2003 Jaguar XJ8

We are familiar with this car because it has graced our humble facility here at our Oxfordshire HQ before.

We remarked at the time that it was in very fine fettle mechanically and dynamically, and had evidently been cared-for and curated by a succession of owners who shared similarly high standards.

Well, we’re happy to report that’s it’s even more thoroughly sorted now than it was in December 2023 when it was bought by the current vendor.

He has carried on in the tradition established by his predecessors and spared no expense in making sure that the car is in rude mechanical health.

He drove the car to us from Bristol and has been using it primarily for long runs down to the South-West.

It starts on the button and does everything asked of it with the capability and competence for which these cars were rightly lauded. 
 

The bodywork on this elegant, svelte Jaguar is broadly reasonable, and the shut-lines and panel gaps are crisp and consistent, but there are various cosmetic issues to contend with in numerous places.

The ‘Zircon Blue’ paintwork is a bit of a curate’s egg: it’s good in parts, less so in others, and pretty poor here and there.

There are a couple of shallow dents and some scuffing on both offside doors where they adjoin in the middle, plus some more scuffs on and around the rubbing strake below.

Scratches and a couple of shallow dinks can be found on the bonnet, and the tops of both front wings have sizeable patches of flat, discoloured paint and peeled lacquer.

There are a number of paint chips to the bonnet just below the windscreen.

Lacquer has peeled away on the o/s/r wing and ‘C’ pillar; there is some micro-blistering on the boot lid; the paint around the rear number plate on the boot lid is rather flat; and there are various scuffs and scratches on the front bumper corners, the edges of the bonnet, and around the front valance and the ‘nose’ of the car.

The wheels are pretty decent, save for a couple of scuffs to the o/s/f wheel, and the tyres look to have a decent amount of life left in them.

The bright-work, trim, lights, lenses and badging are all decent from what we can see.

The interior is really very impressive and appears to have weathered the vicissitudes of time and use with plenty of stoicism and resilience.  

Few marques do the wood and leather thing quite as well as Jaguar, and their trademark gentlemen’s-club ambience is as classy and understated as ever in this example.

It’s almost invariably the case that the things separating OK examples from their better counterparts are often to be found in the detail.

Most people can’t be bothered to fix a faulty sensor that isn’t telling them anything important.

The same people probably won’t replace those usually broken seat-belt bezel things on the rear parcel shelf, or a fix a slightly wonky bit of trim.

The vendor is made of sterner stuff, as were the car’s previous curators, and the interior of the car reflects the work done to get things right.

All the little things that tend to get overlooked and put on the ‘when I get around to it list’ – well, they’ve all been done, so you don’t have to.

The only real indicators of the car’s age or mileage are to be found in a little rubbing and light creasing to the outer bolsters of the driver’s seat.

The rear seats, as ever, don’t look as if they’ve ever had to do much heavy lifting.

The door cards are beyond reproach, as are the carpets and mats.

The instrument panel, being pretty new (see History section), is in first-class order, as are the car’s rich and glossy wood veneers.  

As far as we’re aware, all knobs, buttons, dials, switches and levers do what they’re supposed to do across the usual SE gizmos and refinements, which include a 2012 updated satellite navigation system, and Alpine CD changer radio and cassette player equipped with Parrot Bluetooth functionality.

Other options ticked for this model include heated front electric seats and part-wooden steering wheel, climate control, and automated rear sun screen.

The capacious boot looks fine and contains a full-sized spare wheel.  
 

There’s not much to see other than protective cowls and covers in the engine bay, but what we can see appears to be clean, dry, orderly, present and correct.

The undersides of this car look to be possessed of plenty of structural integrity and we’ve seen nothing to make us tut, frown or otherwise question the car’s character or honesty.

This car has had well over £11,000 spent on it in recent years on work that includes a brand new ABS module, air conditioning condenser unit and pipework, radiator and thermostat, battery, poly-v belt, front and rear parking sensors, wheel bearings, all tyres, all brake hoses, callipers, discs, pads, power steering rack, wishbones, tie rod ends, door check straps, both wing mirrors (though our seller tells us they no longer retract on the button), wiper blades, door seals, all three of those aforementioned seat belt bezels on the rear shelf that always break, plus numerous smaller items of trim.

A new headliner and board were professionally fitted by Trim Technik of Wirral.

A brand-new instrument panel by Inchcape Jaguar of Chester was fitted in September 2020 when the mileage was 119,382. Today, the odometer reads 5,926 miles, giving you a grand total of 125,308 miles.

We keep saying it, but it’s really only in the UK that cars with mileages north of 100,000 are treated with largely misplaced suspicion.

Our fellow motorists in Europe or the USA, where continental scale means people have to drive further to get anywhere, don’t regard mileages like this with the same irrational suspicion as we do in the UK.

The car comes with a full-service history with 18 stamps, half of which come from Jaguar main dealers, plus plenty of receipts, bills and invoices attesting to work carried out.

All the usual SE model refinements are present including a 2012 updated satellite navigation system, Alpine CD changer/ radio/ cassette and fitted Parrot Bluetooth, heated front electric seats and part-wooden steering wheel, climate control, automated rear sun screen, plus two programmed keys - although only one of them appears to be currently engaging the central locking system. The radio code is also present.

The car’s MoT certificate is valid until 29th November 2026.
 

These were, and remain, very good cars.

This example has been kept in first-class mechanical condition and has the paperwork to prove it.

It also has an interior that’s been given the kind of attention to detail and meticulous care that the exterior now merits – if you want to.

Either way, it’s a very decent car that’s just a few cosmetic jobs away from being the best version of itself.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £4,000 - £6,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.