E Series - End Of An Era ?

[DOC]

Hi guys, I don’t start many posts, but with all of the current deals on later model cars and the average age of the e series are we going to see the start of an end to the e series era ?

The post is not designed to create a war but one in general discussion, we now see many good fine examples of AU's and BA's on the market at very good prices and it would seem more than ever it’s a buyers market (for second hand cars in general), this combined with the costs involved of the upkeep of the E series could possibly see more people moving away from the e series into these cars and with this happening further reduce values in the general e series range ( excluding any good xr / top line models that are in good condition )

If so do you see the e series moving more into the bracket of say the x series where collectors and enthusiasts keep and restore these cars rather than just daily drivers?

In saying this I’m in no way bagging the e series as there are some darn fine cars out there with big bucks spent on them, but for the average person are you still willing to pump big dollars into maintaining them or is it time to move on.

Your thoughts?

Pete

[LTDHO]

Pete,

It that time for E-series. Cheap ones are trashed, unless they are high Equip then maybe retorded. Obviously GT's are kept hidden for increase in value.
I was as a wrecker the other day that used to mosly have X-series. Now it was full of E-series. We have to wit for the slump to pass and E-series will go back up in value, just like quality x-series have!

Not end of Era. Too mny out there. The E-series will live forever!

[CruizinEB]

Not end of Era. Too mny out there. The E-series will live forever!

yeah thats right

[Quasi]

As of yesterday my EBII Ghia 5.0L is off the road for a minor rebuild.

We will be using the wife's EA S-Pack as our daily driver, even when mine is finished.

[efgiar]

nah i think the e-series are a cheap car to buy and keep running considering the price of a BA or AU. you can now pickup fairmonts in the ef/el range for like 5 grand that are in pretty good condition.

[Stevo]

I acctually think the last few years has been the beginning of a good era for the eseries. No more are they left as standard family hacks. More of them are modified and done up by younger hoons then ever before. This is due to a few things. 1), You can pick up a nice example for cheap now. 2), Fords overall image is getting better thanks to the BA. 3), As they are getting older, more are being wrecked, and parts are cheaper.

They will never have the punch or street cred of the Xseries, but in saying that, in 2006 you can still make a EA-EL seem like a reasonbly modern car.

[*rayman*]

Everything eventually drops so much in value, it's unfortunate but it happens.

I just picked up a 5.0l eb fairmont, manual, simmons, sunroof and full leather, for less than i would have paid for an xr8 in the e-series range. It's a great car that cost me bugger all, it almost feels like a criminal act the amount i paid for it. This is a great car for me to drive on the weekends while i'm building the camaro, it turns more heads than my ef xr8 did, goes the same, and is as comfy as you could ask for.

Younger buyers will certainly move on to the au series as first cars etc, now that they are affordable.

I quite like it this way, there's a lot of people that dont like the e-series cars, which is great, means more cheap parts available to the ones that do. A few engine upgrades from the later model cars, and these still feel like a very modern ride.

It will however be a long time before they become collectable like xy to xb series i believe.

[fiery]

I have no idea on any of this, but I do know that I will be moving out of the e-series car soon......
On one hand, it's going to be sad, but on the other, much much better.

Will always think the E cars are HOT but there comes a time when some of us have to weigh up the logical costs of keeping these beasts beautiful.

[geckoGT]

I still miss my ED and wish I could get it back. I think there is something special about the e series shape and just hope that they go through the transition in a positive way with lots of nice examples with tasteful mods. I would hate to see them go through the hoons in pieces of crap with chaser rims that the vn-vr commodores are going through.

[EA2BA]

The e-series I think will suffer from the lack of wheel choice, that will keep the hoons away, unlike commodore with the same stud pattern and offset from day one, ford have changed it, e-series wheels where hardly ever been mass produced, so i think they will not suffer too bad from the hoon image.

[gthofan]

in the 60's you had the eh holden
in the 70's you had the xy falcon
in the 80's you had the vk, vl commodore
in the 90's you had the the eb
and today you still have e-series goin round.
all cars mentioned have gone well past their use by date, and the ones that are goin today are the cars that have been owned by enthusiasts, and therefore cared for. so i think pumping money into a car that is still going today, 13 years later is well worth it.
i am seeing more and more young people picking these models up, especially the e-series models and fixing them up, because they are a very modern car, and hell the body shape is excellent. All the model cars i have mentioned are the perfect platform for a young or old bloke to learn a thing or 2 about cars, whether its just tinkering with them, or making a show stopping attraction, and the resale value is still there, and the parts are very cheap to restore one even.

[Racecraft]

I've gone the natural progression, from XD-XE-XF-EB-ED-EL-AU-BA. but when it was time to pick a car to mod the EL won simply because it looks so different. THey will never die away because they appeal to so many and the cheaper they get, the more money you can spend on doing them up to personal taste.

[theboss290]

I did think of selling my EB and was looking to buy a EL XR6 but I love the look of my EB its a tuff looking car if worked, after having a look at some AU's they just don’t have the look about them unless you spent a s#!t load on them and I don’t think the era of the e-series is over just yet. Only just now have there been more mod gear for them than ever before and I think there will be more to come with new tech gear. The AU's will become more popular but I think it wont be till the price comes down on parts, mod gear and price of the car it self.

