2017 Range Rover Sport Autobiography... Discounts to be had?

[irfan1712]

Hello all

After many posts on here regarding A7 / S7's, RRS and on Monday we looked at a Maserati Lavante, Porsche Panamera GTS (which we loved!), Macan, Cayenne, and X5 we have settled on a Range Rover Sport. Bit off putting at first as they are bloody everywhere but theres a perfectly good reason for that, they look fantastic, lots of luxury and go anywhere ability. 3.0 SDV6 seems to be a far sensible choice than the Panamera GTS which was a close second.

I sat down with a chap in Stratstone Cardiff to discuss my options and ive basically decided to go the whole hog, and go for a brand new one with a good deposit and then HP the remainder.

The spec ive decided on is quite healthy, compromising of (forgive me as ive just copied and pasted from the spec sheet):

EXTERIOR COLOURS: Santorini Black (Metallic)
ROOF OPTIONS: Body coloured full size sliding panoramic roof
INTERIOR CHOICES: Ebony/Ivory with Ivory Seats - Oxford with Autobiography Pattern
FINISHERS Extended Grand Black veneer£780.00
HEADLINING: Ebony Alston headlining

WHEELS 22" 5 split-spoke 'Style 508' with Satin Black finish£1,245.00
ROOF OPTIONS Body coloured full size sliding panoramic roof£0
BRAKES AND CALIPERS Red Brembo™ Brake Calipers with 380mm front and 365mm rear discs£0
GLASS Laminated Front Door, Toughened Rear Door and Quarter Light Glass
HEADLAMPS Adaptive Xenon Headlamps With LED Signature with Automatic High Beam Assist (AHBA)£315.00
EXTERIOR STYLING Body-coloured side sills and bumpers£0


WHEEL OPTIONS Full size spare wheel£260.00
CONVENIENCE Park Assist – Parallel Park, Parking Exit and Perpendicular Park£900.00
CONVENIENCE Surround Camera System£725.00
CONVENIENCE Soft Door Close£460.00
INTERIOR FEATURES Heated and cooled front and rear seats£520.00
SEATING 20-way electric front seats with memory and massage£1,035.00
MULTIMEDIA Dual View Touchscreen£625.00
MULTIMEDIA MeridianTM Reference Sound System£4,140.00



Now i know there will be a face lift version in mid 2018 coming, so with this in mind i see a few people over the course of this year on the forums have had some decent discounts.

Landrover are currently offering a £2k discount. I've looked on things like carwow and dealers around the country are offering around 5.8% discount (which included £1500 of standard land rover discount) which overall equals to about £5k off a AB.

has anyone bettered this and any advice with what i can return to my dealer with RE a % discount?

any other advice is also welcome.
thanks
Irfan

[irfan1712]

Mulsanne-Speed said:

I've been looking in to the same sort of thing recently but with a FFRR Vogue. I've spoken to several dealers and none are moving much at all yet on price with the current model,

If this continues with the Sport also, I suggest you do as I've decided and wait for the 2018 model if you can. You need to get a pretty good discount on a 2017 - If you don't, you'll be the one who takes the hit at re-sale!!

PS. Love the spec of your car...... Only thing I'd change if possible, is the headlining to Ivory - it'll make the cabin feel much brighter

Edited by Mulsanne-Speed on Wednesday 13th September 23:22

My local dealer (CardifF) called me this morning RE this and basically said that my car will be between 3-4 months, basically a high probability it will be delivered on an 18 plate in January but not an actual MY18 car.

He also stated that the MY18 facelift is due in atleast 12 months if not longer, which is not quite what im reading online so im unsure what to believe. Regardless, he did say with that in mind i would get a 'suitable discount' on a factory build car. Two issues with the MY18 car for me is that i cant wait that long without a car now, and the fact it'll be a facelift i cant see tem offering any sort of discount what so ever. The autobiography i've spec'd tips the scales at £94k which is more than what i intended anyway.

Off there after work this evening to place my order (subject to a decent discount). This will be a long 4 months!

