RE: Range Rover 5.0 Autobiography: PH Fleet

[unsprung]

FastRich said:

I complained and got nowhere, it's very disappointing.

The tailgate window rubbers also corroded and are bubbling top and bottom - they're £38 each plus labour and VAT. These aren't covered as they're trim parts.

The car is 4 years old. It cost over £80k new and has always been serviced at LR main dealers.

LR just do not care, or so it seems to me.

Edited by FastRich on Tuesday 5th August 11:57

It's truly astonishing. And from such a storied history! Increasingly there is an element of the grotesque about the brand:

Here’s Why Land Rover Doesn’t Care About JD Power Ratings

[phib]

FastRich said:

Good work Chris - I guess you have a certain influence! I took mine to (not sure I can mention the name?) a main JLR dealership in Surrey, just off the A3 about halfway between London and Portsmouth with the exact same problem and they basically told me to get lost. The anti corrosion warranty is valid for 6 years but only if the ofending panel rusts from the inside out and only if it's so bad that there's a hole through the metal. We all know that won't happen inside 6 years, not even to one of these tin cars.

I complained and got nowhere, it's very disappointing.

The tailgate window rubbers also corroded and are bubbling top and bottom - they're £38 each plus labour and VAT. These aren't covered as they're trim parts.

The car is 4 years old. It cost over £80k new and has always been serviced at LR main dealers.

LR just do not care, or so it seems to me.

Edited by FastRich on Tuesday 5th August 11:57

I had exactly the same with the same dealer !! I am now watching this thread with interest !!

Phib

[Impasse]

dirty_dog said:

and the plastic cap says Land Rover on it!

I thought the £600 was for the whole thing not just the swan neck...

Just the sticky out bit onto which the trailer hitch plops. The mounting armature requires another small mortgage (and removal/refit of the bumper skin) and then, of course, you'll be wanting an electric connector for the trailer lights and the associated gubbins. Land Rover genuine accessories. Cheap, they are not.

[Chicane-UK]

unsprung said:

It's truly astonishing. And from such a storied history! Increasingly there is an element of the grotesque about the brand:

Here’s Why Land Rover Doesn’t Care About JD Power Ratings

I'm going to go out on a limb (having not read the article) and guess that they don't have to care because they've managed to reach the stage where they're the defacto choice for people with money who want a large, discreet car to ferry themselves around in. There's nothing else equivalent they'd buy. Wealthy folks are eager to buy these cars both here and abroad, and generally they're so wealthy they don't need to care about reliability beyond about 2-3 years as most will have been chopped in for a newer model by then.

[Don1]

To replace the rear beam, put everything for towing in and get the electrics going is £1500 from a good specialist. I was quoted over £3k by another...

[Mr Mastodon Farm]

Chris Harris said:

"Done!" I beamed, heartily shaking his hand. After all, what's a £700 loss in the context of an audience with such sublime valuation skills?

Is it just me or does this seem a little hostile? I've gotten the sense that Chris is becoming jaded writing for PH as a result of all the flak he receives regarding his personal finances.

I wouldn't hold it against him if he was and I don't think I'd handle it as well as he has. Readers seem far too concerned with finance lately, despite this being an automotive forum. I hope I'm wrong, because I really enjoy Chris' articles.

[X5TUU]

Mr Mastodon Farm said:

Is it just me or does this seem a little hostile? I've gotten the sense that Chris is becoming jaded writing for PH as a result of all the flak he receives regarding his personal finances.

I wouldn't hold it against him if he was and I don't think I'd handle it as well as he has. Readers seem far too concerned with finance lately, despite this being an automotive forum. I hope I'm wrong, because I really enjoy Chris' articles.

I read that line in the article in the context of the valuers skills rather than the anticipated PH audience (which I also agree are far too pre occupied on the finances of it all, which is a million miles from the fun part in all this)

[FastRich]

phib said:

I had exactly the same with the same dealer !! I am now watching this thread with interest !!

