Are you suggesting upgrading FROM the 17" wheels on the 04 (if I get the 04)? This car apparently has 17" wheels.

I think I do like the way this car looks. I looked at my 03 that has a Jaguar badge and an XJ8 badge on the trunk in indentations. The 04 in the photo has no emblems and there aren't any indentations. Does the 04 trunk actually not have the indentations? Just curious. Would hate to think the badges were removed and the indentations filled with bondo! I really need to get over there and look at this car -- probably can't do it today or tomorrow, so I'll have to wait until Tuesday at the earliest.

Thanks for all your input, it has been very helpful.

The same seller has another 04 with all the chrome (sale pending, though) -- here's a photo of the trunk lid with the XJ8 badge, I see it's not in and indentation like my 03.

 

I have just realised that when you mentioned a 2003 car that you were referring to the 308 model over there, in the UK the 308 ceased in 2002 and the X350 came available early 2003, hence when I mentioned my 2003 , it is actually an X350.

 

I never knew that about the 308/350 2003/2004. Is your 350 the same (primarily) as our 2004 305s, or is your 2004 a late model year 2003, like mine?

Sometimes I get corn-fused, being from the midwest! LOL

 

I don't know when the X350 cars started being shipped to the USA but any sold in the 2nd half of 2003, will be called 2004 Model Year. I don't understand this concept, can somebody enlighten me,please.

Here all our number plates in the UK are year-based and have been for a great many years, so maybe that is the difference.

 

In North America and that includes Canada the X350 first sold in 2004. If you look on the manufacturing identification plates, it states 2003 but we tend to ignore that. In nearly every Jaguar model it seems we were a year behind you guys in the UK.

I got to test drive (and fall in love with) the first North American X350 here in Toronto in June of 2003. That car was apparently returned to UK after all the test drives had been concluded. Turned out the subsequent models we received on the sales floor were slightly different to the ones we originally got to test drive.

 

Mine was first registered about June 2003, it is the aluminium X350 model and , I guess, the same as your 2004 models in the USA, but as mentioned by Frazer above generally, in the UK, if you buy a car around September it will be classed as being the following year model, hence a September 2012 car would tend to be a 2013 model.

 

Bad (good?) news -- the seller wouldn't accept my offer, he countered at about $1,500 more than I offered. I told him my offer was low due to the car's history and lack of service records (the car was stolen several years ago, and it has been at auction way too many times as if it's hard to sell) -- he said that his price was cheap because of the history, so I said my offer is the highest I'd go. He is a dealer, a nice guy, I know people who know him and I bought my 03 from him - very reputable guy, in my opinion. He responded to my final offer saying that he's had the car for a while and might just send it back to auction -- I told him that that's what I'd do with it.

So, I'm still looking, but for now I'm also taking the advice from above and will consider sticking my money into this car and keeping it for another year or two. We'll see. I sure do like the X350s, though.