I have recently visited a private owner selling his Jag. The asking price was $ 42,950.- The car has only 32,400 miles, and is in good condition with 2 previous owners. It includes a tonneaux cover. Can you please tell if this is a realistic price, or I am being taken for a ride!
Thanks
bibaki
hotmail.com
Submitted by team@jagsearch.com on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 09:50
Submitted by NE52-32043 on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 09:39
E Type V12 Roadster 1974
Bibi,
The answer is, "it depends." There are a lot of factors that go into determining the price of one of these cars. As a rule, roadsters (or OTS "open two-seaters" as we call them) sell for more money than coupes, or in the case of the Ser. III cars, 2+2s. $42.5K is not a bad price for a car that is absolutely pristine and is in excellent running order. On the other hand, cars that look good to the uninitiated can turn out to be a problem down the road. If you are not highly experienced with these cars, you should have it inspected very thoroughly by someone who does. And I'm not talking about any local mechanic. I'm talking about someone who is well versed in E-types, especially the V-12's.
The fact that the car has two previous owners should not be a problem. There are many good cars out there with 3, 4 or more prior owners. Don't depend on the mileage on the "clock". Those can easily be turned back or the whole speedo replaced. The most reliable way of knowing the mileage is seeing continuous service records showing mileage over the years. There are a lot of E-types floating around out there with 30-something thousand miles on the odometer. That means nothing if it isn't fully documented. A good mechanic can pretty much tell by looking at the underside of the car, the engine and all of the important parts as to whether its 32K or 132K. Of course, if the car has been fully restored with tons of new parts, mileage means nothing.
The only way to be sure you are getting value for your money is to have someone very knowledgable look over the car for you. A recent paint job could be hiding tons of bondo and other problems you wouldn't know about. Having the car properly inspected will let you know if you're getting a gem or a lump of coal.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'70 XKE FHC, '69 XKE OTS
Bibi,
To check if car is authentic (i.e. all matching numbers) try,
www.classic-car-heritage.com They offer 48 hour reply service. It's a sure way of checking authenticity before parting with any $. good luck. Fraternally, Mark.