cars from 2002 onwards are a vast improvement over the early S-Type. The 4.2 is a better engine with fewer problems, the 6 speed ZF auto is far nicer to drive than the 5 speed and the interior is a world apart ! This is only my opinion but I feel reasonably qualified to comment as I have been selling Jaguars since 2002 when the S-Type facelift was launched. For not much more than the £4k asking price you could get a higher mileage S-Type R !

Not a Sport 200, wrong front bumper to start with and wrong exterior colour ? I see a lot listed as '200 Sport' rather than Sport 200. I have no idea where the 200 Sport description comes from ?

That would frighten a Police horse !

5 speed auto on all S-Types with 'manual' handbrake (up to 2002) 6 speed auto on everything with the electronic park brake (2002 onwards)

Thanks for the offer ! I think the wife would kill me as I am also considering another Impreza with a blown engine as a 'project' !

Someone buy this and sort out the head gasket !

Another one on Ebay, in black with ivory leather. Suspected head gasket failure but only £500 'buy it now' ! I am so tempted, it must be worth £500 for the alloys alone ? Would need to pay for it to be transported but I have contacts who would do me a good deal.

Thanks for the info. I really just want an alternative source for the original ones if possible.

Thanks for the replies. The Ford ones don't look like they will fit as they don't appear to have the inbuilt 'spring clip' fitting that the originals have ? Purchased a set of the Bosch aero wipers this afternoon which have washer nozzles on the wiper itself. I have fitted the wipers but not had chance to look at what I will need to do to re-route the pipework. As an aside, I tried a bizarre suggestion to soak the troublesome jet in coca-cola (Pepsi in my case !) After taking the 'Pepsi challenge', I blasted water through from a spray bottle and got a load of 'gunge' out of the nozzle. Now refitted and working fine so far !

Has anyone found a suitable replacement for the original washer jets for the 2002-2004 S-Type ? I have one that seems to stop working for no reason, the replacement Jaguar ones are about £20 each ! Someone must manufacture them for Jaguar, wondered if there was a cheaper alternative supplier ?

Do you really want wheels that say 'Supercharged' on a non-supercharged car ? I think 20"'s are over the top on the S-Type personally but the 19" Barcelonas are a very nice looking upgrade instead !

Ahhh ! The Jaguar S-Type '2' horse power prototype ? Or my new company car ?

Thanks for the assistance, I might give it a go over the Easter Weekend !

I haven't posted any pics, totally beyond my technical capabilities !

Thanks Jim ! Over the years I have gained so much helpful information and knowledge from 'enthusiast' forums. I like to try and give a bit back in my own limited way. My own theory is to forget how little you pay for the car, as you quickly spend more than it is worth in repairs / problem fixes. As long as you end up with something usable that you enjoy driving, it's money well spent. At least I know that it has a new radiator, tyres and brakes and had the gearbox service done and should provide a few years of enjoyment. The only snag is that I will be sad to see it go if I do manage to get my way and buy the 'R' version instead !

You can corner the market in Sport 200's !

New calipers arrived and fitted a couple of weeks ago and seems to have cured the problem. I had the tracking done and put a pair of the 'Goodride' budget tyres on the front to match the new rears I already had fitted. I cannot fault the performance of the tyres, wet or dry. Have to see how long they last but with the current mileage we do in it it will probably take about ten years to wear them out !