I have had my EB for near on 10 years now and I just love the car and will keep spending money on it but saying that I would love to buy a BA but that will have to wait till the price of them come down quit a bit.

The limits of the e-series is only bound by the amount of mod gear there is for them but in the last year or so I have see some great stuff coming out and the more ppl modify there e-series the more gear will be developed for demand.


Cheers

Daniel

[wilbur]

Originally Posted by efgiar

nah i think the e-series are a cheap car to buy and keep running considering the price of a BA or AU. you can now pickup fairmonts in the ef/el range for like 5 grand that are in pretty good condition.

Yea I just bought an EF fairmont picked it up for 5 grand and thought what a bargain, But now I cant sell my EBII so was it a bargain lol..

[EFFalcon]

if the member numbers are anything to go by, we've got lots of time to go before its the end of an era ;)

[Kenaz]

I was just thinking the exact same thing this morning. The price of second hand BAs is looking mighty tempting. I wouldn't see an AU as much of an upgrade (if at all) from my EL. It's pretty hard to jump from Dad's BF back into my EL.

[TUFED6]

Originally Posted by Rollin

fly by wire throttle sucks the big one, im so glad my car doesnt have it, the throttle response poohs all over any FBW car i have driven.

I'm glad I found someone else that hates it too! I reckon that the FBW even lags sometimes on my BA, like it still has the throttle open a bit when your foot has come off the gas (on a fast gearchange for example).

Anyway, I'll be keeping my E-series forever!

- John

[Fairlane]

E- series will be around for a while yet.

They arent antiquated by any means. EFI, Electronic 4 speed Auto (not EAI), decent suspension, decent build quality, modern interior (especially EF/EL) and easy to work on.

They are still a respectable car and a clean EB will still turn a few heads and the AU styling turned the E-series into a beautiful swan. And with the V8 i think the E-series will be around longer the the 6cyl XE/XF's of the 80's.

[ilsautomotive]

The AU ex-taxis costing about the same as an E series headgasket will probably persuade most economy car buyers to upgrade. The P plate hoons will write off their cars and only the enthusiasts will be left. Just the way it should be.

I plan to keep mine for the reasons Rollin mentioned - E series is the right balance of low-weight simplicity and (adequately) modern standards. It's a project car that can double up as a daily driver with dirt cheap parts.

[fiery]

you know all this talk about the beautiful E's is making me change my mind about selling mine :

Ok it is totally official I am YET again undecided :

*drew mate, might be needing your auto after all*

[RUQ1KA]

i also like the e-series, the only reason i am still in the club is because i plan to buy one once i move out of my parents home, i have had 3 e-series (EA s-pac,ED wagon,EA Ghia) so far and have liked them all but i got to a point where i needed a reliable car that is able go go long trips without breaking down, & dad saying i can only have 1 car :(

I picked the AU because i saw that as a car that has already done its depreciation and will keep its price for a fair while now, i could have gone BA or BF but i didnt really see point as it still has $1000's to drop

i still wish i bought a late 1998 el xr6/8 or fairmont, only real reason i picked au over e-series was because it was the best example i could find on gas

but yeah i dont think its the end of an era, just the start, one day these wil be regarded as classics much like the pre XD cars are now

[EBII Fairmont]

Wanted to delete but don't know how to.

[EBII Fairmont]

Do you guys reckoin that younger guys like myself are buying them, because we want a family car, with all the perks and the e-series at the current time are the best for what a lot of us can afford?

I bought mine for mainly country driving which it has done. Leaving monday to head along the NSW south coast. Couldn't think of a better car in my current situation. It has everythign I need. Elec windows, climate control, cruise, comfy seats and an LSD at the rear :.

[Damo]

Originally Posted by Trouty

The AU ex-taxis costing about the same as an E series headgasket will probably persuade most economy car buyers to upgrade. .

LOL! Where are these $70 Gay-Yous ?

E-SERIES ROCK! I'm planing on keeping the EB for about 10 years, I wan't an XR6T ute in a few years time, then the EB will become a cruiser.

[ilsautomotive]

heh, Damo I meant including professional labour rates and what not. Even so it was a slight exaggeration.

[Damo]

yeah i know, i'm just knit picking. : It was huge exaggeration. :P

[niko]

its one of the busiest forums on this whole site... lol

[Jason[98.EL]]

well i like the e-series as you all might know i have an el now but i upgraded from an ea to the el the main reason for this was the fact that they are getting easier to get parts for the only thing i didnt know was the hybrid thing makes it harder for the basic engine mods like cam ect

[Psycho Chicken]

I was gonna move on after the EB got writen off, but I jumped in the Fairlane and I realised how good it was for a cruiser. Crapped all over mum's old VT in just about every department. I've got a few mods planned, I want to keep it for a daily/cruiser for a long time to come.

I love X-series, but you can't beat a car that turns over first shot on a cold morning, has all the gucci electrics and will take a bit of a beating.

[Bobman]

Love E series but I moved on once I got the AU, then BA but I still miss my EA....

My mate's EA keeps the E-series love in hand.