P.S good shout on the headlining, its been changed for Ivory Alston (although there is an Ivory Morzine aswell?)

cheers
irfan

[irfan1712]

w8pmc said:

Not sure if this is still in play, but when i bought my FFRR A/B, Land Rover were offering a combined £5k discount (£2.5k from LR & £2.5k form the dealer) if you took their funding options. This was before any discount negotiated. You could of course setting the finance early in the agreements life with just a very small level of penalty interest & still have benefited from the £5k.

I chose like you to put in a large deposit & the balance on i think it was a PCP, however i rejected the car after 3 months & got all my money back.

On top of the £5k discount, i got a further £3k off from the dealer, the first service for free & complete wheel care (tyre & alloy insurance) at cost price which saved a further £200.

Thanks for that. LR are offering £2k off finance (HP or PCP) on their website straight away, the rest is then down to the dealer which il finalize tonight. Dealers on Car Wow are giving about a £5k discount but this already includes £1500 off from LR, so really the dealer is offering circa £3k discount.

with the new face lift incoming im not prepared to take an over the odds hit on depreciation so they will have to do slightly better than that for me to take a punt and order a new one of the current model really. The thought of a few years service plan may be appealing though if i can wangle that.

out of curiosity why did you reject the car after 3 months..?

[irfan1712]

well then.

sat down with the salesman I've been dealing with in Cardiff. An experienced chap but new to Land Rover so i ended up talking to the sales manager of the branch instead who was helpful, ish.

Long story short, the deposit i will be giving over the phone in the morning will be for a MY18 car. They are basing the spec on what i have built on a current MY17 RRS (£13k options on top of the AB 3.0SDV6). This means that i will essentially be getting a MY18 face lifted car for the price of the MY17. He said he couldn't fix the price, but generally they will not ask for more money - however i did query options varying from the facelift to the current RRS and all he could tell me was he didn't have any info from LR on what the options are going to be.

I will have a chance for minor tweaks and changes on the build anyway - soon as i see some official spec on the MY18 car i can call them with any changes. E.g my car has been spec'd with adaptive xenons, the MY18 car may come with LEDs so i will either be asked to pay the difference if i want them or stay with adaptive xenons, etc etc. Generally 'cloudy' information but at the end of the day if they don't have information to give me from LR then they can't give me the answers i need right now.

I was urged to get an order in ASAP (of course i was) in order to secure one of the first of the MY18 cars. They predict that this mY18 car will be ready in January. LR are not actually taking orders for build slots on the mY18 car but of course when they do open the book for orders mine will move from a 'order pool' as my dealer put it, straight to LR.

im not bothered in the slightest about being the first to own anything, infact id rather wait a little as usually theres teething problems that are usually ironed out. However i really do need the car asap as our 4 series GC was only a lease through BMW to tie us over to buy the RRS which goes back in Dec.

In a nutshell, i have all fingers and toes crossed that the car will be on my drive in January 2018. Will update on what discount/offers i can get tomorrow - I'm looking for a good discount to get an order in now and/or some sort of servicing plan with it too.

cheers
Irfan

Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 14th September 23:04

[irfan1712]

hi all, thanks for the feedback.

i have put money down to secure a build slot on a £92k A/B 3.0SDV6 - i had £4k off, plus the £1500 LR contribution, and i also wangled in a 5 year servicing plan.

This will also be a facelift car (MY18) and not a MY17 car which i've based my order on. this means some options may change, if so i will be given a heads up as soon as the official spec sheet is released for the MY18 car in order to chop and change smaller options. i.e Xenon to LED headlights, perhaps.

One thing i've been told is a January delivery which i have a funny feeling will get pushed back, if it does i wont be amused.

[irfan1712]

Rosscow said:

Christ, £92k for a RR Sport!

How much do the new FFRR's go for?!

Enjoy OP, it's going to be lovely.

A Similar spec'd FFRR Autobiog would be well north of 100K.

But its besides the point, the FFRR is far too big to use as an everyday car (in my opinion). Looked at one in Cardiff LR inside the showroom which had the SVO styling on there and honestly, it looked phenomenal.. Couldnt take my eyes off it.No hiding the fact it really is an utter tank.. i'd love one if i could see sense in it!

