I go to my main dealer because i can't fault them. I get a text message to remind of my appointment. I get a precise time when my vehicle will be ready. I get a run down of everything that has been carried out on my vehicle, I get a free courtesy car whenever my motor is in their workshop. I get after care contact to ask if i'm happy with the service and repairs that have been carried out on my vehicle. Any jobs i ask them to look at outside my service schedule, they do so, also with an explanation of any findings and fixes they have carried out. Isn't all this how a good JLR dealership should be operating? I also point out to them that my wheels don't have any marks on them, and i want them to remain that way, thank you.
My vehicle is going in today for its 1st MOT and 3rd service.
And top top it all off, i can watch it all back on my incar cctv.

Thank you http://www.perrys.co.uk/halifax-land-rover

Lets see if my opinion of them has changed after todays visit....

It really does depend on the individual dealer - some go the extra mile.

My nearest dealer in NE Cumbria, despite having some lovely people working there, are truly rubbish beyond believe and the Sales Manager is more arrogant than you could possibly believe.

However, Kentdale, Kendal, are at the opposite end of the scale. Always answer the phone, always call back when they say they will and are happy for you to talk to the guy that worked on your car about any issues. They also have one of the best sales teams I've ever met who look after you long after you've purchased.

Has anyone ever enquired, of the bad ones, how they did in the LR Dealership Of The Year Awards?

OK let's upset the Dealership supporters then (with tongue slightly in cheek):

"I get a text message to remind of my appointment" That would just annoy me.

"I get a precise time when my vehicle will be ready" Personally I prefer to tell the workshop to focus on doing the job properly and not to rush to meet an arbitrary deadline which is when a lot of the problems are caused.

"I get a run down of everything that has been carried out on my vehicle." Surely that's a basic requirement not a bonus?

"I get a free courtesy car." Its not free

"I get after care contact to ask if i'm happy with the service and repairs that have been carried out on my vehicle." I find that sort of thing just irritating unless they are prepared to pay me for my time (at £130 per hour).

"Any jobs i ask them to look at outside my service schedule, they do so, also with an explanation of any findings and fixes they have carried out." Again that's a minimum requirement and not deserving of any special praise

Unless you do further investigation- what reassurance do you have that any parts they replace really needed replacing?

Would some kind member of the forum who is visiting a JLR Dealership please ask the service department if they can have a copy of the Standard Operating Procedure regarding Quality Control of servicing? It is my bet they either don't have one or it is not followed.

In any other industry concerned with safety critical equipment maintenance a second person has to check everything has been done correctly and sign off to confirm it. How do car workshops get away with not doing this? 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

It would also be very interesting to know the ownership of the dealers - family company or corporate chain. The only really good dealer I have come across was a family owned business in Herefordshire - 200 miles from my home sadly. All the dealerships around me are corporate chains.

The corporates have bought the dealerships for vast multiples of profit and I can only summise that they then cut costs to generate a return on their (over) investment with the resulting impact on customer service. Just a theory.

Paddi wrote:

OK let's upset the Dealership supporters then (with tongue slightly in cheek):

"I get a text message to remind of my appointment" That would just annoy me.

"I get a precise time when my vehicle will be ready" Personally I prefer to tell the workshop to focus on doing the job properly and not to rush to meet an arbitrary deadline which is when a lot of the problems are caused.

"I get a run down of everything that has been carried out on my vehicle." Surely that's a basic requirement not a bonus?

"I get a free courtesy car." Its not free

"I get after care contact to ask if i'm happy with the service and repairs that have been carried out on my vehicle." I find that sort of thing just irritating unless they are prepared to pay me for my time (at £130 per hour).

"Any jobs i ask them to look at outside my service schedule, they do so, also with an explanation of any findings and fixes they have carried out." Again that's a minimum requirement and not deserving of any special praise

Unless you do further investigation- what reassurance do you have that any parts they replace really needed replacing?

