Jaguar E-Type vs. 911

caliber60 · 06-11-2003, 03:34 PM

How reliable is Jaguar E-Type comparing to 911? I can stand the ownership cost and time of a 911. Will buying a Jaguar E-Type a complete different story? More time, $$$ and pain?

jmz · jmz's Garage

buy another 911 instead!

s_wilwerding · s_wilwerding's Garage

I would say that a Jaguar is much less reliable. I remember reading a Road and Track a few years ago. Peter Egan had an old Jaguar, and he was trying to adjust the throttle. He mentioned that the throttle linkage in a Jaguar has 47 parts. Jaguar's also have the famous British electrical systems, which can be a whole lot of fun to troubleshoot.

Having said that, I have to say that an E-type is one of the most beautiful cars ever built.

jmz · jmz's Garage

or 356. I have heard lots of problems w/ jags esp. electrics. no firsthand knowledge. ...again buy another porsche

johncj8989 · 06-11-2003, 03:38 PM

I'd rather have a long hood 911 than a looong hood E-type. Im with JMZ.

epbrown · 06-11-2003, 03:49 PM

I suggest you read up on the E-Types more. Beautiful cars, but like Ferraris, there is no such thing as a cheap one. A $25,000 E-Type is a car that needs $15,000 worth of work. They also aren't the roomiest cars in the world, even the later incarnations with the indented floor-pan. It's a "blue chip" classic, but not the most practical.

Emanuel

yelcab1 · 06-11-2003, 03:50 PM

Jaguar-E type, reliable? They don't get pronounced in the same breadth.

Superman · 06-11-2003, 03:50 PM

I'd agree that E-type Jaguars are exceedingly beautiful. But you never ever see them on the road. Perhaps there is a reason for this.

billh1963 · billh1963's Garage

I owned a 1962 Series 1 E-type convertible in the late '80's. Beautiful car with a documented ground up restoration that I bought for $35K. Sold it 2 years later after putting another $8K into it and only drove it 5,000 miles.

To me the early E-type (series 1 covered headlights) are THE most beautiful car in the world...period! With that said they are demanding beasts that will break your heart and wallet. That's why my "play" car now is a 1996 993 C4S. Not quite as good looking but much more comfortable and reliable!

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

I love E-types. Stunning cars. I even like the Harold & Maude mobile, and the descendant M Coupe. But there is no way I'd own one unless I had a mechanic on retainer. And a witchdoctor for the Lucas electric systems.

What about reliability on the newer ones? Jack? The XK is pretty sassy.

Yargk · Yargk's Garage

Now where is the picture of the book "A practical guide to Jaguar maintenance" with the cash register on the cover?

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

I was doing a bit of research for a friend. Here's an interesting forum and site with buying advice.

Just as there are rabid Porsche fans, there are very devoted Jag lovers. They are indeed beautiful cars. There are some nicely restored drivers for the mid $20's. However, they wear badly (you need to drop a massive engine to replace the clutch) and were not all that robust when new, much less 30 years later.

A beautiful Sunday driver, lots of social groups connected with English cars, and lots of war stories about infamous Lucas electricals.

masraum · 06-11-2003, 04:12 PM

E-types are very beautiful cars, but are just about on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to reliability and at the top when it comes to cost.

david c. · 06-11-2003, 04:13 PM

A good friend of mine has a 1970 E-type roadster that he purchased new. It now has about 9k original miles on it. Evidently, he won some national events with it (concours) back when I was a boy and too young to appreciate it.

Anyway, I've known the car most of my life. The total lack of space in the footwell/pedal box area on a manual transmission equipped model is absolutely insane. I don't think I could drive it with my shoes on and I have a reasonable shoe size (12).

Gorgeous, yes. Practical. I doubt it.

targa88 · 06-11-2003, 04:17 PM

E-type=MGB

MGB= Monthly Garage Bills

My father owned one 25 years ago. Beautiful and distinctive in British racing green. One day he sold it. Why? Cost of maintenance.

carmad · 06-11-2003, 04:33 PM

There is a TV show from the UK detailing the restoration of a MK 1 E-Type, on the Home and Leisure channel on Sundays.
This guy spent $ 130,000 doing a ground up restoration, admittedly the car is better than new, but you could buy a lot of Porsche for that kind of money. As a Brit, I love the E-type but would never buy one, crappy electrics, poor rust protection, tend to overheat etc, etc. Give me a Porsche anyday.

Adam · Adam's Garage

Didn't Peter Egan also refer to E-type Jaguars as: "the greatest crumpet collector known to man"?

cowtown · 06-11-2003, 04:43 PM

Yep, that was Egan. There's a guy who drives an Etype to my coffee shop on Saturdays, and you'd swear my 911 was invisible when I'm following him. That is such a BEAUTIFUL car. But then, on the way home, I carve a corner, and forget all about the Jag

HarryD · 06-11-2003, 04:58 PM

I have always wanted an E-type but, as a former owner of a british sports car you need to know the "facts":

1-Lucas (aka Lord of Darkness) has never met an electron they liked;
2-The advertising campaign that never was: "Jaguar, the finest looking car on the side of the road"; or
2-As near as I can tell, there are three methods to own a reliable Jag:
a) Own 2, one for the shop and one to drive. Swap frequently;
b) Own 1 and have your mechanic follow in his pickup; or
c) Own 1 and leave it in the garage. Drive sparingly.

That said, at a former emplyer, the fellow who parked next to me for almost 2 years drive his E-type every day. Sounded and looked great. I think I did not see the car a total of 20 days in that period. I still the car now and again so they can be kept running.

Good luck on your decision.

reed930 · 06-11-2003, 05:17 PM

I have a '63 E-Type which I bought from the original owner back in 1989. The car hasn't been too unreliable, but then it is hardly a daily driver. The thing that wreaked havoc on Jaguar as well as most of the British (and American) manufacturers were the crash and emission standards of the late '60s and early '70s. I think it was at this point that Jaguar reliability really went down the tubes. Up until then I think their cars were competitive with anything else in the world. And it is also at this point when the engineering prowess of the German manufacturers really shone.

What does all of this rambling mean? Well, for one thing I would never consider any Jaguar after the the '68 model year. Their early solutions to crash and emission standards were particularly inelegant. I would also look for an original car that has been cared for and hasn't been "improved." Really what killed these cars was the treatment they received during the '70s and '80s when they were considered just another used car. A lot of flash for not much cash meant that many people who were seduced by the style may not have had the interest or capability of giving them the service that any old car requires.

All cars have their quirks and saying that Jaguars had problems with rust is being overly kind to every other manufacturer before the advent of galvanizing. Neither Porsche nor BMW has any reason to be proud of their cars in this regard.

The early cars are beautiful and wonderfully engineered in a totally different way than Porsches. Like anything else, buying the right car means everything. I looked very long before I found a car worth purchasing. The pool of good Jaguars is probably smaller because while Porsches traditionally appeal to the mechanicaly inclined, Jaguars appeal to those more flamboyant. But if you find the right car I wouldn't hesitate to buy an early Jaguar.