£75,000 - £100,000 for a good E-Type - how to go about it?
Discussion
I'd be very grateful for a bit of a road map to an eventual purchase I am helping a friend with.
He wants to buy an E-Type and my advice is S1 or S2.
He is open to either roadster or coupe at this point, but his preference is roadster.
Some thoughts:
1. Who is the best specialist to see/discuss the purchase with (preferably near London)
2. He wants to have a test drive. Would most dealers offer this?
3. What to look out for in the purchase.
4. Is it smarter do we think to buy a project and restore it?
5. Any local knowledge of good cars for sale in this budget?
6. Links to the classifieds are always appreciated!
7. Is discounting the s3 version a bad idea?
Cheers all.
He wants to buy an E-Type and my advice is S1 or S2.
He is open to either roadster or coupe at this point, but his preference is roadster.
Some thoughts:
1. Who is the best specialist to see/discuss the purchase with (preferably near London)
2. He wants to have a test drive. Would most dealers offer this?
3. What to look out for in the purchase.
4. Is it smarter do we think to buy a project and restore it?
5. Any local knowledge of good cars for sale in this budget?
6. Links to the classifieds are always appreciated!
7. Is discounting the s3 version a bad idea?
Cheers all.
Edited by AdvocatusD on Monday 21st March 13:43
series 3 just don't seem to command the money the same as the 1's+2's.
personally, cant see why he would want to throw 100k at one for the earlier ones. spend half and get a series 3. less money to lose when the bubble bursts. I have seen 1's asking over 250k, crazy.
here is a nice US one : http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
might be worth a look / drive and see how he likes it. friend is rebuilding one at the moment. paint has been done, just being put back together. not worth 20k IMO, but that's the classic market for you !
personally, cant see why he would want to throw 100k at one for the earlier ones. spend half and get a series 3. less money to lose when the bubble bursts. I have seen 1's asking over 250k, crazy.
here is a nice US one : http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
might be worth a look / drive and see how he likes it. friend is rebuilding one at the moment. paint has been done, just being put back together. not worth 20k IMO, but that's the classic market for you !
[quote=AdvocatusD]I'd be very grateful for a bit of a road map to an eventual purchase I am helping a friend with.
He wants to buy an E-Type and my advice is S1 or S2.
He is open to either roadster or coupe at this point, but his preference is roadster.
Some thoughts:
1. Who is the best specialist to see/discuss the purchase with (preferably near London)
2. He wants to have a test drive. Would most dealers offer this?
3. What to look out for in the purchase.
4. Is it smarter do we think to buy a project and restore it?
5. Any local knowledge of good cars for sale in this budget?
6. Links to the classifieds are always appreciated!
7. Is discounting the s3 version a bad idea?
Cheers all.
Well congrats on the decision to buy an E-type!
Lots of questions...
I think the first thing is to decide OTS or FHC....personally i prefer the look of the coupe, but its very personal.
Your friend has a good budget, but not if your looking for a mint S1 3.8 FHC. I would say S1.5 or S2 or S3 but any OTS cars are much more expensive than the FHC's.
Has your friend thought about hiring one? there are various classic car hire places, and it would be a good idea to hire a S2 and a S3 (sorry i doubt anyone will hire out a s1 3.8 these days due to value) and see how the cars feel, i prefer manual but some like an auto its all very personal, i hired a coupe, and OTS and a MK 2 3.4 before deciding on what to buy, see links below.
http://www.cornwallclassiccarhire.co.uk/site/ourca...
http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/cars-jaguarclassi...
http://classiccarhirenorth.co.uk/our-cars/e-type-j...
I bought a S3, simply for 2 reasons, money, and its the easiest to live with in modern traffic. Many will argue its less pretty, and thats true its longer and higher and wider than S1/S2's and many would argue less raw maybe also true, but its actually faster, smoother has more torque has better cooling, bigger brakes, and power steering, all of which makes for living with it easier.
I would certainly ask to drive some cars your looking to buy, any good classic car dealer will let you drive one if they are serious about selling it to you.
Your friend has a good budget, but the sky is the limit, if money no object then a S1 with mods from eagle is the top dog, or a super mint original car from someone like new forest classics or maybe JD amongst others.
JD stock some awesome cars, but all are POA - which might indicate where the prices are at.
Try looking on car and classic, and get looking at them and test driving, ask to see one on a ramp, look under, and ask for lots of history, bills, any work thats been done, look at the mot history as many will have failed at some time in the past, but look for trends on failures rear handbrake pads, and handbrakes in general are a issue, look for Diff leaks, gearbox oil leaks, and blue smoke on startup etc...and watch for overheating. I would be surprised at your friends budget if the cars are rough this might apply more to your project cars.
and finally whether to buy a project.....hmmm depends how handy you are with spanners and what time you have. The one plus is you'll know whats been done, how well, and where to look next time a problem occurs.
Some (non project) cars that could be worth a look:
http://www.arunltd.com/jaguar-e-type-series-ii-4.2...
