PAUL JOLLY: Jaguar goes for £85,000 in Big Cat Country

To be frank, christenings can be somewhat boring events for the distant relatives and so I was wondering what on earth I could do to brighten up my weekend in Warwickshire. The grandfather of the newly blessed child started to talk cars with me and then my interest perked up when it was clear he was a candidate for a Jaguar XK 140 or 150 with a budget of £100,000.

I knew of one XK140 going through an on-line bidding process due to start later that week and so mentioned the car and together, we studied the detail. We conversed over the ensuing days and being family, I was delighted to offer my opinion in the hope he might be successful with his bids.

On the final day of bidding, unlike Ebay which has a fixed end time, this auction house has a much fairer system. If anyone tries a last second ‘snipe’ to outbid the opposition, and catch others unawares, this auction simply automatically extends a further five minutes every time a bid is made in the last two minutes. This means everyone has a fair chance of re-evaluating their position and making a better bid or not. The vendor also benefits by getting maximum bids on the day. So simple and yet so effective.

My involvement meant I studied the description like a hawk. I had to. He was family after all and who knows, one day I may be asked to sell the car on again.

Sometimes the clues can be in what is not said rather than what is actually said. In this case, there was no reference to the engine being the original factory unit, in other words, it probably was not a ‘matching numbers’ car. At £100,000 you would ideally like the engine it left the factory with so I urged restraint.

My new found family interest abandoned bidding at £60,000 and the car went on to sell at £85000.

Returning home, I spotted no less than two XK140’s on the road, this was after all, Big Cat Country, Jaguar’s home territory of Coventry.