Phib

Thanks Phib & Unsprung.

Reading through this and hearing your thoughts/similar problems, as well as a good friend (Mr Gravelle) having the same problem, I am going to go back to the dealer this lunchtime. I know Harris is a lovely man with much influence but he's the same as us - we all have to have a crap in the morning and we all spent good money on our cars - why don't we all get the same service?

It makes my blood boil. If I treated my customers like this I wouldn't have any.

I'll report back a little later on.

Richard

[smileymikey]

Mr Mastodon Farm said:

Chris Harris said:

"Done!" I beamed, heartily shaking his hand. After all, what's a £700 loss in the context of an audience with such sublime valuation skills?

Is it just me or does this seem a little hostile? I've gotten the sense that Chris is becoming jaded writing for PH as a result of all the flak he receives regarding his personal finances.

I wouldn't hold it against him if he was and I don't think I'd handle it as well as he has. Readers seem far too concerned with finance lately, despite this being an automotive forum. I hope I'm wrong, because I really enjoy Chris' articles.

Nope I think it's because he has just got raped for £600 and his luxury barge could teach Lancia a thing or two about converting steel into dust

[Chris Harris]

Mr Mastodon Farm said:

Is it just me or does this seem a little hostile? I've gotten the sense that Chris is becoming jaded writing for PH as a result of all the flak he receives regarding his personal finances.

I wouldn't hold it against him if he was and I don't think I'd handle it as well as he has. Readers seem far too concerned with finance lately, despite this being an automotive forum. I hope I'm wrong, because I really enjoy Chris' articles.

I'm genuinely perplexed. Can you please explain?

[Chris Harris]

FastRich said:

Thanks Phib & Unsprung.

Reading through this and hearing your thoughts/similar problems, as well as a good friend (Mr Gravelle) having the same problem, I am going to go back to the dealer this lunchtime. I know Harris is a lovely man with much influence but he's the same as us - we all have to have a crap in the morning and we all spent good money on our cars - why don't we all get the same service?

It makes my blood boil. If I treated my customers like this I wouldn't have any.

I'll report back a little later on.

Richard

You should go straight in and get it sorted. For clarity, I doubt Guy Salmon has the foggiest that I might write about cars. I went in as a punter in shorts and T-shirt. And they've not agreed to anything as yet. They've looked at it and are coming back to me.

Will I go ape if they tell me to do one? Absolutely. It's only 4 years old, fully warranted and it hardly gets used.

[Bencolem]

Forget all this tow bar and tailgate twiddle - what about the alloy wheels? I picked out a lovely set of 6 spokes for you Mr Harris and yet you persist with the bling!

[Mr Mastodon Farm]

X5TUU said:

I read that line in the article in the context of the valuers skills rather than the anticipated PH audience (which I also agree are far too pre occupied on the finances of it all, which is a million miles from the fun part in all this)

Ah, so I was wrong. Good

[unsprung]

Chicane-UK said:

unsprung said:

It's truly astonishing. And from such a storied history! Increasingly there is an element of the grotesque about the brand:

Here’s Why Land Rover Doesn’t Care About JD Power Ratings

I'm going to go out on a limb (having not read the article) and guess that they don't have to care because they've managed to reach the stage where they're the defacto choice for people with money who want a large, discreet car to ferry themselves around in. There's nothing else equivalent they'd buy. Wealthy folks are eager to buy these cars both here and abroad, and generally they're so wealthy they don't need to care about reliability beyond about 2-3 years as most will have been chopped in for a newer model by then.

Perch with confidence on that limb! The article is indeed about wealth and I-don't-care. Quite extravagant. And -- if we are to consider the comments of Land Rover owners in this forum thread -- not universally appealing.

Of course universal appeal is the antithesis of segmentation as well as the customer "job" that is done by a posh, if also continuously disintegrating, SUV.