Irfan

[irfan1712]

Land Rover UK posted several videos yesterday on the MY18 cars at last:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQMdrzkHYG0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkte7Z6SpPU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M4EfzwVyco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqpcmiZs3yQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhhTeJfW_Xc


Highlights seem to be:

-New front bumper (SVR's bumper looks a lot more aggressive, with a carbon fiber bonnet which im not feeling)
-New rear lower apron, housing larger tailpipes which sit slightly more central as found on the velar
-New LED headlights with (i imagine) optional laser beam assist
-'3D' style rear taillights
-Sweeping indicators
-New wheels, ones in the vid look like they can be spec'd on the velar too SVR also has new wheels.
-interior - different style and pattern of seats, looks to be a new colour combo too
-Dual touch pro - dual touch screens as found in the velar
-Engines all remain as they are, with the exception of a new 400bhp Petrol/Elec Hybrid

One thing i want to find out is if they offer an 'SVO' styling package for the RRS. I seen an ' SVO'd ' FFRR at the Cardiff dealership which was just a 3.0 SDV6 and it looked fantastic, allthough it was a £12k option.

Safe to say im pleased with the facelift looking at those videos. Will look to sit with my dealer when they have more info on spec and options to see what i would like to keep or change.

Roll on January!

[irfan1712]

Mulsanne-Speed said:

I think you can spec already......Go to Landrover.co.uk then click on "Build & Price" then "New Range Rover Sport"

yeah i did straight away but i found so many glitches on the website i gave up.

i love the new spec and features. I'm a little disappointed with a few other things though:

-There is no visual difference of the exterior of a HSE or AB. The whole point of an AB was for it to have that little 'extra'. They now look identical.
-Choice of wheels across the range, in my case the AB, isn't that great.
-Painted callipers on the AB, which was standard on the MY17, doesn't appear on the online Configurator
-Farallon Black (Black with a metallic blue tint) has now been discontinued, so its back to Santorini black for me
-Side steps are also missing off the online Configurator

Impressed with the Velar control pro duo screens, led headlights and rear apron / exhaust trims which seem to be the biggest highlight.

Off to see the dealer on Tuesday to tweak my order and then sit patiently until January, fingers crossed. only annoyance is it'll be quite close to be registered on an 18 plate in March!

[irfan1712]

Just thought id update this.

I've had quite frankly, appauling customer service from LR Cardiff so far. The saleman keeps promising to call me back for agreeing the final price, for any queries I have, for general updates on the build, honestly by far the most frustrating and poor dealership I have ever dealt with.

Not what I expect from LR... or maybe it is, not quite sure there. Its quite off putting beause I dread to think what will happen if I have a problem with the car and it needs to go back.

Anyway, after me calling my saleman for the 15th odd time in two days for an update, the build seems to be on schedule for delivery for Mid to late Jan. I did tell them that if its later than Mid Jan to hold on to it till March to get it registered on an 18plate instead, for the sake of 4-6 weeks extra.

I dropped the cooled rear seats from the build (just daft!) and I also added the pixel laser super duper LED headlights. the rest of the spec seems to be as is from the first page, wheel design has changed so I went for the 22'' gloss black wheels for extra 'drug dealer' factor. I'm aware that they no longer paint the callipers (boo) but I will get them done afterwards in a burnt copper/bronze as I did on my C63 as they break up the black lovely.

Anyone else gone for one and expecting deliveries soon?


Irfan

[irfan1712]

I do several early hours drives to swansea on an unlit dual carriage way for one, that alone justifies the option. But thanks for your input.

Why would the lesser option be better, can you elaborate please?

[irfan1712]

cayman-black said:

B.J.W said:

Unless you spend your time commuting at night in the Highlands of Scotland you are never going to see the benefit of the Laser Pixel LED's, the 'standard' pixels are a better option.

I agree, these lasers only work on full beam.

I'm fully aware of them only being of benefit on full beam - I did my research before speccing it and I'm more than confident il get my monies worth.

£1300 against £92k in the grand scheme of things isn't that much to start reconsidering.

