Thanks - are Grange rated good for after sales?

They are OK but personally I would stick to LPR for aftersales. My own car is booked in at Grange for AHBA etc. but that's mainly because I didn't want to wait 2 months. Current: Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription Pro PHEV with some optionals on top
Gone: MY16 RRS2 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography Dynamic, Carpathian Grey & Santorini Black Sliding Pano/Ebony & Ivory 2 Tone
Gone: MY13 RRS 3.0 SDV6 HSE Black Edition, Orkney Grey/Ivory
Gone: MY09 RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSE, Santorini Black/Almond

Thanks for the insight Fingers crossed for Park Royal!

RRSman wrote:

Easier said than done mate...Where in the UK are you? Down here around London they all charge....

Cool- will let you know how I get on...Slough were having none of it....

At my dealer the general rule is if its a straight service you pay £15 for the courtesy car insurance, if there is warranty work you don't pay. I have not paid anything for several years as my Evoque was ALWAYS in with faults.

Its a small dealership so you take pot luck as to what you get, its ranged from FFRR, Evoque, Double Cab Defender (great fun) down to a Ford Fester. Worst ever was a new DS, horrible rattley car with cramped driving position and certainly not worth half of the £48k price ticket.

Tony 2018 MY19 HSE Dynamic, Santorini, Ebony/Ivory, Sliding pano, Adaptive cruise, Black wheels. Arrived 3rd September 2018
2015 MY16 HSE Dynamic, Santorini, ebony/cirrus, sliding pano, cameras, black wheels - Arrived 1 October 2015

It amazes me that these days all dealerships (irrespective of marque) servicing depts operate computerised booking in for cars. If it is a standard service they know how long the service will take and what parts are required, they know how many cars will be in that day and they SHOULD know any recall/warranty work your car requires and LR even tells them the parts and time needed for the recall job and they should know how many people are employed in their servicing departments and their levels of expertise yet they cannot offer you a timed appointment when you should present your car for servicing/ work. When you book your car in they make you sign two sets of paperwork (minimum), one is the job sheet the other is invariably one the asks how you are going to pay and authorising them to do the work so they have had toi go to the trouble of doing some research on your car beforehand to be able to print out those sheets.
If a doctor or dentist told you to book an appointment for 3pm but made you sit in their waiting area from 0830 you wouldn't go back............... so why is it you have to check your car in at the crack of dawn then it doesn't get looked at until 4pm and then they don't have the parts (even when you have told them what is required often) or the time to carry out the work requested. It is about time auto servicing industry in general (as JLR service outlets are not the car makers outlets that give such poor service) remember that they are a SERVICE industry and act accordingly or they will go out of business. Surely it is not beyond the wit of any dealership to offer timed appointments instead of operating first come first served.
Regarding the loan cars, I have never had to pay for one but I have been asked to pay for the insurance or prove that I have sufficient cover to cover the value of the loan car.
These days I try to include scheduled servicing with trips to London where labour charges are lower than at any of my local dealerships (even those in the same trading group!) and booking the car in for servicing saves me having to pay hotel car parking charges for a couple of days. As both the London dealers I use have a tube station nearby then no loan car is needed although both garages have offered my demo cars to try out for the day instead in the hope that I might be lured into a new car. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Oh dear - I'm not sure whether I have been darn right unlucky or if all the RR dealers are useless around here! So this morning I took my car to Park Royal. It started really well - greeted at the entrance by a chap who welcomed be by my surname and took my car from me and ushered me to the main reception where once again I was greeted by my surname and asked to take a seat whilst she grabs my service advisor. This is when it all went downhill!

I waited for 20 mins and the SA turned up and took away my driving licence to arrange insurance for the courtesy car etc - I then waited and waited and waited. In the meantime there was another gentleman loosing his will to live as he had waiting 1.5 hours only to be told they could not find the keys to his courtesy car They told him to go away to his office and that they will deliver the car later in the day - not sure what transpired but he stood ground and did not leave.

Fearing the worst after an hours waiting I asked to speak to the service manager. Another chap then came out after 5 mins and told me that the service advisor was in a meeting but he apologises for the excessive wait - basically my courtesy car was double booked and someone else who came in earlier than I did took it so they don't have a car for me! I booked 1 month ago but nope they got it wrong yet again. I asked for my keys and said I want to take my car away and will go to another dealer. Was then offered to rebook for Thursday and that they will have a car delivered to my house and have mine picked up.

Fingers crossed this is going to be painless

I love the car but these dealers really need to sort it out. Park Royal are moving to a much larger showroom down the road in a months time and things will only get worse if not nipped in the bud now!

You have a PM. Current: Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription Pro PHEV with some optionals on top
Gone: MY16 RRS2 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography Dynamic, Carpathian Grey & Santorini Black Sliding Pano/Ebony & Ivory 2 Tone
Gone: MY13 RRS 3.0 SDV6 HSE Black Edition, Orkney Grey/Ivory
Gone: MY09 RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSE, Santorini Black/Almond

Hi RRSMan,

Apologies for the experience this morning. Could you email me your details (reg number/name etc) so that I can ensure that things go smoothly on Thursday.

We are indeed moving to our new facility, having outgrown the current site, however unfortunately it will not be until April next year at the earliest. In order to keep up with demand we are working 24hrs during the week in our workshops which has highlighted a few capacity issues elsewhere (loan cars dovetailing with the next customer). It is frustrating that you didn't ask for me this morning as I would have arranged for another vehicle for you.

If you could email me at jamestayler@lookers.co.uk (careful with the spelling of my surname) and I will liaise with Wayne Hamilton our Customer Services Manager.

Apologies again,

James

Thanks James, emailing you now.

RRSman, I am really sorry that you have experienced such crappy service so far. Hopefully things will get better....

I had some fairly crap service from Stratstones, Milton Keynes and Marshall Land Rover in Bedford. Luckily for me Guy Salmon took over the LR dealership in Northampton and since purchasing through them and using them for servicing I have had excellent service, where they really have gone above and beyond.

It is a shame that you are not a little further north. I would have happily put you in touch with them.

Regards

Jim

Don't go too far north though. The dealer I got my SVR through put two things on the car. a) Swirls/scratches on every panel. b) The delaminating number plates



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