The 'E' Type Forum

Good evening all, I'm going to cut to the chase here, will spend a little more time with introductions etc once I'm an owner, looking at a possible restoration project that has been started by the present owner it has been repainted in a non original colour and I'm wondering how much that would affect its resale price when I eventually come to sell it.
Secondly, can an E type be a daily driver? I travel about 40 miles a day.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Tim,

Welcome to the forum. Also cutting to the chase, resale value is not generally affected too badly by colour originality - the quality of restoration and paintwork is more important. That said, it is preferable that the colour is one of the originals offered, but then again, as Jaguar actually stated they would paint the cars any colour you desired, it is not always easy to define what the "original" colours were.

As to being an every day car, there is no reason why not, in principle at least. However, bear some things in mind. The cars are really difficult to seal against water ingress - see other posts for details, so the car may get wet and stay wet if you have to drive daily. Which model are you looking at? Some have issues with brakes, which can be overcome with either good restoration and regular maintenance, or by upgrade. Generally earlier cars suffer from this, Series I in particular, I am not sure of the exact details and dates of manufacture as I have a Series III and little experience of earlier cars. I am sure guys will offer advice on this one.

Where will you park the car each day? They can attract attention and whilst generally very positive, there are always jealous and stupid people out there... Also, the beautiful and delicate bumpers do not shrug off the daily bumps and knocks like modern cars and are more likely to transfer damage to the (expensive) bodywork. Shape of the nose in particular means many drivers can't see it when manouvering around them in car parks.

Using the car daily may be a more significant factor in resale value than paint colour, undoubtedly the cars enjoy regular use and there are some that use them in all weather, but unless you keep on top of maintenance and the effects of the regular usage, they can deteriorate quickly. Jaguar used little or no rust-proofing during build and the salt used on the roads in Europe quickly gets washed into every nook and cranny to start eating away. My Series III had no paint on the inside of rear wings and the rust was spreading and if the car is already restored in this area, you have no idea what was done to protect the car.

Probably best to have the car as a second car and consider carefully which one to use at certain times of year for daily use, but on the plus side, they are great to drive, tractable and generally easy, offer great performance, but with limits in handling, brakes and practicality when compared with modern cars.

Finally, I doubt the cars will drop significantly in value, but I don't really recommend considering the resale value too much when buying one as there are too many intangibles, but more importantly, I think they are more a purchase of the heart than a financial transaction/investment. Most buy to keep, though of course there are exceptions

Dunno whether that helps, but I hope so and if you buy one, keep us informed and we will be interested in you daily driver experiences, you will join a select band!

Regards,

Original colour used by Jaguar in the day not a problem but I if not a period Jag colour then I would be careful.

Depends on the colour really, I have seen some E's in a modern metallic for example and they just look so wrong

Many thanks guys for the prompt response. I'm looking at a series 1 4.2 2+2 (are they more water tight?) Its currently Signal Red (I think) but was originally pearlesant silver grey. Its been 95% restored, obviously I'm interested in looking at the quality of the work. In particular how the rust has been dealt with. My thinking is that unless the car has been dipped its very difficult ro remove rust from seams etc. What do you think.

Timbo wrote:Many thanks guys for the prompt response. I'm looking at a series 1 4.2 2+2 (are they more water tight?) Its currently Signal Red (I think) but was originally pearlesant silver grey. Its been 95% restored, obviously I'm interested in looking at the quality of the work. In particular how the rust has been dealt with. My thinking is that unless the car has been dipped its very difficult ro remove rust from seams etc. What do you think.

I wouldn't get hung up about the shell being dipped. I have seen the result. Problem is that the acid has to be 100% neutralised otherwise it keeps on working. Also the shell has to be properly sealed immediately it comes out of the tank otherwise rust forms immediately (including the seams). Personally I wouldn't dip a shell based on what I've seen.

No to dippy dippy from me too.......never again