As I gradually build up the funds needed for the car I want, I've been watching ebay auctions. I see a lot of series 1 and series 2 cars are listed between 150k and 200k, but I haven't seen any of them sell. Even the really nice ones get bid up to 85k, don't meet reserve, then reappear for a new auction.

Are people asking for more than they realistically can get, or is there something going on that I'm not aware of?

​BTW, my intended purchase is a running, driving 6 cylinder coupe. Significantly less is being asked for those, and they rarely sell for more than 50 or 60k.

 

A lot of people have been ruthlessly pushing the boat out on prices, and have in recent years generally succeeded, but a reckoning is coming with a recession imminent both in the US and also here in the UK. Asset prices have gone through the roof as a result of governments flooding their economies with cash, (aka quantitative easing). The classic car market is in a typical frothy situation at the moment. Hopefully the speculators and others who just have these cars to make money will get their fingers, (and bank balances !!), badly burned so us enthusiasts can get a look in.

 

Thanks. I thought the prices seemed artificially high. The guys who remember these are aging out and I just don't see them selling for the prices they're asking.

I saw one in Los Angeles that was exactly what I'll be looking for and it actually sold for 45k. I haven't seen one hit 100k yet, regardless of condition.

 

Check Hagerty insurance valuation tool:

https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-to...xoCRGgQAvD_BwE

Hagerty watches sales and uses that data to value the car. As an ins co. they have excellent customer service, reasonable rates. I have insured my E and my Chris Craft with them for many years, as well as a 67 Corvette that has since been sold.

 

I have all of my bikes and my MG with Hagerty

 

I have all of my bikes and my MG with Hagerty. Good company.

 

I find the Bring a Trailer model pages very helpful for this kind of research. For the Series 1 E-Types, it's here: Jaguar E-Type Series I BaT Auctions. For the Series 2 & 3 it's here: Jaguar S2 & S3 BaT auctions. It's kinda weird that they have agglomerated the S2 and S3 into a single page, but that can easily be remedied: When you go to the model page, scroll down to the graph of "BaT Auction Results". Then click on "Filters" and enter (for example) Vehicle Year 1972 to 1975 and click the "Filter" button. That will show you all of the prior auctions of Series 3 E-Types. You can also filter it for other things - for example, to exclude auctions that did not meet reserve and show only auctions that actually completed.

 

Current owners of e-Types rarely need to sell one to make their next mortgage payment, and they may have some serious time/money invested in the car, especially if they've done significant renovation. Both factors tend to push the asking price higher with limited urgency to chase the market down. Your best bet is to find an estate, or someone who's reached to point they want to significantly trim their collection.

One suggestion, join your local Jaguar club as a source of both leads and advice. It's only $60/yr here in NC, and includes national membership.

 

From what I can see the owners who reatly want to sell are going to have to take less money. The prices on them aren't likely to up, either. I intend to buy an E-type with the expectation that it's going to lose value in a big way

 

Looking at recent prices or cars going through UK auctions over the past 18 months, the values have dropped significantly since the peak in 2017.

For example a full nut and bolt restoration of a UK matching numbers Series 3 coupe went for 47K 3 weeks ago - far less than the restoration cost.

 

The only car I've seen sell was for around $40k. It was rough, but it ran and was driveable. I know I'll have to do some work but I really don't want to end up with a cracked block or a warped head.

 

There are still a few poor cars around but certainly here in the UK there are some bargains to be had.

With regards to the Series 3 I mentioned, I can vouch for the car as it belonged to a close friend who sold that plus a quite tidy Series 2 convertible through the same auction. The Series 3 went for a lot less than the money put into the car getting it restored.

and that seems to be the case at the moment, it’s much cheaper to buy a fully restored car than get one that needs doing and get the work done subsequently. Of course if you’re handy with the spanner’s and can do bodywork then that’s a different story…

 

I would recommend looking at Bring a Trailer (aka BaT). Not only do they have some nice vehicles for sale but they show what cars have sold for in the past., Herb