nothing but trouble

[discover endless problems]

hi i bought a brand new land rover discovery 3 in 2009 since then my suspention has gone twice,my park brake replaced twiced, my brake lights on both sides twice,my dvd recorder had to be replaced and also the carpet just after i bought it .Each time i have to drive the car 40kms to take the car in,take out both my car seats for toddlers and put it in lend car then return car and repeat. I recently asked for an extended warrenty on my car in australia as good will and was flately rejected. am i crazy or do you think i have the right to get this.does anybody know who i can take this to further up the chain.i thought buying a landrover was presticious . can anybody help me

[Savannah Buzz]

Just a few thoughts -

IMHO the dealer has little incentive as he has fixed things under warranty, and held up his part of the bargain with Land Rover. Your negotiation about this now should be with the general manager, not the sales or service managers. The factory warranty does not make allowance for family size or remote location of purchaser, etc. It basically deals with a machine, the dealer internal practices deal with the customers. We have some states in our country that don't have dealers, and driving 25 miles is less that what many of us do for a daily commute. But you may be able to negotiate a reduced price on an extended warranty.

Many factories have a representative that supports dealers in the field, represents the company flag, etc. In your country that fellow might be spread very thin, not in town every day, etc. My dad was once a "zone manager" for Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors. He could approve out of warranty repairs and compensation, vehicle replacement. etc. But this is rare. Not sure if LR has this in your large country.

In the US, we have a number of firms that sell extended warranty on vehicles, and you might shop for that. At one time some of our car insurance firms offered mechanical breakdown insurance for $5 a month extra on a policy, my wife's paid for a whole new AC system, minus the $250 deductible.

Last idea - my pal Burt has a outside sales job where he meets upscale (5000 sqare foot) homeowners at their house. His Caddy was a lemon, a shop magnet, and he finally made a big yellow oversized "baby on board" style sign that said "this is the last Potamkin Cadillac I will ever buy" and took photos of it, blown up to 11X17 size, and FedExed to the owner of the chain of dealerships and the VP of marketing for Caddillac. Inside a note explained his problems, copies of all repairs, and that he met every day with 3 to 5 new home owners in the metro area with incomes well exceeding six figures. Did they want car selection to be a topic of conversation?

They swapped out his out of warranty car for a brand new one.

Now many of our states have a "lemon law" that might apply, but your law may be quite different.

Now many people enjoy being a Land Rover owner for capability - over driveway appeal. This pix shows what's important - being able to walk away from trouble - with the two little ones.

[leadfoot]

I would trade it in. Sounds like you got a lemon. I would get another car and if there is another dealer to deal with, better. Get rid of your problem.

[Disco Mike]

Since you are not the original owner, he have no legal action to take against anyone.
I question your e-brakes failing twice, that is normally always driver caused, as for the rest of you list, little petty issues compared to some of Rovers real expensive issues.
If you are unhappy with it, I agree with the last reply, sell it cause you are not a Rover person.

[alpinacsi]

Originally Posted by discover endless problems

hi i bought a brand new land rover discovery 3 in 2009

Sounds like he might be the original owner even with the LR4 being available in 09 as well.

It still might be possible to acquire an extended warranty and definitely worth discussing with your dealer. Even though you have had a few issues in the last few years; this could happen with any new vehicle. Maybe ask the dealer why these parts needed to be replaced and why they had to be done more than once. And ask if the true source of the issues has now been found and corrected so it will not be a reoccurring issue.

[discover endless problems]

hi mike iam the original owner of this car.I dont see how the way i drive the car can effect the park brake.A bit harsh saying im not rover person i was only looking for advise. you really think the suspention is a minor thing and park brake they have both failed TWICE and with you being a rover person has this happened to you ? The service people at land rover have no answer and i get nowhere with the sales people and the general manager

[Savannah Buzz]

perhaps these contacts will provide a spot up the food chain. Overview | Land Rover Australia

The main office is in England, but the company is owned by Tata Motors of India, not sure of the views held by Indian higher management, but if a Patel is involved they will be watching every expenditure.

[Savannah Buzz]

re: i get nowhere with the sales people

They are order takers and sales weasels pretending to be salesmen. A good salesman would have worked diligently to resolve this, including taking service manager to lunch, calling in favors, etc. Because you represent the most valauble sales tool of all, a word of mouth recommendation from a real owner. Even if your salesman has moved on, a good sales manager makes sure orphan customers are assigned to good sales people who will take care of them. By the time you wear out that Land Rover, you could have "sold" many more by telling friends you know.

[Savannah Buzz]

And here are a few more contacts:


Tim Krieger
Marketing and Public Affairs Manager
Land Rover Australia
Phone: +61 2 9020 1505
Email: tkrieger@jaguarlandrover.com
Website: http://www.landrover.com/au/en/lr/

James Scrimshaw
Public Affairs Department
Land Rover Australia
Phone: +61 2 9020 1773
Email: jscrimsh@landrover.com
Website: Land Rover Official Homepage | Land Rover Australia

and Phil Popham, Land Rover Managing Director - see Phil Popham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm sure these people would be interested to hear of repeat problems with either a vehicle or a dealer.

[Disco Mike]

Originally Posted by discover endless problems

hi mike iam the original owner of this car.I dont see how the way i drive the car can effect the park brake.A bit harsh saying im not rover person i was only looking for advise. you really think the suspention is a minor thing and park brake they have both failed TWICE and with you being a rover person has this happened to you ? The service people at land rover have no answer and i get nowhere with the sales people and the general manager

Sorry, I misread part of your thread.
Can you be more specific, how many miles are on it, what is the term of your original warranty in Aust. and when was it last in for warranty? Also what is currently wrong with it and how long ago was it worked on by the dealer?