Looking for something classy, like a Jaguar

[illustrationism]

Hey. First post, here, I suppose.

I just love the look of the old Jaguar S-type (2003 - 2007). I'm totally interested in owning a old classy-looking car like that. It doesn't have to be a sporty thing like the Jaguar (although some day I'd like to own one), but I'm finding that I know very little about cars.

What are some old car models, or old-style newer cars, that I could look at for, say, under $10K? I'm really just looking for something that'll run well and have that old-fashioned look. Obviously this isn't my primary car, haha.

Thanks,
David

[akboss]

How about a PT Cruiser? Ha ha!

Seriously though, you could probably find an early S-Type V6 jag for not much more than $10K. Outside of Jag I can't think of a lot of cars that looked like 'modern classics', other than feeble attempts at retro cars from the Domestics. You could also look at the baby-Jag, the X-Type, they made a 3.0L V6 AWD model that would likely be a lot of fun, and was based on a nicely tuned Volvo chassis that apparently made the car quite entertaining to drive. This would probably be the newest classic you could get into, and because they use a lot of Ford parts, I would imagine it would not be as costly as the premium German brands to repair (Audi, Mercedes, BMW). You could also look at cars from Saab or Volvo that tend to be used-car bargains, but the classy factor is moving downhill a bit. Personally I really like the look of the late-90's and early 2000's Saab cars, especially the 9-3 Aero or Viggen, but those appeal to a select few.

I think you're on a good path with the Jag. You could also look at Cadillac, the Deville DHS and DTS in about 2003-2005 were classy boats that always maintain a classic image, but V8 FWD is not a great platform to start with.

[illustrationism]

Thanks! I figured I was on a pretty good track with the Jag.

There are very few cars that look classy like that, IMO. Oh well. Maybe I'll design a car some day. lol

Thanks for the help!
David

[Shpuker]

Jaguars tend to be one of the most expensive cars to maintain, you always want to get it with a waranty of some kind, and you can find a good amount of early 2000's luxury cars and suv's for right around $10,000.

[Oldengineer]

I've owned 3 Jaguars since 2003 - 2 X Types, and, currently, an 06 S-Type VDP with the 4.2 V8 in it. I have not found them to be especially expensive to maintain because I do all my own service work on them. The X-Types was derived from the Ford Mondeo - and - shares some parts with it - about 20%. The X uses either a 2.5 or 3.0 AJ series V6 based on a Ford Duratec, but, well massaged by Jaguar to deliver up to 227 HP. If you decide to shop for one - find one that has been well taken care of (service records, etc.), and, equip it with an extended warranty if expensive surprises bother you. Also - buy the newest model year you can, because Jag continued to make many improvements to these cars during the model run. The 2002 models are the cheapest, but, also, had the most problems.

Hope this helps:
Regards:
Oldengineer

[wafrederick]

I know a guy that works on them,most aftermarket scan tools will not read codes on a Jaguar and the Snap On Modis is the only one that does.Try diagnosing a bad fuel pump on them,there are two of them which there is a primary and secondary fuel pump.Look under a hood of a late 1970's Jaguar,has a 350 Chevy under the hood and there is a conversion kit to do this.Plus the parts are hard to get and are expensive,a crank sensor is $350.00 from the dealer.

[Oldengineer]

Originally Posted by wafrederick

I know a guy that works on them,most aftermarket scan tools will not read codes on a Jaguar and the Snap On Modis is the only one that does.Try diagnosing a bad fuel pump on them,there are two of them which there is a primary and secondary fuel pump.Look under a hood of a late 1970's Jaguar,has a 350 Chevy under the hood and there is a conversion kit to do this.Plus the parts are hard to get and are expensive,a crank sensor is $350.00 from the dealer.

Yeah, the old ones are a pain to keep running. However, after Ford took over, their reliability improved dramatically. I have found the few parts I've bought for my cars to be neither especially pricey, nor, hard to get. In fact, I've found that the parts I had to buy to keep my kid's Japanese cars running were horribly expensive - $500 for a rebuilt distributor for a Nissan Sentra, $1000 for a replacement exhaust manifold for a Honda Civic to cite a couple of examples. You friend is partially correct on the X-Type's fuel pumps - there are 2 of them. However, only one delivers fuel to the engine. The other simply equalizes the fuel level in the two sides of the saddle type fuel tank - serving as a transfer pump.

Regards:
Oldengineer

[wafrederick]

They do have lots of electrical problems and British cars are this way.Ford does not own Jaguar anymore,they sold Jaguar to a company in India.Jaguars are often called Junkguars a lot and are a low class car now.I know an used car dealer that also buys cars owned by celebrities including movie cars and he will never buy another Jaguar again.Nothing but problems with them all he had with them.