1988 Range Rover Vogue EFi

Finished in Caspian Blue with silver grey velour interior, this 1988 Range Rover Vogue has the fuel-injected 3.5 litre V8 petrol engine delivering 155bhp through a 4-speed ZF automatic gearbox and on to permanent 4-wheel-drive via the prolific LT230 transfer box which stayed in LR/RR service for 32 years.

The car was supplied new by Exeter Garages on 1st August 1988 to a discerning gentleman who collected classic cars and enjoyed driving. He had it fitted with a Harvey Bailey Engineering handling kit which featured uprated dampers and front and rear anti-roll bars for better road holding. The second owner used it for approximately 16 years before putting it into dry storage for another 7. It was then bought from his estate and recommissioned in 2013.

Last month the Vogue was invited to feature on the Range Rover Register stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show as an exemplar of the 4 door first generation “Range Rover Classic”. The car received nothing but positive comments all weekend and was widely considered as the best condition Range Rover on the stand.

To add to its well-deserved 15 minutes of fame, it also stars in a feature article in the December 2019 issue of Land Rover Monthly - a copy of which is included in the sale.

As if that weren’t enough, whilst writing this description, the trailer for the new James Bond film No Time To Die has been released and we were intrigued to see a similar-age Caspian Blue Range Rover chasing the Aston Martin DB5 and then being on the receiving end of Bond’s headlamp-fitted Gatling guns.

The paintwork is very, very good, if not quite perfect. According to a written history from the owner who recommissioned it after being in storage, it had a waistline-down respray (including scuttle, bonnet and lower tailgate) around 6 years ago but it was done so well we can’t see any overspray or other signs that it went through a paint shop. It has such a fantastic quality finish to the paint that if you give it a gentle stroke (and its lustre begs you to do so), your hand just glides over the surface as if on a cushion of air.

Characteristic of the Range Rover is the horizontally split two-section rear access with dropping lower tailgate and lifting window. For reasons unknown, Range Rover put a steel upper tailgate frame onto what was a largely aluminium bodied car. Consequently it is a common problem with this model that the rear window surround is prone to rust. On this car it has been replaced by a new aluminium part and so appears in extremely good order.

Bumper and side trim plastics show very few signs of scuffing or knocks, the C-pillar vinyl covering is in good condition and panel fit and door shut lines are also very good.

The “Range Rover” decals front and rear, so often worn away or peeling, were also replaced after the respray and now spell out the name beautifully.

The original body-coloured triangular 16 inch alloy wheels (yes only 16 - current RR models ship with optional 21 inch monsters) are in fair condition with just a few knocks and chips as to be expected around the studs and are fitted with Event ML698+ reinforced tyres which present as new.

The tow bar assembly is straight, rust-free and looks unused, and completing the purposeful look are a full set of RR mud flaps front and rear.

It might be a cliché but climbing into the Range Rover’s cabin is like stepping back in time; with the original unmarked interior in a truly phenomenal condition. Factory specified with wooden door cappings, these present very well and add a touch of warmth and luxury to either side of the iconic all-plastic dash.

The original, top-spec - and near perfect - Range Rover cassette radio still sits in the centre console below the controls for the heating and optional air conditioning which is also still in great working order delivering ice-cold ventilation as required. Other factory options specified included electric windows, electric mirrors and central locking which all function correctly.

The velour covered seats, so typically subjected to the none-too-fastidious country lifestyle, show little sign of wear or abuse. The “stuffing” in the bolsters and headrests is spot on.

Looking down, the carpets and new rubber mats are in good order and looking up (further up than in most cars) the headlining is in super condition - replacement again part of the work done to bring the vehicle back into use after long-term storage.

In the boot space, the clean and tidy look continues, with the spare wheel ready to use and the often discarded parcel shelf present and correct.

Under the bonnet, the engine bay looks really clean and tidy with no deterioration to any of the hoses or pipework. The big, Buick-derived, Rover V8 also looks clean with no traces of oil leakage thanks to recent work commissioned by the vendor. The bonnet itself has some light surface rust on the lips and in the hinge areas but nothing for immediate concern.

The chassis and undersides were subject to a thorough clean and treatment with Wurth underbody wax following storage and at the same time the rear dampers were replaced. There are no signs of corrosion in the inner wings or inner wheel arches or indeed anywhere underneath. A more recent owner has added a made-to-order Double-S stainless exhaust system in 2017.

There is some slight corrosion or patina to the aluminium undersides of the rear doors which is worth keeping an eye on but nothing underneath this car should give the new owner any cause for concern.

This car comes with MOT valid until July 2020 and the online MOT history since coming out of storage is worry free. From the service records, MOT history and other documentation we are confident that the (very low for a 30+ year old vehicle) 67,000 mileage is genuine.

The service record in the original owner’s manual pack shows HR Owen main dealer servicing in the two years with the first owner followed by marque specialist MJ Fews for the following 6 years. Since then it has only covered around 15,000 miles in over 20 years.

Having sat in dry storage for around 7 years followed by a proper recommissioning by an owner who cared about bringing it back into service properly and preserving much of its originality has in all likelihood saved this vehicle from becoming just another ratty Range Rover.

More recently nearly £3,000 has been spent by the vendor at Top Notch Garage Services to ready the car for sale, including a new sump gasket, reconditioned radiator, replacement of the brake master cylinder, a new central locking mechanism and other minor repairs and adjustments. Any early Range Rover will have needed a fantastic course of timely and preventative maintenance to remain anywhere near the condition that this one presents in today.

We are looking after this car during the auction and also collected the car from the Midlands; driving it around 100 miles back to our base in Oxfordshire. We have to say it drove brilliantly and there were no creaks, groans, rattles or knocks that you might expect from a rather agricultural model. The 3.5L EFi motors are super smooth and much more free-revving than the bored out 3.9 which replaced them.

The Range Rover Classic is an iconic car and, due particularly to sharply rising values of the earlier 2-door cars, many coming to the market are rather shabby, ratty and in dire need of love - this one is none of those things.

This is a 31 year old, 5-owner Range Rover but only one former keeper has done anything other than nominal mileage in the vehicle.

The price trends graph you see here tracks asking prices over the last five years and it shows averages (that’s all examples for sale, good and bad) holding steady around £12,000. Although we are guiding this car at between £11,000 and £16,000, it is such an incredibly original, hard-to-find, low mileage example in remarkable condition that we would be surprised if it doesn’t end up nearer to the top end.

This Range Rover Vogue EFi is fundamentally a brilliant and unmolested car in show condition; ready for a new owner to start enjoying immediately…just stay away from aggressively-driven silver DB5s.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abindgon; 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, 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.