Poor Land Rover Service

[wasssup]

I have had my Freelander 2 since new, over 4 years, it has been a great vehicle, after my recent experience with Land Rover Service though, I would struggle to spend another single dollar of my own money on another Land Rover after the appalling service I received from a dealer in Perth, and the subsequent response from Land Rover Australia. Basically I gave Land Rover Australia a chance to respond, in my mind, I got a ‘we couldn’t care less’ letter. So im posting my experience online Don’t get me wrong, I love my freelander2, but the people behind the brand have some coaching required.

- Land Rover Australia’s response was to complain to the Service Manager, what good would that do? The Service Manager was the one providing the appalling service

- All Land Rover had to do was arrange a refund of the $322 dollars I outlaid for ‘diagnostics’, they have already lost two new car sales as a result, such a short sighted approach from Land Rover Australia.

- The short version of the story below is, I collected my vehicle after Lander Rover Service couldn’t find the fault after 3 weeks. after 20mins on Google, I decide the EGR valve is faulty, after finding out a replacement in Australia is $450 +GST, I order a genuine one online for the grand sum of $125 and install It myself – this show the incompetence of Land Rover and I fixed at home with my toolset what they couldn’t even diagnose in 3 weeks with a workshop.

Here is a timeline of the debacle:

Day 1:
I drop my vehicle to Land Rover Service for repair (after already explaining the issue on the phone) I explain the issue to a second person for a second time

Later in the day at 4pm I receive a phone call the the problem (no power on take off) cannot be replicated, I ask can the car stay overnight for more testing the the next day as the vehicle is dangerous to drive when it occurs, (imagine pulling out of an intersection suddenly with no power, think monash highway 2011 when a VW owner was killed with a suspected sudden loss of power from the vehicle being the cause)

Day 2:
I receive a phone call from Land Rover Service at 3pm, I am advised that they still cannot replicate the issue, I am advised to come collect the vehicle. I collect the vehicle, I barely drive 500m before I am presented with no power and the car stuck in an intersection. I limp the vehicle back to Land Rover, The workshop foreman comes to look at the vehicle, he can observes the vehicle has no power, and explains he plugged the computer in and found no faults, I have to remind him several times, that even though the computer has no faults, clearly the is a fault with the vehicle. The foreman continues to tell me the computer is telling him no faults which is getting increasingly frustrating when he is sitting in a vehicle that has no power!

I live no-where near the dealership, I am left at 5pm to find my own way home after being told my vehicle was fine to collect, I receive no offer of transport or loan vehicle, even though I had just left my vehicle with Land Rover for two days.

Day 3:
I receive a phone call in the afternoon from Land Rover Service, they advise they have no finished with the vehicle and would need it overnight again, I ask to be phoned Friday morning with an update.

Day 4:
By 2pm I have not received an update from service reception. I phone to get an update, the main reception cannot connect me to service so I leave a message.

At 3pm, I receive a phone call from the main receptionist, I am told the service department is busy and will call me back with an update by end of the day.

At 4:50pm (on a Friday very poor form) I receive a phone call from Land Rover saying that my vehicle still is not fixed, I am told that in Land Rovers own words ‘We are at a loss as to what the problem is’ to me that can be interpreted as the vehicle will never work again, I took my Land Rover back to the Land Rover dealer expecting I would have experts looking after the vehicle, I am then told they don’t know how to fix it?

It is at this point Land Rover Service says perhaps it is bad diesel (after I had pointed out all week long the problem started directly after refueling) I am also concerned of additional damage to the engine the dealer may have caused continuing to run the engine with bad fuel.

Land Rover offer that I can collect the vehicle for the weekend, I find this action dangerous and completely un-professional

The vehicle is clearly a hazard on the road as it will barely move from a standstill, providing unexpected road behavior.
- If the Service Department do not know what the problem is, how do they know driving it won’t cause more damage to the engine.

Land Rover Service then go onto say the only next course of action is to drop the fuel tank out of the vehicle and to drain the diesel as it is most likely the cause.

Day 7:
I receive a phone call from Land Rover Service again, Land Rover advise they are no longer sure if bad diesel is the fault, without reason, Land Rover suggest a fuel test be completed that will take an additional 3-5days before any further work is completed. I phone Land Rover Australia at this point questioning my level of Service provided from this dealer, after a phone call from Land Rover Australia we agree to wait for fuel test results.

