You won't believe how much money I've spent on my 'Cheap' V8 Jaguar S-Type... 

Despite everything, it feels good to be keeping this car on the road! Would you do the same?

Once a Jag owner, always a Jag owner....my 2001 XJ's gearbox blew in 2019, cost 3.5k for a rebuild. Couldn't care less. Love the motor! All the best mate 👍

I've got an aging Mercedes but I'd rather dish out a couple grand a year on it than drive some soulless people carrier they put on dealer forecourts these days.

Another way to look at it is that you've got all of that car for £5,200 which is still a lot of car for the money! Keep going 👍🏻👍🏻

Keep going. Its a labour of love. For me its already a classic car. Spend what's affordable to keep it on the road 👍

Im glad to see that you read and listen to the comments, you are doing a good job keeping it, and happy to hear you will start working on things yourself!

I feel your pain. Spent untold fortunes keeping my current young timer on the road (if it makes you feel any better it’s multiples of what you’ve spent) but I still love my car and it’s the price of admission to our chosen passion, right? Your videos are brilliant and only ever get better. Keep up the great work mate! Really enjoying your channel recently 😎

Yes sir love this and so glad you have done what you have to keep this classic on the road. Also make me feel better about how much I have spent on my classic. Looking forward to the up coming vids

Respect to you for being willing to learn. I have owned an X type awd drive for the last 15 years, and am sure you will sort yours out and that it is definitely a car to cherish! Looking forward to more videos ! Good luck!

Hi Joel I have just purchased an S Type 2.5 V6 2003 it just about went through the MOT yesterday with 3 advisories feeling good for the future with this 20 year old classic loving the content on your V8

I think there’s several things you shouldn’t include on the list. Like insurance, tax etc even the Jerry cans. They’re either RU-vid specific costs or general motoring costs. I’d only include costs for repairs and parts, that’s what you in theory wouldn’t expect when buying a car. Great video and I’m glad you’re keeping her 🎉

One of the best cars on the road . Great work Joel. Looking forward to the upcoming vids . Cheers from Australia.

Wow what a change around from last week, at last you’ve realised it’s an old car but a classic, I don’t think you’ve overspent to keep a new ‘classic’ on the road for another year and it’s great content for you to expand with and start to do more work yourself on the vehicle 😊

I really like the direction this series is going. I love the S Type, but even if I didn't it's a cracking series. Can't wait for future episodes. Well done Joel!

Take no notice of Richard Hammond I like your JAG 🤣

As a old car restorer of old cars 😅I think your love of the car overrode the doing it for profit and financially you kinda reached a point of no return. You and your Bride to be obviously love it. Keep it and see how far you can go with it doing some or most of the work yourself it’s very satisfying. If you change your mind well you have saved it from being scrapped and the dreaded CRUSHER! 😱😱😱

Cheers for the great work mate. xx

Love your content and happy you are keeping the jag 👍👍

Great. Glad you're re looking at it positively and keeping the Mrs( to be) happy!

Hey Joel, I've been watching your videos for sometime now & sorry but I've been one of those 65% of non subscribed. I've now clicked sunscribe as your videos are a credit to you tube. You may of overspent on the Jag but I bet the sense of feeling that your going to use it for your wedding day is amazing. Keep up these fantastic videos.

Hi Joel really like your vids on the Jag, keep it up. Worth every penny.

At the end of the day Joel, you’re keeping a nice car on the road which will only get rarer, and remember your fiancée loves it. I’ve spent loads on my 06 Volvo V70 which is now having an auto box rebuild and new valve body

Nice video Joel. This car was always going to cost you money and you are doing the right thing by making everything right again. It is a beautiful classic British car so spend the money and enjoy it. Looking forward to the next video. PS always check for the locking wheel nuts!

