Daimler addiction: my fourth, Regency red with magnolia upholstery [page 3]
Buying the 1992 Regency red Daimler 4.0 litre and driving it home
The almost retired owner of a taxi company bought this car one and a half year ago, planning to get it on the road as his private car. He more or less did not succeed, the car stood in the taxi garage and he could not stand seeing it there. Well, this is what his son told me, the guy who sold the car. I was impressed by the fantastic combination of regency red paint and magnolia (a taste of yellow) leather combined with cherry red piping. The latter two are both cost options on a normally extremely well-specced Daimler (the high specification is one of the differences with a Jaguar). The car and its paint were very nice, there is almost no rust and the interior is, albeit dirty, in great condition. In this way the magnolia piped red and good burr walnut really impressed.
There where some problems or … limitations. The car originated from Belgium but was not imported yet: it had no license and no MOT. The seller told me that a MOT tester said some bushes at the left rear should be replaced. And the rear bumper was missing because he had it being repaired at a company nearby. I could collect it, he said. This was not the last issue being more complicated than he told me …
So I was impressed and it was cheap, so I bought it. The justification for bying it? Let me think. It could be that I want to restore the Insignia, during which I need another daily driver. This regency red Daimler could be this. Furthermore, if I will be able to bring it in a very good condition, I could sell it for a lot more than I paid (although I have to admit that I only sold a car only once in my life …).
I found a way to drive the Regency home (I am not used to giving names to my cars, they do not even have a gender, so I just call them by colour). As far as time allows, I 'investigate' the car to look for good and bad points and try to sort its problems. Then I can import it in The Netherlands with the RDW (governmental agency, like DVLA), need to have a MOT, a license plate, insurance etc. In fact, because there is no government on earth that knows the car, it does not cost money as long it is not imported.
History of the car
The car came with a pile of paperwork, including the service books (complete and stamped) and manuals. From it, I can derive the history to a large extent. It is a Belgian car. It was first registered on May 15th, 1992 and its VIN is 663 020. It is clearly a MY 1992 car and the label says DG, meaning it was produced in April 1992. The first owner lived near Mechelen. I managed to contact him, an friendly 82-year old man. He had it serviced twice a year (!) by an official dealership between 1992 and 2004. From 2004 to 2008 these services were not registered in the service book, although there is a car pass with it, listing that since then about 2,000 km per year were driven. The car was always parked in a heated garage and the owner's wife kept the interior clean (!).
The second owner also lived in that area: he has an ambulance company. He must have bought it at January 14th 2008. He did not drive it often and I do not see proof of the services that were done. A son told me that the car was always parked inside. I found somewhere a label from what I know to be an auction company and the son confirmed that they chose to sell the car with other stuff via an auction. The last service was by a well-known Flemish XJ40 specialist in 2008, judging from a label on the air filter house (I called him, he remembered the car!). There is no proof of what happened since then and when the car was actually sold. Since 2008 the car did another 6,000 km and the clock now reads 179,900 km. The guy whom I bought it from, bought it from a trader in Valkenswaard and I guess that this man bought the car on the auction. From what the seller told me, I deduce that his dad bought it about halfway 2012. (Maybe some of my Belgian or Dutch readers do know the car?! Please let me know!)
Next page: The good points
Overview: Introduction to my fourth Daimler
Page published on xj40.com January 2014, published on my website February 2016
Kind regards,
Rens Swart