I'm more concerned with the customer 'service' ive had to date from the dealer. it has been absolutely ste and hasn't been a particular great assurance that spending money with Land Rover is the right decision! But I have set on the RRS so I'm willing to persevere, to a point.

[irfan1712]

So today was the day... after a frustrating two weeks of being dicked about by the dealer.

Untitled by irfan sardar, on Flickr

Untitled by irfan sardar, on Flickr

Untitled by irfan sardar, on Flickr

Untitled by irfan sardar, on Flickr

Untitled by irfan sardar, on Flickr

Untitled by irfan sardar, on Flickr


Safe to say, i think its absolutely fantastic. Dare i say worth the wait even considering the absolute appalling mess around from the dealer, but I'm grateful they lent me a sport autobiography to get me mobile in the mean time.

Just an overview of the spec,

2018 Facelift, Autobiography SDV6, Santorini Black with the following
options:

-Massage front seats (These work lovely with different modes, not quite sure how often they'll be used!)
-Pixel Matrix LED Laser headlights (Amazing headlights, ridiculously bright at night, haven't tested the 'laser' main beam yet)
-Fixed side steps ( Far prefer these to the gimmicky deployable steps which seemed more of a hindrance)
-22'' Style 0912 Gloss black wheels
-Soft close doors
-Meridian Signature 1700watt system (Sounds sublime, '3D' projection works a treat. Very impressed.
-Auto park function (Works a treat, again not sure how much it will be use but its impressive and very accurate!)
-Surround Camera - Again very handy. annoying its displays as vertical on a horizontal screen, so theres lots of wasted space if that makes sense.
-5 Year service plan
-Fixed pano roof - i liked the sliding roof but the bar across the middle spoilt the look for me a bit!
-Gloss black vents, badges, accents

Points of concern on collection:
- very small 'lump' under leather of steering wheel.
-Leather on front seats seems 'loose' and not tight to the bolsters. Promised both issues will be rectified.


Overall.. very, very pleased with it and looking forward to simply drive and enjoy it. Thanks again to those who posted of your assistance with my never ending queries.

Edited by irfan1712 on Saturday 20th January 12:12

[irfan1712]

Triple7 said:

That looks stunning. Aside the cosmetic/styling tweaks, any different underneath?

What sort of saving did you make of list?

Think I gonna have to upgrade!

Thanks mate. Mechanically its still the 3.0 SDV6 306(?)bhp mated to the 8 speed box. Real peach of an engine to be honest. Nealry all changes with the facelift are purely cosmetic / gadgetry.

achieved circa 4-5% discount. wasn't great but we've had an incredibly poor time with our dealer so i ensured i had a few bits in on what price i agreed. Land Rover are atrocious to deal with.

[irfan1712]

w8pmc said:

Fingers crossed that the MY18 new tech works better than the MY17 new tech

Thanks for the kind words chaps.

i'd like to say I'm still enjoying ownership. I picked it up Wednesday afternoon, used its all day Thursday and yesterday it got picked back up and taken to the dealer, and I'm now back in the grey demonstrator they leant me for the last two weeks.

The reason why i couldn't pick my car up for the last two weeks was because of a software issue with the new sat nav screen, where it tips out 30 degrees, it just had a fit thursday morning where it tilts in and out continuously for circa 4-5 minutes. After this it behaves like it never happened!

Secondly i wasn't happy with the leather at all. intact, it was embarrassing - the LR chap who came to collect the car was shocked that the salesman didn't notice and thought it was suitable for handover. The front seats leather is 'loose' - not to the point where i could pinch the material, but it is drooping along the sides and fronts of the seats. Almost as if its not pulled tight enough to leather - if you zoom in on my interior pics above (look a the drivers seat, where the top of your back would be just below the head rest) you can see ripples in the leather. Appauling.

being reasonable, i have given them till next Friday at the very latest. Any later, i will be refusing the car and i will give them the benefit of the doubt by having a brand new identical spec'd car for march delivery instead. This has all defeated the object of registering this car on a 67.. i just feel the hand over was rushed.

will report back - those picking up a MY18 sport of any spec be aware of the screen issue in particular as from what the dealer tells me it has effected all units, and will require either a firmware update or replacing the hardware all together. Never the less - a reaallyyyy crap start.