Great interesting video, at least you know it is good to go. Look forward to more on the jag. 👍👍👍👍👍👍

It just always boils down to how much you enjoy having that particular car and your future expenses that you know about. I'm an Alfa Romeo lover and had more cars than money to restore them. Now, I'm older and have more means to restore some rust, paint and parts. The cheapest car never remains the cheapest car if you really are into that particular brand. Working on your car brings a lot of joy, knowledge, friends and clubs to help with the work and knowledge. My best birthday ever was being under my 78 Alfa Romeo Alfetta taking the transaxle out of the car on the garage floor and having 3 of my closets Alfa buddies over helping with their knowledge rebuilding the transmission gears, new synchros and putting it all back together again!

Loving watching your journey with this car Joel, really glad you stuck with it. And now the big bills have been paid out, there should be less of those looming! ;)

Looking forward to the up coming works 👍

I love this car, truly remarkable what you can get for £1400, however buying a car like this is inevitability expensive and I also believe cars like this need nursing back to health by the car community. You have done this beautiful Jaaggg good Joel.

Good content , greetings from The Netherlands

Hi Noel, its people like you that keeps these cars on the road, without you it would be in the scrappy keep up the good work..

You’re a crazy man Joel. Money pit right there

The rust issues would be my biggest concern. Regarding the money you have paid out, you might have lost it as depreciation on another car.

Great to see you on Drive Tribe with your Jag

The Jag is already part of your family. Kudos to you for keeping her on the road. She's going to be an awesome wedding car. 👍

Joel, keep it up and keep your spirits high. You aren't doing what you are doing to flip the car so as long as you are enjoin the car and the experiences it give you, then it is totally worth it! When all is said and done, it isn't that much to spend on it, but in a short period it can certainly feel that way. I bought a 2002 Mercedes C270 for £2500 back in 2016 and within 6 months I had to get 4 new tyres, suspension and brake components, MAF sensor, injector seals, a service (inc gearbox) and an aircon pump. This initial round of bills probably came to about £1800, and there were way more bills to come in my 6 years of ownership. Some things I took on myself like having to remove and recondition the HP fuel pump which failed due to internal seals in the winter, but it was all worth it and was a lovely and economical car to drive and own, and go on adventures with. I know you will feel the same.

Glad to see you are doing some of the work yourself re my comment last week , glad you didn't scrap it , get it waxoiled , you can do that yourself , it's messy but worth it .

So glad you're teaming up with someone to help keep this fabulous car on the road. I do feel that you've been very unlucky with the garages you have used so far. My £500 S Type (3 owners, FSH, scratch on rear door) needed over £1000 of work which the previous owner was not willing to pay, hence the low price. I sourced the parts myself and my tame garage fitted them, all done for £450. Since then apart from oil and service items, I've had bushes, track rod ends, ball joint dust covers and heater control valve replaced all for less than £700. It's been 3 years of trouble free, ultra comfortable motoring, used for the daily commute. Glad I'm not a RU-vidr, it would have been very boring! I'll be replacing brake pads soon and she's now beginning to drink fuel suggesting a manifold leak but I have no qualms about getting it fixed. I've had more mundane cars that have burned through a lot more than you've shelled out so stick with it and we'll all look forward to the new content.

Tbh 5k is not much for such a car with an approved mot. I'm glad the negative attitude is gone a bit 😄 enjoy the car for a few more months, then you can kick it or keep it. I was skeptical at first, but I'm enjoying the S type videos now. Also the 1.6k bill might look scary, but they have really taken care of a lot of worn parts which are tricky to change. So stay positive 😄

Mad to have to spend the money but you have to remember that you are saving a classic.

