MY18 P340 Manual Caldera Red

WShudds

WShudds

New member
Edit: I started this thread in December 2023 when I was looking to buy my first F-type which I eventually did. I will keep updating this thread for the benefit of others looking for a first F-type or a manual transmission car.

Hi all,

I've been contemplating buying a V6 manual and spoke to the dealer selling this example this afternoon

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304136262470?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Jaguar&model=F-Type&postcode=dn93ga&radius=1&fromsra

It's been on sale for about 6 months so I called to find out the reg number and see what's going on. I was not ready for what the dealer was about to say.

They sold the car a couple of years ago when it had just 1 owner and the 2nd owner traded it back for another card in the summer. It was driven by one of the dealers for a short while when it had a massive coolant leak and before they could do anything the engine seized. So they had to rebuild the whole engine including new block, etc for £12K. The job was done by a well-known Jaguar engine specialist (I can't remember the name) and the engine has got 2 year warranty.

I have been reading about coolant issues here and it seems to be a known issue.

I was wondering if anyone could share their experience or thoughts on this car. Would you buy one knowing what you know and having had an F-type for a while? It passed in all previous MOTs without any advisories and has full service history.

I drive a 2008 manual TT Stage 1, 80K miles on the clock and I love it. I've had it for 3 and a half years and other than a failed injector, it's been fine thanks to regular as well as preventative maintenance. I can afford an F-type and servicing but wondering if people here find that its performance outweighs its flaws.

Thanks!
 
Welcome.

This is an F-Type forum so expect a slightly biased opinion.

I don't think coolant issues are common. A few posts on here but I'm 6.5 years and 46k miles in and no issues and the car you are looking at is 7+ years old and over 60k miles so you have to expect that things can go wrong. However someone driving it around with low coolant messages and it must of been pretty hot to completely fail and seize!

The car is number 44059, 340PS (there are some manual 380PS models out there which would have uprated brakes, diff, etc), and started life in Dorset but has not been seen by Jaguar or a Jaguar Specialist since 2019 according to the service history so please check it has actually been serviced to schedule with everything required.

Currently no MOT or tax but it has 6 mileage verifications in the past few months so would recommend a full check such as Car Vertical. The car has been checked over 40 times including 8 people in the last 30 days so quite a few have looked but no one has purchased.
 
Interestingly they seem to be increasing the asking price on Autotrader

On sale since 13/04/23 with 3 increases:

06/09/23 £20k
02/12/23 £25k
08/12/23 £26k

Seems optimistic in the current market when not selling to raise the price by £6k/30%.
 
A number of US forum members have had issues with burst coolant pipes (the ones in the 'V') which have seams which can fail. Early cars were affected and Jaguar revised the part to remove the seams around 2018. There are also aftermarket aluminium ones available now. As simpleR notes, these issues don't seem to be common in the UK so maybe our cooler climate helps. And we don't tend to modify our cars as much as the Americans seem to.
 
Welcome!

I guess it's a matter of definition what "common" is but I'd say that coolant and water pump issues seem rather common and basically can be considered as wear and tear with these engines. I had some of those issues with this engine in a previous Jag although I don't live in any hot climate. Good that you're aware of it anyway. They're rarely critical though so it sounds odd that the engine seized. Must have been a fair bit of abuse despite coolant / temperature warnings. The rebuilt engine would make me want to stay away. Who knows how well things were put together after the rebuild and I wonder why they went for that instead of fitting a new engine.

It's probably hard to find a good manual one. Are you sure you'd not consider an auto after all? From what I've read/heard these manuals are not particularly good and it'd be easier to find an auto with a good spec.

There's a fair bit of nonsense in the ad. That's definitely not a massive spec. On the contrary this is really poverty spec for an F-Type. In fact this is quite an interesting car because it's the lowest spec I've ever seen with nearly everything being bog standard and so many common options missing. Base engine without adaptive damping and LSD, no external aero parts, base interior, base seats, base stereo, smallest/cheapest wheels, no pano roof, seemingly no cruise control, not even a reversing camera etc. And dodgy tyres on top of that.

I'd stay clear because of the rebuilt engine and the extremely low spec.
 
Thank you all for the replies so far, all points very useful and valid. Looks like I have a long way to go in my learning about the F-type. I'm not in a rush though. If anyone has a buyer guide to recommend, that'd be great.

It's great to see an active forum with some good people contributing.
 
Definitely think you are right to swerve that one, a number out there similarly priced that look a lot better but all auto. Manual is extremely rare, I read somewhere that the year it was removed they had just a few orders and that prompted the decision.
 
And the manuals are currently on their 4th iteration of clutch (at the last count!), so they haven't been trouble free.
 