Would some kind member of the forum who is visiting a JLR Dealership please ask the service department if they can have a copy of the Standard Operating Procedure regarding Quality Control of servicing? It is my bet they either don't have one or it is not followed.

In any other industry concerned with safety critical equipment maintenance a second person has to check everything has been done correctly and sign off to confirm it. How do car workshops get away with not doing this?

You obviously don't appreciate good customer service and relations.
I bet you are the life & soul of any party you are invited to.

steve2026 wrote:

Why is it that people keep going back to main dealers for any work or servicing required, after all, you don't have to, your warranty is still valid if you go to a specialist garage.

Ady, I used to think the same about my local dealership as they do all of the things you list. Then I started to look at what they were doing and found things done badly. Body off to change turbo? Should be a simple affair for a LR franchised dealer. So why did they fail to reconnect hoses properly? Why did they damage the steering rack and allow me to drive it away in a dangerous state? When the rack was changed they left the outer track rod ends on; why would you change the entire steering system and leave worn parts at the ends? Because their alignment ramp had one of the technician's own vehicles on it and so an alignment couldn't be done! The dealership is great to its technicians and lets them work on their own vehicles. Not great for the customer though. New starter motor? Again, simple process for a LR franchised dealer. So why wasn't it done correctly? I only know because I got underneath and checked. Most people, such as you perhaps, wouldn't check and so wouldn't know it was done correctly - until it failed and needed changing again. At which point the old "Landies are unreliable but we love them anyway" lines would be trotted out.

I've come to the conclusion that many of the reliability issues that LR are famous for are caused by the technicians in the dealership - not the initial design of the vehicles nor the parts that they fit. I shall be testing this hypothesis by using an indie from now on where ever possible. I'll see if issues continue or reduce over time.

Granted, some issues are "factory installed" but all car makers have those problems to some extent. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

I can only speak from my experience from my dealer. Granted, my vehicle is only 3 year old, so only had servicing and a few software updates done. So perhaps that isn't a true picture of how they carry out other mechanical repairs. One thing i do know, is that the service manager is hands on, and oversees all work carried out in his workshop and not sat in a nice cosy warm office. With many of your issues RRSTDV8, I'm guessing there were more than one man working on your motor, Left hand thought right hand had tightened everything up, and right hand thought left hand had tightened everything up, then they all went for a tea break, then someone else tried to finish the job off. I get the feeling that my dealer follows strict guidelines and working practices because they know they have head office breathing down their necks making sure they do the job right first time. They also know that head office email all their customers to get feedback. I have been using my dealer for nearly 5 years now, and its still all the same technicians that are still working there. So they must be doing something right.

Paddi wrote:

OK let's upset the Dealership supporters then (with tongue slightly in cheek):

"I get a text message to remind of my appointment" That would just annoy me.

"I get a precise time when my vehicle will be ready" Personally I prefer to tell the workshop to focus on doing the job properly and not to rush to meet an arbitrary deadline which is when a lot of the problems are caused.

"I get a run down of everything that has been carried out on my vehicle." Surely that's a basic requirement not a bonus?

"I get a free courtesy car." Its not free

"I get after care contact to ask if i'm happy with the service and repairs that have been carried out on my vehicle." I find that sort of thing just irritating unless they are prepared to pay me for my time (at £130 per hour).

"Any jobs i ask them to look at outside my service schedule, they do so, also with an explanation of any findings and fixes they have carried out." Again that's a minimum requirement and not deserving of any special praise

Unless you do further investigation- what reassurance do you have that any parts they replace really needed replacing?

Would some kind member of the forum who is visiting a JLR Dealership please ask the service department if they can have a copy of the Standard Operating Procedure regarding Quality Control of servicing? It is my bet they either don't have one or it is not followed.

In any other industry concerned with safety critical equipment maintenance a second person has to check everything has been done correctly and sign off to confirm it. How do car workshops get away with not doing this?

