Price for 1968-1969 XKE roadster

Jeff,

Generally, I'd agree with you about the change in color. My comment was that it depends on how well the job was done. If the frame rails and other areas of the car were left in the original color, and only the exterior changed, to me, that would effect price. If a very good job was done do that you would be hard pressed to tell that the color was changed, then yes, it would not effect the price. When you get to the higher end cars, I think it does matter to some people if the car is original color. But a well done paint job involving a color change is not going to hurt.

The one thing that cannot be emphasized enough is that someone needs to take a close look at the car to be sure it is not badly rusted in places you would not necessarily notice. Because these cars don't have frame rails, rust in the sills and rocker panels can affect structural integrity and can be very expensive to fix. As several of us have said, inspection by someone qualified is the only way to find out if it is a good car or not.

Steve Weinstein,
'70 XKE FHC
'69 XKE OTS (BRG, in the process of restoration)

I agree with what's been said here. PLEASE have the car inspected!
IMHO, the Series 1 cars are more desirable with the triple carbs. The performance was almost as good as the V-12. The Series 2 cars lost a lot of horsepower. I think 30k would be way too high for the car you described. It sounds like it is in average condition; you already know it has a dent. Mechanically, the things listed that need to be done will be more than you think and I guarantee there are more to get it sorted out. For example, is there any oil usage or leaking? How about the suspension bushings? Tires should be obtained from Coker or somewhere you can get the correct size. How about the hubs/splines/bearings? I say this because I have experience. Let us know how it goes.

Bill Cooper
'67 E-type FHC, '85 S-3 Sovereign
'00 VDP

Just a quick note to something Steve said in this post:
I would disagree that a color change necessarily has a negative effect on the collectibility of an e-type PROVIDED that the new color is an origianl color to that year and that the job has been done completely (as Pascal mentioned). IF these things are true, it has little or no effect from a concours standpoint as no one is ever asked to produce a Heritage certificate and, unlike most American cars, there isn't a plate anywhere on an e-type to tell you what color it was originally. It MAY be important to some collectors but not to a concours judge and one can certainly argue some colors are better looking than others.

Jeff Klein
1970 OTS, BRG (started life Sable, better known as "dirt brown")

steve gave you some good advice...

IF the car runs well and has no mechanical issues beyond the brakes (although there are likely to be some... suspension, fuel system, etc... unless work has been done in the past few years)

IF there is really no rust and that's a BIG IF !

IF the repaint has been done correctly and the original color doesnt show (especially on the frame rails, firewall, door jams, etc...)

I woudl guess it is worth in the mid to high 20s... so starting negotiating at 30k isn't that much off.

E-types are not that comlicated mechanically so checking it out isn't a big issue.. smoke, noise, vibration, etc... the body is a different ball game. becasue it's a monocoque and not a body on frame, the sheet metal is critical, especially the front frames which cannot be welded...

Pascal Gademer
South Florida Jaguar Club
72 E-type 2+2
00 XKR Coupe
99 XJR

Steve again thanks for such a fast responce. I understand what you are saying. I live in West Virginia and the car is in Tennesse. I have friends who are in the car sale buissness and mechanics, but not jaguars. I will see if there is a club in tennesse. Thank you.
Justo my email: uro80adelphia.net it may be easier to get me that way.

Justo,

It's still hard to say if it's worth it or not. Since the car is not the original color, it does affect resale value to a true collector who wants to show the car. Depends how good a job was done, whether interior areas were sprayed to match, etc. I'm partial to BRG (doing my '69 in that, with tan interior as per original), but the Willow Green color original to your car was supposed to be Sir William Lyons' favorite.

Cars that have sat for a long time have all sorts of hidden problems that start to show up when you start driving them. Seals leak, things break, things don't work, etc. The gas tank could be full of crap, plus old gas turns to varnish, clogging things up. And don't even think of driving 10 feet on 30 year old tires, no matter how good they look. Trust me, what doesn't sound like much in the way of repairs mounts up very quickly.

My best suggestion if you are really interested and you are not familiar with these cars -- find yourself someone who is and have it thoroughly inspected. You could be buying a good car, or an expensive headache. Unless you can tell the difference, it is worth the money to have it properly inspected by someone who knows what they are looking at.

Where are you located, and where is the car? If you don't know anyone in your area, contact the local Jaguar club (check listings on this website) and ask for recommendations of qualified mechanics who work on E-types. Especially underneath, there can be a lot of hidden problems that you won't see because you are focusing on the lines and how pretty the car is and thinking about how great it will feel driving down the highway in your new toy. With a good list of repair/replacement items from a mechanic (and his estimate of cost to repair, and his estimate of actual value for the car), you will be better prepared to negotiate a price.

