I thought y'all might find this story from Hagerty Insurance interesting....

Top Classic Car Exports from US

I would not have expected to see the XJS on this list. I can imagine they'd be more desirable back in their home country, but I wouldn't have thought they'd want our LHD versions.

 

I don’t know about XJ-Ses now, but 10 years ago you could buy an E-type in the states, ship it to England, convert the steering, and sell it for a profit. Maybe the XJ-S is next?

 

Indeed interesting to see the XJS show up among the porsches and mercs from europe.. ~1/3 of the top list are shipped back to europe. Not sure how you condlude that their going back to UK? You do realize that most of europe is LHD ?

 

There are plenty of basket cases over here that we ship to the Europe.

 

This is why markets suddenly become rise to ridiculous levels. All classic Porsches are wanted back in Germany, and Im sure the XJS will fall victim to this. Im already getting priced out on many things

 

I kind of wondered if some were actually being sent back as rust-free parts cars.

 

I wonder if they count one's that military members bring with them when posted overseas.

If I get a European posting I'll be bring my xjs. If it's ready by then lol.

If people want xjs they should look at Canada. The exchange rate alone worth it. It's not popular here and I see the same ones listed for over a year for sale. Most are very old people selling them.

 

Yup, me too.

After owning several over the last 23 years I suspect my present oldie-Jag will be my last. For the longest time the XJSs and older XJ sedans were cheap enough for any hobbyist to afford. Cool cars for small money.

Well, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

Cheers
DD

 

my XJS is already a RHD (right hand drive)?

 

Jaguar created that situation with their “new design language” to a certain degree in my opinion…. As time passes and it becomes clear that Jaguar has permanently trashed all their heritage, and that no future Jaguar sedan will ever have fluted bonnets, round headlamps, leaper mascots or anything that looks like anything built between 1935-2010, then cars will get pricier. They where just old Jaguar sedans when there was aesthetic continuity. Now they are almost becoming modern automotive relics.

 

I fully agree.

But I think there's more to it.

Seems to me that all the older, interesting cars are climbing upwards. Anything with rear wheel drive, it seems.

I think it's just a continuation of what we've seen before.... and what brought me to Jaguars to begin with. Certain desirable cars reach a point where they're simply no longer affordable for many people. As a result, more affordable alternatives are sought ......and they become desirable as hobby/classic/collector cars.

I was a muscle car guy decades ago. I left the hobby and then, a few years later, discovered I couldn't afford to get back in. Jags, though, could be bought for peanuts. The same basic scenario can be seen across the board of makes and models.

Cheers
DD

 

It’s definitely a combo of things. I may be loosing touch now in my “late” 30’s but I think no one really likes new cars, so that’s a factor. Not in the way people used to like cars…. Humans are only designed to take in so much information and when you have cars that have such overwhelming amounts of tech, and that all look exactly the same, and that can go at speeds that you WILL NEVER be able to drive it at, they become obsolete burdens very quickly. All My friends in my age range (older millennials like me) HAVE NO CLUE what their cars can do. I have a friend that has a new BMW with a billion different “mood” settings, drive modes, massage options, and the list goes on and on and on. I discover something new every time we ride in his car. Something he has no idea his car can do. The ones that have simpler cars don’t give a single crap about them. They just buy them because they need transportation. I have a friend that is literally using UBER and gave up car ownership…. The cars today that can evoke the type of emotion a pre 2010 Jaguar can are getting rarer and rarer and more and more expensive. So now, if you are a natural born “car guy” and want something unique, sure you can spend 1/2 the worth of your home on a Maserati or an Alfa (the equivalent of a pre 2010 Jaguar) OR you can get a reliable, still completely “modern” and drivable, comfortable, unique , objectively beautiful and serviceable car in the form of and XJ40, X300, Lincoln Mark VII , Porsche 928 or whatever else. That will continue to drive prices up and up.

 

That is exactly what I have just decided to do. You're right, I don't like new cars. I resist saying it out loud for fear of sounding like my father, or any previous generation having trouble letting go of their buggy whips or whatever is becoming obsolete. I have been drawn to cars all my life, but can't get excited about the newer robotized ones. I don't care how much power they have.

I drove an X300 year-round in the snow belt back when they were just used cars, and it was a fantastic winter car when on four good tires. I love the heated windshield and defrost mode too. So that's a good candidate.

 

Maybe there will be a new impetus to export XJS From N America to the UK. THe latest KWE email I got said that the XJS is rarer than the E type in the UK - 8000 E types and 3500 XJS registered (I assume that means driveable).
Bill

 

Bill,

The KWE figure for XJSs is wrong. They didn't look up the records correctly. At the moment, there are more XJSs in the UK than E-Types. c8000 E-Types, c8900 XJSs. However, the number of E-Types has doubled in last 20 years as cars have got re-imported from the US. Whereas the XJS figure is broadly flat for the last 8 years at least.

The XJSs that are being imported from the US generally then just get sold on to LHD countries. Whereas the E-Types that get imported generally tend to get restored and converted to RHD and most stay in the UK

Cheers

Paul

 

Interesting point on the numbers Paul. What puzzles me is that when I go to large car shows in the UK (not specifically Jag ones) I see many more E types than XJS on display.

Cheers,
LeeP

 

Some associates of mine have sent boat loads (sometimes literally) of old Porsche's to europe, they end up being restored in the areas of europe where labor is cheap and re-sold wherever the money is.
Pretty fair business if you have the contacts and capitol, though the cars are getting a little scarce finally. There are a LOT of older cars sold around the world that you just never hear of since the buyers
don't want the attention(often because they are the really rich in really poor countries).

 

Eastern Europe has the skill and cheap
labour, Poland, Hungary, etc. some of the best resto’s I have seen have come out of eastern europe.

 

Yep, seen some of that too. Sometimes they just have the shell repaired and painted and assemble it the rest of the
way elsewhere, sometimes the whole deal. With JP over in Denmark it's pretty handy parts-wise.

 

Maybe they'll take ex-wives also. Put them in the trunk. Save on shipping.