The shop’s reputation was established by Darryl Eaton, who started the company 10 years ago, and is one of the reasons folks have been shipping their cars here. He and his 2-I-C John Mincey were well known among Jaguar fans in this part of Florida for the quality of their work, but Darryl has recently decided to retire. He hung up his keys at the beginning of July to spend some time learning how to live with a new hip, while John Mincey has taken over ownership of Just Jags. For John Jaguars are more of a passion than a job. In any conversation you will hear him say “where else can you get paid for playing with beautiful toys?”

When I visited Just Jags the other day they were waist-deep in Jag work, both restoration and regular service. John, of course, is well-versed in that discipline, having worked with Darryl for the past 8 years. And being a 3rd generation auto mechanic in the Tampa Bay area has been a good training ground for him as well. He actually cut his teeth working on his father’s E-Types back in the 60s and early 70s when the nearest dealer was in Miami. Even though his dad’s cars were quite new at the time, a five-hour drive for regular service did not make much sense and self-service became something more than a cliche for Jag owners on this coast.

His brother is also in the auto repair business with a shop in the old town section of Roswell, Georgia. Although he doesn’t spend as much of his time working on Jaguars as John does, he still gets a few in whose owners cannot find anyone else in the neighborhood to look after them, and the two brothers talk frequently, discussing Jaguar problems and solutions on the phone. Both have learned a lot from each other through that very simple expedient.