...subscribed! Greetings from Germany.. 🇩🇪 I really love the 4.2 V8 S-Type and think about selling my 2020 Lexus RC 300h 😅🙈

An interesting project. My neighbour bought a cheap 1993 Jaguar XJS 5 years ago. Bodily the paint was excellent and underbody solid. The big issue was the engine, (4.0) which ended a head skimming and he got a 2k bill for that. He replaced all the brakes, suspension parts and had the underbody treated and sealed professionally. Other work included a new headlining, battery and various trim parts. The bill was around 8k. After 3 years he decided to sell it. I bought it from him for 9k. It’s absolutely superb. His replacement is a v8 S type, like yours on an 03 plate. It requires a huge amount of work, so I suspect he will be racking up similar bills. Good luck!

Mate. It’s a cracking looking car well done you

Hi Joel I'm glad you have finally found a garage and set of guys who sound like they actually take pride in what they do and have knowledge of the brand. Otherwise certainly wouldn't be talking about making some content on your car and repairs being carried out👍hopefully you have used your business head and done some kind of deal that satisfying to both parties,, you get a better price on repairs and they get some publicity through your channel which is win win for all👌, good luck buddy and the lady shall have her perfect wedding car😊,

Joel you've made me like the S Type, a car that I always disliked in the past when my friend owned one. Now I want one. Well done for keeping the old girl on the road and for creating interesting content.

Finally a video I can relate to. Just dropped 3k on parts for my 2000 stype, wish me luck!

I own aJaguar s type 3.0 from 2004 with 320000km ( 200000) miles on it. I bought it for € 2800 a year ago. Remember, if you buy a car that old, with those miles on it, it will cost you a few pounds (euros). t has cost me € 4700 now in total, including the purchase cost. I love the fact that you are keeping it on the road, just like me. I am looking forward to see the next video`s. Keep it rolling, Joel

That's a bitter pill to swallow but it has made great content Joel. Hope the tie up with the garage helps in the the future 👍

Hats off to you m8 it's a labour of love I'm in same boat with a Sri Vectra 02 plate one owner just spent 2800 on car but I love it and I know it will turn heads at shows this year

just seen this,,, Im getting a XF Jag on Wednesday although its thirteen years old,,, its in pristine condition,,, hopefully it will not give me any trouble,,, I love the ride quality in Jags and the automatic box and will only be using it for longish journeys. Your Jag,,, i would defiantly keep it now and spruce it up into pristine condition, keeping it original and like me as you like Jags go to some car shows with it,,, now you've got the spending bug,,, you will appreciate it more,,, and as an added bonus for you,,, your GF likes it as well. Good Luck

those old Jaguars are fantastic, and yes you can now buy them for essentially pennies, but theyre still expensive, old, british luxury cars. reliability was never on the table for these cars, and they do cost lots of money to run, but id argue its worth it, because no car made today drives like they do.

I did exactly the same with a Saab 93 wagon. It was the V6 turbo with all the Hirsch performance bits fitted from factory. I spent a lot of money to keep her in good shape. It’s frustrating at the time but afterwards you do come to realise that it is a labour of love to indulge a passion. To me, if you can afford to do it, is worth it.

Life is too short for regrets! Plus the new subscribers you have attracted with the S Type :)

I have a 2012 XFS, I’ve had it 5 years now, it’s cost me a few quid in repairs even though I try to do all the jobs myself. Find yourself a good breakers, I have one in Wolverhampton that I use, they do all JLR stuff (mainly Jags) and it’s absolute amazing, ideal when cheap bits are needed. Keep the great videos coming 👍

Did you see Richard Hammond roasting your car Joel?! What does he know anyway 😂 Keep the content coming! 👍🏻💪🏻

You're not mad, first watched you when you had the Z4, this is very interesting

To be fair, this is a great learning opportunity mate. You could've saved yourself £800 by doing the coil, plug, expansion tank, hose etc yourself, and I heard you say you're going to start moving in that direction so well done you. Don't let a lack of knowledge take your confidence - we all started somewhere and many of us around your age and with jobs just like hoses, plugs etc. You can learn anything in the internet age so crack on with a new understanding that it's not the car that's expensive, it's the owner. Cheers from Australia.

