2025-08-14 14:34:57 | pauls writes:

Car offered at:

carsonline.bonhams.com/en/listings/jaguar/xjs-convertible/41eb33be-57df-45af-aae ...

Seller's description:

Full Ignition Overhauled and Replaced 2023

Full Cooling System Overhauled 2022

Water Pump and all Hoses Replaced 2022

SAJJNADW3DB158988

50,410 Miles

5354cc

auto

Metallic Blue

Oatmeal

Right-hand drive

Vehicle location Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, United Kingdom

Estimated value £17,000 - £22,000

‘F883 KGT’ has been in the seller’s care for the past 13 years, during which time it’s been displayed at the XJS Club stand at the NEC, only ever driven in the dry, and fastidiously maintained.

A 1989 Jaguar XJ-S HE Convertible with the V12 engine under the bonnet, it also boasts an impressively well-stamped service history booklet and much recent work.

Finished in a fetching metallic Blue with red and blue pinstripes and a black roof, it has an Oatmeal leather interior, which prompted the seller to commission a matching Oatmeal cover.

Exterior

The coachwork is nothing short of superb featuring mm-perfect shutlines, straight and ripple-free panels, and a very good finish to that metallic blue paintwork.

The silver and red pinstripes do double-duty as a stylistic flourish while also highlighting the condition of the flanks.

There isn’t much chrome on an XJ-S, but what there is is serves to give the car an upmarket, exclusive feel without detracting from the its iconic lines. The brightwork on this one is, as you’d expect, very good with a healthy sheen and no tarnishing or pitting. There are no scuffs on the rubber bumper trims either, often the first place to betray a careless driver.

The oblong headlamps are free of stonechips, cracks, and other damage, which is important as these are getting harder to find, so any example that’s still got them deserves your attention.

The rest of the lamp lenses are also very good, and even the screws that hold the huge rear lamp units in place are free of rust.

The badges are good with only light patination and the XJ-S even still wears the badge from Guy Salmon, the supplying dealer. (It’s got a key fob from the same garage, too.)

A new design of alloy wheel, the so-called ‘Starfish’ entered production in 1981, and these were offered alongside the 15-inch lattice alloy wheels from GKN this one boasts. As you can see, these are in exactly the sort of condition you’d expect of such a well-curated car.

Free of scuffs, scrapes, and other damage bar some light kerbing marks to the nearside front, they’re also clean with no brake dust stains. However, the last MoT did incur three advisories for tyres (perished fronts and the offside rear worn close to the legal limit) which is a shame as they are the correct 235/60R15 Pirelli P600s.

The folding roof was replaced shortly before the seller bought the car and he tells us that it has “never been wet!” Made of black mohair, it fits perfectly, with nary a wrinkle or crease in sight. It’s also got a proper heated glass rear screen, which turns this luxurious convertible into a true all-seasons car.

The roof rises and falls at the touch of a button, and the Oatmeal cover gives the car a clean look, helping the interior and exterior blend seamlessly. However, if you’re a fan of originality, you’ll be pleased to see that the factory black one has been retained and comes with the car.

As for flaws, the front numberplate is cracked, the rubber trim on the offside front corner of the bumper is misaligned, the windscreen is delaminating in the lower corners, a chip on the trailing edge of the passenger door is starting to rust, and some of the centre caps on the wheels are scuffed. 

Interior

The Oatmeal leather interior, which is piped in the same blue/grey colour as the carpets, has survived the passage of three and a half decades with the same casual aplomb as the coachwork.

Beautifully presented, the only signs of wear take the form of light creases to face material of the seats and a loss of colour to one section of the outer bolster of the driver’s seat.

Everywhere else is excellent with firm bolsters, working electric adjustment, and even heating elements, which would have been quite the treat back then and are still a luxury you’ll enjoy using today.

The door cards are pretty much unblemished, as are the rear quarter trims. The grey/blue carpet is excellent too, with barely a mark much less scuffs or bald patches. Even the driver’s heel pad is free of cracks and holes.

The walnut veneer is in great shape too with no cracks, chips, or lifting lacquer. 

Toys include Speed Control (none of your modern “cruise control” here…) plus electric windows, and a working trip computer above the transmission tunnel.

