if your car has been picked up by a recovery company it will stiil be in their garage or on their terrain. In France no one moves a foot during the weekend. They will bring it to the nearest RR dealer or other garage. If insurance or waranty is paying, they charge you as if you're a millionaire. Might be better of by getting it back to the UK.
I live in France for over 25 years and my experiences with those bloody garages and dealers is awful.
Wish you luck and strength.
Here is a link to find the RR dealers
https://www.landrover.fr/national-dealer-locator.html

Thanks Robert. I left it at a recovery company’s depot (who were very good!) 8 days ago, but apparently it’s been moved on from there - but nobody can tell me where it’s been taken!

My preference is to have it recovered to the UK but I’ve been told it has to be diagnosed in France first. Assuming anyone can find the car

Who is your breakdown provider?

Sound like one to sidestep  There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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It's being handled through Nationwide as I get European cover with my bank account (for what it's worth the cover offered is actually very good compared to the cover I get on some of my other car insurance policies!). It's all underwritten by the AA.

To their credit the call centre in the UK is perfectly good. It's quick to get through to someone and they're helpful.

On the negative side (losing my car aside...) I have had to be very proactive and assertive in requesting updates and, when the breakdown first happened on the Saturday, they told us wait in a hotel until the Monday when someone could look at my car, then make further plans from there such as finding us a hire car. I told them I'd be hiring a car myself locally and continuing my journey immediately, which they were fine with after checking with the management...

I'm not sure if the slow updates and lack of proactivity is due to difficulties in communication with local companies across the Channel or whatever, but that part has been the most frustrating.

Also to their credit, they did arrange a separate, UK registered, hire car to get me home last night. Unfortunately that car was in Calais and my French hire car had to be returned to somewhere 2 hours from Calais... Cue 3 taxis, 2 trains and running across Lille with 1 Range Rover's worth of ski-gear and luggage

And 1 very unhappy wife.

We've done tens of thousands of miles around Europe together over the last 10 years, in all sorts of cars including some old and supposedly unreliable sports cars so she's generally pretty game for a good Euro road trip, but this is the first time we've had any kind of problem, let alone one that kills the journey dead.

I know this can happen to any car but despite having only had the RR for 5 months I've already done 4000-odd miles in it, have spent thousands on sorting the various niggles that any new second-hand car requires, as well as it having several other expensive jobs that were covered by the warranty and led to the car being away for 4 weeks while I smoked about in a ropey old Freelander.

I think sadly this will end my foray into RR ownership. I don't think I'll trust it again and my wife certainly won't.

Let's see how I feel when (if!) I get it back.

An update on the problem?!

Well, no.

I still don't have the car back. I still don't know where it is.

The last update I had, which I had to chase for, was on the 6th March - 8 working days after it broke down - saying the garage had diagnosed a problem with the gearbox (I could have told them that...).

Anyway, I was told that as a result of this diagnosis it will be recovered to the UK, that this may take 10-14 days, and I would receive updates from the transport company directly. That was 8 working days ago and have heard nothing since.

At what point do I report it stolen?

Bloody hell, what a nightmare. I hope for a repatriation soon.

Reading the thread it sounds as a turbo hose had popped off but who knows? 2012 Vogue TDV8 in Aintree green over sand

E500 wrote:

An update on the problem?!

Well, no.

I still don't have the car back. I still don't know where it is.

The last update I had, which I had to chase for, was on the 6th March - 8 working days after it broke down - saying the garage had diagnosed a problem with the gearbox (I could have told them that...).

Anyway, I was told that as a result of this diagnosis it will be recovered to the UK, that this may take 10-14 days, and I would receive updates from the transport company directly. That was 8 working days ago and have heard nothing since.

At what point do I report it stolen?

When it finally turns up back with you, sometime in summer it seems...???

Check the condition carefully before signing anything, especially filthy seats and interior trim also bodywork damage.

A friend had a car brought back from southern France, through the AA, and it had thousands of pounds worth of damage and staining that wouldn't clean...

Hope it works out OK Pete
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It’s being delivered to my usual local specialist, but I’ve asked them to go over it carefully. I’m afraid it’s going to have a bunch of cosmetic damage and end up being a write off.

The car finally appeared at the local specialist today. A full month after I last saw it. Miraculously it’s undamaged and all my stuff was still in the boot.

Unfortunately that’s the last of the good news. Apparently it’s engine oil it’s losing, from a blown intercooler hose and they suspect one of the turbos has failed.

I wish the bloody thing had been stolen in France now.

On the bright side it could be a lot worse such as engine failure. It might just be the hose - intercoolers are always contaminated with oil. That’s exactly what happened on my Defender - see earlier post above. She just blew the hose off. She’s running perfectly now 2021 L405 Vogue SE 4.4 V8 DIESEL ~ #17

I'd be concerned that the garage 'suspects' a faulty turbo already. Is it loading up the parts cannon early? The hose was the prime suspect as mentioned on post 2 by GraemeS.

Anyway, at least it's all back in one piece. 2012 Vogue TDV8 in Aintree green over sand

I’m not quite sure how they’ve come to the conclusion that one of the turbos has failed. I need to speak to them on Monday morning.

I’d have expected very different symptoms if a turbo had gone - oil in combustion chambers and associated smoke out the exhaust for one.

so whats your mode of transport at the moment? ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Luckily I have other cars (including my E500…) or I’d be a bit stuck.