Thought Id take a little time to explain my long journey into F type ownership, its drawn out , bare with me.
Let me take you back to a hot summers day in the 1970's , I cant be sure of the exact year, but Im guessing it must have been around 1974, Id have been 7 years old then. I was playing out front of our house, when I heard a sound I wasn't familiar with, whatever it was creating the noise was getting nearer, I was instantly intrigued, and soon realized it was my auntie Ann coming to visit in the most beautiful car Id ever seen. In true "Ann style" she was wearing a white bikini, and driving a series 3 V12 e type roadster , roof down.
Ann will have been in her mid thirties at that time, and she always drove cars that made my jaw drop, she was always larger than life and would often turn up at our house in a new car, some I remember were a Jenson Interceptor, Mk 2 Jag and later , a triumph stag and jag XJS, but the image of that E type on that summers day is still imprinted in my memories and nothing since has ever impressed me more than that car.
I even mentioned the E type in my wedding speech 5 years ago.
Ever since the E type was produced, no car Jaguar produced ever looked anywhere near as good ,until I saw pictures of the F type just over 10 years ago, I was instantly in love with it. Id go so far as to say, it was as pretty as the E type. I never considered buying one, because they were vastly out of my price range and totally impracticable for me.
Ive always liked to have a car that gave me an element of fun, and coming upto my 50th birthday in 2017, I decided I deserved to treat myself, so bought a new Focus RS . I loved the drama of it and intended keeping it for a long time, but unfortunately it had to go in 2021 to give me funds for a house renovation . Ever since then Ive missed having a car that puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. About a year ago I noticed that F types had become incredibly good value for money and were starting to look achievable financially, but the more I looked ,the more I was convinced that nothing but a V8 R coupe would do, unfortunately though, the prices of those are still out of reach just for now, so I reconciled myself to just waiting another year or so until Id saved a bit more to get the model I really wanted.
Ive become a regular browser on here, and also regularly check whats on offer on autotrader, pistonheads etc , slowly educating myself to the various models ,specs etc. Then the other week, a car that was the complete opposite of what id set my heart on, jumped out at me on collecting cars auction site. It was the fact it was within my price bracket but also because it was a one owner from new, early production with low mileage, nice color combo , that drew me in. 2013 v6 roadster. It had done 8 miles since having a full 10 year service and was clearly a car that had been cherished and used as a weekend toy. I convinced myself that buying an F type at the lower end of the market would be a more savvy choice than going straight to a full fat V8, maybe its just an itch I need to scratch to get it out of my system, and Ill decide I dont really need this kind of car in my life ,so I figured that buying a cheaper one was a smarter move.
Sadly the owner of this car had passed away, and it had not been used for the last couple of years ,there was a gap in service history and also the mot ,but had been "recommissioned" for sale,this included a full 10 year service, I spoke to the garage who had serviced it, and they confirmed the condition of it and what they had renewed on it, this gave me confidence it was as good as the advert suggested. This service was not carried out by a jag main dealer, but it shows on the jag online service history, im not sure how that is, maybe someone can enlighten me.
I wont go into great detail of the seller for privacy reasons ,but it was a family member of the gentleman who bought the car new. I managed to win the auction, at a price I was happy with and picked it up last Saturday. The car is pretty much out of the box and as genuine as they come. Its a basic spec V6 , missing some bits I would have liked , ie cruise control , but considering Ill only use it for weekend trips in the lake district ,I dont really need that anyway. It drove over 300 miles home faultlessly , and I can honestly say, Ive fallen in love with it already. Ill see how ownership progresses and maybe use it as a stepping stone to a V8 in a year or so, or maybe Ill just keep it. So far im happy with noise it makes and the power it delivers, so do I really need a V8 anyway? time will tell I guess.
It has factory standard 18" wheels which Im swapping for some 20" turbine wheels, they are going to be black which I think look great on a lunar gray car, and apart from painting the brake calipers, thats all im changing. Dont think there is any point even remapping it, which was my original inattention. Ill post some pics once the wheels are on.
