Last week an SCMer responded to my blog by writing, “You’re selling the Jag? That’s been the best classic car you’ve ever owned. The most reliable, the most original and the least expensive to operate? Why?”
I checked my records. When the 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 coupe arrived in Portland on April 24, 2020, the odometer read 22,238 miles. I had documentation supporting that these were original miles, and that the paint and interior surfaces were original. Only the headliner had been replaced.
Its VIN is 1S71487BW, and if you google that, you will find internet references to the car and its mileage stretching back to 2000.
The odometer read 32,389 on November 26, 2025, when I last had the car serviced. This included having a new exhaust system installed, the ignition switch lubed and the oil changed. (I have never had to add a drop of oil in all the time I have had it, although I had regular oil changes (12 quarts each time.)
When I pulled up all the records, I had spent $7,000 in maintenance and parts with Ed and Barb Grayson at Consolidated Auto Works, while covering 10,151 miles. That’s just $0.69 a mile, perhaps the least cost per mile that a classic car has ever run me.
At the same time, the car has never let me down. Through four 1,000-mile SCM 1000s and two 1000-mile NW Passages, the Jag V12 has run like a freight train, cruising easily at 90 mph with a/c chilling the interior, while crossing the Oregon High Desert in 90-degree weather.
It is perhaps the most original V12 coupe with both verified original miles and serious miles driven in existence. I will never find another like it.
So why sell it?
In some ways, the answer is simple. I’ve done just about everything I can imagine doing with this car, which means it’s time to move on to another set of driving experiences. It is the most capable and comfortable classic I have ever owned. But it is still a 55-year-old car, and I’m simply ready for something newer.
Recently, I bought a 2005 Porsche 911 C4S Tiptronic with 70,000 miles. It’s a creampuff of a car, and easy for me to get in and out of. I don’t need help opening three hood latches as I do with the Jag, nor do I have the same slight sense of concern that I do when I’m in any classic. BTW, it has 70,000 miles, more than twice that of the Jag.
The Oregon Porsche Club seems to delight in multi-day tours with up to 1,500 miles of driving. I’m just a little nervous going on such long trips, surrounded by mostly modern 911s, in my 1971 classic. Therefore, the Jag is currently at Matt Crandall’s 911r, being fluffed and buffed prior to being listed on BaT at No Reserve.
Yes, I will be sorry to see it go, and so will the Jaguar Owners of Oregon (JOCO), where it has been a favorite on their tours.
Will I miss the car? Of course. But I can truthfully say owning it has been the most rewarding, trouble-free classic car experience I have ever had, with nothing but good memories to look back on. I’ve been lucky to have had these six years and 10,000 miles of E-type ownership.
Read my previous blog posts here.
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