Good Afternoon,

I am trying to value my father's 1986 XJS convertible.and yes the year is correct. I am attaching a number of pictures and a letter from Rosenthal Jaguar in Tysons Corner Va where the vehicle was purchased. It was subject to a body off restoration in 2011 where it was completely disassembled and all the mechanical s were replaced or repaired, the sheet medal was replaced where rusted and it was repainted the original British racing green. After the restoration it was appraised for $35,000. Since the restoration it has been driven approximately 10,000 miles.

as the letter states this vehicle was essentially the prototype for the XJS. What do you think this vehicle is worth today? I need a value for the estate inventory.

 

Hi,
Interesting car. To my mind the fact it was an early production convertable doesn't add any additional value per se. Suggest you scan the classifieds for similar age convertables in similar condition and mileage and use that as a guide.

 

Thank you for the response. The problem I am having is that this not just an early production model it was the prototype. If you read the letter which is the first attachment there were 5 made that year and were used for display and study purposes. This particular car was taken by Jag around the country and shown to dealers to see if they should produce the convertible. We were also told that the other 4 models were used in tests that destroyed them for the certification. I do not have anything to prove that as it is hearsay from the dealer. Of course a car salesman would never lie, The convertibles did not go on sale until 1998 which is why I made the post tying to get a value. I guess it comes down to if there is an interest in an older Jag prototype.

 

sorry they did not go on sale until 1988 not 1998

 

Thanks for clarifying.
To me its a niche car (proptotype) within a niche market (XJS). So the pool of potential buyers who might want to pay a premium for a prototype is small. Its curious that it underwent what sounds like an entensive restoration in 2011. That's kind of good/bad news for a potential buyer re. why? originality vs. potential issues sorted, at least a dozen years back.

 

Lately Bring-A-Trailer seems to be the hot venue for specialty cars so I'd go there and browse prior XJS sales to get a feel for the market. Exceptional condition examples of oldie Jags are getting some surprising results.

Being a prototype might generate more interest in the car, as opposed to others for sale at the time, but I think the condition of the car will have much bearing on actual market value.

IOW, I don't think you're sitting on a gold mine :-)

Just my 2 cents

Cheers
DD

 

I agre with Doug, but a genuine pre-production vehicle has a good chnace of being more valuable that a production-run verssion. In the UK I think it definitely would.

 

Madigan1965,

I think you need to be careful how you position the history of the car when selling it.

The car isn't a prototype of the factory Jaguar XJS convertible. It's an early version of the Hess & Eisenhardt converted Coupes which plugged the gap for a convertible car in the US until Jaguar had developed and produced the factory XJS convertible.

Jaguar had prototypes of a factory convertible in the UK already running in 1985 (which were converted from Cabriolets), but the project was taking too long and they were worried about losing sales in the US. So they signed a contract with Hess & Eisenhardt for them to convert Coupes in the US (the VIN of your car indicates it was built as Coupe) for a period of 18 months until the proper factory convertible was available in 1988. Your car may have been taken around to dealers to promote interest, but it wasn't in order to decide whether to produce the H&E convertible. That decision had already been taken when the contract was signed in 1986, and cars were produced in 1986, 1987 & 1988. As you probably know, H&E converted approx 838 Coupes until Jaguar had actually developed and put the factory convertible into production in 1988. The precise number of H&E cars is unclear as there was a fire which destroyed the records. There are significant differences both structurally and trim-wise between the H&E conversions, and the eventual factory Convertible, which was developed in conjunction with Karmann.

So, I'm sure your car has an interesting provenance and may well be of interest to US enthusiasts. If there were only 5 produced in 1986 and yours is the only surviving one, then that will give it a degree of interest as the earliest H&E converted car. I would suggest that you should position it as the earliest surviving H&E XJS Convertible, but not as a prototype of anything. How you would value that, I don't know, but I'm sure there are US members here who can provide some input.

Good luck with the sale,

Paul

 

My 1988 H&E VIN # 147806 is no special XJS. The only difference is the way the top sits when lowered, the 4 window switches, the ballasts that were placed behind the headlamps and the infuriating dual fuel tanks. When I posted about my acquisition of this car I was told to send it to the junkyard by a forum member. That statement just gave me the impetus to prove him wrong..
What did Madigan1965 mean by "BODY OFF RESTORATION"?
My car was not completely disassembled, but all the faulty mechanicals were replaced or repaired, the sheet medal was repaired where rusted and it was repainted the original color.
The interior was also redone.
I had an offer of $9,000.00 but I decided that I was going to keep the car.

1988 H&E with top raised

This is what I like about the car with the top down

before

after

 

It's hard to judge or predict what will "take off" in the specialty car/classic car market.

At the higher end of the collector car market being the "first of...." and "last of...." and "oldest known...." can really change the valuation of the car. As can celebrity ownership, being a known "press car", etc. In the case of Jaguars this might include some E-types, or XK-SS...that type of thing.

Although the XJS is gradually being noticed and generally increasing in value over the years I just don't see where being the oldest known H&E will have much influence on market value. The XJS just has reached that level....yet.

And.....I could be very wrong :-)

Cheers
DD

 

Thank you all for your thoughts on the valuation. The use of the word "Prototype" I agree is misplaced and I will instead use "early production" when describing it in the future. The restoration that was done involved stripping the paint to bare metal, fixing the rust which was located in the usual spots and repainting the factory color. The engine and transmission were removed and anything that needed replacing was replaced with period correct parts from Jaguar. The electrical gremlins were chased down and fixed buy installing a new wiring harness, new leather, carpet and top were installed. Some one mentioned the issue with the gas tanks, when the car was new my father had an issue with fuel starvation because of the tanks. Jaguar sent a tech from England (I think) who rebuilt the entire fuel delivery system under warranty. At the time the cost to do so was around $14,000. I still have all of the receipts from the work ever performed on the car.