The original face-off radio is still fitted, the passenger’s pop-up vanity mirror is bright and undamaged, the markings on the switches are largely bright and clear, and the chrome ashtrays hark back to an era when pleasing yourself wasn’t frowned upon.

The luggage platform behind the seats features a chrome bar to stop your cases sliding forward. There’s also a lockable lid that gives access to a good-sized, secure storage space, more signs that Jaguar missed no opportunity in creating the perfect grand touring car.

Speaking of touring, the (very well trimmed) boot contains a full-size and matching spare wheel and jack, so if you are unlucky enough to get a puncture, you’ll be able to sort it out yourself, unlike those in a modern Jaguar, who’ll have to wait for a tow truck to recover them…

As for cosmetic issues you might like to address, the carpet in the driver’s footwell is stained, the indicator stalk has lost more of its lettering than the other side, some of the material on the back of the driver’s seat is easing away, and there’s a very small tear on the rear of the passenger's seat.

NB: The odometer reads 50,000 but it was replaced in 1992 when the old one read 20,226, so the true mileage is a little over 70,000 miles.

Mechanical

The service history booklet is impressively well-stamped:

•    06.04.1989 and 1,609 miles – service by 

•    26.04.1990 and 7,881 miles – service by TWR Jaguar Coventry

•    29.10.1990 and 15,251 miles – service by TWR Jaguar Leamington Spa

•    18.06.1992 and 19,329 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    26.10.1992 and 20,226 miles – new speedometer fitted

•    18.02.1993 and 859 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    16.08.1993 and 1,543 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    16.03.1994 and 1,955 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    28.06.1995 and 10,928 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    17.10.1996 and 19,161 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    22.11.1996 and 19,197 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    16.06.1997 and 21,517 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    01.06.1998 and 25,558 miles – service by Guy Salmon Jaguar

•    19.07.1999 and 31,465 miles – service by R.A. Creamer & Son Ltd

•    21.08.2000 and 35,322 miles – service by R.A. Creamer & Son Ltd

•    28.11.2001 and 39,108 miles – service by Harwoods Ltd

•    18.02.2009 and 45,240 miles – service by SiMotive

The stamps might end at this point, but we understand the high-quality maintenance continued with the seller having overhauled the ignition system in 2022 by way of 12 new sparkplugs, a full set of new Jaguar-specification HT leads, new top and bottom coils, and a new distributor cap.

He also fitted a new overdrive switch and throttle rods, with the latter being “measured and adjusted to exact length for A&B bank pedal response”.

The cooling system was refreshed with new coolant hoses and a waterpump during the COVID lockdowns, and he tells us that it has had “regular oil and air filters replaced throughout its life”, plus new inboard brake calipers approximately eight years ago.

All that hard work has paid off because the engine eases into life with barely a murmur. It builds good oil pressure quickly, and the perfectly-balanced V12 revs very smoothly with the engine noise barely rising above a gentle whisper, even under load.

We note the ammeter doesn’t show a charge to the battery.

The engine bay is nicely presented without being overly fussy. If you ever get the car professionally valeted you might like to ask them to run a hose over the engine bay while they’re there but that’s very much a job in the Nice To Do category rather than anything more urgent.

In the seller’s time he said that he has had the entire underside of this vehicle prepared and painted with metal protection paint, and while there are no mentions of structural rust in the car’s online MoT history, the last one does include an advisory regarding corroded road springs.

We also note a peppering of rusty stonechips to the sills, the odd rusty bracket and the like underneath, some flaking underseal, and a few patches of surface rust on the underside of the bonnet. Given how good the rest of the car is, we can see the new owner will want to get these minor issues sorted out sooner rather than later to prevent them getting any worse. 

Both indoor and outdoor car covers are supplied along with a small selection of spares and tools.

History

The Jaguar’s MoT certificate is valid until June 2026, the recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and the XJS comes with two sets of keys in addition to the Jaguar wallet and book pack that includes the stamped service history booklet.

It also comes with a Haynes workshop manual to supplement the factory Repair Operation Manual, a Parts Catalogue, and the issue of XJS Today magazine that features the car.