First Real Problem with the RRS TD6

[brdhmltn]

Brief :-/ update. Vehicle still sits at dealer. They finished the repair with the aftermarket part ($1450 plus shipping) on my birthday Nov 27, then invoiced me for the price of the factory part ($2800). I was so livid I let it sit a couple of weeks and I still haven't paid it.

I offered them $2k for the bill like a week and a half ago just to end it and they never responded. A buddy told me I've got well enough for small claims court, his recommendation was to actually pay the invoice and then tell my story to everyone who would listen, every public review site, and stick to the truth. Avoid getting sued, and let them continue slowly destroying themselves with bad reviews. They would try to squash reviews in a settlement for small claims.

JLR factory support is trash - have done nothing in multiple communications, the dealership (Century Automotive Group, Century Land Rover) in Huntsville AL is trash. I am done with Land Rover. Period. Forever. It's sad. They make mostly good vehicles and just cannot get out of their own way in sales and support. I just needed an oil change and all this happened. From the most surprisingly good vehicle I've ever owned to never dealing with them again.

But the 110 has gotten a ton of love and nearly 600 miles of use. The R2.8 is running great, I bought new steering box. I got the diesel heater going. Finally wired up the heated seats on the Exmoor's I've had forever. Very near ordering carpet and sound deadening. Installed better reverse lights. All that has been really fun and rewarding to work on while all the rest of this BS just drags on.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Is the $2800 their labor or is that what they marked up the part? Shops don’t make money only on labor. Independent shops and dealerships typically mark parts up 100%. Dealerships are usually just way more expensive because Genuine parts are way more expensive.

 

[brdhmltn]

They got the labor covered by JLR goodwill, so they have not spent a dime out of pocket for screwing up my vehicle.

I asked about the invoice. It was just $2800 with no breakout whatsoever. There was no response to my ask. If they had just told me some reasonable thing about the invoice, maybe I wouldn't have gotten pissed off. But terrible customer communication yields terrible responses. And a 100% markup on an aftermarket part I had to send them the link to buy it and even offered to buy it myself is insane. They told me no warranty on the part either.

I work in a high tech service industry where we buy anything from 10 bolts & nuts or a few 2x4's up to $3M custom machined titanium space rated fixtures. We do 20%-35%. Any higher and we lose customers on material costs. At this point I am only at this dealer because my vehicle is broken in their shop. Because they broke it. It's extortion and they are pure evil incarnate.

I agreed long ago to pay for the part if that's what it took to get the job done. But that was a full factory part at the time. $2800 with no markup. They never fulfilled that. I'm still willing to pay for the part. The part they used.

 

[rocky]

What kind of warranty are they offering, if any? Not that I expect you to keep it.

 

[jymmiejamz]

They got the labor covered by JLR goodwill, so they have not spent a dime out of pocket for screwing up my vehicle.

I asked about the invoice. It was just $2800 with no breakout whatsoever. There was no response to my ask. If they had just told me some reasonable thing about the invoice, maybe I wouldn't have gotten pissed off. But terrible customer communication yields terrible responses. And a 100% markup on an aftermarket part I had to send them the link to buy it and even offered to buy it myself is insane. They told me no warranty on the part either.

I work in a high tech service industry where we buy anything from 10 bolts & nuts or a few 2x4's up to $3M custom machined titanium space rated fixtures. We do 20%-35%. Any higher and we lose customers on material costs. At this point I am only at this dealer because my vehicle is broken in their shop. Because they broke it. It's extortion and they are pure evil incarnate.

I agreed long ago to pay for the part if that's what it took to get the job done. But that was a full factory part at the time. $2800 with no markup. They never fulfilled that. I'm still willing to pay for the part. The part they used.

I don’t know what your industry is, but a minimum of 100% mark up on parts is pretty standard in the automotive industry. Independent shops often mark their parts up significantly more than a dealership since they’re often using cheap aftermarket parts that are sold at genuine prices.

 

[brdhmltn]

I finally have the vehicle back... for $2500 instead of over $2800. Yay discount! :-/

The saga with myself and this dealer is hopefully over permanently. I guess everyone has a story about a $6k oil change?

Now to get it on the lift and get the intercooler pipe off - use an inspection camera to check things out. The whistle is gone, so the new turbo definitely fixed that. I need to build trust back in this vehicle if we are going to keep it. If we keep it, it goes to the wife. So if we trade it in, I have to get something to tow with. If we keep it, I don't necessarily need a tow vehicle. And the 110 is getting better by the day, so I don't even necessarily need a truck.

 

[erover82]

Good that you have a functioning vehicle again, but I’m confused as to why this wasn’t a case of “you break it, you buy it”. The debate over part markup seems moot when they should bear the entire cost of breaking it while it was in their care.

 

[brdhmltn]

I agree and I don't know and that has been the most frustrating part of this whole nightmare.

Trust eroded to the point I had a coworker drive it home from the dealership while I followed, just because I didn't want to be in the driver seat if it failed again.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Good that you have a functioning vehicle again, but I’m confused as to why this wasn’t a case of “you break it, you buy it”. The debate over part markup seems moot when they should bear the entire cost of breaking it while it was in their care.

Maybe I missed it, but what did they do to cause this? I’ve seen a bunch of vehicles break down at the dealership that had nothing to do with anything the tech did. I’m not saying you should trust the dealership, just saying JLR has a crap product currently.

Example: a tech did a 30k service on an evoque. Customer takes the vehicle and comes right back with a check engine light. Misfires on multiple cylinders and no compression on multiple cylinders. The tech didn’t forget to put oil in it or anything like that (I got it for the CEL). It just happened that the motor failed at some point between the tech finishing it and the customer driving it. The best part of this saga was the replacement motor grenaded during the post repair road test.

 

[rocky]

Dealer when reinstalling the transmission after main bearing seal replacement, failed to secure the torque converter on the ZF 4hp, destroying the pump. They ordered a replacement transmission

 

[erover82]

Maybe I missed it, but what did they do to cause this? I’ve seen a bunch of vehicles break down at the dealership that had nothing to do with anything the tech did. I’m not saying you should trust the dealership, just saying JLR has a crap product currently.

Example: a tech did a 30k service on an evoque. Customer takes the vehicle and comes right back with a check engine light. Misfires on multiple cylinders and no compression on multiple cylinders. The tech didn’t forget to put oil in it or anything like that (I got it for the CEL). It just happened that the motor failed at some point between the tech finishing it and the customer driving it. The best part of this saga was the replacement motor grenaded during the post repair road test.

Dealership let something get sucked down the intake and it broke the turbo. This happened before it left their care.