Ok so the last time I was on here was May 14th...my 2003 Discovery took a dump on me on my way to work on a Saturday. I was driving on I-95 and it just shutoff like I turned the key off while it was moving. I had it towed to Hunt Valley Land Rover and they immediately took it in Monday morning. Their official diagnosis was "catastrophic failure" and suggested a new motor for $10k. There was no compression in any of the cylinders. I asked what could cause it not to have compression in ANY of the cylinders and was told that it would cost too much to tear it down and would be a waste of time. When I picked up my keys from them and went out to look at my Disco I opened the tailgate. My airbox was in the back. I popped the hood, the spark plugs were out. I took pics of this trainwreck for future reference. Had it towed to a shop where the guy owned a LR and said he would have no problems tearing it down to see what the deal was. It sat there for 3 months and never got touched other than push it out of the way so they could put a car in it's spot. Had it towed from there to where it's currently being repaired (after sitting there for 2 months as well). He pushed into the shop, put it up on the lift and noticed that the timing cover was shattered. Upon further review, the timing chain snapped. How could the dealership miss this? The timing cover/oil pump is being replaced along with the valves that were bent in the process. It's costing me $2500 to fix. Any suggestions on how to handle this thru the dealership? I almost consider this a misdiagnosis because they wouldn't take the time to look at it...let alone put it back together prior to me picking it up. I'm actually considering contacting a lawyer at this point but that may be too extreme. Any input would be great!

 

You might be able to get the diag time back from the dealer but thats about it. They weren't 100% wrong with their total failure diag, the valves were bent and the heads would need to come off to do the repair and the front of the engine needs to be taken apart. Should they have seen the broken timing case, yes, should they have pulled the oil cap and looked in the valve cover to see if the rockers/valves moved, yes. The problem with taking any car to the dealer is that if it wasn't built in the last 8 years the techs working on it will probably be not super familiar with it. There is a very high turnover rate of tech at the dealers out here in CA because they have found the kids fresh out of tech school will do the same job for less pay than the guys that have been working on cars for the last 20 years. You will usually find the best techs at independent specialty repair shops.

 

Your best bet is to let your wallet do the talking. Don't patronize their business if you don't like their practices.

 

You are on your own.
There was no compression because the valves were bent.

 

I don't get it. You are going to sue the dealership because they did not give you a more precise diagnosis? Did you actually open the hood and look? A shattered front cover is pretty hard to miss. Also sounds kind of dubious that you were just driving along and your front cover exploded. If I were you I would call it a learning experience and move on. If the truck sat for nearly half a year at various mechanics it must not be that pressing anyhow.

 

I've frequented my local dealership, that gives top-notch service, as well as a wide range of 'rover expert' shops. All can mis-diagnose, period. If you are not willing to investigate yourself, or pay for the tear-down, then you are prisoner to a mis-diagnosis.

A friend had a head gasket job done, then started to have issues again shortly after. The same shop, a local 'expert' told him he would need another gasket job, but they put it off. On a family trip they overheated in another state. When they finally authorized a tear-down, expecting the worst, it turned out the head bolts hadn't been properly tightened. The original 'expert' admitted responsibility - he has integrity - and paid for the out of state repair. My friends finished their vacation in peace.

Look at how many people on this board chase Rover gremlins, and imagine making a living doing it. You'd set expectations for the worst too.

As for LR opting to hire fresh techs just to save money, that is BS. If anything, they'd do it to meet demand for service.

Dave

 

our engines aren't non-interference?

 

Pretty sure they are non-interference, story does not add up. But hey sure sue somebody its the american way.

 

I never thought about it since its not a big issue on engines with timing chains

03disco, how many miles were on the engine?

 

To label them all stealerships is just ridiculous. Should they know what they're talking about sure, but early on in the relationship I learned that owning a Landy requires you to step up your mechanical game.... so to speak.