I have an 04 S Type, and with everything I'm 2500 pounds in. That included the rear suspension bits, tyres, etc. I love the car.

Good on you for deciding to keep going with it. You need to address the rust issues asap, even if just getting underneath with a wire brush and rust protection 👍

Haven’t heard your assessment of its realistic value today with all that work done

Reminds me of my V50, cost me £1200 and I have spent thousands on it, it is nothing special but I love it

Keep it going!

I have a similar experience with an x type Jag I bought back in 2018. It only cost me £300 however both sills were rotten and I ended up having the old one cut out and replaced at huge expense, only to repeat on the n/s sill the following year. Various other issues with it running rough and loss of power over 3000 rpm have been resolved but I reckon in 5 years I’ve probably thrown £3000 plus at this car. I’m so far in now I’m probably never going to sell it as there is no point. It’s a lovely British racing Green and I do love driving it. Good luck with yours, I enjoy watching the videos

Had old Jags for 20 years. 2 x Series 3 V12s (1983 &1986) XJR6 (1996), XJR8 (1998), current 2002 Sovereign V8 4L LWB. The biggest issues are corrosion, auto boxes, suspension bushes. From my observations at my Jag specialist X-types and S-types are the worst for corrosion. However, for the XJ they corrode on arches, sills (inc. inner sills, base front bulkhead/floor section), rear jacking-points. The 4 NA litre engine revs more freely than the 4 litre Supercharged. Best performance improvements for the 4 litre engine are K & N air filter and ensure that keep the MAP, inlet tract, throttle body meticulously clean. Always use either Shell 99 or Tesco 99 petrol. Makes a big difference. Finally, old Jags require constant maintenance. Keep on top of repairs and maintenance.

Sounds so familiar. Sadly very common with old Jags (or any expensive back then / cheap now car). I was exactly there with my XK8 back 10y ago. Not as cheap as your Jag when I bought it, but I ended up doubling the price in tactical repairs to get her over the MoT in the 24 months following purchase. Then other repairs followed: corrosion, bushes etc. A money pit, but I absolutely adored her. Then, head gaskets went off and I decided to take on the repair myself. I am reasonably handy and technically minded, but that was a steep learning curve still. Would have costed 3 or 4 grands in a garage, did cost me 1 grand to do it myself - yes, you need a fair amount of tools and equipement to get the job done properly (including skimming the heads). And you will spend a lot of time going through the JTIS documentation and dedicated forums. A labour of love, litterally. All the best in this rescue mission 👍

You can either pay for motoring via depreciation on newer cars or repairs on older cars. Personally I prefer the latter. Used luxury cars depreciate SO heavily in the first few years that they can be a bargain. But give yourself a yearly allowance for repairs and maintenance (instead of depreciation).

Irrespective of the doom and gloom brigade i think the boy done good and as you point out yourself in the vid Joel everyday's a school day, so true. Suggestion....watch the program Bangers & Cash on the yesterday channel its an eye opener as to what some folk are willing to spend on old classics......and in many many cases a lot lot more than the money you've splashed out on your Jag! You love your car your girlfriend loves the car so no need to get rid. Tis a fact older cars whatever brand will always require money spending on them. P. S: love your style of presenting, you're always open and honest, credit to you for that Joel. Keep up your great work fella.

I would have done the same as you. Keep going and good luck. If it’s any consolation I just had some rear brakes attended to and a full service, £915.

I bought a S Type Jaguar 5yrs ago off a elderly guy it hadn't been running on the road for a couple of years, but he did start it up quite often, it's a 2002 I paid £1000 for it since having for the first 12 months, it's it's had a new water pump, new radiator, new battery. Most costly 2yrs ago it had 2 new inner sills and the majority of the floor needed major plating/welding £1000. Just sailed through it's mot, and is running perfectly touch wood. All the repairs were done by a friend who has access to the garage he works for, so I count myself lucky. Good luck for the future👍

You probably could have got a mint 4.2 V8 or a R for the outlays but on the positive side you have ended up with something you absolutely love.