Yeah, I recognise that finding a manual won't be easy. I've been driving for 25 years and went through several cars during that time. All manual. I could see myself moving the family SUV to an automatic one day but I really enjoy driving my manual TT on the curvy A and B roads around Yorkshire 😊
 
I really love a manual too and have another car with a manual gearbox but in the F-Type it just doesn't seem to be all too good. I don't know much about the box but I guess it's the same that was used in the manual XEs and 2nd gen XFs. Wouldn't surprise me if the one you have in your TT is much better than the ones that were fitted to F-Types so you might be disappointed with the manual gearbox in an F-Type.

What's sure is that the 8 speed ZF in the F-Type is brilliant. Whenever I take it out for a proper blast I only drive it manually. During normal driving I usually accelerate in auto mode but use the paddles all the time for downshifting and engine braking. So I'd say an F-Type is also best driven semi-manually albeit without a clutch. :)
 
MajorTom said:
What's sure is that the 8 speed ZF in the F-Type is brilliant. Whenever I take it out for a proper blast I only drive it manually. During normal driving I usually accelerate in auto mode but use the paddles all the time for downshifting and engine braking. So I'd say an F-Type is also best driven semi-manually albeit without a clutch. :)
Click to expand...

The other nice thing about it is that in S you can use the stick to shift up and down too - forward for down and back for up, like a BTTC car!
 
scm said:
The other nice thing about it is that in S you can use the stick to shift up and down too - forward for down and back for up, like a BTTC car!
Click to expand...

Is that a different championship to the BTCC?😉
 
Kev said:
scm said:
The other nice thing about it is that in S you can use the stick to shift up and down too - forward for down and back for up, like a BTTC car!
Click to expand...

Is that a different championship to the BTCC?😉
Click to expand...

No, just a slip of the finger! :shock:
 
MajorTom said:
Wouldn't surprise me if the one you have in your TT is much better than the ones that were fitted to F-Types so you might be disappointed with the manual gearbox in an F-Type.
Click to expand...

The TT box is excellent, short throw, butter smooth and great for rev matching. I need to test drive a manual F-type to see what's like. I found this nice review from the time that Rory wasn't famous. He starts criticising the manual transmission but then, well, watch and see for yourself 😉

https://youtu.be/pN5l-fIsYuM?si=Nb-I390zm81gnuyD
 
One of the guys on the US forum developed a short-shifter mod which a number of members over there have used, very successfully, apparently.
 
I've been a lifelong manual die hard, but frankly auto is the way to go on an F Type. It's matched really well to the engine and with options of paddles and various configurations such as dynamic where you cvan control the gear regardless of RPM, you never miss the gear stick.
Still have one Jeep with manual to tickle the itch , but rarely sees daylight :)

You really should get out and test a couple in auto and decide.

As an aside my iX3 is almost entirely driven in one pedal regen. configuration, I don't even miss the brake pedal on that and doubt I touch it at all on 99% of journeys, aside start up..
 
WShudds said:
MajorTom said:
Wouldn't surprise me if the one you have in your TT is much better than the ones that were fitted to F-Types so you might be disappointed with the manual gearbox in an F-Type.
Click to expand...

The TT box is excellent, short throw, butter smooth and great for rev matching. I need to test drive a manual F-type to see what's like. I found this nice review from the time that Rory wasn't famous. He starts criticising the manual transmission but then, well, watch and see for yourself 😉

https://youtu.be/pN5l-fIsYuM?si=Nb-I390zm81gnuyD
Click to expand...

Nice one! Can't remember having seen that one before. Rory really knows his F-Types. Great showcase of what the F-Type is all about. Just listen to that engine and exhaust note. :P Seems like he sums up the manual quite well too.

Reminds me a fair bit of my car... V6S, same colour and same wheels for the moment since I use the 19" propellers as winter wheels. :)

158.JPEG
 
Having driven nothing but manuals the move to the auto in the ftype was a pleasant surprise. A little awkward during the test drive at the dealership though.
In all seriousness though the auto is fantastic. The zf gearbox in "manual" mode is great. There's a lot of stereotypes about autos from old sluggish revvy cars and this just isn't it. It's basically a manual gearbox without a clutch pedal.
At the end of the day, the auto is faster than the manual and there's a reason why f1 cars don't have a stick shift
 
So, after some soul searching and researching into the various F-type configurations, I'm set to pick up this manual one after Christmas pending a Pre purchase inspection

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311103844592

It belonged to a collector who decided to sell it after a year in storage. It's been on sale since April and has been kept indoors by the dealer throughout this time. I got a complete report from TotalCarCheck and I'm happy with results.

I wish it had light coloured leather, the exterior black pack and a pan roof but manuals are so hard to find that I'm happy to compromise as it is an R-dynamic.

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.
 
Well you moved quick that a week ago you were in no rush now pulled the pin. That's what F Types do to you :)

You know what you're looking for and have found a manual. However as you seek comments, for a driver focused I would have looked for sports seats and an S badge to get the extra 40hp, LSD, bigger brakes, etc. You already say you have the wrong interior, no pano roof and no black pack. I've never looked at manuals so not sure of the limitations of spec available.
 
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