Let me take you back to a hot summers day in the 1970's , I cant be sure of the exact year, but Im guessing it must have been around 1974, Id have been 7 years old then. I was playing out front of our house, when I heard a sound I wasn't familiar with, whatever it was creating the noise was getting nearer, I was instantly intrigued, and soon realized it was my auntie Ann coming to visit in the most beautiful car Id ever seen. In true "Ann style" she was wearing a white bikini, and driving a series 3 V12 e type roadster , roof down.
Ann will have been in her mid thirties at that time, and she always drove cars that made my jaw drop, she was always larger than life and would often turn up at our house in a new car, some I remember were a Jenson Interceptor, Mk 2 Jag and later , a triumph stag and jag XJS, but the image of that E type on that summers day is still imprinted in my memories and nothing since has ever impressed me more than that car.
I even mentioned the E type in my wedding speech 5 years ago.
Ever since the E type was produced, no car Jaguar produced ever looked anywhere near as good ,until I saw pictures of the F type just over 10 years ago, I was instantly in love with it. Id go so far as to say, it was as pretty as the E type. I never considered buying one, because they were vastly out of my price range and totally impracticable for me.
Ive always liked to have a car that gave me an element of fun, and coming upto my 50th birthday in 2017, I decided I deserved to treat myself, so bought a new Focus RS . I loved the drama of it and intended keeping it for a long time, but unfortunately it had to go in 2021 to give me funds for a house renovation . Ever since then Ive missed having a car that puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. About a year ago I noticed that F types had become incredibly good value for money and were starting to look achievable financially, but the more I looked ,the more I was convinced that nothing but a V8 R coupe would do, unfortunately though, the prices of those are still out of reach just for now, so I reconciled myself to just waiting another year or so until Id saved a bit more to get the model I really wanted.
Ive become a regular browser on here, and also regularly check whats on offer on autotrader, pistonheads etc , slowly educating myself to the various models ,specs etc. Then the other week, a car that was the complete opposite of what id set my heart on, jumped out at me on collecting cars auction site. It was the fact it was within my price bracket but also because it was a one owner from new, early production with low mileage, nice color combo , that drew me in. 2013 v6 roadster. It had done 8 miles since having a full 10 year service and was clearly a car that had been cherished and used as a weekend toy. I convinced myself that buying an F type at the lower end of the market would be a more savvy choice than going straight to a full fat V8, maybe its just an itch I need to scratch to get it out of my system, and Ill decide I dont really need this kind of car in my life ,so I figured that buying a cheaper one was a smarter move.
Sadly the owner of this car had passed away, and it had not been used for the last couple of years ,there was a gap in service history and also the mot ,but had been "recommissioned" for sale,this included a full 10 year service, I spoke to the garage who had serviced it, and they confirmed the condition of it and what they had renewed on it, this gave me confidence it was as good as the advert suggested. This service was not carried out by a jag main dealer, but it shows on the jag online service history, im not sure how that is, maybe someone can enlighten me.
I wont go into great detail of the seller for privacy reasons ,but it was a family member of the gentleman who bought the car new. I managed to win the auction, at a price I was happy with and picked it up last Saturday. The car is pretty much out of the box and as genuine as they come. Its a basic spec V6 , missing some bits I would have liked , ie cruise control , but considering Ill only use it for weekend trips in the lake district ,I dont really need that anyway. It drove over 300 miles home faultlessly , and I can honestly say, Ive fallen in love with it already. Ill see how ownership progresses and maybe use it as a stepping stone to a V8 in a year or so, or maybe Ill just keep it. So far im happy with noise it makes and the power it delivers, so do I really need a V8 anyway? time will tell I guess.
It has factory standard 18" wheels which Im swapping for some 20" turbine wheels, they are going to be black which I think look great on a lunar gray car, and apart from painting the brake calipers, thats all im changing. Dont think there is any point even remapping it, which was my original inattention. Ill post some pics once the wheels are on.
