#1 Purchasing an E - advice?
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2019 6:55 pm
Hello All,
As the title suggests, I am in the process of getting myself an E type. This is a car I have wanted all of my life, and as I've turned 50, I think that now (or soon!) is the time to pull the trigger. I've done my homework as best I can, have read the "Essential Buyer's Guides" by Peter Crespin until they are dog-earred and have decided that the car I want (based on what I like, but, more importantly, my budget!) is a series 2 fixed head coupe, or possibly a series 3 convertible, and either must be manual.
I'm sharing this because of the challenges I am having in this regard. I wonder if any of you have been through the same thing, and how you navigated it...
Challenges;
Escrow scams. I've come across 4 of these so far in my search but have not been caught out. A pain though, as they do tend to get on'e hopes up.
Cost. The Canadian dollar has taken a continual beating in the past 7 years, having sunk from parity with the US$ to about 75¢ today. What this means is that most Canadians are pricing their cars in US$ and selling them south of the border. Not surprising, but putting a 25% surcharge on this purchase due to currency is a big ask for your humble narrator.
Viewing. As far as I can see, there are generally around 15-odd of the car I'm looking for being advertised in North America at a price I can afford... but many of the cars that I can "best afford" are in California, Texas or Florida (I reside in Toronto) - an extra cost if I wish to see them and an earnest of my interest to the sellers if I show up. I've tried to look further afield but Europe and South Africa are, if anything, more expensive and Australia is a bloody long way away...
Assessment. In spite of my interest in these cars I am not confident in my ability to accurately assess a car, especially when my eyes are clouded with the almost painful want of one.
Horror Stories. Almost every second person I talk to about this purchase has a "knowing" comment about some poor sap who spent a bomb and got a car that was cunningly disguised as a beautiful, solid car where it was really pile of rust swept into the approximate shape of an E type. Almost all of these stories are likely apocryphal, but are worrisome nonetheless. (I suppose this goes back to "assessment").
Running Costs. I currently have a classic (a 1976 Alfa Spider - see my blog on searching for this car here: https://kickingvintagetyres.wordpress.com/page/4/ ) and it's running costs are relatively modest. Insurance is cheap, I've found a great Alfa guy whose prices are competitive and I likely spend less than about $750 cdn a year on service and insurance (once all it's issues were sorted). When I talk to "knowing types" about E's they mumble about "money pits" and "hope your loaded" and the like. True? Or not? Depends, I suppose is the obvious answer...
Things I've looked into:
Clubs - there is a Jaguar ownership association here in Toronto (well, Ontario) but what I have seen is that most of the cars are more current, and pictures from shows suggest only 1 or 2 E types.
Shows: I go to British Car Day in Oakville every year and stand around the E Types trying to cultivate an earnest look that says "deserving, yearning, but not all that flush"... ;-)
Auctions; there's a spring and fall classic car auction here in Toronto, but E Types are few and far between. I do keep an eye on BaT (Bring a Trailer) but it is an American site and thus my flaccid dollar is an anchor...
Apologies for such a long and tedious first post. I am, however, interested in anything you can impart from your own personal journeys that might help me in my own.
Thanks all - cheers - Bruce
As the title suggests, I am in the process of getting myself an E type. This is a car I have wanted all of my life, and as I've turned 50, I think that now (or soon!) is the time to pull the trigger. I've done my homework as best I can, have read the "Essential Buyer's Guides" by Peter Crespin until they are dog-earred and have decided that the car I want (based on what I like, but, more importantly, my budget!) is a series 2 fixed head coupe, or possibly a series 3 convertible, and either must be manual.
I'm sharing this because of the challenges I am having in this regard. I wonder if any of you have been through the same thing, and how you navigated it...
Challenges;
Escrow scams. I've come across 4 of these so far in my search but have not been caught out. A pain though, as they do tend to get on'e hopes up.
Cost. The Canadian dollar has taken a continual beating in the past 7 years, having sunk from parity with the US$ to about 75¢ today. What this means is that most Canadians are pricing their cars in US$ and selling them south of the border. Not surprising, but putting a 25% surcharge on this purchase due to currency is a big ask for your humble narrator.
Viewing. As far as I can see, there are generally around 15-odd of the car I'm looking for being advertised in North America at a price I can afford... but many of the cars that I can "best afford" are in California, Texas or Florida (I reside in Toronto) - an extra cost if I wish to see them and an earnest of my interest to the sellers if I show up. I've tried to look further afield but Europe and South Africa are, if anything, more expensive and Australia is a bloody long way away...
Assessment. In spite of my interest in these cars I am not confident in my ability to accurately assess a car, especially when my eyes are clouded with the almost painful want of one.
Horror Stories. Almost every second person I talk to about this purchase has a "knowing" comment about some poor sap who spent a bomb and got a car that was cunningly disguised as a beautiful, solid car where it was really pile of rust swept into the approximate shape of an E type. Almost all of these stories are likely apocryphal, but are worrisome nonetheless. (I suppose this goes back to "assessment").
Running Costs. I currently have a classic (a 1976 Alfa Spider - see my blog on searching for this car here: https://kickingvintagetyres.wordpress.com/page/4/ ) and it's running costs are relatively modest. Insurance is cheap, I've found a great Alfa guy whose prices are competitive and I likely spend less than about $750 cdn a year on service and insurance (once all it's issues were sorted). When I talk to "knowing types" about E's they mumble about "money pits" and "hope your loaded" and the like. True? Or not? Depends, I suppose is the obvious answer...
Things I've looked into:
Clubs - there is a Jaguar ownership association here in Toronto (well, Ontario) but what I have seen is that most of the cars are more current, and pictures from shows suggest only 1 or 2 E types.
Shows: I go to British Car Day in Oakville every year and stand around the E Types trying to cultivate an earnest look that says "deserving, yearning, but not all that flush"... ;-)
Auctions; there's a spring and fall classic car auction here in Toronto, but E Types are few and far between. I do keep an eye on BaT (Bring a Trailer) but it is an American site and thus my flaccid dollar is an anchor...
Apologies for such a long and tedious first post. I am, however, interested in anything you can impart from your own personal journeys that might help me in my own.
Thanks all - cheers - Bruce