Jeep Headlights

[Jacks]

Does anyone know if Jeep Grand Cherokee headlights can be altered for driving in France? We have been quoted 890 euros for new headlights and then we have to pay for fitting, it seems rather expensive.

Thanks for any help

 

[Opel Fruit<P><BR>Opel Fruit, Dept. 53<P>]

Look in your handbook and see if the headlights are Xenon or not. If so, you can flip a lever (varies from vehicle to vehicle) and alter the beam. Xenon headlights are "unisex".

Otherwise, you need to buy the headlights. Which I suspect you will have to unless your Jeep is less than 2 years old.

Jeeps are not popular in France either, so spares are going to be fun... but not impossible.

[Jacks]

Hi Opel Fruit

Thanks for the reply. The headlights aren't Xenon so it looks like new ones. We've just looked on Ebay in America and there are two for sale so we might buy them, just going to check French and German Ebay first.

Thanks again.

Jacks

[peterj]

Hi Jacks

That is some quote for headlamp replacements.

Mine cost me 340€ plus 27€ for fitting at a Renault garage they ordered the headlights from a JEEP main dealer in Bordeaux.

Also I don't know where you are but there are a lot of Jeeps in the Dordogne and a lot of dealers throught France so spares is not a problem.

Peterj

 

 

 

 

[Opel Fruit<P><BR>Opel Fruit, Dept. 53<P>]

I don't consider 1 dealer per department (average) a lot.

Our friends with a Wrangler (poor sods) had to travel 200km to find one and then they didn't have any spares other than filters...

They have since sold it and moved on.

[Jacks]

Hi peterj

Can you tell me which Renault Garage you used and how long ago it was? After my quote of 890 euros 340 euros sounds brilliant. Is your vehicle a Grand Cherokee?

Thanks.

Regards Jacks

[peterj]

Hi Jacks

Yes its a 1998 Grand Cherokee Orvis.

And the it is the the Renault garage in Issigeac.

Forgot I also had pay 30€ for the carriage, if you are close to us let me know

and I will contact the garage for you, as I bought my wifes car from them.

Peterj

 

[Jacks]

Hi peterj

I've sent you a PM.

Regards Jacks

[Darren, Vicky and Amelia]

Hello

We too have a Grande Cherokee jeep ltd, we also got stung for the headlights and fitting from a dealer, I would also recommend that you try Ebay.

Fitting them isn't so hard to do! Bonne Chance!

Vicky

[XLeblanc]

I ordered left hand drive headlights for my wrangler from the jeep dealer in Portsmouth and had them shipped to France, only £65 each if I remember correctly. Will have them fitted in the next few weeks so can let you know how much that costs.

[Jacks]

Thanks for the replies. We have bought two headlights on ebay from America, they were 108 dollars each and about 90 dollars for postage. They haven't arrived yet but will let you know the outcome.

 

[Jacks]

Just an update, the headlights arrived from America and we had to pay another 80 euros customs duty. The total cost was about £250.00 against 930 euros plus fitting at the Jeep Garage. We fitted them ourselves, there was only one screw on each headlight and it took about 20 minutes. We took it for the Control Technique and it passed. 

Jacks 

[Ninthace]

I have just had new European headlights fitted to my 9 year old std diesel Cherokee.  I used a local garage near St Gaudens (dept 31) that specialises in 4x4 vehicles.  he acquired and fitted them in 7 working days (12 really but he had a week off in the middle).  Total cost 215 Euros.

[CJ1045]

I live just South of Riberac in the Dordogne and also have a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was pretty easy for me to register the car as it was only two years old and so did not need a Controle Technique (CT). I get it serviced at the Jeep garage in the industrial estate in the Northern outskirts of  Angouleme. Their labour rates are very cheap compared to the UK - 45 Euros an hour.

However, my other car is a Jaguar XK8 which was too old and so needed a CT. It failed only on the lights at the first garage (a nice little Euro 1300 quote from Jaguar to fix). However, after not getting too far trying to find alternate light source (the US sites never had a pair of lights!) I adopted an alternate approach:

The first garage has asked me if the lights had been changed - I said no - car failed.

I went to second garage (50 Euros for brand new CT), no questions from receptionist, car passed.

Jaguar now fully reregistered (although the certificate of conformity took 9 months to get from Jaguar (another story)).

I went for the second test option as I could think of now practical way a garage could easily check the lights plus I have them dipped down so they don't dazzle anyway.

I am going to use the same CT garage in Riberac for the Jeep when it requires it. (The one opposite the rubbish dump if you want to try it yourself).

CJ

[derf]

I went for the second test option as I could think of now practical way a garage could easily check the lights plus I have them dipped down so they don't dazzle anyway.

The lights have to be checked on a beam setting/light testing machine in France and the UK and that shows, not only the height but also which way the beam dips, so maybe you where lucky the first time, lowering the beam so as to lessen the dazzle for other drivers is not a good idea, your lights still dip to left and do not illuminate the verge, a possible danger for pedestrians, you need all the forward vision you can get at night and especially in poor weather,