Day 18: (Yes, that’s right, they have had my vehicle this long and left without a vehicle over the easter break)
I phone to find out what is happening with the fuel test. I was advised that my fuel test results had only 'just come back' and that in the words of Land Rover, 'we are not sure what to do next, we were thinking of pulling the injectors out to send those away for testing' I'm sorry, but after I have previously been advised from Land Rover on a separate phone call that, and I quote in the words of Land Rover Service"We are at a loss as to the cause" I really had no confidence in the ability of Land Rover Service and realised that it would be best I collect my vehicle from Land Rover and use someone more qualified to fix a Land Rover than Land Rover themselves- someone like myself. I advise Land Rover Service I will collect my vehicle on Wednesday the 10th April.

Day 22:
Upon arriving to collect my vehicle, I am presented with a bill for (I think I was $650 and something) for diagnostic services, I negotiate this down to $322, at this point I just wanted my Freelander2 back so I could get the thing fixed. After 20mins on google, I decide the EGR valve is faulty, after finding out a replacement in Australia is $450 +GST, I order one off Ebay for the grand sum of $125 and install It myself, at home, and the vehicle is now running perfectly – this show the incompetence of Land Rover and I fixed at home with not much more than a socket set and some spanners. What Land Rover couldn’t even diagnose in 3 weeks with a workshop – oh and by the way, im not a mechanic, I work in IT, and the injectors did not need pulling out and sending away for testing.

I wrote all of the above to Land Rover Australia, asking for a refund of the $322 in diagnostics, nothing more, here was their response:
“Thank you for your email dated 27th May 2013, which relates to the service you have experienced at ********** Land Rover.
In relation to servicing issues, we advise that repair work carried out under your instruction by the Service Department of each Land Rover retailer is warranted by the retailer involved. Accordingly, Land Rover Australia does not maintain any record of such work and therefore any concerns that may arise need to be directed to the Service Manager of the retailer involved.
Land Rover Australia is committed to providing the highest level of products and services to our customers as well as continually improving the level of owner satisfaction. Our retailer network plays a large part in this and your feedback assists us in ensuring that our commitments are being met at all times.
We trust that this clarifies our standing and thank you for the opportunity to review your concern and advise you in this matter.
Should you wish to discuss this matter further then please don’t hesitate to contact me on the number below, Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00 (EST).”

[grahamjohn]

'Appalling' is the right word for the 'service' you received and 'appalling' is the right word for the response you received from Land Rover Australia. Basically, Land Rover Australia is saying they don't care what Land Rover dealers are doing in their name, which is a bit stupid. It will make me think twice about using a Land Rover dealer when there are a few independent shops that service Land Rovers over here in Sydney. I feel like emailing LR Australia a link to your thread and asking them how they can convince me this won't happen to me. The only response that I would consider even remotely appropriate would be for the dealer and Land Rover Australia to apologise to you and reimburse you your $322. On second thoughts, they probably don't care about one or two unhappy customers.

I have just bought a Freelander MY13 SE SD4 and love it. It's the best car, so far, I have ever owned. The Customer Care people in LR Australia rang me yesterday to see how I like the car etc etc and asked me if I would recommend LR to others. I gave a qualified yes, given that I have only owned the car for a month. However, if I had read about your experience before the phone call I would have told them of my concerns.

Congratulations on solving and fixing the problem yourself. If you were over here on the East Coast I would get you to do my servicing!

I think you should post your comments on one of the more general forums so more people get to see what LR Australia really think of their customers.

[RockJaw]

Listen, we hear you.

Our mining engineering group owns LR in UK, Ireland, USA, South Africa and Canada and after years of using the best 4X4XFAR I finally arrived in OZ 11 years ago and was real confused why Aussies preferred Japanese branded 4X4s!

HuH? Are you serious?

Boy, did I learn the hard way - lol

2002 Disco bought new in Sydney, trashed by ******** LR in less than 8 months - LR Australia? Yawned!

2005 Range Rover Vogue, new, trashed by ********** in 14 months - LR Australia? too scared of the dealer to do anything, had to beat the dealer in court to get my money back.

2008 Range Rover, new, dumb enough to come back for more this one was trashed by ******** in 9 months. Sold to some poor sucker who used to think Land Rover Australia sells a good after sales product. Poor bastard!

2009 Toyota Landie - still running beauty!! Will buy another one of these soon.

2010 G55 Gelandewagen - W A Z Z A ! ! ! no more Range Rover 4 me mate, Autobiography? what? From LR Australia? Only for the suckers mate! The G55 is a REAL man's fourbie!! and still gonna run like a beauty 10 years time! By the way, not just a great truck, they have a REALLY great after sales service too!


