Hi All! Hope all is well. New the boards, and a former RRS owner who is looking to get back in the Land Rover game as my wife loves the discovery. Currently looking at CPO'd 2018 and 2019 and found a gorgeous black on black w/ black gloss rims, black interior w/ the dynamic package and 16 way windsor seats. For an HSE it's pretty loaded minus adaptive cruise control and capability package which is a bummer. Has roughly 40k miles on it and priced well, but noticed on the carfax at 22k miles it has a "Mechanical issue reported - Vehicle towed". Obviously these aren't the most reliable(I tried to convince my wife to go for a cpo GLS instead but it doesn't "excite" her), prob less reliable than even the RRS but I was hoping given it's CPO'd it should be ok. However nowadays it seems like these guys are CPO'ing everything to make a buck. Should I steer clear, and is this really bad news if there's history of it being towed? I asked the dealership for an explanation as to why it was towed but not expecting a straight answer. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I would ask what it was. But one tow 20,000 miles ago hardly seems like an issue. If it was in a multi car crash then sure that's not good for resale. But if something failed, battery went flat, tyre blew, or a mechanical issue long ago fixed, I'm not sure I'd worry about it

 

First of all let me start with the CarFax. HIGHLY inaccurate.
I had my truck towed (light frontal collision, and it does not even show in CarFax). Then several oil changes are showing in CarFax as major service.
However, did you buy the carfax report ? Normally - when they report correctly - should show if there was accident, damage and how severe was it.
Other avenue, is to get some one at an insurance company to look at the records of that VIN and see the value of the repair - if collision.
If it was something mechanical, and fixed by the dealer, I really would not be that worried. They had to fix it, and if it lasted 20k after that, you probably ok.
Or, speak with some one at the dealership, or another dealership and see if they can pull a report on that repair.
You can have your truck, car, or SUV towed for a battery issue.... or something relatively minor.
Now, on the GLS choice. Don't !
We had GLs and MLs for our company. 5 in total. All CPOs except for one ML.
All were a money pit. No exception. Weirdest things (most uncovered by CPO) from, electrical, mechanical, cosmetic - parts falling apart, and paint pealing off !!!
The last one was a total engine failure at 95k miles on the GL and the dealer ultimately changed it, but told us not to go back there with the same issue.
So, I would take a LR any day, any model over any GL or ML series.
Read carefully the CPO on your LR. Even though there is a CPO, there are hidden pitfalls there too.
They won't fix cosmetic defects, or leather, or rubber hoses. That last one is a big one. If a rubber hoses fails, and causes subsequent damage, it won't be covered.

 

Thank you guys. Appreciate it. I just had a very frustrating experience at a dealer here in NY. Went to go check out a CPO 2018 HSE w/ corris grey and tan interior and 30k miles (not the same one I talked about before). Certified.Pre.Owned. Visually it looked solid, but as soon as I turned the car on and really started looking around started noticing issues. There was clearly condensation in some parts of the car, and the passenger side floor was wet and even had an icicle on it. Car was unusually cold. Then noticed it took forever for the front seats to heat up, although they sorta/kinda finally did. Tried the 2nd row...didnt heat up AT ALL. Then as I was test driving the car there was a squeaking noise coming from the back, although may have been stuff in the truck so can't verify although sales guy said he'd ask service to check it out. After I was done with my test drive I parked the car and get out with the engine still on, and all of a sudden I hear this weird fluttering noise coming from the engine which clearly wasn't right(sales guy agreed). He went on to say it went through servicing so not sure how that was missed, maybe its just something that came loose recently as it sat on the lot.

In re: to the condensation he said it may be from the windshield(which we all know is a common issue) and they do have them in stock so can be replaced but a little bit of a wait because it's not a priority vehicle for servicing...unless I buy it. What about all the other issue? "I'm putting the car into the service cue but don't know how long it will take, it will be expedited only if you buy the car". What I need to understand is how the hell are they CPO'ing these cars, putting them on the lot with this many issues??? I mean what in gods name, I understand there's a shortage but this is giving me zero confidence in their "don't worry about it it's CPO'd" spiel they always give me. Not sure if others have had the same experience but I was just flabbergasted. It is priced well however, and we like the color combination and it was meticulously serviced. No way I will buy it as is but should I give them a shot to get it fixed or does it sound like damaged goods? Most frustrating part about all this...would be interested in getting a new one but those are coming without the standard options we need because of the chip shortage as you all know. Just taking L's left and right don't even know what to do.

 

That is some sales finest BS.
I would walk away even if it is factory new with that many issues. In the last year they have changed the CPO contract - so read very very carefully.
CPO covers some of the issues, but not all of the issues on a certified vehicle.
The CPO process is done at the dealership under the JLR standards, or guidelines. They have to respect a lot of standards, to have it CPO'd, but nowadays as you noticed, they just want to make a sale.
With this kind of shadiness at that dealership, I would forget about them - even to buy a new car. You don't know what other tricks they will pull later on you.

 

Yeah walk.

Car tow: I make the vast assumption that if a vehicle was towed, either it was repo'd, illegally parked, or towed to the dealer. If it was a dealer tow, dealers can pull up service history and tell you (sometimes can't show you the screen, but sometimes they can).

Yeah be careful on CPO's right now. Many dealers are letting them go as is with issues. I'll be honest, mine showed up with some things not working. But CPO did take care of it, just annoying to deal with.

Real talk on CPOs, expand your search. It can be hard to find a decent one but the cool thing with CPOs is you can buy them anywhere. LR North Hills out in Pittsburgh is where I got mine from. Call for Jared Volpe. He is the salesman who helped me. I'm in sales, and was impressed by him. But check their website for cars and also LR Parsippany (my buddy is buying genuine parts from them right now, is impressed with the dealer overall). If you want to go Hail Mary, LR Boise in Idaho often has great CPOs available. Another friend of mine bought his LR4 from them and drove it back cross country (unpopular opinion: this is the bestest as the D5 is fantastic cross country car and you get to maximum Murica with this plan, only downside is time, choose what is right for you).

Anywho, I hope this helps. LR North Hill was great to work with and they had a great car to buy.

 

Ours was tow-hauled 4 times before our service dept figured out [our LR did] the ground stud problem.

 

My local dealer imentioned that they can't see service done at other dealerships, other than recalls i believe - making it hard to get the full history. I bought mine CPO out of state and it's in the shop now for a driver's window that seems to get stuck (loose brackets inside the door or something) and a faulty surround camera in the drivers outside mirror.