Are Jaguar "E" types overpriced?

Author
Discussion

Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

38,143 posts

247 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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Firstly, I'd like to say I love "E" types, especially the convertible ones but:-

In 1969 a new Jaguar XJ6 4.2 was around £2200...

An "E" type with the same engine (but triple SU's) was (give or take) the same price.

Even the last V12 models in '75 were never more than 5k.

Now a decent '69 XJ6 might fetch £7-8k, but an "E" type convertible would be in excess of £50k probably.....sometimes well over £100k

I suppose any car is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it...…..

Xcore

1,344 posts

90 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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I assume you’ve seen the prices of rusty old fords?

Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

38,143 posts

247 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
quotequote all
Xcore said:
I assume you’ve seen the prices of rusty old fords?
Yes, I wish I still had my Mk 1 Escort I bought new....

Jasandjules

69,869 posts

229 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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They are worth what someone is willing to pay for them....


groomi

9,317 posts

243 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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One is a good looking, comfortable saloon of it's day. The other is arguably the best looking, most iconic, sexiest sportscar of all time.

You're not comparing apples with apples...

kev b

2,715 posts

166 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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I would venture that the price of a classic car is commensurate with the cost of restoring it.

E-types are very expensive to restore and the value reflects this, if it were possible to buy a ratty example for buttons and restore it for a few tens of thousands then the price would be lower.

unsprung

5,467 posts

124 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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have we accounted for changes in the value of money?

depending upon the metric used, an E-Type may have appreciated only a bit, or not at all, over the last 50 years

see commodity here:
https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompa...


Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

38,143 posts

247 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
quotequote all
kev b said:
I would venture that the price of a classic car is commensurate with the cost of restoring it.

E-types are very expensive to restore and the value reflects this, if it were possible to buy a ratty example for buttons and restore it for a few tens of thousands then the price would be lower.
I've followed several restoration threads over the years, and some of the costs have been eye watering...….They are a lovely car though.

Personally, I like the V12's but purists don't really rate them.

unsprung

5,467 posts

124 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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groomi said:
the best looking, most iconic, sexiest sportscar of all time.
+1


a8hex

5,829 posts

223 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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The "value" of classic cars has nothing at all to do with their initial purchase prices, I guess these days they are partly priced by how desirable people find them now and sadly partly valued by where speculators think the price is going. The reasons why we own a classic car have nothing to do with the reason most people own a new car. Back in the day more people wanted an XJ6 than a E-Type as most people need a day in day out car that is reasonably practical and they want it to be comfortable etc... For a classic none of that makes any difference, often the more impracticable the better.

Since you bring up the value of 60s Jaguar saloons which do you think is the most value now? Compare that with the price back in the 60s.
So I'd hazard a guess at values now going Mk2 (most valuable), S-Type then in no particular order Mk10/420G, the 420 and the XJ, but the Mk2 is way out in front.
In the sixties the Mk2 was the cheapest Jaguar, then the S-Type, the 420 and top of the tree the Mk10/420G. The XJ was then the replacement for all of them and as such as a new car more desirable than all the rest.
Classic cars are basically toys. Sports cars are also basically toys. So classic sports cars are always going to be more desirable than classic saloons. When cars are new then some people will need a certain degree of practicality even from their toys. Also tin tops are likely to be stiffer for a given weight and so are likely to handle and go better, so for those who want "go" hardtop sports cars are desirable when new. For classics there is little demand for practicality or ultimate performance(a modern will out perform a classic) so open top classic sports cars are the most desirable and therefore demand the highest prices.

s m

23,219 posts

203 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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Xcore said:
I assume you’ve seen the prices of rusty old fords?
....and don't even think about rusty old Porsches if you think E-types are pricey!

stuttgartmetal

8,108 posts

216 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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A 1973 911 2.7 RS was £7233 new.
You couldn’t buy one for £250,000 today.

s m

23,219 posts

203 months

Tuesday 22nd May 2018
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stuttgartmetal said:
A 1973 911 2.7 RS was £7233 new.
You couldn’t buy one for £250,000 today.
Very true

PH did a recent article and they reckoned Porsche's own car was likely to be £600,000 plus!

Du1point8

21,606 posts

192 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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How is the e-type that Harry and Megan used for the wedding worth 350k?

It has had the internals ripped out and replaced with an electric motor, I hope the base model was not a 3.8 and was in fact a v12.

If its going to go up in value someone will make a mint taking bodies that dont have motors and sympathetically changing them to be electric.

I personally would go and butcher an S-Type for its motor if I had an e-type with no engine, but thats just me.

Dr Jekyll

23,820 posts

261 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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Wacky Racer said:
Firstly, I'd like to say I love "E" types, especially the convertible ones but:-

In 1969 a new Jaguar XJ6 4.2 was around £2200...

An "E" type with the same engine (but triple SU's) was (give or take) the same price.

Even the last V12 models in '75 were never more than 5k.

Now a decent '69 XJ6 might fetch £7-8k, but an "E" type convertible would be in excess of £50k probably.....sometimes well over £100k

I suppose any car is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it...…..
As cars I don't think they are worth it. Not just compared with what a decent XJ6 would cost but also an XJS or early XKR. But of course they are bought with an eye on resale value, like the wartime sardines.

williamp

19,248 posts

273 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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People buying classics as assets really annoy me it means you dont see then anymore, as use and mileage might..you know....

coppice

8,599 posts

144 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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As accuracy is important when talking about old cars can we call the Jaguar by its proper name ? Which isn't 'e type',nor 'e' Type , nor even 'E Type ' but 'E-Type ' . Or so the Times guide to writing style says.

I'll get my anorak ...

Mr Peel

480 posts

122 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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coppice said:
As accuracy is important when talking about old cars can we call the Jaguar by its proper name ? Which isn't 'e type',nor 'e' Type , nor even 'E Type ' but 'E-Type ' . Or so the Times guide to writing style says.

I'll get my anorak ...
Presumably your anorak doesn't have a leaper or growler on it. Jaguar's style guide says it's E-type.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

126 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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Du1point8 said:
How is the e-type that Harry and Megan used for the wedding worth 350k?

It has had the internals ripped out and replaced with an electric motor, I hope the base model was not a 3.8 and was in fact a v12.
It looks nothing like a v12 E-type. What it does look like is a perfectly normal s1.5, so a 4.2. Jaguar have boasted long and hard about how the conversion is all reversible bolt-on.

a8hex

5,829 posts

223 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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Du1point8 said:
How is the e-type that Harry and Megan used for the wedding worth 350k?
Some info on the car can be found on

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-57552...

Du1point8 said:
I personally would go and butcher an S-Type for its motor if I had an e-type with no engine, but thats just me.
Why butcher an S-Type, it's not the cheapest source of an XK engine. The engines aren't exactly in short supply. If someone were paying that sort of price to muck around with an E then surely a C&G lightweight engine would be more interesting.