[Chicane-UK]

unsprung said:

Perch with confidence on that limb! The article is indeed about wealth and I-don't-care. Quite extravagant. And -- if we are to consider the comments of Land Rover owners in this forum thread -- not universally appealing.

Of course universal appeal is the antithesis of segmentation as well as the customer "job" that is done by a posh, if also continuously disintegrating, SUV.

I sort of feel that Audi have reached that sort of level too now. They're a brand that a lot of people *aspire to own* (for whatever reason.. not many of their models do a lot for me if I'm honest) and it feels as though they can be quite cavalier with their pricing (in terms of cost of new cars, and servicing, etc) for similar reasons. People want an Audi, and in many cases they'll lease / finance one. And by the time those cars have hit three years old they'll be dumped and moved on, by which time Audi don't need to care about their pricing or reliability.

A friend runs an independent VW/Audi garage and has a car in for a complete rebuild - an Audi A3 though I forget which engine. I think it's a 59 reg, done <50k, one owner who bought it new and always serviced on schedule at the same dealer and basically something to do with the timing gear failed and the engine chewed itself up. Dealer is not interested in any kind of goodwill gesture towards fixing it, and won't even rebuild the existing engine - will only fit a brand new one at some ludicrous cost.

I guess they just don't care because they don't need to, and the handful of customers they lose because of arrogance probably pales into insignificance with the amount of new customers coming on board to buy / lease new ones. Must be a great time to be an Audi dealer.

[FastRich]

Chris Harris said:

You should go straight in and get it sorted. For clarity, I doubt Guy Salmon has the foggiest that I might write about cars. I went in as a punter in shorts and T-shirt. And they've not agreed to anything as yet. They've looked at it and are coming back to me.

Will I go ape if they tell me to do one? Absolutely. It's only 4 years old, fully warranted and it hardly gets used.

Thanks Chris.

As promised I'm reporting back.

As you'd expect I was greeted by a pretty and cheery receptionist on the service desk who took my details and tried to ascertain why I'd not been contacted in 2 months. After a chat with a colleague, she advised that the bodyshop was responsible for not yet sending me an estimate. I challenged this as it does not take two months to prepare an estimate and, not having an answer, she referred me to the Manager (?), a chap called Malcolm.

Malcolm was friendly enough but did not have an answer for the delay, I can only assume the original photos had been inadvertently lost. Malcolm said he'd take another batch of photos and email the estimate across to me ASAP. I said I didn't care much for the estimate, afterall I wasn't expecting to pay for the work as the car was still well within it's warranty period. Oh. Game changer.

Whilst not directly rude, from then on it was apparent that they were just going through the motions, pointless motions. Due to awkward positioning of the sun, Malcolm drove the car into the workshop to take clearer photos and to photograph the service history. (10/10 for effort there).

When he was finished, I explained that my friend (Mr Gravelle) was still waiting to hear from them regarding an identical issue and that we'd stick together and take this as far as it needs to go to be rectified to our satisfaction.

Malcolm advised they would be in touch once he'd had the estimate and sent it to LR HQ...so we will see where this goes...

To court, probably.

Chris, I appreciate you're a busy man, as am I, but I'd really appreciate it if we could keep the back channels open and communicate the developments we experience? I feel as individuals we're easier to be ignored but as an angry mob, we'll succeed! Thanks in advance.

Richard

[MJK 24]

FastRich said:

Chris Harris said:

You should go straight in and get it sorted. For clarity, I doubt Guy Salmon has the foggiest that I might write about cars. I went in as a punter in shorts and T-shirt. And they've not agreed to anything as yet. They've looked at it and are coming back to me.

Will I go ape if they tell me to do one? Absolutely. It's only 4 years old, fully warranted and it hardly gets used.

Thanks Chris.

As promised I'm reporting back.

