The Land Rover Experience

[Ryan]

I saw something recently where it said that 75% of all Land Rovers produced since 1948 are still on the road.

Better make that 74.9999%

 

To be fair the article was specifically discussing the Land Rover Defender.

[Habana Mike]

20 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Have you enjoyed it Mike? 

The QV and the S sport in the Stelvia get released here later in the year. Unfortunately the dealer network is near non existent. 

Kelly absolutely loves it and hardly lets me take it out - her car..... For me the tech isn't as current as most though the driving experience is fantastic!

[mt1]

17 hours ago, Ryan said:

I saw something recently where it said that 75% of all Land Rovers produced since 1948 are still on the road.

Better make that 74.9999%

 

To be fair the article was specifically discussing the Land Rover Defender.

Defenders aside (because they are quite a different beast in my experience), I believe in what I like to call the Law of Finite Land Rovers:  At any one point in time, there is a finite number of functioning Land Rovers.  That means that when Rob gets his fixed, somewhere else in the universe, someone else's Land Rover must suddenly break down.

[GrouchoMarx]

Hey @El Presidente   I hope you keep us up to date with any replies! 

[BrightonCorgi]

I know someone who has a used car dealership specializing in Land Rovers.  Just about every used car dealership near them that has a LR in need of repair goes there instead of trying to fix it themselves (charge way less then dealer).  Seems like Land Rover indy repair shops are pretty common in my locale; go figure.  My local JLR dealer is not confidence inspiring in their service department.  

[JR Kipling]

LRs are wonderful vehicles. At the time I bought mine, no other 4WD SUV came close to its hi-tech off road capabilities. The dealer demo on a wet simulated patch of off road terrain was truly impressive. 

LR covered all the maintenance for the first 50,000 mi. So, even though the vehicle spent far too much time in the maintenance shop in those early years - they provided a loaner LR or Jaguar sedan so all was workable enough.

Its after that initial warranty period that things get ‘interesting’. Then you’re paying the bill, and everything is damned expensive on a newer model LR. In addition, LR dealerships are relatively few and far between in the USA. On one trip out in the middle of Yellowstone National Park In Wyoming, we got some strange warning lights on the instrument panel. The vehicle was still under the 50k mile warranty, but if there had been a major problem it would have meant putting it on a flat bed tow truck back to the dealership shop, hundreds of miles away. 

 

When that shiny new vehicle is sitting at the dealership, one can be tempted to put such concerns of what the future will bring out of mind. But eventually the years pass & the miles accumulate. Unless you have the philosophy and wallet to buy a new vehicle every few years, the new LR owner will have to deal with this.

Would I buy another new Range Rover knowing what I know now ?

No.  I moved since buying the LR and the nearest dealer is 150 miles away. The dealership has fast wi-fi, good coffee, and extremely attractive receptionists who wear low cut scoop top blouses  - - but even that gets old after multiple trips waiting while your LR is being worked on.

[BrightonCorgi]

We are very close to going with a Velar or Evoque convertible as our next car to replace our Jaguar XE once the lease is up.  Dealer is 8 miles from my house.

[BellevilleMXZ]

On 6/5/2018 at 10:29 PM, Fuzz said:

The Alfa Romeo Stelvia is looking to have been the better buy, eh Rob?

I dont know.....Fiat is far from the most reliable out there!!(Fiat/Chrysler Tech here)

[BellevilleMXZ]

On 6/6/2018 at 1:27 AM, Habana Mike said:

Funny that. We're coming on a year with our Stelvia, not been in the shop yet though it's due for annual service in a couple of weeks.

Glad to hear that.....The intro here hasn't been as good unfortunately

[cookj1]

On 2018-06-08 at 7:59 AM, BrightonCorgi said:

We are very close to going with a Velar or Evoque convertible as our next car to replace our Jaguar XE once the lease is up.  Dealer is 8 miles from my house.

Please report back.  ...was going to get a Velar for my wife but Rover’s service was so bad it turned me off several months ago.  I couldn’t get any response from them despite offering a big bag of cash for it, and to me, that’s a crime.

[BrightonCorgi]

9 hours ago, cookj1 said:

Please report back.  ...was going to get a Velar for my wife but Rover’s service was so bad it turned me off several months ago.  I couldn’t get any response from them despite offering a big bag of cash for it, and to me, that’s a crime.

Went for a ride in the Velar and it's really nice.  Much smoother driving than the Discovery and way more stylish inside.  Evoque convertible is going to be a tough one.  The dealer sells them immediately (the few they ever get) and the rest are customer ordered.  They said they'd call me as soon as one comes in for me to test drive.  One sales guy says it drives much different than the regular Evoque and my sales guy (now works at the local Aston-Lotus dealer) says that's BS and it does drive similar to the Evoque coupe, but with extra bracing through the middle of the car.

I wish we had more time on our lease or I'd stick it out for the new Defender to hit market, but that's 2 years away.