Paddi wrote:

OK let's upset the Dealership supporters then (with tongue slightly in cheek):

"I get a text message to remind of my appointment" That would just annoy me.

"I get a precise time when my vehicle will be ready" Personally I prefer to tell the workshop to focus on doing the job properly and not to rush to meet an arbitrary deadline which is when a lot of the problems are caused.

"I get a run down of everything that has been carried out on my vehicle." Surely that's a basic requirement not a bonus?

"I get a free courtesy car." Its not free

"I get after care contact to ask if i'm happy with the service and repairs that have been carried out on my vehicle." I find that sort of thing just irritating unless they are prepared to pay me for my time (at £130 per hour).

"Any jobs i ask them to look at outside my service schedule, they do so, also with an explanation of any findings and fixes they have carried out." Again that's a minimum requirement and not deserving of any special praise

Unless you do further investigation- what reassurance do you have that any parts they replace really needed replacing?

Would some kind member of the forum who is visiting a JLR Dealership please ask the service department if they can have a copy of the Standard Operating Procedure regarding Quality Control of servicing? It is my bet they either don't have one or it is not followed.

In any other industry concerned with safety critical equipment maintenance a second person has to check everything has been done correctly and sign off to confirm it. How do car workshops get away with not doing this?

If I may qualify my statement :-

Throughout my childhood my father was an "indie" before he decided to sepcialise and set up an engine re-conditioning business (He's now retired at 84). Up unitl recently I have always worked on my own cars, I have built race cars, built race engines for both myself and other people and I have always worked as an engineer (electro-mecchanical). Having said that I now only work on a Friday (semi-retired).

I know my way around a vehicle and hate it when I get a "child" working on my car at an MD. The dealer I offered praise to would not and does not allow in-experienced technicians near vehicles without FULL supervision. Yes, they have made mistakes but the only person who never made a mistake never made anything!!

So, if I know my way around why do I use garages? Well, I must confess, I normally use my local indie nowadays as Kendal is a tad far to go for a service but having reached 45 the thought of crawling around under a vehicle and battling with that awkward fastener no longer fills me with joy (hats off to those that do btw )

To conclude, I am not a dealer supporter, but if someone wants to use a good one in Cumbria I can recommend Kentdale. Oh, btw, even my dentist texts me to remind me about my appointments and thank god they do

I think the difficulty is the inconsistency with main dealers. Some are excellent, some are bad, some are expensive while some are just a plain rip-off.

Either way, a good indy can provide all the necessary values (excluding provision for the extended LR warranty) of a stealer at a better price. Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

Iam glad to hear kentdale getting good reviews, iam going there tomorrow to pick up a rr2 for a 24 hour test drive, i live 35 miles away from this dealer, my local dealer is 15 miles away, iam still waiting from christmas to hear back of them as to when i can book a 24 hour test drive i think it pays to travel to the right dealership if the service is what you would expect

Ady 555 wrote:

I have been using my dealer for nearly 5 years now, and its still all the same technicians that are still working there. So they must be doing something right.

To be fair, my dealership is very small, so everyone knows everyone. From me walking from my car to the service reception approx 40 yards, i passed 4 members of staff from the dealership from different departments, every one of them spoke to me, its that sort of reception that makes a difference. They might be a small dealership, but they have 91 vehicles due out from 1st of March Majority of them, repeat customers. They have sold 3 SVR's but can't get them till June. Sold all their allocation of Discovery Sports. They just can't get hold of new vehicles quick enough.
Whilst i was there, i asked about the issue with RRS2 wheel nuts. Apparently JLR took on another supplier to help keep up with demand, and it was the new supplier that had inadvertently used inferior metal to make the nuts and there was a chance that the nuts could split. There is now a recall for this issue. Another issue that has arisen, JLR have sourced a second company to supply wiring looms, again to help keep up with demand, there is an issue with a length of earth wire used, its too thin and can potentially overheat, as 1, yes 1 vehicle in America has done so far. Dealers are replacing this earth wire with a larger diameter length of wire.