I think there is a miscommunication on the Jaguar portion of this. It reads
Jaguar XJS. The future classic XJS's are cabriolets - XJ-SC's - (especially the
manual transmission 6-cylinder cabriolet - of which there are about 50 in the
US), and the convertibles (almost all of which are V-12's). The XJS coupes are
so valueless that I picked one up for free (well, as long as I would remove from
the guys property) and sent it to a breaker about 2 years ago - it had been
wrecked, but the repair would not have cost all that much. The only XJS coupe
of
value is a '76 with a manual four speed and V-12 engine (and vinyl top), and
they're rare as hens teeth in the US. There are people that really like the XJS
coupes, but they are pretty common, and not worth much, and due to their
abundance it will be a long time before they are valuable.
Here's where I think the communication error seems to have occured - the XJ
sedans (XJ's) are also virtually valueless with the exception of series I XJ's
that rust badly (1968 - 1973 cars, the 1973 V-12 short wheelbase car being the
most valuable and nicest of the whole XJ run), and XJC's (two door pillarless
coupe that looks like an XJ sedan) in either 6 cylindar or V-12 form. If
you've
seen a rusty BMW CS, try finding an XJC to compare what bad is. I own an XJC
V-12, that needs restoration (but it runs, and it is fast and rust free), and if
you want to figure out how you can spend an inordinate amount of money with
little return, just try restoring one of these. Don't get me wrong, I like the
car a lot and want to keep and restore it, but it is going to cost me plenty by
the time it is done, and because of the cost for each part of the job, it will
probably be 3 years before I can save up enough to do anything with it (and I
said that 7 years ago when I purchased it). Of course, almost all jags before
the XJ era (and including the XKE) are valuable - probably the least recognized
are the Mark X and 420G models.
Also, if you just want a large pretty car that is reliable - a well sorted
1984-1986 Jaguar is about a cheap as they come.
Phil Bates
Too many cars not enough time and money
'67MGB
'58MGA
N wrote:
>
> 1976-1996 Jaguar XJS - The only ones of value are the coupes, - especially
> the V-12. Rarity will bring future value. And, many have been converted to
> Chevy power or had their vinyl roof coverings removed. So the few that were
> made are even fewer because of bastardization.
>
> BMW 3.0 CS coupe - Forget it! The CS has been on every car magazines list
> of "Best" cars of all time for years. The design is incredibly beautiful.
> I just sold mine on 9/11/01. I was so upside down in that car it was
> ridiculous. They ARE great cars. But, to date, there is no market for
> them. And, I hear that BMW is no longer supplying parts. Even back in the
> early '90's when I started working on mine, few OE parts were available. I
> bought one of the last 5 O.E. wooden dashboards in the world back then.
> And, they are incredibly rust prone. If you think MG's get rusty - forget
> it. "You ain't seen nuthin' til you've seen a CS up close & ugly."
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