1980 Jaguar XJS 5.3 Pre-HE

With just 4 previous owners (the last of which had it for a decade or so) and a recorded mileage of just 44,000 miles, this pre-HE version of the Jaguar XJ-S V12 is one of the very best in the country. With only a very gently patinated finish inside and out, it’s in rude good health, too. It has a full MOT and the mighty 5-and-a-bit-litre engine starts on the button and ticks over as smoothly as anything this side of a Rolls-Royce.

It drives as well as it looks, feeling tight and solid and much, much younger than it is; we’d have been very happy to have felt this good on the run up to our 40th birthdays…

It's in auction at No Reserve, and being here in Abingdon, it's accessible no matter where in the UK you are, so why not make a day of it and come to the heart of the British car manufacturing industry and take a look for yourself? We promise you won’t be disappointed.

Just take a look at it! Magnificent in Sebring Red, there’s no denying the quality of what you see; the panel gaps are even and consistent and the paintwork gleams after having been recently detailed. The doors themselves open and close as easily as any we’ve ever experienced, with no sag, and the door shuts themselves are clean.

Having had a respray at some point in its carefully curated (but not recent) past, we’d describe the final paint finish as very good and fuss-free but not perfect. There are, for example, three small spots of rust (one on the bottom edge of the front nearside wheelarch, one on the boot lid, and one under the nearside rear window - all photographed) plus the odd dust-spot and patch of orange-peel. Please, please take it from us that we are being picky and honest with this description, it is still better than 99% of the other early XJ-S’s out there - and we're not expecting to reach the £25k+ that is being asked for some cars.

If it were ours, we’d probably leave it at that - and you could leave it at that because the structure itself is utterly solid and seems completely free of rot thanks to a regimen of aftermarket professional Waxoyl over the years. The access points they used in the 1980s, sealed with black rubber bungs, are still there so topping it up would be an easy job should you want to maintain the same level of protection in the future. And it appears to have down its job, this car has been inspected bodily and no serious problems found - the well in the boot behind the rear wheels being a good example. There also appears to be no evidence of repairs or replacement panels, all the panel edges are generally strong, it might seem fanciful to claim an early XJS has never seen a welder's torch, but we haven't found any evidence yet.

Speaking of which, the underseal looks to be the original. It could be left as it is but we might be tempted to top it up while you’re faffing around with the Waxoyl.

The wheels are, for us, a real high point; they’ve been fully restored (we’d say ‘refurbished’ but that doesn’t come close to describing the attention to detail that has clearly been lavished on them…) and impeccably finished in the correct colours, including the spare which still has its original vinyl cover. The owner has even thought about what tyres to fit, in this case aesthetically pleasing Dunlop SP Sports at each corner.

Oh, and he’s fitted period-correct number plates too, including the proper big one at the back. It’s the little details, isn’t it?

The black leather interior is in wonderful condition, being only very lightly creased. Further evidence to suggest that this Jag had had a series of careful owners who all took the time to feed and care for the leather in the way you’d always assume classic Jaguar owners would. From the look of it, none of ‘em wore jeans in there either as the leather is almost unmarked.

The dashboard is free of the sort of cracks that can plague older cars, the carpets are still the originals, the door cards are in good order being straight and free of warping, and the stereo is a period Phillips item. Hell, even the vanity mirror in the glovebox is in perfect condition and free of the usual dark spots that come with age as the silvering wears away.

We think we’ve checked everything and it all seems to work as it should, the only fault we can find is a driver’s seat base that is not as supportive as it probably should be. Please do feel free to come and double-check though – but allow some time because there are a lot of toys in there…

The headlining has been replaced in the past, it’s a high-quality item and the work has been done to a very good standard.

The overall ambience is wonderfully relaxing, reeking of power and sartorial elegance and effortless charm; if it were human, it would be Leslie Phillips in a Savile Row dinner jacket.

The V12 engine sits in a beautifully clean engine bay that looks more like something you’d find in a cruise liner than a motor car; we wouldn’t be surprised to find a diminutive engineer tucked away somewhere, occasionally surfacing to give it a wipe over with an oily rag before tweaking something or other with a wooden-handled screwdriver…

But, enough of the fanciful nonsense, because the reality is charming enough without the need for hyperbole. Simply put, it’s all in fabulous condition and starts, runs, stops and handles exactly as it should thanks to an extensive and comprehensive servicing regimen that includes recent four-figure bills from marque specialists.

Very recent expenditure has included a very thorough engine investigation to maintain its purr-fection (sorry!), including new vacuum advance unit, spark trigger board, plugs, leads, distributor cap and rotor arm along with replacement of the rare-to-find inlet-manifold vacuum sensor unit and fuel pressure regulators and a clean out of the tank swirl pot. As icing on the cake, the Jaguar has just passed its MOT.

The online MOT history confirms the car’s mileage since 2006 and contains nothing that concerns us. The most recent test was carried out in March 2018, during which not a single advisory point was noted. That’s pretty darned good for an old Jag, isn’t it? Particularly one that didn’t have a great reputation for durability in its day.

The owner’s wallet delightfully still contains everything the car was originally supplied with including the owner’s handbook, the original AA stickers, the instructions for operating the radio/cassette player, and details of the dealer network.

The car is also HPI clear, comes with a Jaguar Heritage Certificate (which confirms the supplying dealer was Henlys of London), factory toolkit and the original BL keys are still all there and completely operative, even if the teeth are now a touch worn!

There are also a number of old MOT certificates, invoices and bills that help support this car’s wonderful condition. There is probably not enough history to warrant the mileage, but there are a number of clues to support the view that this car was in central London for the early half of its life, having a very gentle time, and has then been owned by just a few enthusiasts in later years who have preserved, maintained and, importantly, used this Jaguar to great effect.

February 1980 saw the release of Call Me by Blondie, the start of John Wayne Gacy’s murder trial in the ‘States - and this V12 XJ-S hit the mean streets of London.

But only gently, mind you because it covered just 30,000 miles in its first 34 years on this planet, after which it positively sprinted up to its current 44,000 miles.

This tells us two things: that it led a gentle, charmed life for the first three-and-a-half decades - and that it must be in fine fettle to have covered a whopping 14,000 in the last four. (Another advantage being that the bugs and niggles that can result from long-term, low-mileage storage have been ironed out)

So, it’s an interesting car as well as one of the very best we’ve ever seen. Enthusiasts will know that the XJ-S’s time has almost come; prices are on the march and we think that we’ll look back at 2019 as the time when we should have stepped up to the plate and indulged ourselves while we could still afford to.

Speaking of which the estimate of £12-14,000 seems like stunning value at a time when the knowledgeable owner has seen inferior cars sold at auction for a lot more…and NO Reserve means it's on sale from the very first bid.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, Footman James for classic car insurance and AnyVan and a number of local providers for transporting it. 

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 distorted to how they are in reality.