I am considering replacing all the headlights on my car with ones that are less pitted. I've been pricing used sets from various sources. Mine have "Valeo" written on them and some of the ones for sale don't. Does that matter? Is there one type that's better than the others? Can I replace a Valeo set with one that's not Valeo?

 

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New OEM ones are approx $170 each, so looking at around $700 for 4 brand new OEM replacements.
https://www.jaguarmerriamparts.com/p...iagram=4721015
Looking on e-bay they seem to want $200-$300 for 4 used ones, and I wonder if they will be guaranteed to be any better than the ones you have?
What is pitted on yours, the glass, or the internal reflector material?


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I think most of the pitting is external; I can feel some roughness when I run my fingers over the lenses. They are not terrible but it gives them a slightly cloudy look. I am talking to a guy with several parts cars and he says he has a set that are in excellent condition. They look pretty darn good in the picture, too. But, pictures can be deceiving. Upon looking at his pictures, magnified as much as I can, I think maybe they actually DO say Valeo on them. I suspect they are all interchangeable for 1998 to 2003 but I wanted to ask the forum before I consider placing an order.

 

I would recommend going to the SNG Barratt web site and take a look at the lights as they show for the X308. The 2003 is and X350 and from the outside they look the same but if you look at the photo's and part numbers the 2003 you can see they aren't and will take a lot of work to make them fit in an X308.
2003 was the change over year from X308 to X350 and most parts catalogs only list X308 parts to 2002.

 

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Harvest, before you anti-up big bucks for some "new" lenses, may I suggest trying to clean your glass lenses with an abrasive polish like Solvol Autosol, or its equivalent.
Often times the "pitting" or "yellowing" is an accumulation of chemical debris that has formed on the glass surface. I have found that Solvol Autosol cleaner/polish has saved me lots of time and money over the years. As a test I even went out this evening and polished my headlights with Solvol, they didn't look "yellow" or tainted at all, but when I polished them with Solvol they looked a lot "whiter". So maybe for a $10 investment it is worth a try, and if it doesn't work you will still have a tube of Solvol chrome polish that will be useful for all sorts of other applications.

It can be found on all sorts of online sources, this is just one.
https://www.macsautoparts.com/early_v8_ford_truck/autosol-metal-polish-456557.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_sear ch&utm_campaign=paid_search_google_pla&adpos=1o2&s cid=scplp47-76478-1&sc_intid=47-76478-1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt-XJ1IXD3AIVVG1-Ch240gQmEAQYAiABEgLNM_D_BwE


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Thanks CK. It doesn't say it's for use with glass but if that's an "off label" use discovered by other forum members then I'll give it a try. I just ordered a tube; it should arrive early next week. I'll give that a try before I order any new parts.

Avern1 - I will triple check part numbers if I do order something. Since mine is a 2002 I suspect the headlight numbers are pretty consistent with X308 numbers in general. I usually do my part number research at jaguarclassicparts.com.

Thanks again

 

Harvest, good to hear, Solvol Autosol is a staple abrasive cleaner/polisher from Europe, and I wouldn't be without it, it has a variety of uses, and I hope that it works on your headlamps, but even if not, you will not regret your purchase as it has a myriad of other application uses.

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