Got it. I almost assumed it was the military sales program. I am familiar with it. And the DE specs are differently structured for marketing purposes. They start with the Diesel, the regular SC and then right up to the 510 hp version. The 470 hp version isn't sold there. I wouldn't worry too much about the 3 oil changes and a couple of wiper blades. Reading the fine print there isn't that much to be expected from it. You got free shipping, original warranty and I believe no sales tax. That is a great deal. I hope they can do your region thing via software and then back when in the US. It would really be goofy looking putting a GPS unit on the windshield. Kind of embarrassing. Whatabout the DVD regions? Very interesting info. Thank You for sharing.

 

That's what I told them. But now I found out that Volvo and Audi US buyers have the same issues. Mercedes and BMW owners don't. What I am trying to find out now is if it's a hardware issue or a software issue. I just can't see it being a hardware issue. I mean every DVD player made on this planet is universal they are just region coded. So I am sure all they have to do is put in some kind of code and then just load European maps. Well they have until the spring time to figure it out. The Jag is in hibernation for the winter.

 

I am seeing some higer VIN XJs for sale online, 11,000 and above. Anybody knows if those cars had the problems solved at the factory? eBay is full of low vin cars with low mileage for sale - hmmmmm makes me wonder why.

 

However is saying "ebay is full with low vin cars" must have a different meaning of "full" then I do. There are exactly six (6) 2011 XJ listed on ebay. Supercharged and normally aspirated, long and short. Most of them are listed by dealers who had been using ebay for years as an additional outlet.

The VIN numbers are in deed low. One as low as 00772. I am wondering if those are the demonstrators which never had been intended to be sold to the public. You know, those early demo cars the dealerships got. On most of those the software was not even all done and radios won't even work.

Jaguar intended to get those back to do whatever with them. They must have gotten out the back door and found their ways onto ebay. Probably goes to "you get what you pay for" as I wouldn't take a chance on any of them with a VIN much lower then 05000. Especially not on one with a VIN of 00772 which I would consider a pre-production car.

I wouldn't say ebay is full of them though seeing only 4 cars with a VIN lower then 005000. And I would say that accounts for any new model hitting the market, no matter if it is a Jaguar, Mercedes, BMW, Audi or even a Volkswagen. Certainly for any Cadillac or such.

 

I see 10 XJs for sale - Vins 00772, 01661, 02498, 03876, 04829, 06583, 07241, 07298, 11089, 13287. They all have low miles, ranging from 15 to 5,041.

The 011089 is being sold at "buy it now" price of US $68,950.00 - and it's a NA XJL - maybe it's the color that makes the price this low?

My question was if anyone knows if the vins above 010000 for example are free of issues.

 

Almost all of these are by dealers. Most look like demonstrators with 3,000 to 5,000 miles that they are dumping at a reasonable discount. The only 2 new ones were an XJ SC for a 2 1/2% discount and an XJL for a 7 1/2% discount (not a great color combo). Looks pretty normal to me--not exactly a flood on the market.

 

Hello Maybe_XJ,
yeah you are correct, I missed some a bit further down. Still, like HouTexJag says, I also believe most of them are dealer cars or demonstrators.
As much as like the car and based on my "gut" I would stay away from the demonstrators or really early VIN. Thanks to my very good dealer, mine had no more issues after 1 visit (OK with a little help from my side and a lot of research). And the more I learned the more I believe there are no major design flaws as I initially feared when I noticed all the roof poping noise posts and the noise in my own car. (It's gone and the causes are ridiculously minor).
I only have ONE and ONLY ONE beef; the really slow Entertainment, Climate, Navigation screen and the occasional "Crash / Reboot". I seriously hope they fix that via software. For their own sake as I'd like the car to succeed. It annoys the heck out of me, but not enough that I wouldn't buy the car again. I would despite that flaw.
But those early VIN demonstrators, well, the touch screen electronics didn't work even while they had been dealer demo and I would expect the biggest problems in that area on the demo. Warranty or not, who needs the aggrevation.

 

As I head towards a purchase, I wonder if there is any new intel on VIN number ranges. Are there "safe" VINs? Ones to avoid?

Thanks in advance.

 

Generally speaking, and very generally that is, stay over VIN range of 8,000. Mostly because if you catch a much lower you may have problems with the infotainment system. That is if you catch a car in which components are still kind of "pre-production" and the dealers haven't replaced them. Problem is, some dealers are struggling with that kind of word. It can be challenging for the best technicians.
Or.....get to test drive the car for at least a full day and ongoingly try ALL the features including bluetooth and if all works without any outage, it may be fine.
The other items in TSB's should be fixed by dealer at that time and the dealer should have a record. Ask for that record. Because, sometimes they are NOT fixed. Especially if the car is a demonstrator or otherwise dealer owned.
Stay over VIN 8000 and stay away from dmeonstrators and other dealer owned cars.

 

I am new here, but I am looking at getting a new XJR or XJ standard wheelbase.. I am cautious about getting an early serial...

I should point out that I have had my share of problems with first year Jags.. I had an early 2004 XJR that went through a learning curve.. I replaced it in 2006 with another XJR that was much more solid... Then, I was foolish enought to get an early XF, within the first 2500 built, that was so much of a problem car that Jaguar took me out of it and I got a later serial at 24,000 or so that was a much better car. In the end the virtues of the cars outweighed the woes, but it can be a hassle to deal with early issues on new models.

Skip ahead, my XF lease is up this month, and I want another Jaguar---but I am in a first year situation again with the XJ ...

You would think that after two rough experiences with first year Jag models I would look elsewhere, huh? I need a car, and I want an XJ, so I dont have much choice. I have been looking at dealer inventory and VINs online and it looks like the most recent arrivals are in the 16,000-17,000 range....However, some cars with lower VINS are still in dealer inventory, so I need to be selective.