My current car, Rover 618, has been written off by my insurance company (I was rear-ended by someone while stopped before a box junction)
I am yet to hear from them what the settlement will be, but in the meantime I have been thinking of my options and one of them is to buy a second hand car on finance from a dealership. Something totally new to me. I have never done this before.
A local dealer has a red Automatic Jaguar S-type for sale at close to eight grand.
I have always been averse to owning an automatic, but I am seriously tempted by this car. It’s a fracking Jaguar. I never dreamed of owning a jag sooner than twenty years from now. (My grandpa owned a Jag many years ago)
Well, an S-Type is really a Lincoln floor pan with some Mondeo switches and a bit of wood panelling in it. How Jaguar is that?
Then again, a proper Jaguar might set you back a lot more in maintenance. It sure is a step up from a Rover 618 at any rate. GBP 8,000 sounds quite low. What year is it, and how many miles has it done? Does it have a full service history?
Nothing wrong with an auto in a car like a Jag, BTW.
I am reluctant to give up Manual driving, which makes driving a little bit more fun for me. You feel more in control and more important when you’ve got more to do.
My father drove Jags for years. They were all a pain in the arse for maintenance but were wonderful cars. He sold everyone of them at a profit. The last was a rare 420G which you still see around town, wire wheels and all.
Historically, Jags had some wiring issues, but for a 2000 that shouldn’t be an issue.
And while I enjoyed having my manual, it makes sense for a Jaguar to be automatic. They’re meant as luxury cars, not sports cars. If you like the feel of the road, the roar of the motor, etc. you’re probably not going to like the Jaguar as much as you would expect.
I’ve always liked the S-type. I haven’t driven one, but looks great. (But for some reason it only looks good in BRG.)
Back in the '90s my boss had an XJ-6. Sweet ride. Very comfy. The XJs always looked a little strange from some angles, but I still liked them. If I were going to buy a used luxury car, I think I’d get a late-model XJ-6 over the S-type; only because… I don’t know. It’s bound to be more temperamental than an S-type, but I just like it. I was chatting with the guy who restored my MGB and he said a good place to look would be around Palm Springs. Lots of older people there who don’t drive a lot, they tend to have a little more money and tend to maintain their cars well, the cars will have a/c, and the desert air is kind to cars. But I already have too many cars.
I wouldn’t mind if I were suddenly able to get a used S-type though.
You might want to check Consumer Reports reliability charts, and go to Edmunds or Kelly Bluebook online to get more info. The S-type is really not that reliable, and really is not a true Jag. It is a Starter Jag, but it does look nice.
The reputation for Jag still suffers from the old days, when. as the joke goes, you needed to buy two. One to drive while the other was in the garage for repairs.
Since Ford took over, to my amazement, the reliability of the XJ series has improved drastically. I bought an XJ8 new in 2001 and we absolutely love it. Of the dozens of cars I’ve owned, this is the sweetest, it is loverly! In all the years, the only thing that went wrong was a fuel pump. Like all repairs to Jags, however, that cost an arm and a leg to replace (it lives in the fuel tank).
Take a look at some of the used XJs from around 1999 on and see if any are within your budget.
Then drive one of them and compare it with an S-type, and I think you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Anyhow, it’s a tough thing to find a good ride on a limited budget, so good luck!
It supports the honest endeavours of the horny handed proletariat who toil in their sweat factories to enrich the capitalist running-dogs who engorge themselves on the labour of the masses, feeding like predators on the soft entrails of the working class. Plus, the dashboard has a nice walnut finish.
