Hi,
For those that have ordered a Defender from a US Land Rover dealer... Any tips to help with the process? I spent a week working through all the options we wanted on the crummy LR site. I sent the build link and detailed, personalized brochure to the dealership after a number of back and forth emails. I'm a bit concerned the dealerships level of detail isn't up to mine... I'm in Boston, MA FWIW...

This is what I asked for:





This is the dealer order form / contract they want me to sign:




I emailed the salesman to ask why some things were left out... FWIW, The math does work out if you subtract the dealer installed options: $79,599 - $1844 = $77,755

Hi!
The dealer installed options don’t show up on the order. I want to ensure when we pick this thing up on day one, it’s fully configured and ready to go.

These dealer installed options are missing:
- wheel arches
- air compressor
- click and hang coat hook
- Rear bumper hooks (x2) LR139442

Also, there is a lot more detail on the LR website build than shows up on this order form… It has me concerned that something might be missing. Comparing the build link I sent vs the order form, I don’t see the following (in addition to the dealer installed options above):

- body colored roof
- sliding panoramic roof
- black roof rails
- center console with armrest
- black headliner
- leather, heated steering wheel
- Electronic Active differential
- few others, those were the major ones...

I don't feel great about this answer:

Yes, those are all dealer-installed items that we would order to have here for your vehicle’s delivery. Once we have it slotted then I can see about getting parts ordered.
Some of these items are on back-order as well right now so hopefully those will clear up soon. The Air Compressor, for example, we have yet to have one of those arrive yet.
The other items you listed are all standard features of an X-Dynamic HSE so they are all wrapped up in the HSE trim level. Once we get the confirmation from Land Rover more (not all, but definitely more) is detailed in their order system. The heated steering wheel is the only item that isn’t standard for that trim and it’s in the Cold Climate Pack, so it’s part of that package instead of being delineated individually.
I’ll send over the factory specification once they slot it for you. Sound good?

Any advice from anyone that has ordered a Defender is appreciated. tx

 

I see you have the active rear diff selected, the website is deceiving. It’s only available if you select the off road pack. If you want it, you need to add that pack.

I had the same problem with my dealer. It was an option I wanted and they told me it was standard on the X-Dynamic HSE; took some prodding but they eventually confirmed it wasn’t standard and that I would need to get the off road pack if I wanted it. I wanted it so pushed my delivery by a month to get it.

Fingers crossed I should have it the first week of March assuming no additional delays.

 

That answer seems totally fair to me given the times we are in and the demand for this vehicle...especially in that trim. The black rear bumper tow hooks are standard equipment (they're on mine, and there's nothing specific calling them out on the build sheet). If you are getting an XD, be mindful that all the lower cladding is GLOSS black, and the wheel arches are matte black. They look way better on a non-XD trim where it has the matte black trim all the way around the bottom IMO.

The coat hook, and compressor should be super easy to pop in to place once they are available, so I wouldn't sweat that. My local dealer has a white XD HSE almost identical to what you are looking for on the lot with black roof and black wheels. PM me if you are interested.

 

WTH?! The customized brochure even lists it... Groan. When did you order it? Does LR have the thing where you can track your car being made / delivery etc?

 

Thx for the response. With regards to the wheel arches--I would totally get the base Defender if there was an HSE available. The fabric seats were a deal breaker for her, which bumps us to the XD... stupid. It amounts to $7k extra for the seats basically.

She hates the black wheels and black top unfortunately. We must have 20 hours into going to dealers, looking for what she wants, using the site configuration utility. Ultimately, it comes down to if you're spending $77k on a car you should get exactly what you want...

Appreciate the insight, thanks!

 

I ordered mine last Oct, original delivery date was Jan 21st but my change pushed it to Feb 26th. Due to delays, it’s been revised to March 5th.

I don’t believe there is a customer portal to log into to check delivery date. I had to follow up with my dealer to learn about the delay. They were supposed to update me when it was in transit but no update yet, that was 3 weeks ago. It either hasn’t shipped or they haven’t updated me.

 

Try to get your dealer to give you the VIN (it should become available and transmitted to the selling dealer the very day your car is built in Nitra) and the name of the vessel it's sailing on when it ships. They should be able to supply that info if you ask, and very little else. Then you can register / log into TopiX (registration is free) and enter the VIN to double check that your build matches the order you put in with your dealer. And later, when you find out the name of the ship you can then use a vessel tracking site like marinetraffic.com to find out where the ship is sailing pretty much in real time, and when it gets to your nearest US port.

 

I have the towing pack on mine, and I just checked the configurable terrain response setting and the locking diff is selectable there.

 

If you don't order the Off-Road Pack you aren't getting the rear locking differential, period. The towing pack does include the Advanced Off-Road Capability pack (which is why you can't order both, even if you try), but not the rear lockers. The website is confusing as hell, it was much clearer for MY2020s, since the electronic differential w/ torque vectoring had a price even if you didn't select the off-road pack. Think about it: why would Land Rover charge you $1,500 and change for the off-road pack otherwise? Just to upgrade from all-season to all-terrain tires? Nope, that price is mostly for the electronic rear differential (and the upgraded off-road tires and power socket in the trunk), you aren't getting it free of charge despite of what the dealer says or what the order confirmation shows - trust us.

The configurable TR settings will let you "lock" the limited slip center diff, which is standard on every Defender, but not the rear one unless you ordered the off-road pack.

 

If this is the case--and it certainly sounds like you're right--then this is a bug with the system... Getting the website software wrong doesn't make me feel great about them getting the car's software right lol...