This is a post from Hagerty that ran across my email today. I had to write something, I couldn’t take it.
Sucks having our oxen gored…
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I have a 1976 series 2 in my storage garage that I parked there 10 years ago after some neighborhood kids vandalized it. Some dents and scratched paint. It is my favorite car of all time for driving but just not economically sensible to repair it as it also has some minor rust and over 200,000 miles on the clock. Couldn’t bring myself to sell it though so I convinced myself that I would eventually come across an xj6c and need it for a parts car. Not likely to happen at this stage of my life. They are beautiful and marvellous driving and handling cars but just way to complex to properly restore unless you are prepared to lose a lot of money on the venture.
First off,
These cars are a labor of love. Paying some one to do the work, yes you’re right it isn’t cost effective. doing the work yourself, and the fact that a good portion of the mechanical parts are interchangeable from '72 to '92 mechanical bits that is; there is an abundance. That being said, it’s been my experience that the cars are actually cheaper to restore and repair than lets say, my Gen2 RS/SS Camaro & my '96 Impala SS
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No small part of my reasoning for selling the E.
We have had our Series 1 since 1987. It gets babied. Sure we’ve spent more than it’s worth over a long period with rust repairs, driveline rebuilds, refinishing, after market air etc. It’s our family favourite and does regular trips. It’s paying us back now in kind, just running costs (my work) and registration. Annual registration renewal is $46.00 on the historic program, for 60 days private use. It will be the last of our classics to go - as we age the others will become too difficult to enter/drive/exit. It’s actual value doesn’t mean much when we’ve had it and enjoyed it so much! Paul
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It depends what you mean…more than what? I have a classic car price guide (2017 edition) which gives the range for the S1-3 V12’s as £35,000 (excellent) to £3,000 (project) against a launch price of only £3,726. The S1 4.2 6’s are at similar figures.
They will never match E type prices, but I would suggest they are on a par with saloons such as the Mk2. IMHO the XJ saloons remain a good investment - they just haven’t been “discovered” yet!!!
Frankie
3700$ (1970) are just 23000$ in todays money, is that true? A bargain compared to today’s car prices, that would about get you a compact car…
I think the reason they are so cheap is that not many want them, also the big ships generally lose a lot of value very quickly.
The personal and enjoyment value is quite high though, also it seems in comparison to the other cars of the time and segment those cars fare very well. Which is much more important if you ask me, and why should affordability be that bad? It only makes it worse in terms of investment. Provided that prices don’t go up… and I doubt they will go up by a lot.
Well, restoring 30 or 40 year old cars of any specie isn’t cheap. Even with most work DIY.
And the degree and extent of the goal matters much. A five hundred dollar paint job ot one ten times that!!!
A simpler car or a complex one? MG or TR or Jaguar.
Carl
Those are amazing prices for XJ’s something you just don’t see here in the US.
They are a labor of LOVE.
Its actually nice that EVERY car is not a blue chip. That’s why like myself you should…ENJOY THE CAR!
They just make too many as well…but that’s a good thing, parts are so cheap.
Want to compare a 1952 ASTON MARTIN DB2 part to a 1952 JAGUAR XK120 part.
You would be shocked.
GTJOEY1314
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I like your optimism, I have XJ saloons in total, a series 1, a series 2 SWB and 2 Series 3, I paid $2,200 for all of the cars listed above. All run l, most rust free, and all need suspension work, and leather.
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network.
Suspension work is affordable, leather is your issue but why not find another one with good leather, after all they are affordable. They only need time, and space.
Sure the DB2 is more expensive because the parts are more expensive, and because they are rarer. I don’t know how this makes them that much more special. Cars are to be driven and had fun with, or at least looked at and enjoyed. The XJ‘s can do that for more value for money - (?)… would I prefer the DB2? Well, yes I would, but it is expensive and wants more care because it’s more special… and expensive. Did I say expensive?
Hmmm …
first of all: why would anyone expect an old car to just rise in value because it gets older? Market value depends on popular appreciation and this again is a very complex matter. Just don’t ask why an XJ today is worth less than an E type (I’ve got a 1975 price list recommending Series 2 XJ 4.2 at UKP 5.136 - MOD or auto - and Series 3 E types manual at UKP 3742, auto at UKP 3937), why a Jaguar is worth less than an Aston or - weird enough - less than a BMW Isetta (“bubble car”).
They are complex to work on, hard to restore and difficult to maintain. And that’s what our list is about: today I installed the Heated Window switch I repaired (total cost, thanks to Aristides, nil; 20 EUR invested into a spare switch that served as blueprint and backup and now sits in a shelf until needed), and pulled both RH door cappings suffering from tears I’m intending to fix with some new vinyl.
If you want to make money, buy Bitcoins, if you want fun in life, repair your old Jag - and drive it as - not often, but - impressively as possible. This winter I went skiing twice in the Jag with my son and some of his friends. Experiences like that will last longer in your memory than a few thousand bucks in your wallet.
Best
Jochen
75 XJ6L 4.2 auto (UK spec)
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Especially expensive if they come with Tippi Hedron. Channeling self as a teenager “old enough” to watch “The Birds”. What a smasher!
Too much focus on money, practicality and transportation here - you need to think of the series saloons as art on wheels. If I lost my S1 I would be devastated - it’s just such a gorgeous thing to look at and ride in. At its last MOT test the testers comment was “just intoxicating”!
Frankie
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And that is the only “value” that matters. How many people get to own and drive, (and constantly work on!) an automobile that is, “just intoxicating”?
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I concur, with you Frankie. The value of these cars are isn’t about money, it’s about the way I feel when I look at them on the drive, up on a lift; in the garage. it puts a smile on my face. I think wow. as I gaze at the beautiful lines, and they are intoxicating. That’s why I have 8 of them - I think. well it’s a good excuse anyway.
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