After I found this forum, I was glad to see there is so much good information and people that are interested in Jaguars. There is only so much jawboning my wife and friends can take, and the couple of jag mechanics at my repair shop only have limited time!

It all started when I was a kid, getting in my grandad's E-Type convertible, dreaming I could drive it one day. I told him to save it for me one day, for which he replied he was afraid my friends would push me to drive too fast. It turns out he sold it for $6k in the late seventies. As much that was a crying shame, all was not lost. He picked up a 92 XJS convertible with wire wheels. I ended up with that car when he passed away at the ripe old age of 96.

As much as I liked the car, my tastes required a bit more technology, due to the fact I had moved and was doing alot more highway driving. My idea was to pick up a XKR and sell the XJS to help make up a part of the outlay. A found a 05 XKR coupe in the Lake Tahoe area with 20" sepangs in black with a low 25k miles. I purchased the car sight unseen, and . was transported in a closed carrier to my home in Florida. I was very pleased once this car arrived, to say the least.

Well, at this point I had three Jags (a couple of years ago I picked up a one owner S Type with 45k miles), and three car garage, no problem right? Wrong. My wife has an SUV and needed an indoor space, so the S went out in the driveway.

I still remembered my original intent to sell the XJS ragtop, so I listed it with Barrett Jackson in Palm Beach for the 2011 April auction. My wife said don't sell it there because there was no reserve. I said don't worry about it, because in the autotrader I had no response and the car had to go. I drove it from Sarasota to West Palm a day early. It drove beautifully and had only 19k miles. My grandad's old sled had arrived, but was hardly getting noticed under the tent. Most of the fanfare went to sixties american muscle, which I could well understand, having had a 68 GTO. I was preparing for the worst and left for the day. The next day, the same story, and as auction time approached, the driver drove it up near the main block. It started receiving some interest. The concensus from the tire kickers and myself it could generate from 14-18k. When it got up on the block, I was onstage and the bidding began, and soon a had a bid for 22k. I was ecstatic and one of the floor auctioneers asked me if I was happy with the way the auction was going. I told him about my wife being skiddish about selling here due to no reserve, which he started laughing. He wanted me to step on a tall wooden step to tell another top guy next to the main auctioneer this story. By the time is stepped down the price hit 40k and the hammer went down. I was stunned and so were the other guys looking at it earlier.

Well, this paid for my 05 XKR, and in a way I did get grandpops old E type because of the retro look it has; hood slots and front mouth and all. Old grandad was a consummate investor all his life, and I couldn't help thinking that his last deal was a success...

 

Welcome, Mattcat55
That is a cool story---I'm sure grandad is happy to see his Jaguar went to a new home at top dollar. Enjoy your XKR.

 

Thanks for reading Mike. And I am!

Matt

 

Happy new member

 

Great story Matt.

 

Welcome to the forum Matt,

Great story and a happy ending too.

 

Hello Matt and welcome to jaguarforums.com. I know that you are anxious to get started and we are anxious to meet you and talk about your car. We have a baseline / criteria that must be met before full access can be granted. Please enjoy the forum and be patient once the baseline has been satisfied full access will be granted. Please continue to post and accept my welcome to the forum.

Please take a moment and read the information provided to you explaining the rules. Be patient and enjoy the site.

 

Hey Matt welcome to the forum, great intro and a nice story too, thanks for sharing

There's usually plenty going on in most sections, most of the time.

You might find the off topic good for fun, maybe check out the mug shot thread and add yours?

Don't forget the regional section and also the detailing section is a must.

Some good guys and great techs, top vendors and more to come....all good

In the meantime I've upgraded you manually to full forum access so you can better veiw the site

 

Thanks Guys, I appreciate all of the detailed info and the access...this forum has already helped me immensely. Thanks for the recommendations-I have yet to really see the site!