Irfan

[irfan1712]

astroarcadia said:

What is the purpose of the strip on the lower grill beneath the numberplate?

From what I remember of my one day with the car (rolls eyes) it houses the parking sensors and the 360 degree cameras.

[irfan1712]

RE66ELL said:

Hi
I collect a new my18 sport on Friday
What should I look out for ?

Thanks

Hello mate - congrats!

I can only comment on the two issues ive had, first and main one being the screen. It tilts out on start up about 30 degrees automatically to make viewing easier . (You can adjust the angle of it later on in the settings). After starting my car up however, everything would turn on, but the screen would flip in...then out..then in..then out..then in... you get the picture. It would do this while the radio was playing and if memory serves me correct, the screen was black. I believe the bottom screen was working as normal.

DAB signal also dropped when it wanted and would refuse to come back - I couldn't select FM either which makes me just think I had a dodgy system full stop as opposed to software. Dealer told me this is on ALL my18 cars - I'm not convinced and think he's just fobbing me off as he just doesn't have the answers for me. I haven't seen anyone mention this issue with their MY18 cars ont he RRSport forums or any social media yet.


Secondly was the leather on the front seats - autobiographies have the two tone leather. if you look at the interior pic on the previous page you'll see the leather was loose on the sides of the front seat and at the tops where your back would rest, and the bottom where your behind would be. Generally crap and should not have been deemed acceptable to pick up.


On a side note, my dealer promised to call me yesterday with an update and he failed to do so. I called him and gave him a piece of mind unfortunately as its just not good enough - problems with the car happen and I accept that, poor customer care and making false promises is not good enough. He told me that ''the update on the software for your screen SHOULD be Friday but i cant see that myself'' - What the hell does that actually mean to me? is it a yes, or is it a no for Friday?! i had a meltdown and told him do what they want with the car but i am going to refuse it and will wait for a new one to be ordered for me in March.

He accepted that and didn't have an issue with it what so ever '' i don't blame you sir'''. just so infuriating to deal with and just agrees with everything i say. Even if my car is sorted and is spick and span Friday I'm not having it and il wait till March. If they value you my custom and appreciate the absolute idiocy ive had to deal with they will let me keep this loan car till then, but i wont hold my breath.

If a car cant be delivered for march, I'm taking the plunge and will just go completely left field and go for a used X5M and keeping the change to run it. Appalling, Atrocious, Pathetic dealership to deal with but i'll give them one last benefit of the doubt with another car. Generally i don't think this is a reflection on JLR as a whole, but more so the very popular JLR franchise that I'm dealing with - unsure if i can name them due to forum policy (or not?) but think around the Capital of South Wales.

rant over..sorry!

Edited by irfan1712 on Thursday 25th January 10:08

[irfan1712]

[/quote]

When are you collecting yours, RE66ELL? I'd be interested to hear how you get on, as I've just placed an order for a 3.0TDV6 HSE with a few toys (but spartan compared to others ) for an April delivery and didn't think there would be any QC issues. But having read this, and remembering my colleagues XFR delivery woes last year, I'm starting to feel a tad worried that the JLR poor service will rear its ugly head.

Irfan - does everything work on the demo that they've "loaned" you?
[/quote]

To all who have posted, just keep an eye on the screen and leather. on the RRsport forum I read a member had a suspension issue along with a similar screen issue to mine, so his car he had for a few days also went straight back in. I spoke to another dealership in south wales and they have never heard of the screen problem, my dealer tells me its on all my18 cars, so I don't know what to believe really. perhaps its just on a batch of particular VIN numbers if it works like that.

The demo car they've given me is a MY17 car, autobiography trim. must be a good £70ks worth and only has 2k odd miles on it. Everything works fantastic in the 3 weeks I've had it so far thinking about it, generally a very nice car. The MY18 just took it that step further in terms of appearance and spec.

Off to the dealers this afternoon because I cant face any more bloody phone calls - will report back this eve. If I order a new car I want to keep the loan car.. I need to as i'll be car-less! No loan car = JLR can say goodbye to a £94k sale and I will never step foot in a JLR dealership again.

