While not many of us would shed a tear if one more late 80s Jaguar ends up in the boneyard, examples like this low-mileage specimen should be preserved. A 1988 model with just over 22,000 miles from new, this two-owner example had a short stint with the second owner who was too afraid to drive one this nice. Will you have the same problem? Find it here on eBay with bidding at $8K and no reserve.
British Racing Green is perhaps the best color for a Jaguar, and while this generation has stayed near the bottom of the value curve, maintained examples are said to be fine drivers. The wheels are unmarked and clean, glass is blessedly tint-free and the paint shows no obvious signs of damage or over-buffing.
Jaguar interiors can either look really good or really bad, thanks to the liberal use of fragile surfaces like acres of wood trim and leather surfaces. When they’re maintained, they look as good as they did in 1988. While I generally prefer the XJ40s with the squared off headlamps, finding one in this sort of condition takes precedence over preference for headlamp design. The dash looks near-perfect as well.
A velvety inline-six good for just over 200 b.h.p. provided the go, and despite half the cylinders of the coupes and later sedans, the engine bay is still plagued by excess wiring and vacuum hoses. When buying a car like a 1980s-era Jaguar, it is wise to buy the best one you can afford – and even at $10K, this will still be a cheaper car to own than a basketcase costing half that price.
The racing green looks good on jaguars.
While this is not the yesteryear jag from the 60s it looks very preserved.
I like it but would feel guilty logging miles on it daily.
I always liked these. I had a relative buy one like this new. She intended on driving it to Las Vegas from Los Angeles. It had a few hundred miles on it. Out in the middle of nowhere, on the infamous Baker Grade, she smelled something burning. Luckily, she pulled over (it was about 105 outside) and within a few minutes, it was fully engulfed in flames. No one was hurt, except the Jag which suffered cremation on the side of the road. She bought a Mercedes.
Wowsa definitely smoking hot in the desert 🔥🔥🔥
What caused it?
Fuel injection feed a fire to death?
Armadillo attach to muffler?
God smyte it? 😅
Was all the mileage from driving to the repair shop?.
Yeah that BRG is the perfect color with the tan interior. I’ve seen a few earlier XJ6’s with the green exterior and black interiors, and they look deader than dead.
Oh, this body style brings memories… Stright out of HS, while a college freshman ( I was 18) I was dating a 28 divorcee, that had a brand new 1989 VDP, burgundy with tan interior, XJ6.
I drove it more often than she did, and I often would drive it to school. One morning, after parking the Jag, an upperclamen with two or three friends around yells at me “hey, having fun driving your dads car?”, to which I replied “this car is my womans”. His face, about melted, and his pals started ragging on him. I just kept walking to my class.
Everyone should own one classic Jaguar. Just one. That’s enough! And yes, I know for personal experience. Loved it more than any other car, so it hurt deeply every time it failed me – which was often.
Every repair shop should have a customer with a Jaguar; great for cashflow.
Nice example, the right colour (alternative hue: Regency Red), but the thought of the regular ‘fettling’ should be a caveat for anyone wishing to buy it.
Lovely cars, I had one which I bought back a few years ago still in good condition (my daughter found out and wanted it turning 18 as she remembered it with fondness). Very reliable, minimal rust even in my salted area and superbly comfy while still leaving most contemporaries for dead on the twisty backroads. Don’t listen to the “yea it’s so unreliable” tales. They are not. I know a number of other people having them at the time as well.
Nice looking car! Same color as my TR6! I think this is around the year that Ford bought jaguar and as I recall they were a much better car in 1988 onwards because of it believe it or not. Not knocking British Leyland or anyting of course, LOL.
How many of the 22 k mileage was spent in the shop ?
I’ve only owned a few Jags, 71 E-type coupe, 76 XJ12C, 87 XJ6, 94 XJ12, and a 02 XKR, so maybe my opinion isn’t as good as those who have once heard somebody talk about how bad Jags are. Jags are AWESOME cars, easy to maintain for anyone with an IQ over 80, parts are cheap, esp if you source them directly from their home country (guess what, they actually speak English in England). loved my Rolls Royce, but it sat in the garage most days as the Jags are fun to drive.
Owned an XK 150S – for 4 years. Long before the internet, so parts were hard to source, and mechanics who could diagnose the part needed even scarcer. But when it ran, it RAN, most erotic car I ever owned. A $12,000 engine in a $6,000 car, body was sloppy, and flexed a lot. Frame was rusting, rockers were like Swiss Cheese, eventually it would not start and no one I could find could figure out why, so sold for the $300 I paid for it.
I’ve owned the beauty above (or is it below) for nearly 10 years. I take good care of her (she’s our Big Kitty) and in those ten years we’ve put close to 30K miles on her. Only issue I’ve had is replacing a fuel pump. She has even scored a 9.98 in the Driven division at a JCNA sanctioned concours. Wonderful driver that is wider than she is tall, so she does corner very nicely. Ours is the Vanden Plas, with the burlwood picnic trays, rear buckets, extra lighting, etc. Reliability is in direct correlation to how well you care for your car.
Like any car upkeep is the key. Most Jag haters are Jag never owners.