Hi there, unfortunately I have another mystery question concerning my 98 Jaguar XJ8.

I’m looking for some parts for the car and found that there’s yet another inconsistency. Is the car an X300 or X308? I did some research on the Internet and found that the X300s were only made from 1995-1997. However, my car was first registered on April 1, 1998 and hence I think it should be X308. Am I going wrong here?

The thing is that all official documents, such as registration (Carte Grise) and sales contract seem to reflect that the car is an X300. How is that possible?

I probably looked at dozens of specimens on the Internet and found that the X300s have a slightly different dashboard than the X308s, mine seems to have the characteristics of the X308 though.

In the US I would look at the car’s VIN number and be clear on the issue in no time. However, with the car originally being from the UK and now being registered in France, the car’s VIN doesn’t seem to contain a reference to the year it was built.

How am I going to figure out what car I got?

Many many thanks for your time and help. I really appreciate it!

Cheers!

 

There're a few ways of learning that :
Exterior :
1-Look at your trunk badge if it says XJ8 , you have an x308
2-Chrome trim all the way accros above the bumpers for X300, for X308 half way
around it
3- Fog lights are all round so is the grill

Interior :
For X300 , 6 way gauges whereas X308 came with 3 big round gauges
More complex radio buttons for X308
X300 has rectangunlar door veneers , X308 has different
X308 came with analog clock in midst of the air vents whereas X300 has a digital clock in the middle of A/C

More easily , opn the hood and take a look at the engine decal , if it says V8 no way you have an X300

 

Surely the key thing distinguishing the two models is that the X300 only had the straight 6 (AJ16) engine, and also a few 6 litre V12s, (but very few of these). The X308, as its model number implies has the V8 engine only.