I have a 1985 XJ6 series III. I finally figured out why it has been so difficult to find parts in the U.S. I found the owners manual and the car is a German model. All of the websites that ask for a VIN number when I'm trying to sell it say that it is not a legitimate VIN number. Is that because of the year and that it was originally a made to be sold in Germany?

 

Yup.

Common situation.

USA parts suppliers (and the vast majority of VIN-decoder web sites) assume a VIN number that complies with USA protocol. The VIN on your German market car is, in essence, a foreign language.

For the USA market a second VIN was assigned to the cars...the one seen on the windshield tag. This is the USA-compliant VIN. The original VIN...the one the car was born with....remains intact at the rear of the engine bay, adjacent to where the diagonal engine bay braces come together.

Cheers
DD

 

i kinda get the same reaction with my 1978 RHD XJS , the vin is Euro ,and
UK numbers.

USA jaguar has nothing in there files with it!

all is fine with USA DMV , Virginia, Florida, and Texas,

 

You could enter the complete VIN here: VIN CHECK
The system tries to decode your VIN, including a stolen check in some countries..

Don't mind the model year that comes back, the check digits for that are reused every 10 years or so...

 

I just typed in my vin. Does it give you original paint color in the code?

 

I’ve been trying to figure out my original color for years and can’t locate the code.

 

Location of the paint and trim ID tag varies.

On my '87 it was in the driver's door jamb, in the area of the door hinges.

On my '85 it's in the engine bay, RH side, just forward of where the diagonal brace meets the fender

Cheers
DD

 

Hi sgriffith,

Try these charts to decode your paint & VIN numbers.

I put this information together from many sources on the internet so sorry if the formatting is a little out.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

The paint code is usually not coded in the VIN.

Here's how a VIN is built up:

Since the implementation of ISO 3779 (1983), a typical VIN consists of 17 digits.
It is divided in three parts: WMI, VDS and VIS

WMI (World Manufacturer's Identification): first three digits, worldwide manufacturer code: contains information about production country and manufacturer. (SAJ for Jaguar UK)

VDS (Vehicle Description Section) : Model description, 6 digits at the manufacturer's discretion

VIS (Vehicle Indicator Section): Serial number, the last eight digits. It is recommended that the first digit of the VIS is used for the model year and the second for the plant the car was manufactured at.

Not all manufacturers follow this advise, as it is not mandatory. WMI and VDS are...

The following characters are not allowed to be used in a VIN in order to avoid errors: Q, O, I

More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicl...ication_number