That dealer has about 4 in stock, from OTS S1's S2's and two V12 S3's some within your friends budget.
http://www.arunltd.com/
Finally on prices, you'll lose far less than you would buying a new F-type Jag! and you get the regular use of an e-type, i always think its like a good bank account you can use and enjoy. Will prices drop, maybe, maybe not, its not as if the supply will suddenly increase and the marked flooded with hundreds or cars that are cheap, so I'd guess values may become static, maybe the top cars at £200K will drop, but around the £50-80K mark probably not, but who cares, i like my e-type and didn't buy for a quick investment, its a plus if values go up or remain the same.
Happy hunting
Andy
He wants to buy an E-Type and my advice is S1 or S2.
He is open to either roadster or coupe at this point, but his preference is roadster.
Some thoughts:
1. Who is the best specialist to see/discuss the purchase with (preferably near London)
2. He wants to have a test drive. Would most dealers offer this?
3. What to look out for in the purchase.
4. Is it smarter do we think to buy a project and restore it?
5. Any local knowledge of good cars for sale in this budget?
6. Links to the classifieds are always appreciated!
7. Is discounting the s3 version a bad idea?
Cheers all.
Well congrats on the decision to buy an E-type!
Lots of questions...
I think the first thing is to decide OTS or FHC....personally i prefer the look of the coupe, but its very personal.
Your friend has a good budget, but not if your looking for a mint S1 3.8 FHC. I would say S1.5 or S2 or S3 but any OTS cars are much more expensive than the FHC's.
Has your friend thought about hiring one? there are various classic car hire places, and it would be a good idea to hire a S2 and a S3 (sorry i doubt anyone will hire out a s1 3.8 these days due to value) and see how the cars feel, i prefer manual but some like an auto its all very personal, i hired a coupe, and OTS and a MK 2 3.4 before deciding on what to buy, see links below.
http://www.cornwallclassiccarhire.co.uk/site/ourca...
http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk/cars-jaguarclassi...
http://classiccarhirenorth.co.uk/our-cars/e-type-j...
I bought a S3, simply for 2 reasons, money, and its the easiest to live with in modern traffic. Many will argue its less pretty, and thats true its longer and higher and wider than S1/S2's and many would argue less raw maybe also true, but its actually faster, smoother has more torque has better cooling, bigger brakes, and power steering, all of which makes for living with it easier.
I would certainly ask to drive some cars your looking to buy, any good classic car dealer will let you drive one if they are serious about selling it to you.
Your friend has a good budget, but the sky is the limit, if money no object then a S1 with mods from eagle is the top dog, or a super mint original car from someone like new forest classics or maybe JD amongst others.
JD stock some awesome cars, but all are POA - which might indicate where the prices are at.
Try looking on car and classic, and get looking at them and test driving, ask to see one on a ramp, look under, and ask for lots of history, bills, any work thats been done, look at the mot history as many will have failed at some time in the past, but look for trends on failures rear handbrake pads, and handbrakes in general are a issue, look for Diff leaks, gearbox oil leaks, and blue smoke on startup etc...and watch for overheating. I would be surprised at your friends budget if the cars are rough this might apply more to your project cars.
and finally whether to buy a project.....hmmm depends how handy you are with spanners and what time you have. The one plus is you'll know whats been done, how well, and where to look next time a problem occurs.
Some (non project) cars that could be worth a look:
http://www.arunltd.com/jaguar-e-type-series-ii-4.2...
That dealer has about 4 in stock, from OTS S1's S2's and two V12 S3's some within your friends budget.
http://www.arunltd.com/
Finally on prices, you'll lose far less than you would buying a new F-type Jag! and you get the regular use of an e-type, i always think its like a good bank account you can use and enjoy. Will prices drop, maybe, maybe not, its not as if the supply will suddenly increase and the marked flooded with hundreds or cars that are cheap, so I'd guess values may become static, maybe the top cars at £200K will drop, but around the £50-80K mark probably not, but who cares, i like my e-type and didn't buy for a quick investment, its a plus if values go up or remain the same.
Happy hunting
Andy
I love "E" types but:-
The prices are just potty, when they stopped making the series 3 V12 in 1975 they were around 5k IIRC...
People are just buying nostalgia, they are not especially fast, a VXR Astra will certainly keep up, and they don't handle particularly well. They rust, and are nothing special inside.
Granted they are a work of art to look at, (the series one and two convertibles especially so)..will values continue to rise?.....probably.
The prices are just potty, when they stopped making the series 3 V12 in 1975 they were around 5k IIRC...
People are just buying nostalgia, they are not especially fast, a VXR Astra will certainly keep up, and they don't handle particularly well. They rust, and are nothing special inside.
Granted they are a work of art to look at, (the series one and two convertibles especially so)..will values continue to rise?.....probably.
Wacky Racer said:
I love "E" types but:-
The prices are just potty, when they stopped making the series 3 V12 in 1975 they were around 5k IIRC...
People are just buying nostalgia, they are not especially fast, a VXR Astra will certainly keep up, and they don't handle particularly well. They rust, and are nothing special inside.
Granted they are a work of art to look at, (the series one and two convertibles especially so)..will values continue to rise?.....probably.
