1988 Jaguar XJ-S HE

We have on offer a very strong, lowish mileage, low owner, well-serviced example of the XJ-S HE. It is not going to be the best example you have ever seen, but it will also not be the most expensive. We rather like it as a very usable car that feels strong enough to be used regularly without big bills or hassle (hopefully).

Jaguar undoubtedly went through some bad times in terms of maintaining the sort of build quality and reliability that long-time marque enthusiasts expected, but by the same token it would be very unfair to tar all Jaguars with the damp ‘steer well clear’ brush. Things were very much improving at Jaguar by the end of the 1980s, and no little care went into the XJ-S – an expensive car when new – from both the Jaguar workforce and the customers who signed up for them.

This particular car is in a rare combination of sage green and beige leather and has had just three owners. It comes with documentation attesting to annual (and sometimes twice-yearly) servicing, the first ten years of it by Jaguar dealers, and it’s just had over £1300 of work to put it through the MOT test – which it passed with flying colours. This 1988 V12 HE has been entrusted to The Market by a dealership who received it as a trade-in on a new vehicle.

If you’re in the market for a grand touring icon with effortless performance, at what could turn out to be an equally effortless price, this no-reserve sale might be just what you’re looking for.

That light-olive colour is a 1980s thing that you’ll either love or, well, not love. Here at The Market we’re very much in the first camp, it suits the car, but even if you’re not a fan of the hue you’ll admire the way in which the paint has managed to stick around for all this time.

The body is very strong, all the panels seem to line up very well, all the door bottoms, bootlid and bonnet edges are much much better than usual for an old XJ-S. It is not perfect, there are some tiny imperfections at the top of the rear screen and in the bootlid gutter, but overall the car appears to be generally rust free. The base of the windscreen is another area to keep an eye on with the XJ-S, but again it all looks clear here as there have been repairs, as do the wheelarches and door bottoms. There’s what appears to be early-stage corrosion showing on the sills under the alloy kickplate on the passenger side. The only exception to the overall square looks being the offside section of the rubbery part of the rear bumper which is slightly off kilter.

Brightwork is clean and unpitted, with just a small dent on the nearside windscreen surround, and the chunky five-spoke alloys give you a feeling for how carefully the car has been driven over its 65,000 miles.

The rear numberplate is showing signs of delamination but the window seals appear to be fresh and uncracked, as do the premium Pirelli tyres and the front air dam.

The XJ-S is not a lightweight vehicle, so a degree of suspension sag is only to be expected on well-used examples, but that’s not the case here. This one stands tall and proud, and ready to knock off a few countries in an afternoon.  

Jaguars have always done great cabins and the XJ-S was no exception. Some thirty years after this one came off the line the interior still looks fresh.

Enter the car on the passenger side and you’ll see a little carpet staining and a couple of very small marks on the door card, but all the organic cabin materials bear every hallmark of diligent owner care. The leather is still buttery, the walnut veneers still rich. The rear seats look like they’ve hardly ever been sat in and even the driver’s seat is untorn. Lift the carpets and you’ll find the tiniest spots of brown coming through the paint, but otherwise the floors appear to be totally solid.

Some of the adhesive holding the headlining in above the nearside rear window looks to have dried out, but it hardly detracts from what is in most respects an immaculate interior.

Jaguar’s ‘on-board computer’ (as these things were called back in the day) became notorious for conking out, but this one actually works. Mind you, you might wish it didn't if you give it the beans and it flags up an mpg figure beginning with a 1. You can get more than 20 miles out of every XJ-S V12 gallon, but some might say that the sort of driving that would achieve those numbers would be defeating the object of having an XJ-S in the first place. No V12, irrespective of the marque. would be the automatic first choice for regular and/or long business journeys, but for day trips to the seaside or for a pub lunch most of us would surely be happy to stump up a little more at the pumps when refilling this glorious old Jag.

To show the quality of the car, the electric windows AND even both the electric mirrors all work very well.

It’s hard not to be impressed by the sight of a Jaguar V12, and barring a few predictable areas of oxidisation on the alloy valve covers this one looks remarkably clean and dry for its age.

First impressions over, there comes a point where you’ll want to go somewhere in your XJ-S and that’s when the novelty of any magnificently-engined car can start to wear off. No such problems here though as the High Efficiency engine in our car lives up to its name by firing promptly and running with all the smoothness for which it became famous.

Look underneath the car and you’ll see the usual visual degradation to bolted-on components like the suspension and exhaust, but the main floor sections all seem to be extremely solid.

We have conducted our usual brief test drive and found a smooth engine, good gearbox and brakes and generally a very strong drive – we like this car.

A document in the history file tells us that for the first ten years and 56,000 miles of its life this Jaguar was comprehensively dealer-serviced (often twice a year) by Jaguar dealers in Yorkshire until 1998, at which point a workshop-owning friend of the owner took over the annual servicing and MOT requirements.

In 2016 it was given a £339 fluids and filter service by Paul Roach Classics, followed in early 2017 by a £582 rear brake rebuild by TF Motorsport. After failing its MOT in November this year on suspension and braking issues, the Jaguar was put in for £1,340’s worth of repair and service work involving the replacement of the offside front upper suspension arm bush and another stripdown of the rear axle to replace the rear brake pads and discs. The coolant, oil and air filters were also changed at this time. The XJ-S passed its MOT with no advisories on 15 November 2019, at just under 65,000 miles.

The car comes with a bound leather wallet containing its stamped-up service record and warranty books, Owner’s Handbook and tape cassette Owner’s Guide, Jaguar Driver’s Card, extended guarantee certificate, and V5C confirming the three previous owners.

As noted earlier, when the XJ-S first appeared in 1976, it wore an £8900 price tag. That was more than twice the price of the last E-type, and very big money indeed for a company that had always prided itself on the value of its ‘grace, space and pace’ proposition.

Today, we reckon that this well looked after and still mostly very nice XJ-S HE will totally recapture that old Jaguar reputation for value if it goes for anything between £6000 and £8000. It may go for much less than that, of course, as this is a no reserve sale. Imagine having this classic grand tourer on your drive for the sort of money that would barely pay for a nice family holiday. Tempting, no?

We always encourage viewings. This lovely Jaguar is located here at The Market HQ in Abingdon. Just click the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to arrange an appointment. Ahead of that, or at any time during the process, you’re more than welcome to ask any questions or jot down observations in the comments section below. You won’t be shocked to hear that our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section will answer general questions that are frequently asked about how The Market works.

Also please note that we have a network of trusted suppliers with whom we work regularly and successfully: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.