BOTTOM LINE : Land Rover Australia thinks they belong to some exclusive club where their customers are excluded from membership.

The dealers know this and they realise they can get away with bloody murder because LR Australia customer support is a complete waste of time.

What a shame, this is great product owned by a mob of useless, dishonest and incompetent bums.

We still own LR in the other countries, bought the latest Autobiography in Toronto, real nice, but in Australia? Give us Japanese and Korean cars mate, life's too short to put up with bums like those running LR Australia.

When in Australia do like the REAL Aussies do, they buy Toyota. Only suckers and immigrants buy LR lol.

Everywhere else?

Land Rover rocks big time!

[Disco Muppet]

When in Australia do like the REAL Aussies do, they buy Toyota. Only suckers and immigrants buy LR lol.

Riiiiiiiight.
You'll forgive me if I'm less than enthused by you declaring me to not be a "real aussie" simply because I bought a Land Rover.
I'm not denying there is a trend of simply appalling customer service by Land Rover outlets in Australia, there's also some absolutely top-notch service.
I notice this is your one and only post, you joined the forum simply to slag off LRA?
Well done you.
However I doubt you'll get a particularly warm welcome from the rest of us suckers and immigrants with your attitude.
Cheers
Muppet

[Xtreme]

Don't worry Muppet, it's actually the REAL AUSSIES that own Landys DESPITE the often less than satisfactory dealer service.
Only those who can't handle the tough times wimp out.

[solmanic]

2010 G55 Gelandewagen - W A Z Z A ! ! ! no more Range Rover 4 me mate, Autobiography? what? From LR Australia? Only for the suckers mate! The G55 is a REAL man's fourbie!! and still gonna run like a beauty 10 years time! By the way, not just a great truck, they have a REALLY great after sales service too...

I agree. Mercedes-Benz provides a level of sucking-up I never experienced with any Land Rover dealer. Not once did I receive any sort of follow-up from Land Rover service about whether I was satisfied with work they had done and twice the same dealer totally failed to even call me back when I was looking to buy new.

I sent Land Rover customer "care" a nice letter when I bought my G-Wagen with a picture and explanation of how bad I thought their customer service was. I also included how much that had just cost them. Not surprisingly I never got a reply.

[RockJaw]

Riiiiiiiight.

I notice this is your one and only post, you joined the forum simply to slag off LRA?
Well done you.
However I doubt you'll get a particularly warm welcome from the rest of us suckers and immigrants with your attitude.
Cheers
Muppet

Strangely, no, you're wrong, I rang LRA earlier today for information on a past model (2008) Defender and it was their customer service who referred me to this site after the various dealers they put me through to had no idea about the products they sold a mere 5 years ago. Actually, their product knowledge of current products was not much better either.

After a lot of "errrm" and "uhhhh" and "dunno": a "not sure" I just rang Singapore for the quick answers.

Might forgive a dealer for lack of product enthusiasm, but what is Head Office's excuse? LoL

I joined the site to access information only available to members and came across the OP's justified rant.

Sorry bud, as a past experiences man who is well over the LRA disappointment now, I just couldn't resist the post, and besides, warm welcomes are not what LR owners are really after.

[Disco Muppet]

You might be surprised, this forum is full of excellent people who are only too happy to help out, and be perfectly friendly about it.
It's one thing to have an issue with the cars, the people who sell them, etc.
It's another to make (what seemed to me) to be a rude generalisation about the people who own them.
However, water under the bridge and all that.
Welcome to AULRO.
Cheers
Muppet

[RockJaw]

You might be surprised, this forum is full of excellent people who are only too happy to help out, and be perfectly friendly about it.
It's one thing to have an issue with the cars, the people who sell them, etc.
It's another to make (what seemed to me) to be a rude generalisation about the people who own them.
However, water under the bridge and all that.
Welcome to AULRO.
Cheers
Muppet

Thanks for the welcome!!!

.... and I'm an owner too so I'm used to insults

[alittlebitconcerned]

To the OP, I very much understand he disappointment and frustration you are feeling, I personally know a few people who share this sentiment. Unfortunately I doubt this thread will last very long due to the site owner not wanting to get sued, regardless of the truth. Cant blame them.

Before the thread disappears I will go on record (as I do at every opportunity LR!) and say that far and away the worst service I have have ever received was from LRA and the crappy dealerships I dealt with. Crooks, liars and fools.

I, and the people around me, were honestly in a state of constant incredulity for each and every month I had the misfortune of dealing with them. Don't believe the zealots when they say all companies are the same, they're not. LR and their cronies are a special breed.

Goodbye thread.