Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Evoque digital issues.

This came up on my Facebook feed yesterday:

Used car dealer closes after 30 years citing 'failing Jaguar Land Rover’ models cost it £198,000

My first LR was one I built out of three, so was pretty well educated as to the level of engineering that went into creating them, both good and less than good. When the Range Rover appeared on the market I thought it a wonderful bit of kit, though build quality was ever a tad suspect as was the case with most Brit cars of the era... My good lady`s Evoque was bought new and now seven years later and 28k miles later it still serves us as well as I expect any modern vehicle might... For sure I have frustration with the idea of it being off road for extended period of time (3 weeks) awaiting repair, but that seems to be more down to the dealership(s) than the machine, though quoting seven weeks before it could be looked at was the last straw, that is why I chased the spiders off my tool kit and got in amongst it myself...I do factor in the possible Covid aftermath and that some parts may have been made in Ukraine..t I have my limits re understanding and weeks waiting to get booked in let alone awaiting parts to repair, are just too far outside my usual expectations.

The Evoque is a fine machine that drives as well as I hoped it might and given it has many composite panels there is no surprise it still looks smart for it`s age. We drove it around France on our last trip to LM, and further South... My thinking is that dependant on circumstances, provided it does not fail with other than simple sensor issues I will hold on in the hope of getting ten years out of it at least. Time will tell.

It seems that JLR remains as one of the manufacturers where the dealership makes or breaks the ownership experience.

We bought our first Discovery in 2005 from Stratstone in Nottingham. It went back 5 times in the first 12 months. Twice on a low loader. At the first service, I rang round for prices. The LR dealer in Melton Mowbray (12 miles away) was over £100 cheaper than Stratstone (6 miles away). From that point on, the car was transformed.

We have since discovered that the senior Technician in Melton Mowbray is on speed dial from half the LR dealers in the country as the go-to chap to resolve difficult issues.

We are now on our third Discovery with the subsequent 2 having both been bought from the Melton Mowbray dealer. Fingers crossed that our ownership experience continues to be positive.

I would never buy another Vauxhall - ever. All the local dealers are pants. The really big Vauxhall dealer in Nottingham made such a mess of a service on a company Omega, that I was successful in getting them removed from the approved service list of the leasing company that Siemens used.

My LR Discovery history

200TDi engine seized
300TDi brilliant for 150k miles
TD5 mk1 - engine hydrauliced at 12000 miles on the way back to the dealers the day after it had been serviced due to a misfire every time I went near a puddle. I couldn't possibly say that it was the dealer failing to put the air filter intake back properly that caused the water intake after driving the nearside wheels through a puddle, after all it was inspected by LR to say it was fitted correctly. The fact that it was the same chap that did the service and the damage inspection was pure coincidence. £14k for a new engine!!!!
TD5 mk2 Brilliant for 159k miles
Discovery3 - rejected after 6 weeks & TD5 returned
Discovery 3 (a different one, a year later) sold at 12 months due to 6 new headlamps, 3 radiators, 1 suspension pump and the thought of the warranty running out.

They are great when they work, the TD5s at the time were a similar price to a mondeo estate but had much better residuals so were actually a sensible buy. The 3 went into a different league price wise.

Still they were a bit more watertight than the defenders Ive had.....

We used Discos at work all serviced in our own workshops, we were not allowed to go more than 400 miles over service intervals. Almost without fail they all munched their engines at just over 100,000 miles and not while driving at high speed.

But 'tis easy to let the water back out of a Defender!

A little story I heard was LR wanting to improve quality talked to Toyota about the waterproofing and sealing on their Land Cruiser. Easy said Toyota shut all the windows and air vents, then put a stray cat inside and shut the door. Leave it overnight and if the cat's not dead in the morning you've got leaks. Back at Solihull they got the works cat and put it in a Defender and buttoned it all up. However on checking next morning they were disappointed to find the cat had escaped!

My previous Co Director had his new Evoque delivered to the office all shiny and bling, the delivery bloke drove it off the trailer to demo all the 'stuff' and it promptly broke down as the retractable drive selector had a 'puter says no' hissy fit, couldn't even put it back on the transporter...this was the preamble to 3 years of what we called his Friday Assembly Car

If it got as far as driving off the trailer it was one of the better ones.....
My first defender - about 2002 didn't make it out of the dealers yard on pick up day, they had it for about another 6 weeks before I could take delivery.

Sad, funny, true, sad, funny, true. Given it is a LR perhaps they should have adjusted and used a Saint Bernard as befits the focus of the vehicle?
Interesting to hear how a company that does have a development budget still fails.

My Coupe still holds the record for time back at the factory though. 9 months out of 18.