Spent the day looking at L405's in England and cannot believe the state of a number of them (not saying Scotland would be any better/ cars interested in were all down south).

Saw one VSE that looked a lovely car but anything closer than 5 feet and it was a shocker... Inside and out.

Without focusing on aspects of the poor exterior, never seen a car as filthy inside, let alone on a garage forecourt (thought I had done but my my this trumped it).

Accepting they will perhaps wait for flaws to be pointed out and will then make good on as little as they can get away with to keep the profit up...

It's a disgrace that peopled franchised to pedal this so called premium brand think it's acceptable to expect prospective buyers to have that 'wipe your feet on the way out' feeling.

Not an isolated example either. Twice now at different garages when presented with shockingly presented cars, the infuriating phrase flung out was:

'Obviously not the car for you (hadn't even made adverse comment, was just looking in all the nooks and crannies).

Surely not the car for anybody... unless 'one' has a zip up the back of one's head and/ or more money than sense (in the latter case they would maybe be buying brand new though?).

Astounded at the state of these. Not talking about high mileage cars either. Who in their right mind would buy a car in the state many of these are in?

Surely no coincidence that said VSE has been for sale for months

Last edited by pld118 on 31st May 2017 7:14pm. Edited 2 times in total

Crazy attitude I only ever sell cars that have been properly prepared to a standard I would happily accept if buying.

Your reputation is indeed right up there Gary

These sellers boast of a 165 Multi-Point Inspection:

'There is a stringent checklist of 165 inspection processes in place that ensures your vehicle is in optimum electrical and mechanical condition. Using the very latest technologies, tools and diagnostic equipment, our technicians carry out these checks with the utmost rigour. The inspection always includes paintwork, interior, a complete engine preparation,road test and a final inspection before the vehicle is personally signed off by the Land Rover technician. All vehicles must pass all 165 checks to become Land Rover Approved.'

Yes, they might argue that it is yet to undergo this and that but... What about first impressions?

Quote:

These sellers boast of a 165 Multi-Point Inspection:

Tyres were regulation black, the tread seemed ok and they had even put them on alloy wheels

My wife and I visited our local main dealer last weekend and I have to say both of us were shocked by the condition of their approved used vehicles.

I couldn't say any of their FFRR and RRS we looked at were in a condition ready for sale. All were in the need of a good clean, some didn't even look like they'd been cleaned at all with dirty tyres etc. Quite a few would have need a visit to the workshop to have trim etc repaired.

Now the photos of the cars on their website look brilliant, however it's quite obvious these have been post processed to death, which I suppose is cheaper than a proper valet!

The showroom vehicles were immaculate and well presented but you certainly lose the experience buying used. No one came over to speak to us whilst we were in the showroom. When we went outside nobody ventured out in the light drizzle, or even offered us the use of one of their customer umbrellas in the rack!

Previous buying experience at BMW, Porsche and Mercedes have offered much better service. I just don't want a X6, Mecan or GLE! 2024 P550e Autobiography
2016MY TDV6 Autobiography - Gone
2011MY 5.0 SC Autobiography Black - Gone
2005 TD6 Vogue - Gone

Interesting. Main car dealers here (all brands) have a cleaner who generally washes all cars every morning, even if it's to just wash off the dust from the previous day. The cars are always immaculate. Better secondhand car dealers (not your Arthur Daley type) are the same. Ron B. VK2OTC
2003 L322 V8 Auto
2007 Yamaha XJR1300
Previous: 1983, 1986 RRC; 1995, 1996 P38A; 1995 Disco1; 1984 V8 County 110; Series IIA

On visiting one main dealer yesterday, there were valeters on the forecourt ... and the microfibre cloths being used to clean one nearly new car were also on the forecourt, literally.

MF cloths left on the ground whilst the valeter was off doing something else...

Not sure any valeter in the land could clean the headlining of the vee hickle that so rattled my cage yesterday

There are good and bad out there and I've experienced it in the last month and I'm sad to say ever since buying from the brand. I've had seven Land Rovers in the past five years and I've had three poor or very poor experiences and one which I'd describe as so-so. The car that I rejected last month had not been prepared as per the 165 point inspection. Nowhere near it. The car was just one year old and 11K miles and frankly hadn't even been hoovered out, never mind prepared to a professional level.

