Buying Advise Please

[MichaelSB]

I am looking for a 2+2 or FHC and would consider auto or manual, I have one car under consideration at the moment but it is 200 miles from me so I am waiting for more pictures and info.

Any buying advise would be welcomed, I already have a 4L XJS convertible but would like to add an e type to my garage.

Thanks

[nick320]

I think the usual advice about checking the bodywork very carefully is difficult to fault. Presumably you have read the buying advice on this forum and others ? Buy a copy of The essential buyers guide by Peter Crespin, which will give you a list of areas to check for and score. The scoring can be a bit subjective but the check process makes it harder to miss something in your enthusiasm ! Colin Ford in the JEC can give technical advice, pricing guidance and suggest other experts.

Good hunting, Nick

[stuarthardy]

Hi Michael

Welcome to the world of E-Types.

My advice would be, unless you particularly want a restoration project, to buy a good quality relatively recent restoration. Good original cars are few and far between and a poor car is going to be a money pit.

Buying a sorted restoration means somebody else has taken the financial hit and you get a good, reliable and safe car. Of course, you need to get an expert opinion and I would recommend you get one of the club's valuers to give you an informed assessment.

Whenever I look at a car, especially a classic, I find emotions creeping in. Taking along someone who will look at it dispassionately can save you a fortune and help you find a real gem, because there are some out there. Talk to as many knowledgeable people as you can, starting with the club experts. Their contact details are in the club magazine.

Personally, I would avoid the better known purveyors of E-Types as they tend to be extremely over priced although you should get a good car with a 1 year warranty but remember that you are only likely to do a couple of thousand miles a year so the warranty isn't worth THAT much. Buy the best you can afford and spend your weekends driving it, not fixing it.

Obviously, if you want an automatic it will have to be a 2+2 or a series 3 roadster. I personally prefer the 6 cylinder cars, especially the coupe's. But that's just me.

Good luck and I hope you find the right car for you.

Regards
Stuart.

PS I have a series 1 3.8 Coupe restoration project. Its an expensive game.

[PoB]

Hi Michael

There are some members who would assist you on viewing the car, I being one of them. I have some experience on E Types, check:
www.etypepat.f-snet.com

I live in Camberley Surrey, if you need any help drop me a line

Regards
Pat

[PhilBell]

Hello Michael

I agreee with the advice already posted and would like to add the following based on my (reasonably) recent experiences.

Forgive me if this sounds like stating the obvious, but do be very fussy and prepared to walk away time and time again. There's lots of choice out there but also a lot of fool's gold. I spent 9 months and 1500 miles looking at what were largely resto projects dolled up in thick filler and paint before I found my coupe. Yes, it was expensive and time consuming, but nothing like as much as paying good money for what turns out to be a project.

I'd also be wary of freshly-painted cars unless they come with detailed photography showing lots of new panels fitted. Current E-type values make the resale respray worthwhile once more.

The first bodywork areas I always checked were the sill-floor seam (is it bulging or hidden beneath thick filler or underseal?); door fit (has the car been poorly restored/repaired previously?); bonnet fit and condition (starting with the rolled bottom inside edges near the sills, then the underside of the front wing-centre bonnet seams looking for rust or filler). If they're all bad you're pretty much looking at a full open-wallet-surgery body resto.

Although bodywork is the first priority, check the mechanical condition just as carefully because the cost of repairing/restoring a worn-out E-type adds up with alarming speed – just one example I saw had burned up £25k in mechanical work alone, and it was a nice driver, not a concours car.

Finally, be tenacious, don't believe anything the vendor tells you unless it's backed up with evidence you can see for yourself and enjoy the hunt.

Best of luck

Phil

[Car-Nut]

I bought Pete Crespins - Buying an E-Type guide

About £7 on ebay a very usefull book

[MichaelSB]

Thanks Guy's

After a break in my search to sort out mu Jensen Interceptor I am now back in the hunt for an E-type.

Fingers and everything else crossed that I will soon find one.

[Car-Nut]

Which series are you looking for and whats you budget if I see one matching your budget I can email you if you want

[stuarthardy]

Are you sure you want to buy an E-Type now? I can't imagine there's been a worse time since the late eighties/early nineties when prices went beserk.

The fiftieth celebrations have made current prices silly, especially with greedy traders asking ridiculous prices for fairly mundane cars. Why not wait until the fervour dies down a little.

I am concerned about the buy and bodge brigade that seem to come out of the woodwork at times like this.

I hope you find a good one and I'm sure you will but maybe the winter is a better time to buy when all the celebrations are over.

Stuart

[XjRestorations]

I think Stuart has offered up great advice there! Wait until the party is over

Cheers,
Keith