Thread: No more extended warranty for Puma Defender?

Originally Posted by isuzurover

I am not sure what you mean by "it's perhaps just the way it is with this vehicle type"

I have the full service history for my 1987 110. It never went back for any warranty repairs to my knowledge.

200Tdi defenders on the whole had no inherent faults apart from the LT77s lube issue.

I would suspect that the stats for the puma are worse than for any previous 110 model and worse than any landrover model.

Well, what I mean is this - as plenty of folks have said that many Defenders take a period to "be sorted" - often, the entire warranty period, then I suggest this is a well known phenomenon. It is a comment I only get/hear/know of, from other Defender owners - hence the "this vehicle type" comment.

My LR Defender has it's full service history too, as provided by LR, both in the service booklet and in paper documentation. Neither list all the items that have been actually replaced/fixed under warranty. However, I demanded a full listing for myself, which after some arm twisting they provided. So perhaps as you didn't own your vehicle from new, you don't really know what was done to it in it's teething period.

But I do agree - the Puma may well head the list of LR unreliability. I haven't given up on mine (yet) though, as it is now enjoying it's longest uninterupted run of being perfect and feels 100% solid. Time will tell, but I want to have a few more years and experience with the vehicle before I agree it's a basket case requiring any class action against LR!

G'day Isuzurover

Was that the LT77 or the early R380 rear output shaft problem lack of oil

Has anyone here have any real statistics to inform the debate?

I guess the actuaries at Allianz have them and have made a call to cease selling extended warranty on that basis.

Some on this forum have used the manufacturer's three year warranty well others have not needed to. Any stats that we can gather here might be scewed by some Puma Defender owners having joined this forum as a result of the problems they have had.

Mine has been in for warranty work a total of 6 days in 27 months with most of the work being done at the time of the scheduled services.

The first warranty job was fixing a loose earth connection that caused the brake warning light, ABS and traction control light to come on.

The worst was the clutch replacement (an inherent issue with no questions asked).

Apart from the clutch the issues have been minor and not "inherent defects".

And before any one asks it doesn't sit at home in the garage I drive it at least 40km everyday, it has done several extended trips west and south, and it is driven off road when ever I get the chance.

As I have said elsewhere here by the time my Disco was the age of my Defender, I (not Land Rover) had paid for the damage caused by a headgasket/overheating problem and the Timing belt fix...both inherent defects and outside what was then only a 12 month warranty period.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

How is that in any way acceptable??? Why should someone have to buy a vehicle that they know will have to spend 20% of its life at the dealer in the first 3 years???

I am sure the D3/D4 owners experience nothing like that. Same goes for owners of most earlier models of landies (freelanders possibly excluded).

Landrover/Tata is making a killing on discos and rangies. Maybe a class action is the best option. However - are UK statistics the same as AU for the puma, or are the pumas worse???

I'd have to agree...I think that accepting that it would take a car 3 yrs to get its **** together is deplorable.

My old D3 ( one of the early ones an 05 model)...still in the family, one of those electronic beasts that would have a myriad of issues....compared to say the trusty old defender......has had SFA issues. There was a minor glitch with air suspension fixed in the early days. It has now done well over 130,000+ km's.

I've now swung back to looking at later model D3's as you can still get extended warranties on them,

Regards

Stevo

Originally Posted by Scouse

Not quite.
They've got a lot of catching up to do as they're still way behind the Freelander1 & the P38a.

Good point! I actually intended to write "(excluding freeloaders)" but forgot...

Originally Posted by one_iota

Has anyone here have any real statistics to inform the debate?

I guess the actuaries at Allianz have them and have made a call to cease offering extended warranty on that basis.

Some on this forum have used the manufacturer's three year warranty well others have not needed to. Any stats that we can gather here might be scewed by some Puma Defender owners having joined this forum as a result of the problems they have had.

[ron hat on] I think you mean "skewed" [/ron hat on]

Not sure that is the case. I think the number who joined purely due to having mechanical issues with their puma would be very small. The new members I have noticed have joined because they have just bought one or are thinking of buying one.

You may remember this poll from a while back just on the engine.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

Well - so far it is ~1/3 who have had minor/major problems and ~7% who have had an engine replaced. However the sample size (so far) is too small to draw any rigorous conclusions.

How many km does your Puma engine have? POLL

Originally Posted by Scallops

Lets not all give up on the Puma just yet - most of you with them would only just be coming up to the 3 year warranty point or have even younger trucks. Many times I have read it said that many LR vehicles need most, if not all, of these 3 years to get fully sorted.

I feel mine is now - and so it should be - I had the first one.

So I reckon we should see how they pan out longer term, and reserve judgement.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

How is that in any way acceptable??? Why should someone have to buy a vehicle that they know will have to spend 20% of its life at the dealer in the first 3 years???
....

And that is the reason why I am not confortable in buying a new LR, particularly a Puma, to update my D2a. I live 200km from the nearest dealer, and cannot afford the time nor expense of having the vehicle spending extensive time parked at a dealer getting problems fixed. Even the smallest issue would mean loosing a days' income to get it fixed, let alone the possible tilt-tray costs! Warranty issues should be the exception, not the norm.

Cheers,
Chris

Originally Posted by isuzurover

[ron hat on] I think you mean "skewed" [/ron hat on]

Maybe I was thinking "screwed" when I was typing it

I only joined because I had problems with my Defender, and have benefitted greatly from the experience and help on this most polite of forums. Believe it or not, until I joined I had no idea that there was such a following for LR's . ;and although I never been brand loyal with cars (and still am not) I am very attached to my beloved Defender and am really impressed with and enjoy the comraderee and enthusiasm of this community. I've never met a friendlier bunch, I get waved at... in Sydney!!! I think there is no better place to come even if you only want knowledge and advice. I came for that reason, but try hopefully to contribute to the community where I can, as I hope the core of this thread does. Although not the point of this thread, I too don't think it is right that for many (not all!), so much time and effort is required to bring a new vehicle up to scratch (others no dramas). I think the dirty laundry should be aired until it gets cleaned, better for the brand, better for the buyer, better for the community.
LR should probably state on their website that extended warranty is not available for the Defender; reading it you would think that it is.