Hello, I’m about to get a xj40 1989. Sovereign, and I just wanted to know can I get the spare parts without paying a lot? I don’t know if the car has any problems, I just saw the wood near the central ashtray was chipped. I’d be grateful for any info.
Hi Rafael, welcome to the forums.
Just so that you are aware the ‘wood’ is actually just a plastic laminate depending where you are will dictate what’s available.
For mechanical items there are a few sites that you can search.
Jaguardaimlerspares
SNG Barrett
Moss/XK motors
David Manners (UK)
Coventry West(?)
And for used parts, Jaguar Heaven, in Stockton California.
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Robin …
“PLASTIC LAMINATE” … 
I don’t think so sir ! At least not on my '89 model. Gen-U-Wine burlwood throughout the entire cabin. The ski slope and ash tray surround is burlwood glued onto a metal substrate. All the door and dash wood is just … wood!
Rafael …
My first search for parts is to simply type in what you need (be specific as to your model and year) on your search engine, that’s Google for me. Next I do the same thing on EBay. Surprisingly almost everything you need is always available.
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I was talking WRT the ash tray, I agree that the doors and dash is wood, should have been more specific. 
must be getting mixed up with the dash on the XJR
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Wood on the central ashtray surround and the ashtray rotating cover is … wood.
Robin … perhaps a previous owner of your car replaced the wood with … gasp … plastic.
General rule of thumb in that era, if it’s a Jaguar, Rolls Royce, or Bentley it’s always wood.
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AFAIK this is true for all.XJ40s, at least the '90 through '94 models: the material surrounding the gauges in the instrument binnacle IS plastic, a not-very-convincing “woodgrain” plastic.
Ah yes, true Mike - but everything else is wood, even the ashtray - as the groovy guy above declares. 
And some of us even have - albeit not factory or OEM - wooden knobs on our shift levers! 
Mike - did you ever hear about the wooden Jag?
Wooden wheels, wooden body, wooden engine but wooden go.
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Thanks a lot to you and all the others. One more thing. Does every xj40 have automatic seatbelts? I mean the one I’m going to get is currently not working so I’m kind of unsure of the nature of the belts
No the attack belts were AFAIK only the US models.
HA! Nope, never heard that one…but I did hear you should never buy A Jag, you should buyTWO, that way you have one to drive while you work on the other!
On sedans in North America they began in the 1990 model year and continued, I believe until 1992. The ones on my 1990 XJ6 work fine but in the USA there is a lifetime warranty on them.
I have two, although my other one is mainly in a stack of blue totes.
My 1989 XJ40 (USA spec) had the passive “attack” seat belts. I loved the retro, quirky design and they worked flawlessly for almost 20 years. After that I rebuilt them twice because of a failed metal cable and finally the track just wore out. The whole system has some rather close tolerances.
There is the old urban myth that Jaguar will repair them for the life of the car … the catch is … IF THE PARTS ARE AVAILABLE. After three decades the odds of that are slim to none (lets just call it none to be safe).
I refitted my belts to the standard 3 point system. This required interior trim parts from a donor car and some that I made myself.
My 92 US xj40 has the attack belts, but they don’t work. Based on what I’ve read in here, I didn’t bother trying to make a warranty claim. I use the “emergency” clips and thus have the shoulder straps fixed in the driving position. When I get in the car, I pull the shoulder belt up and over my head. In a way, I’ve turned the attack belts into attacked belts.
Good luck getting a dealer to find parts though!
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My home base! Let me know if I can help.
Hey, where are you located? That would greatly affect the parts availability. I know since I own 1989 XJ6 in California, and getting parts is easy and cheap, and I own another one, 1990 Daimler in Beograd, SERBIA, and getting parts there is a pain and costs arm and a leg…