Hi. My 2004 XJ8 was, according to the information sticker on the left side body panel, manufactured in October of 2003, which would, I assume, make it one of the first '04's off the assembly line. (Thus, one of the first X350's manufactured.) But just how early was it manufactured? In other words, is there a numerical sequence (the first off the line? the 1,243rd? the 5,088th?) that can be deduced from the VIN or the information sticker? I'll attach a photo; any info appreciated, thanks.

 

The last 5 digits are the serial sequence. What number they actually start production with I couldn't tell you. As an example, my 2003 Yamaha FJR1300 VIN ends in 000061, so I know that one was early! Also, in the US, car model years are usually in dealers in the fall before the model year, i.e. Fall of 2003. I have seen that deliveries actually commenced in the March/April 2003 timeframe.

 

Hi Isoruku,
Looking at the Jaguar Land Rover Classic Parts site, the first VIN serial in the X350 is G00442, so it looks like your car was number 22856.
Substantial changes were made for the 2006 model year. Perhaps, in the future you will be able to claim it as an early production car and get a premium price, as is the case with E-Types.

Pete M

 

I am not sure when mine came "across the pond" but the last numbers on the VIN are G07332 and the date indicated is 04/29/2003. It would be interesting to get the transport information from the factory. I know the information on the Heritage Certificate for my E - Type indicates a Date Dispatched (I don't know how that compares to the Manufacture Date) and I have heard I could contact Jaguar directly and perhaps get more information about shipping. Of course there are a lot more 2004 XJ8s out there than E - Types.

 

Depends why you want to know.
The OP's car appears to fall in a range with a brake recall.
Problems and Recalls: Jaguar X350 XJ (2003-09) (australiancar.reviews)
Admittedly that's an Australian website. I have no idea why they'd need a brake recall with those mega-mile long straits with nothing to hit apart from...oh "road trains?".

My recollection is that early cars had rivet problems, but if your car doesn't have rivets popping out by now then it must be OK.

If you are concerned about Classic value, forget it.

 

Inscibe on fb xj register x350/x358
give in your vin number an wait
PAUL will get to you as soone as possible . There are over 31000 xj from 2002 till 2009 registrated already.
I have vin 8600 and something constructed in april 2003 on the road in may 2003 Europe
About 140 cars build per day at the beginning

 

G 49701 last xj350
the H for x356 in 2006 on

 

My dealer has told me in the past that there are no recalls. But your information on the rivet issue is definitely of interest. I've heard that before, and mentioned it to my local Jag dealer because my XJ8 makes an annoying creaking sound which can be spontaneous, but is definitely correlated with stress, i.e. going over soft bumps in the road or when I pull into my driveway, which is on a slight rise when I turn off the alley. It's coming from the right side, but I can't localize it better than that. (Somewhere along the B pillar? The A pillar? My nephew claims it might be forward of the firewall.) I have mentioned the issue to the Jag dealer on several occasions, but they say they can't hear it. And the rivet issue elicits a shrug. Can you tell me a bit more? Do you think the rivet problems might be the cause of the creaking sound?

 

You could print out the website I mentioned and take it to your dealer (one recall covers your VIN). I'm sure there are more comprehensive lists.
One lie...All lies.
(whether it involved a physical recall, I wouldn't know)

I would imagine creaking sounds come from the suspension. Even my 2008 car at 90k km (56k miles) had to have some suspension rubbers replaced (although I reckon it was a picky inspector...there were no creaks.) I still have the old rubber bushings, they appear perfect but of you wrack them with a screwdriver there are indeed cracks in them.
It's not rivets. The early cars did have some corrosion problems around the rivets. But I don't recall it being described as creaking I imagine it was more cosmetic.

There's not just an X350 and X358. It was upgraded throughout it's life and X358 is just the visible bling. A lot of parts specify the VIN range they apply to. So don't worry exactly which year you have, it's the best XJ they made. Arguably.

What put me off the newer XJ (X351 2010 onwards) quite apart from the shape, was that it suffered from unfixable creaks in the sunroof! (read that forum). However, although most US X350's appear to have sunroofs, I don't recall this being a significant problem on our models. (I don't have a sunroof therefore it doesn't creak)

 

Perhaps the dealer is talking about mandatory recalls issued by the government? I know that Jaguar has recalled many vehicles over the years through the dealer using Technical Service Bulletins. That might explain why some XJ8s get issues repaired (by the factory/dealer) while others do not. Then years later a "new" owner is fixing something and hears that their issue was supposed to be handled by a "recall" back in 200? but because it was never taken into a dealer with the problem, it was not fixed. The daler in question may not consider a TSB notice a recall.