About

To better illustrate how Tasker and Lacy are operated, here is an article written about the company taken from Jaguar World August 2015:

First impressions can often be misleading. When I first looked at Leeds-based Tasker & Lacy’s website I thought the company simply sold second-hand Jaguars and used a local garage for mechanical repairs. So, when I first arranged to visit them to photograph an XK X100 for a Buying Guide (see JW Summer 2015), I was pleased to discover a couple of workshops behind the forecourt, where a team of mechanics service and repair Jaguars and a range of other cars. The owners of this business are also not afraid to get stuck in and get their hands dirty.

Perhaps my biggest surprise of all is that Tasker & Lacy has been specialising in Jaguars and Daimlers since 1967. The current owners, Jonathan Brooke and his brother Richard, bought the business in 2007 and run it with help from their father, Mike. It’s probably down to Mike that they became interested in the business, because Jonathan says his dad has driven Jaguars for as long as he can remember. This definitely rubbed off onto Jonathan, who ran a modified Mk 2 for three years and, when asked which Jaguar he’d like to own, he could competently justify the reasons for owning an XJ X308, a Series 3 XJ12 and an XKR X100 – cars that are fast becoming ‘classic and collectible.

The sale of second-hand Jaguars forms the main part of Tasker & Lacy’s income. At the time of visiting, there was a new-shape 2006 XK with only 46,000 miles for sale at £16,995, along with a low-mileage 2005 XJ8 Sport with a full service history for £10,995, a similar low-mileage 2006 S-TYPE diesel with a two-year warranty for £7,000, and a six-year old X-TYPE diesel with 120,000 miles on the clock for only £4,895. Such cars are not even a decade old, yet they’re selling for a fraction of the price they cost when new.

Explains Richard, who is keen on newer Jaguars as much as classics, “We ideally like to sell our cars and maintain them, then sell the customer another and get a nice car back in part exchange to sell on.”

However, it’s not always so easy to find good examples of older Jaguars. Richard adds, “People are starting to realise that owning a classic is both an enjoyable and a shrewd thing to do. With the classic car boom, we’ve found that buying the older cars in general is hard work.” Richard and Jonathan regularly drive up and down the UK in search of good examples. Recently, Jonathan went down to Suffolk to buy a 3.4-litre 1965 S-type with a mere 30,200 miles on the clock, two previous owners and a stunning unworn interior. He drove it back to Leeds, allowing him to fully test it, and recently sold it.

When Jaguars are bought in that need repairs, Tasker & Lacy can rely on its own workshops. We spotted an XK8 X100 with repair work to the rear quarters, which is a common rust spot. T&L had also eradicated the corrosion from the front chassis legs, dropping the subframe to weld new metal in position. “People want peace-of mind and that’s what we offer” says Jonathan . “If anyone is going to buy an XK8 X100, they’ve either had proper repairs like we offer or they’re full of filler. So beware of bargains.”

When it comes to repairing the more modern Jaguars, Tasker & Lacy has the equipment to do anything from re-flashing components such as the six-speed ZF automatic gearbox, or refilling an air-con system, to diagnosing fault codes. It has the latest IDS system and the even later online-connected SDD Jaguar diagnostics, plus a more general system from Snap-On. TypicaI problems that arise on Jaguars concern failed ABS sensors and pumps, suspension pump faults and parking sensors.

Repairs and servicing can become expensive, but Tasker & Lacy has found a few ways to keep costs a little lower. For instance, overhauling windscreen wipers with new strips of rubber, instead of buying a new wiper arm; rotating tyres during a service to ensure aII four wear evenly; and an annual wheel alignment to avoid tyres being scrubbed (a common problem it has found on the XF).

T&L’s specialist knowledge can save money when servicing the brakes on a Jaguar, too, as Richard explains, “As customers can find they need a new set annually, we place the electronic park brake in the service mode via the SDD Jaguar diagnostics· and reset it to prevent premature brake pad wear.”

When we followed an XJ X350 through its service (see JW July 2015), Jonathan estimated the front brake pads had roughly 3,000 miles of use left in them. Had this been a customer’s car, he would have recommended the car be returned before 3,000 miles.

Many Jaguar specialists have a passion for these cars and an interest in keeping them well maintained and preserved for years to come. It’s reassuring to see that Tasker & Lacy seems to share these values

Yorkshire’s leading independent Jaguar specialist.