See Lowdrag's posting in the classic car forum about the XKSS for comments on handling.The prices are just potty, when they stopped making the series 3 V12 in 1975 they were around 5k IIRC...
People are just buying nostalgia, they are not especially fast, a VXR Astra will certainly keep up, and they don't handle particularly well. They rust, and are nothing special inside.
Granted they are a work of art to look at, (the series one and two convertibles especially so)..will values continue to rise?.....probably.
As classic cars go E-Types are pretty practical in that they easily keep up with modern traffic, braking in more of an issue than the "go" side equation, they are still faster than most cars on the road.
There is no point in buying a classic car and expecting it to be a modern supercar, you'll be disappointed. But generally they are more involving to drive than modern cars, because you are allowed to drive them, rather than having some pile of SW gizmos deciding they'll do the driving for you.
Wacky Racer said:
I love "E" types but:-
The prices are just potty, when they stopped making the series 3 V12 in 1975 they were around 5k IIRC...
People are just buying nostalgia, they are not especially fast, a VXR Astra will certainly keep up, and they don't handle particularly well. They rust, and are nothing special inside.
Granted they are a work of art to look at, (the series one and two convertibles especially so)..will values continue to rise?.....probably.
The prices are just potty, when they stopped making the series 3 V12 in 1975 they were around 5k IIRC...
People are just buying nostalgia, they are not especially fast, a VXR Astra will certainly keep up, and they don't handle particularly well. They rust, and are nothing special inside.
Granted they are a work of art to look at, (the series one and two convertibles especially so)..will values continue to rise?.....probably.
The Issue is supply and demand, when you say when they stopped making the V12 in '75 & 5K would buy one, sure but there would have been no doubt thousands on the road, and dealers had spare stock they couldn't sell towards the end of production, now numbers have reduced in all E-type series, and as such so values rise. Regarding potty prices, this doesn't only apply to classic cars, modern classics like Sierra RS500 and standard 3 door cosworths are now north of £40K and one RS500 sold for £65K not long back, also you have rear engined R5 turbos selling for near on £70K and just recently E46 M3 CSL heading towards £90K for super low mile examples - now that is potty, but not unusual given the short supply of those cars, and rarity value.
Also dont think its fair to compare a VXR to a E-type in performance or handling terms, think of it this way, for its time to have a car doing 0-60 in 6.4 secs and near on 150mph in the 60's and 70's was sublime, and for the small price an e-type was. Is the modern hot hatch really progress so many years on? possibly but still all relative? i had a VXR and it was a great car apart from torque steer! but cars like that and classics are poles apart.
And i think they are what they are, will always be desirable, and will always command a high (ish) price they are of course a stunning design and look amazing, they certainly turn heads and are a conversation starter when you park up.
I'm sure values might rise a little maybe for mid priced cars less so the top end early cars, but i would expect overall for values to become more static but in honesty who knows we might all be wrong!
Andy
I've had a S3 and now have a S1.5. They are both totally different driving experiences so he needs to attempt to test drive both types. Perhaps finding a classic car hire company would be an idea?
There are some lovely old E-Types out there which have never been restored and don't need to be. They are fine to drive and have a lovely patina of age to them but don't command silly money. If you can find one of those for sale it could be a great buy but be very wary of unseen corrosion.
There are some lovely old E-Types out there which have never been restored and don't need to be. They are fine to drive and have a lovely patina of age to them but don't command silly money. If you can find one of those for sale it could be a great buy but be very wary of unseen corrosion.
Actually, he's pretty short.
Re. the comments above about what he would prefer to drive, I don't think it's that kind of purchase. He loves the shape and it will very much be a fair weather "occassion" car.
What I'm trying to help him with is to find the "best" E-Type for £75,000. For me that would mean, the most desirable variant in terms of shape and value within that budget.
He's be happy with an unrestored car as long as it's "right".
Any links to cars for sale in mind people?
Re. the comments above about what he would prefer to drive, I don't think it's that kind of purchase. He loves the shape and it will very much be a fair weather "occassion" car.
What I'm trying to help him with is to find the "best" E-Type for £75,000. For me that would mean, the most desirable variant in terms of shape and value within that budget.
He's be happy with an unrestored car as long as it's "right".
Any links to cars for sale in mind people?
Any thoughts on this guys? Grateful for a response today if possible.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
AdvocatusD said:
Any thoughts on this guys? Grateful for a response today if possible.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...
Hi Personally (and this is my personal view) if it were my £75-100K) i would be looking at a UK RHD car, and i would insist on matching numbers and a history going back many years.
If your friend does not mind a LHD, non UK car, then thats ok, but i would have thought on your friends budget he could acquire a pretty good RHD series 2 UK car.
Also worth bearing in mind the USA cars ran 2 carb setup, and as a result these have less power than the UK 3 carb cars, if your close to the dealer it could be worth a look. The advert reads as though its undergoing restoration so maybe a drive wont be on offer depending on the current state of the car, although it says ready end Jan 16? hmm should be ready to go on that basis then.
Have you called and asked for more info? and requested to drive/view?
Regards
Andy
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