Purchased my '11 XK convertible earlier this year. The vehicle was involved in an accident by previous owner who paid for the repairs cash.. no insurance claim. Turns out the original Adaptive Headlights were replaced with non adaptive headlights which threw an adaptive headlight error on the dash.
Recently my spouse damaged the front passenger side and we have an insurance claim working for the repairs. The collision shop is indicating repairs should be for exact parts damaged, but my thinking is the car should be repaired with the CORRECT Factory Original parts. Only the Passenger side was damaged this time... any thoughts?

 

Active headlights get me excited. The more they turn, corner and automatically switch from low to high the better. I would try to replace both headlights with the factory adaptive versions. You should be able to find some used ones. The insurance money for one new one should come close to covering replacing both headlights with used adaptive ones.

 

I cant imagine an insurer offering the adaptive units to replace standard. They cost about $1800 each here. And if we pressed the point here, they would tackle us for not disclosing the modification of the car and use that for a way out, though I'm not sure whether our laws are the same as yours.

 

The case for having the insurance company cover the cost of undoing after market modifications doesn't sound strong. Offering to cover the difference might be an option.

 

^This^

Upgrading parts at the expense of a insurance company claim will not go over well. It could easily be considered insurance fraud, and that is not a good thing.
Paying the upgrade difference out of your pocket is still a great chance to return some former glory to your baby at a lesser cost to you. Most shops are willing to work with you in that area.

2cents
Vince

 

IMHO, your insurance company should use the VIN to determine the replacement parts, notwithstanding the previous owner's modifications since you were unaware of those mods when you bought the car and your insurance company did not know they existed. Read your insurance policy - that is a legally binding contract that should clearly address your issue.

Hopefully, your wife will damage the other side so they'll match.

Be prepared for an increase in your premium.

Stuart

 

I just had an extensive fender repair done on another vehicle, and all parts replaced, including the front headlamp, were OEM. Perhaps it depends on your policy, but some insurers won't use anything but OEM because of safety and warranty issues. I would be willing to bet that if you had more expensive aftermarket headlights they would be playing a different tune. They can't have it both ways.

Of course if you only damaged one headlamp you can't expect them to pay for the other one to match.

*edit: Oh, I see. Your current headlamps are OEM, just not correct for your vehicle. Well then I don't know.

 

The vehicle original equipment included adaptive headlights, hence why I want them.
Since this is a HEADLIGHT, a vital safety part, the insurance company is required to replace with original equipment from the factory regardless of what was there.
update:
The insurance company is replacing the damaged headlight with the correct Adaptive headlight and I am ponying up for the replacement of the other headlight to match. The price difference between non adaptive and adaptive was $600 a side. Not much considering the value loss of the vehicle with an "adaptive error" flashing in the dash.
Thanks all for your input.

 

Sounds like only one is damaged though. You probably need to replace both if you're going back to adaptive. That said, I love the adaptive on my 10.

 

and I am ponying up for the replacement of the other headlight to match.

I have the adaptive headlights on my mazdaspeed 3 and they are cool.
I am happy to finally get this headlight issue resolved. Its not like it was a stereo speaker or some other non essential item.

 

As I suspected (my post #6), the part is determined by the VIN.

How much are you paying for the driver's side adaptive headlight? MSRP is $1,877.75 but is available on line for $1,442.11 or possibly less. See: http://www.jaguarmerriamparts.com/parts/2011/Jaguar/XKR/Base/?siteid=215718&vehicleid=314462§ion=ELECTRICAL&gro up=FRONT%20LAMPS There are other sites.

Don't forget to tell the body shop that you want the old non-adaptive headlight from the driver's side. You should be able to get at least $400 for it on eBay. That will reduce your net out-of-pocket cost.

 

I was quoted $1877.00 by the collision shop and I already requested the nonadaptive headlight so I may resell it.
Reminds me of my landrover experience. Specific parts were outrageously priced...