I own a 2009 Range Rover that I paid for last June and had just turned 10,000 miles on it when I was involved in a 4 car collision on March 17th, that caused damage to the right front wheel and suspension. After the car was in the shop for over a month, I was recently informed that a needed part for the suspension (a knuckle) was on backorder until Mid June due to problems with their suppliers. This wait will be more than 6 weeks for a part that does not exist anywhere in their system that their Customer Service representatives were able or willing to uncover. After complaining to their US Headquarters, I was basically told there would be no other solution.

My point in relaying this story is these are marketed as high end vehicles and suitably priced in the $90,000 US range. That this company would field cars and leave their parts supply in such a poor state is unconscionable. As a customer, I am left with no alternatives by the company. Accordingly, I felt this should be a compelling warning to potential buyers that this company leaves you hanging in spite of what you will be told at the dealership when closing a sale.

I highly recommend that new buyers use caution when considering a car purchase from Land Rover as my case, is but one example of how you will be treated after the sale.

Still waiting for my car in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

 

Do you have the part number or can you get it? I could try to look for you. I found a few new knuckles for sale, but they don't work on the 09s.

 

I personally do not have it. But when I have time next week, I can ask the body shop manager. As nice a gesture it is for you to offer, I really ought to not have to be in the middle of this after the front office in NJ told me there was nothing available.

I bet I could have a shop machine something before mid june as well. Regardless, for $90k it is wrong we are doing this.

I will see and check back what the part number is. Sounds like what is available is not correct for this particular model.

 

This sort of thing does happen with vehicles manufacturers in general. Regardless of the price or class of the vehicle. I completely understand your frustration, but the part requested is generally not one of those things that is in high demand for a low mileage RR. So the manufacturer (in this case LR) tends to focus more of its energy on parts that are known to fail vs. ones that are not. In your case, the part needing to be replaced was a result of an accident. It is unacceptable that they do not have the part and are not being more responsive and hospitable about the situation. However, my local dealership tends to go out of their way to satisfy customers. Because dealerships are individually owned, you might want to consider finding a different one if you can. Based on my research, it seems that LR changed the part on the 09s... Go figure. So the knuckle will work on 03 to 08 RRs but not 09. This puzzles me because the 09s are basically the same as the 07 and 08s. Here is a link to a reputable Land Rover parts supplier that I use with a list of knuckles: http://www.roverparts.com/Nxt/search...ywords=knuckle .

 

I am not sure how to respond to this one. As Scott mentioned, the year of the vehicle with such low mileage on a part that will probably never fail for many years or have need for replacement for at least 10-15, they will not have a plethora of spares laying around. That being said, I guarantee you that there is a spare front axle assembly that they can get a hold of, chances are thought that the insurance company will not pay for the whole axle and so they will not give it to you or even scavenge off of it to get you one part. Partly because it si not worth the money to do so.

I do not see this as a Land Rover fault or issue, I see it as your insurance comapnies inabilty to handle the claim. If it was my insurance company and the shop that is repairing it could not find a replacement part then they woud write it off and let me buy a new one. Besides, who wants just a knuckle replacement when the accident was bad enough to require a new knuckle anyways, I am sure there is more extensinve damage to the axle housing too.

As I said before, I would contact your insurance company and have them write it off and get a new one, afterall that is what you pay them for. You do not pay them so you can drive a rental car for 3 months while the possibility of a fix is on the horizon.

Sorry for the rant; I looked and I could not find a replacement knuckle anywhere. So good luck.

 

Rob;

You could not be more mistaken in your shifting this off to the insurance company. They are paying for the rental and this is running their cost up. So this is not the case.

It was actually the shop manager at the dealership that told me I was getting shafted and the only way the problem might be mitigated would be to start up the Customer Service chain at Land Rover's HQ in NJ. Well I did that and after a couple days of investigating the facts, customer service called me and said No Go.

THAT is why I came over here and posted the warning not for you, but for prospective customers who want to read about the service they will receive by LR USA.

I dont care they didn't make enough parts. I dont care the economy is bad and suppliers have gone under.

I care that I paid over $90K for a vehicle and the manufacturer can not or will not make parts available for repairs because what? The car is too new?

Wrong answer. This is not the insurance company.

Consumer Reports has taken an interest in the matter. I am going to do everything I can to warn prospective customers.

 

Sidewinder,

I am sorry, I thought that the information you were giving out was intended for me and any one else who reads this forum since it is about Land Rovers, I guess I do not count in that category since I may not be actively looking for an 09 Range Rover.

I am a business minded person and so I understand if Land Rover does not keep a supply of repair parts that have a less than .01% failure rate. It just does not make any business sense to spend the money to do so. I know it is not what you want to hear but financially it does not make sense. I am willing to bet that if it was a Ferrari or another high dollar sports car the outcome may be the same.

As far as an insurance company goes, I will still say they should write off the vehicle if it cannot be repaired, if they do not, I feel they do not have your best interest at heart. You can disagree with me if you want but I thought you were also looking for a solution to the problem rather than just complaining.

I understand your frustration, I also understand Land Rover's logic; unfortunatley they do not always meet in the middle.

 

Sorry to hear about your issue with LR sw6. I am hoping I don't run across the same issues, because right now I truley love my RR

 

Well here it is June 8th and still my Range Rover is sitting in a repair yard awaiting parts. This has been going on since March 17th. No satisfaction from Customer Service but I did have the good fortune to coorespond with Consumer Reports and also Land Rovers market researchers who got an earful. What an embarrassing situation for them because of their inability to stock parts to service the cars that are out there.

 

Your insurance company is screwing you, it is times like these I am happy to have USAA. I had something just like this happen about 6 years ago with Mercedes, Mercedes dropped the ball but USAA stepped in and wrote the car off.