As you'd expect I was greeted by a pretty and cheery receptionist on the service desk who took my details and tried to ascertain why I'd not been contacted in 2 months. After a chat with a colleague, she advised that the bodyshop was responsible for not yet sending me an estimate. I challenged this as it does not take two months to prepare an estimate and, not having an answer, she referred me to the Manager (?), a chap called Malcolm.

Malcolm was friendly enough but did not have an answer for the delay, I can only assume the original photos had been inadvertently lost. Malcolm said he'd take another batch of photos and email the estimate across to me ASAP. I said I didn't care much for the estimate, afterall I wasn't expecting to pay for the work as the car was still well within it's warranty period. Oh. Game changer.

Whilst not directly rude, from then on it was apparent that they were just going through the motions, pointless motions. Due to awkward positioning of the sun, Malcolm drove the car into the workshop to take clearer photos and to photograph the service history. (10/10 for effort there).

When he was finished, I explained that my friend (Mr Gravelle) was still waiting to hear from them regarding an identical issue and that we'd stick together and take this as far as it needs to go to be rectified to our satisfaction.

Malcolm advised they would be in touch once he'd had the estimate and sent it to LR HQ...so we will see where this goes...

To court, probably.

Chris, I appreciate you're a busy man, as am I, but I'd really appreciate it if we could keep the back channels open and communicate the developments we experience? I feel as individuals we're easier to be ignored but as an angry mob, we'll succeed! Thanks in advance.

Richard

Ridiculous carry on considering the youth and value of the vehicle. For what it would cost JLR (ie trade rates at a dealership, they certainly don't pay retail for warranty work), you'd think they'd want to keep you sweet and 'in the family' to buy a newer one in the fullness of time.

[leedsutd1]

At first I thought it must have had accident damage, seems impossible for any 4 year old car to rust so badly never mind one costing 80k, I have always thought range rovers to be badly put together, so much to go wrong,there are lots of 8 year old RR for sale spares are repairs ,head gaskets ,fuel pumps, gear boxes , air suspension, electrics,

[FastRich]

MJK 24 said:

Ridiculous carry on considering the youth and value of the vehicle. For what it would cost JLR (ie trade rates at a dealership, they certainly don't pay retail for warranty work), you'd think they'd want to keep you sweet and 'in the family' to buy a newer one in the fullness of time.

I couldn't agree more. I do understand it's a PITA for the dealerships. I worked in the Motor Trade for 8 years and I know when manufacturer approves warranty work, they will only pay up to a maximum amount per job. They squeeze the dealership on both hourly rate and no. of hours they perceive are consumed during job completion. For example, a dealership usually charging retail £80p/hour on a 2 hour job will be given no more than £45p/hour and told it's a 1.5 hour job, thus receiving £120 from the manufacturer where their price models suggest its actually a £160 job - naturally the dealerships are usually reluctant to complete warranty work.

But, lets face it, as consumers that's not our problem. As you rightly say, if their customer service was A1, they'd sell more cars or, at worst, they'd see more used cars in for servicing/repairs.

I hate to say it on PH but my Dad drives a Lexus LS460. Recently the dash flashed up to say the battery in his key fob was low and would need replacing soon. Dad took the car into Lexus Guildford who replaced the battery on the spot and refused to charge him for the part or the labour - its one of a number of small things they've done for him (and Mum, RX400h) over the past few years and it ALMOST makes me want to embrace Lexus ownership, they really are outstandingly good but at 32 I'm just a tad too young for their cars (ISF aside!)

[Chicane-UK]

FastRich said:

Whilst not directly rude, from then on it was apparent that they were just going through the motions, pointless motions. Due to awkward positioning of the sun, Malcolm drove the car into the workshop to take clearer photos and to photograph the service history. (10/10 for effort there).

Photograph? Service history?! Do they not have all the information on the service history computerised at Land Rover dealers? Scary.

Just out of interest, are you dealing with the supplying dealer for your vehicle, and has it always been serviced by them?