It's never easy is it! Getting any used car up to scratch is always more work & headaches than you expect. I manage to keep my overheads (and therefore profits) in check by doing the majority of the work myself, but i have to say if i was unable to do that, making money and trading up would become virtually impossible. You can console yourself a little by knowing that you're doing the right thing and keeping another Jag on the road!

Good summary Joel . We call them "bangers" for a reason and it's important that you illustrate the potential downsides of bangernomics so that people can see that they might actually have been better off paying 10K for a 2018 Ford Fusion especially when they need it to start every morning. There's a big difference between daily drivers and weekend hobby / project cars and I think your Jag falls into the latter category . Maybe a future project could be investigating how much we have to spend to run a car that is 99% reliable while also being cool / powerful / fun ? GL getting the Jag wedding ready and I expect to see it in the raffle shortly afterwards😀😀

Missed you today at Gaydons Jag Breakfast Meet. I was in the flip colour Blue/Green S Type with the leaper on the bonnet

Keeping old beasts like these on the road is fantastic. Not appreciated at all by ordinary members of the public and even less by the government who want us all in something by powered by a plug socket but the car community adore well looked after, rejuvenated examples of cars just like this. On the flip side, I do think your money would be better spent on cars that are known to be solid platforms as well as being less prone to rust for example, the e53 X5, based on a e39 (tough as bricks and ridiculously engineered) but doesn’t rust like an e39, really desirable and strong engines, will appreciate in value, suv ride height but drive like a car, Range Rover bits inside but without the unreliability. Feels like the perfect car for an L322 fan who doesn’t want the fuss or trouble

Hey mate glad yr keeping the old girl going.I have had plenty of s types and you dont see them that often now only really the later ones.once you get it sorted yr have a good car.Why not come along to the jaguar breakfast meet at Gaydon 1st sat of the month.I sometimes go in the v8 F type.

Keep going with it it really is a lovely car and you know it. Once you get on top of the corrosion issues and then use some preventative future corrosion issues as long as you treat the old girl with respect she will give you minimum issues. Also a good move using a garage for content everyone is winning.

I am doing the same - kind of - bought a1998 pearlescent racing green with green leather Audi A6 2.8 Avant Quattro for £600 in 2015. And I love it, I love the colour, the looks, and it is the most comfortable place I ever sit. I do my own maintenance and when it becomes time to stop ignoring the gearbox fault, I hope to fix it myself, but if I have to pay someone else to recondition it its worth it because I love it. And having dealt with the stuff that had been left and refreshed the suspension it is totally reliable and flies through its MOT. I have an iCarsoft JLR scanner to work on an 04 Freelander. I have the cheaper one but I really recommend get some kind of scanner. You will need it.... Don't forget to subtract the cost of the hire of a wedding car.....

Great video. Your £5k in. Keep going.

I think to be fair for a non youtuber the car would have to go. However you have done the sums and are obviously weighing up the the content and revenue scale. Good luck keep the vids coming 👍

I did the self same thing Joel so don't beat yourself up. Jaguars are magnificent cars and there is something about them that gets under your skin. Spent a fortune on the ones I had and the Mrs always complained about the expense at the time. So after 20 years of Jag ownership (the last 10 being with V8 S Types) I retired and traded it in against an Aston. Strange thing is that 5 years on the Mrs says she wishes we had kept the Jaguar.....

This car screams of British Royalty bro. Number 1 best looking sedan hands down. You should use it as your wedding car.