Steve

Steve, thank you very much for your response to my general question on prices for these cars. I'm new to them and know very little. However I do know someone who will sell me his 1968 xke convertible roadster for $30,000 and was wondering if it is worht it. Following is a description of the car:

Some history. The car was repainted in 1975 to the
British Racing Green from
> the original lime green color it came with. He said
that all jags should be
> painted BRG. It had new (1975) bias ply tires
installed. The paint is still
> in pretty good shape. One of the tires (LF) was
misaligned and shows some
> wear before I had it aligned. The car is all original
and all the numbers match.
> It has no rust and no major damage. Something very
rare indeed. English
> cars are known to rust if you look at them crossed
eyed. Neither I nor the
> previous owner have ever had it out in the rain. It has
been stored in garages
> since 1975.
>
> The car is a 1968, XKE roadster. It's unofficially a
series 1 1/2 although
> Jaguar doesn't call it that. It was a transition car
between the series 1 and 2.
> It has some parts used on the original series 1 and
some from the series 2.
> In 1968, the US was one of the major outlets for
jaguars and was becoming
> safety conscious so they forced the Brits to make
some "improvements". The glass
> covered headlights (on the bonnet) were considered
to glare too much so they
> were removed. The spinners from the knock-off wire
wheels were removed and a
> "safety adapter" put into the trunk with the other tools.
You can still buy
> the spinners if you so desire...they are
interchangeable. These were the only
> exterior changes made on the 68 car. Inside the
engine (a 4.2 liter) was
> changed from 3 SU's to 2 Zeneth-stromberg carbs.
This actually was an improvement
> as far as reliability was concerned since it doesn't
require the frequent
> balancing of the su's every british car owner hates.
The interior electrical
> toggle switches were replaced with rocker arm type.
>
> The car has 56,591 actual miles. I haven't driven it
more than 5,000 miles
> since I've owned it. Kind of like flying an airplane.
Check the weather
> reports for a 500 mile radius of Ktown and go driving.
What a rush.
>
> I have finished putting in a new interior, door panels,
carpet, door window
> wipes and felts and all new weather stripping. I redid
the trunk (boot) with
> new carpet and pads. As I told you my next step is to
rebuild the clutch
> master cylinder which is leaking and I also want to
redo the brake master at the
> same time. It works but is due for bleeding and new
fluid. This plus a new
> battery...the old one was not the original size and the
car is ready to roll.
>
> Damage: I said there was no major damage and
that's true, however, the
> driver side door has a dent (which I think can be
pulled out without removing) and
> the LR quarter panel also has a dent. Its hard to see
but I know it's there.
>
> I don't know of anything else that wrong with the car. It
was perfect when I
> took it down for the interior mods.
>
> If I was going to keep the car the only other thing I
would do would be to
> replace the tires with modern radial tires, probably a
205R60 - 15....wheel
> clearance is a real issue on this car concerning
oversized tires. I would also
> pull the gas tank and pound out the dent in the LR
quarter panel. That's the
> only way to get to it. I hate bondo. It's cosmetic I know
but I stay up nights
> thinking about such things.
>
> I have a complete set of manuals, including the
original owners manual, the
> original tool kit and several spare parts. A bunch of
jaguar articles and
> books, a tape or two go with the car.

I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR OPINION
JG

That's a very difficult question to answer without a lot of information. What condition is the car in? Has it been restored? Rust? Interior? Mechanicals? Cosmetics? Mileage and maintenance records? Upgrades? Concours quality? Pebble Beach quality? A rough driver?

Prices on these cars vary widely. Roadsters seem to fetch more money that coupes these days, but it all depends on the condition and history of the car. A rusted out tub with a questionable engine and transmission might be worth nothing. A true Pebble Beach quality restoration could be worth $100K or more (these cars are very, very rare -- don't believe it if someone tells you they have a "perfect" restoration. All cars need a thorough inspection). An average car in running condition, decent paint, used as a driver, not a show car, could range from $15K to $35K, depending on condition and what work needs to be done. Really nice drivers to concours level cars could range $35K to $50K or more, again depending on condition.

Without seeing and carefully inspecting a car of this vintage, it is impossible to make a reasonable estimate of value.

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'70 XKE FHC
'69 XKE OTS