Just joined, saying hello!

[richie2]

Hi, I just joined the club. Sadly I dont have an E Type, but have decided to take the plunge in the next few months. At first I was thinking it would be fairly easy to pick up a reasonable example that maybe needed a little tlc, but reading through the posts, looks like this is naive to say the least. Value wise its confusing but the feeling I get, as a non DIY non mechanic, cramped garage sort of guy, I reckon its either buy a basket case and give it to an expert (ouch) or buy a very good one with lots of restoration history.(ouch again). My current summer only car is a 911 Supersport which I've had for years, long before values got silly, and whilst I love it, I think I need to satisfy a life long desire for an E Type. It goes back a long way from being a teenager and sitting in my cousin's gorgeous Red S1 Roadster. He let me take it for a drive and I bumped the bonnet ( slightly, no mark thank heavens) when parking it. Ooops. So I am doing lots of research and will speak to some dealers, and try to think with the head not the heart.

One question; I live in the Frozen North East of England, just beyond the White Wall, and wondered if there is a local E Type group? My local Porsche Club is brilliant and has a good social scene, and I want to share my days out with fellow E Type enthusiasts if I ever manange to find the right car.

[Gfhug]

Hello Richie, no club, just a forum, but very friendly and helpful.

Have you joined the E-Type Club? If so they may have information about others your way.
Various Jaguar clubs (Jaguar Driver's Club and Jaguar Enthusiasts Club) have local branches that have meetings and you may meet up with E Type owners there, though they do cater for all Jaguars not just E Types. Useful for insurance discounts, too.

I presume you keep an eye on the various classic car sales websites to get a feel for value (or rather asking prices). That'll give you a feel for what is within your budget. Try getting to auctions to see what is there and prices realised. As have been said elsewhere, there are three things to watch out for when buying an E Type: rust, rust and rust.

Good hunting

Geoff

[Damoyorkie]

Hallo Ritchie,

And welcome to the forum, were you'll find the most knowledgeable and approachable folks of any forum I have been a member of.

I've just bought a 1969 fhc, which is shortly en route from the states and I have been looking for a couple of years, but only serously since Christmas.

I had been keeping a close eye (every couple of days) on carandclassic.co.uk, which is easily the fullest of the search pages. E-bay is also good, but some of the prices are crackers. I also used ebay.com to check the cars in the states, and eBay.ca for the Canadian ones.

I ultimately found mine by just googling cars for sale in US, but using the term "xke" rather than "e-type", and found a dealer in New Hampshire. It was on for $40k but because of the circumstances of the sale, I got it for $25k. Even with the rubbish exchange rate, it was sub £20k, and whilst it does have issues, I reckon I'll spend £20k on it, and still be up.

Having said that, it is sometimes just easier to bite the bullet and pay for one that's been done up,but even then you're not sure whether things have been done properly.

In terms of local clubs, it might be worthwhile joining JEC, who have a pretty good network of local clubs, that whilst not necessarily purely for e-types have a good knowledge base and contacts. I've always found jag people to be a decent lot, in a way that is maybe different to other clubs I've been member of.

Whereabouts in Northumberland are you ?

Cheers

Damien

[zigzagsky]

Hi Richie, welcome to the forum.
I was in a very similar situation to yourself... torn between a basket case and an expensive restoration or a fully restored car. However if you prepared to be patient there are some cars around in overall good condition but not perfect. Mine was purchased recently from a guy who had her for nearly 20 years and took good care of her. She underwent a fairly large restoration in the early 90s and is still looking good. My issue was that if I ended up with spending a LOT of money on a car or restoration that was nigh on perfect, I wouldn't be happy driving the car and enjoying her as I'd be constantly worrying.