Fleagle_UK wrote:

I kind of hope Phil is right.

JLR sales and marketing have far exceeded the quality of their cars and their after sales support function can't keep up and they have to a degree, been living off their brand/marque.

Their dealerships really are appalling in most matters of customer service and reliability on 4 of the 5 JLRs I have owned has been a joke......but I guess that is true of most business where sales just fly out of the door.....Why waste money on doing any more than "just enough?" - maybe they are beginning to wake up.......translated as - "it's now affecting their bottom line...." - thus reduce costs i.e. staff is usually the first line of defence of most business practices. Improve the product sadly often comes way down the pecking order.

Sadly I have to agree entirely JLR by far the worst car service & ownership experience I've had in 30yrs - dealerships dire in quality, care, service, passion or capability. JLR HQ abstracted from reality, and the customer contact points outsourced and unempowered. Can only hope that this acts as a reality poke for the arrogant & complacent senior mngt...

Hmm, that is maybe a bit harsh. I'm broadly content with the dealer I have been using since 2000. While the 2018 MY price hike is a bit aggressive, the 405 remains the best choice for me. I do agree that there is a risk of overtrading and dilution of the brand. And some dealers have already felt a draught, e.g. Pendragon/Stratstone (profit warning and chairman resignation for "personal reasons", cutting back on dealerships). They have been used to a seller's market and the cycle turns eventually. Ideally if dealers have to try harder there will be better service and better deals.

But the job cuts are partly due to difficulties selling Jaguar saloons an there is also the point (The Times on Friday) that "High street banks and building societies have curbed the supply of credit to customers by more over the past three months than at any time since records began in 2007, according to the Bank of England." That is just UK of course.

People probably are waiting and seeing. A friend of mine with a 2014 SDV8 405, who has had no problems at all has said he will wait until the PHEV is ready.

Alas a struggling company that is making less profit may well try to save one on components, build quality etc so we might want to be careful what we wish for. Only Range Rovers since 1988