Irfan

[irfan1712]

Little update..

Went to the dealers friday. The salesman i've been dealing with was flapping about left right and centre between relaying messages from the dealer principle to me (i waited an hour to be seen to) and from the sales manager to me. i was very patient until i asked to speak to the dealer principle in person - he wouldnt come downstairs as he was on a phone call, but he told the salesman to tell me that he was happy to accept refusal of the car if i put it in writing. HA. No way of trying to keep my money with LR, or to persuade me into another car, just straight up yep we'll refund you just chuck us a letter first.

..so i lost my rag and demanded a pen and paper and said i'd put it writing there and then and wasn't leaving the dealership till it was sorted. Then proceeded to watch the salesman panic for the next 10 minutes looking for a pen and paper haha.. give me strength.

Eventually the sales manager came out (dealer principle still hiding up in his penthouse) and to be honest he was cool as a cucumber. He knows the score with our situation but i reminded him from the top that:

- my car has been registered first week of Jan, and then was sat in the workshop for four weeks with the same fault. May as well have kep the car there and not told me about it and just registered it in March, 12 weeks later, when the fault would likely be ironed out!

- leather should never have passed ay sort of quality control. From the factory, to the showroom, to handover, how did EVERYONE miss such appalling leather

-i had the car for all of 24hrs.

-most of all, the most important bit for me - how these issues have been handled and the general contact and care from the dealer has disappointed me above everything. The car is a piece of metal, constantly pissing off your customers regardless of how much they spend is unacceptable.


So - i made it clear I'm willing to give LR one more chance with a new car. However, i said if LR value my custom, if they are truly apologetic, if they genuinely agree with the idiocy i have dealt with, The one condition is that i need to keep the demonstrator they have loaned me as one of us in my house will now be car-less. He agreed. But the problem is orders are now full so i can't expect a new car till April/May. He agreed giving me a loan car however, and said that as soon as my black MY18 is sorted i can have that back and give the demonstrator back. The MY18 car will then act as a loan car until my actual newly ordered car will reach me in April/May - they can take as long as they want with this scenario as il have a MY18 car (any car for that matter!) to live with until then.

The above is subject to actual agreement in WRITING as i have requested. So far I'm waiting for said black and white confirmation hence the delay in my response.

Apologies for the novel - just like to get as much info as i can in as this thread is now acting as a bit of a diary for me with this car and also makes anyone else aware of certain dealers and what to expect. So far my experience has been beyond poor, if we can get the above agreed then I'm at least happy to praise the dealership in finding an (eventual) resolution.

...As always, i will report back!

Irfan

Edited by irfan1712 on Tuesday 30th January 23:14

[irfan1712]

thanks for the update.

did your friend have the same screen issue as me? i.e the top screen just kept having a fit tilting in and out?

My car has been in the dealers for a combined duration of about 7 weeks this week. Novelty has well and truly worn off and to be honest I don't really care for having it and would be happy as mentioned to just get something like a used X5m and keep the change to run it.

I haven't heard anything from the dealer for 3 weeks since my last chat as above. I called this morning so I'm awaiting a call back shortly.

Dreary... tiresome.. and a massive mistake giving LandRover my money.

[irfan1712]

swisstoni said:

Op, its disappointing to hear that there have been issues with a much anticipated, not to mention expensive, car.

But the fact is that they have accepted rejection straight away and you are just waiting for your new new car to be delivered. In the meantime you have your brand new, admittedly imperfect, car to use.

I’ve heard far worse stories on here about people trying to reject a car and being messed about. IMHO LR have been pretty straightforward here.

...What? Please read all my posts properly.

i don't have my ''brand new admitted imperfect car to use' at all. it has been sat in the dealers for 7 weeks which i have mentioned several times.. i had it in my possession for 24 hours. i have a courtesy car to use. Yes lovely of LR but not quite the situation i expect to be in when buying a new car.

On the subject of the new car again read the posts properly. Not once have i mentioned this has been confirmed in writing. To date LR have been the complete opposite of straight forward in actual fact hence the mass of confusion and frustration.