Well I only went and bought it!

[garbage-overlord]

With my previous old Vauxhall failing its MOT and consigned to the scrap heap, another set of wheels was required. But what with lockdown, social distancing et la, and a distinct lack of old bangers currently around, with prices for any available seeming to have shot up, what is a man to do? Why, buy a Jaguar of course...🙄 I must resist...must resist...it will be an old dog and cost a fortune to run...resiiiiiiiiist....

...so of course I did the sensible thing and bought it. So welcome to the world of a person who runs his vehicles on a shoe string, and will probably horrify the purists, who should look away now. So what did I end up with?

The car is a 2004 2.5 automatic, with 108000 miles, British racing green with biscuit leather. Pros and cons:

😃 full 12 months MOT with only a couple of minor advisories

😀 parking sensors - beep beep!

😀 loaded with kit which all seems to work, barring a couple of minor issues

😀 impressively smooth engine which is mostly barely audible  

😀 possible the smoothest automatic gearbox I've ever come across

😀 ride is quiet and clonk free

😒 terrifying handling caused by grossly underinflated tires -  honestly, some people

😦 only part service history, but at the price paid, anything a bonus, and there are signs of some recent care

😊 Aircon produces cold, but not icy, air

😕 moaning rear wheel bearing

😃 an oil level check on level ground this morning revealed lovely fresh looking oil, bang on the mark. 

 😊 all handbooks present, and 2 keys, plus mot's going back 10 years

😊 excellent rust free bodywork, some strange scratches which might come out with a clay bar. Rust behind the sill covers? I don't want to know...

😞 wood trim I believe is called "maple" not my cup of tea, would prefer walnut, and steering wheel yukky with worn leather - has anyone tried leather dye on theirs?

So, the price paid for all this was £600. How long before it goes bang?  Was it a good buy for the price? I don't know, but  I'm rather pleased with it so far, despite not being a fan of them previously its winning me over already...

 

 

 

 

 

[Old Peter]

Hi PJ, and welcome to the club.

I think you will enjoy your s type  --  when you get used to a few things!

I had a River Sterling with all the trims including Burr Walnut, which I liked.  I soon got used to the Maple, though.

My steering wheel is wood and leather which did not need any dye BUT my drivers seat did.  The seats were Dove Grey, which I found was an optional extra which the first owner required and suited the car.  I managed to find a company called Furniture Clinic which also provides leather treatment for cars which I recommend.

My air con takes its time to get very cold but it does not get very hot and I have found it OK for the 7 years I have had the car.

Don't worry about uninflated tyres - the air could have been expensive where the previous owner lived,  The handling of my 2.7 diesel is rather good.  The rear wheel drive pushes the car round corners,

Let us know how you go in the next few months.

Regards,

Peter.

P.S. Not my house.

[garbage-overlord]

Hello, thanks for your reply.

The seats are fine, its just the steering wheel, the surface has actually worn off, and looks awful. When I had the Rover 75's, I used to dye the wheels on those, it looked very effective. Ill just have to find a dye that matches the best I can. Is it beige, or sandstone, or cream, or...🙂

Ill also have to look at insurance - my current company company absolutely assaulted me with a "we dont really want to cover you" price, but I'm sure I can do better, if I can find a way to cancel my current policy part way through.

A couple of niggles to look at, but all in good time.