There were two cars in particular I was interested in seeing – the Jaguar XK140 FHC and the Mercedes 280SE 3.5 Coupe.   Both of these cars are on my ‘car bucket list’ and I wanted to see what they were like to understand the final price.   The XK140 in particular, because it was an unmolested car.   Most of the XK140s that have come up for sale in the last couple of years have been modified to look like rally cars.   Personally I think this ruins the car.

The Mercedes was in nice condition and I think that the price guide of $70-$85,000 is about right for this model in this condition.  I would rate this car at about a 7.5/10, although I have not driven it.   It looks fairly original, and the A/C looks like the dealer fitted units from the period.   It has been fitted with a white steering wheel, which is not original, but overall looks like a nice car.   This car also has the options I would want were I buying – Sunroof, A/C, Power Windows, twin arm rests and still has the Becker radio.     It is  in a great colour – and not white which is the most common.   I don’t like white cars.

The Jaguar is quite nice, although there are some areas where the paint is cracking so it is possible there is some rust or filler underneath.   The interior is lovely and unmolested and it stil has the lovely little Jag touches that are gone with those rally recreations.

Some other cars of interest for me were the BMW M6, which I think would be a great buy at that price,  The Jaguar Mk2 (outside its horrid steering wheel, the rest of the modifications don’t seem too drastic),  and the E-Type was lovely.

There was also a 1924 Star Mercury which was a really interesting old thing and about the very definition of patina!   I still believe that the VW Kombi/Microbus are drastically overpriced, but if I owned one I would be cashing in while the baby boomers can’t get enough of them.

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