HCE
Freshman Member
Offline
Hi everyone,
I am new to the board, but not new to British cars and all of their quirks. In my younger years I owned several including an MGB-GT, two Bug-eye Sprites, a Jensen Healey, and a Lotus Europa.
I have been looking for an XK-E off and on for about 20 years, but I have never found the right car at a price I was willing to pay. I may have found one, and I would appreciate your opinions as to what would be a fair price.
First, some background. I have no interest in a show car. I simply what something which is mechanically sound that we can drive to lunch or dinner on Saturday, or up to the North GA mountains to visit wineries – about 150 miles round trip.
My perfect car would be a 1968 so called Series I ½ because I like the Series I body and the Series II interior. I have also considered Series II cars with the 4.2 liter engine, but nothing after 1969 because of the emissions gear that went on the 1970 cars.
This is the car I am looking at:
1969 - Burgundy w/ black top and interior. Top is in good shape except for a ¼ inch hole behind the passenger seat which looks like a cigarette burn. The rear window is cloudy
The interior is in good original condition, some cracking, but leather is not ripped and seams are good.
62,000 miles, but not driven in 5 to 17 years – more on that in a minute.
Paint was redone in the original color 1982 or 83, but it is faded and there are some scratches and dings. I would probably want to repaint it the original burgundy fairly soon. There appears to be only a little rust along the lower edge of the rocker panels.
The chrome is in good condition, as are wheels. There is a lot of tread on the tires, but they are probably not roadworthy. The owner says it just needs new tubes.
The owner says when he last drove it, it ran strong, with no transmission problems, and no oil burning or smoking issues.
The owner reports some electrical issues and suggests it needs a new wiring harness.
I have known the owner for 20 years. We are acquaintances, but not close friends; but we do share many mutual friends, so I want to pay a fair price.
When I first looked at the car in 1998 the owner wanted $85K and said that it had not been driven in 3 or 4 years. He now wants $25K and says that he has not driven the car in about 5 years, but I have a strong suspicion that it is more like 15+ years.
I figure as a minimum, I will need to flush the radiator, replace all hoses and belts, change the oil and filter and the fluids in the transmission and differential, replace the tires and tubes, flush the break lines and rebuild the master and wheel cylinders. It will probably also need an exhaust system, though the owner says it is good.
The car is in another state and I live in Atlanta so I will probably buy it without a personal inspection.
I know it is difficult to assess a car’s value based on so little information, but any help you can offer is appreciated.
Thanks,
HCE
I am new to the board, but not new to British cars and all of their quirks. In my younger years I owned several including an MGB-GT, two Bug-eye Sprites, a Jensen Healey, and a Lotus Europa.
I have been looking for an XK-E off and on for about 20 years, but I have never found the right car at a price I was willing to pay. I may have found one, and I would appreciate your opinions as to what would be a fair price.
First, some background. I have no interest in a show car. I simply what something which is mechanically sound that we can drive to lunch or dinner on Saturday, or up to the North GA mountains to visit wineries – about 150 miles round trip.
My perfect car would be a 1968 so called Series I ½ because I like the Series I body and the Series II interior. I have also considered Series II cars with the 4.2 liter engine, but nothing after 1969 because of the emissions gear that went on the 1970 cars.
This is the car I am looking at:
1969 - Burgundy w/ black top and interior. Top is in good shape except for a ¼ inch hole behind the passenger seat which looks like a cigarette burn. The rear window is cloudy
The interior is in good original condition, some cracking, but leather is not ripped and seams are good.
62,000 miles, but not driven in 5 to 17 years – more on that in a minute.
Paint was redone in the original color 1982 or 83, but it is faded and there are some scratches and dings. I would probably want to repaint it the original burgundy fairly soon. There appears to be only a little rust along the lower edge of the rocker panels.
The chrome is in good condition, as are wheels. There is a lot of tread on the tires, but they are probably not roadworthy. The owner says it just needs new tubes.
The owner says when he last drove it, it ran strong, with no transmission problems, and no oil burning or smoking issues.
The owner reports some electrical issues and suggests it needs a new wiring harness.
I have known the owner for 20 years. We are acquaintances, but not close friends; but we do share many mutual friends, so I want to pay a fair price.
When I first looked at the car in 1998 the owner wanted $85K and said that it had not been driven in 3 or 4 years. He now wants $25K and says that he has not driven the car in about 5 years, but I have a strong suspicion that it is more like 15+ years.
I figure as a minimum, I will need to flush the radiator, replace all hoses and belts, change the oil and filter and the fluids in the transmission and differential, replace the tires and tubes, flush the break lines and rebuild the master and wheel cylinders. It will probably also need an exhaust system, though the owner says it is good.
The car is in another state and I live in Atlanta so I will probably buy it without a personal inspection.
I know it is difficult to assess a car’s value based on so little information, but any help you can offer is appreciated.
Thanks,
HCE