They are quite a distinguished and an ultra beautiful piece of car Joel. As long as it doesn't break you financially after all you must think with your head and not your heart,,Thinking with your heart, will bury you. I just bought a 2001 4.0 with 13,000 miles on it a few months ago, and of course has some gremlins from siting I guess as I do not know the history and my inside blower went to high without me turning it on, while driving,,, HELLO, but when it's right it's like a real classic beauty, and drives like a couch. Keep it if you can my friend,,

Old & older Jags need love (money), love S-Types (petrol v6 & v8) , if serviced, they are very reliable cars, good looking, comfortable, pleasure to drive

I bought a one owner 2.7 S Type in November 2013. Gearbox rebuild in 2016 but that is the biggest expense so far. Keep the rust at bay and keep up the maintenance and you will be well rewarded. I am with others - why spend around £30k for a modern box just like others. What you DO NEED is a garage that will look after you and the car and not their wallet. Keep on!

If you buy an old car (any make) for a small sum always ensure that it has a years MOT then at least you can scrap it if expensive repairs loom at the next MOT. Jags are money pits, even when still under warranty - been there !! I enjoy your vids, and good luck to you.

This is making me appreciate my mechanic skills and family of mechanics. Cause i dont have to pay labour. Could only imagine what my transmission rebuild would have cost if i had taken to a shop. I spent $160 total for parts.😄

You put up a good defence against being certified insane the jury is out and we will get back to you on the verdict.

Hi Joel as mentioned in your last video I do all my own repairs iam still climbing underneath doing driveshaft and wheel bearings and I'll be 70 this year. I think it's a good idea to start learning about cars and how they work buy some good quality tools. A good socket set. Spanners etc. There's so much on RU-vid advice on repairs we all have to start somewhere I think personally you have now gone to far to stop carry on as I said if you buy another car you'll have the same problems trust me I've been where you are.

You need to keep the Jag Joel… whatever it takes👀👍

If you are planning to keep this car for some time, it would be really nice if you would facelift the front end with the 2008 front end, it would really modernize it :) btw, you can also retrofit carplay to the original navigation system screen

Hi Joel. I’m doing the same on a Cayenne turbo that I bought after watching your review………Yes it can be eye watering to tot up the expenditure but I look at it as rescuing the car from scrapping. You are keeping a now classic vehicle on the road - keep going! The biggest thing I have come to realise though is everything must be done yourself. I had to change the thermostat and it was an absolute pig of a job - took 2 days as the old one had fused to the block being original. I dread to think of the cost. Yes the welding will need a specialist but almost everything other than an engine or gearbox rebuild can be achieved on the drive with a decent set of tools. It’s the only way I can afford to run an older car once worth 90k. You really can’t be using a garage for services or running repairs unless it’s mates rates!

Good on you love the content 👏 keep going forward ....... wish u tube was around when I had my adventures with old luxo barges ... might have paid some of the huge bills ...... !! On a plus side lots of clean rust free jags in thr dry climate off south Australia 🇦🇺 and great prices ...... given the exchange rate check them out ......

Certainly worth keeping and ploughing in that cash. It’s a lovely car.

If you can get the car back into a really good shape again, it might actually be able to recoup that money you spend on it so far. As you said, they getting fewer of these left on the road, so it will begin to go up in value.

Keeping old cars alive is the way for me have two mg zr's and a zt that I keep going bit of history

Hi Joel, I think even if you had a newer car, similar in spec to your jag, it would have cost twice the five grand... thats the thing, keep it all in perspective lol. Good luck with it.

I’ll give you my example of what I spent on my previous car. A 2003 Seat Leon 1m Cupra 1.8T. I bought it for £900 3years ago. It had a FSH. Well documented.. I got all the necessary maintenance jobs done on it. I kept up the required work throughout my ownership. So I spent £2,500 on it in 3yrs. So all in £3,400. Then sold it because I fancied a different car.

One of my locking wheel nuts snapped once when my old mechanic was taking it off when I was there-I think it took him about 20 seconds to get the nut off

a lovely car mate i agree keep hold of it

Love the car,,,,, carry on keep the car

I feel your pain ! Where were you putting that Jack Joel ? Didn’t look like a jacking point to me mate