However, the thing that I can't get away from is the mind-set of the Main Dealer franchise. Lancaster's on their web-site talk about "Only choosing the very best quality vehicles" and that this should ease our buying experience and Land Rover themselves have the strap line "When you can't tell it's used it's Land Rover Approved" but according to Tonbridge Land Rover they don't mean this.



You will see from the picture that I took the morning following delivery on a £75,000.00 used car that they hadn't even attempted to resolve the issue with the leather seat and you can see it's very grubby. I took lots of other pics but this was the worse of it. The Piano gloss wood paneling looked as though someone was practising for a whittling championship.

Conversely, after rejecting the car I bought another one from Hunters and this one was spot on. As near to new as I've ever had from a used car. That said the buying experience wasn't faultless but was acceptable. Maybe as it was a bit newer and very low miles it was easier to start with but I really do think that Land Rover themselves need to start monitoring much better to achieve consistency across the network and to remove franchises that don't meet the standards set out on a regular basis.

I say this because my wife loves her VW Golf and we change it regularly and you see that the VW dealers are very, very switched on to the feedback that we give to them post sale, which means over time we buy (admittedly new cars) we have a seamless experience.

Last edited by Basilfawlty on 1st Jun 2017 1:23pm. Edited 1 time in total

Unnecessary quote removed

If I ever had a car go into a dealers then I'd specifically be asking then not to clean it afterwards, jeez! Dan

2002 Zambezi Silver

Men And Motors RR Quote - It's like having wheels fitted to your living room!

Agree these cars are a disgrace. My 11mdl AB Sport has only done 30k miles and it really does only look a year old at the most ,all wheel arches are still black and underneath especially around the back bumper its still as new which is why i still have it and have not given it away!

Bold statements to live up to

"LAND ROVER APPROVED PRE OWNED PROMISE

** When you can't tell it's used it's Land Rover Approved **

Every vehicle that wears the Land Rover badge is designed to be driven effortlessly over some of the world's most difficult terrain. This means our Approved Pre Owned Programme has to go above and beyond to make sure all our vehicles continue to be up to this challenge no matter what you put them through.

** Your Approved vehicle from Land Rover is as pristine as you would expect. **

To ensure it leaves a Retailer in the best possible condition, an Approved customer promise is in place. This gives you absolute peace of mind and guarantees your vehicle delivers the most composed and capable drive possible. "

Now if they meant that it would be something to behold and even if it was a promise that they aspire to it would be great too but I can't get away from the comments of the sales manager who told me as a matter of fact that "it's just a strap line....they don't actually mean that". That said this was also the guy who let me into his time saving tip of deleting customer email enquiries without reading them on the basis that if it was really important they'll ring or email again.

I honestly think it's consistency that needs tightening up on by Land Rover itself. Some dealers are very good and have high standards and others frankly don't and it's honestly a toss whether you get a good one or a poor one. Land Rover really need to do some mystery shopping or alternatively listen carefully to their customers. At the moment if you complain loud enough and have a point LR will probably apologise and give you a gratuity but that doesn't go to the heart of the problem. I say this because after rejecting a car a little while ago because primarily of very poor or none existent pre sale checks and the attitude of the sales manager who thinks it's acceptable to ignore or bin customer enquiries. Land Rover apologised, said they'd give me a gratuity, still waiting six weeks later, and the dealer principle rang and apologised and assured me the Manager would be spoken to and learn from the experience. Fine I think and then when I realise they've sent my old car back to me without the factory wireless head-phones I contact the Sale Manager by email and you just know what he did don't you?

Really good cars spoilt by inconsistent dealership experiences.

L-R (and a good few others) need to remember that their cars may well be walking out of the showrooms all by themselves at the moment, but it hasn't always been the case in the past and it won't always be this way in the future. Customers never forget the bad experiences and L-R need to wake up to this big time. A good few of their dealers need their corporate arses kicking and kicking bl**dy hard too. I am sick of companies that think they can get away with peddling this sh*t to people who are paying their damned hard earned money to shore up the CEO's over inflated salary and commedy levels of bonus.

Quite frankly, it stinks, and the sooner us poor gullible customers start voting with our feet and staying away from these idiots the better. Drives:
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue - Stornoway Grey
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue SE - Zermatt Silver
1998 BMW E36 M3 GTII

People won't stop buying them rvbush...