Hello! I am a Service Advisor for Jaguar Land Rover

In the battle of most expensive and least reliable cars, who wins? Jaguar or Land Rover.

Land Rover, hands down.

What is the weirdest object you ever found in the engine bay of a Landie?

A dead snake

Service advisors rarely get into engine bays. They're the ones at the counter selling you the services, the lot staff and technicians are the ones getting dirty.

Correct, but trust me, if a tech finds something funny, the whole shop will know. That goes for any shop lol

What is the point of an "email" option for getting a service quote on dealer sites if they just try and call me immediately anyway, text after, and never actually send an email? Is the company the asshole or the dealer?

Dealer. Sounds like they don't have their website set up right. Either that or some salesmen are like vultures. Incoming emails go to whomever jumps first.

Honestly, do you recommend this brand for someone looking for a reliable vehicle?

Its very hard to say. I have customers who are in every other month with issues, and then I have some that are only in for their maintenance for the whole time they have it. I can say as long as its taken care of, it will last. Me personally, I'd only own one if I have a lot of money, or I would keep it until its out of warranty.

Thoughts on 2030 complete electrification? Do you sell a lot of electric cars?

We have the Jaguar i-Pace which I have to say has beautiful interior, and is really fast. I'm all for full electric, but still a Petrol head. We don't have too many i-Paces on our lot. I've never seen more than maybe 5 at a time.

is there anything you can do to fix the people who drive range rovers?

Lmk if you find a soluton

How many people ask you what the difference is between Range Rover and Land Rover?

Too many. Some get offended. They'll say I have a "Range Rover LR4" and I'll correct them and they'll get pissed.

Has anyone ruined a car within the first week of their purchase and came back? What happened?

We had an older guy buy a brand new i-Pace, roughly $90,000. Goes 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds. Vehicle wasn't in park when pulling in somewhere and floored it into the side of a building. Didnt total it, but I'd have to say his insurance probably wasnt happy about it lol

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Another dude had a rat chew a his wiring harness is his 2019 Velar, insurance paid it but it was pretty pricey. I think around $8000

How much damage can a rat do?? My wife has a '21 Rav 4 with less than 6K on it and rodents chewed the wires in it recently. It was enough damage that it wouldn't run properly and the dash filled with warnings and lights. It cost me $180 out of pocket.

Depends on how many rats, and what hardness they chew. They could chew the main harness, or simply one going to a washer fluid pump.

How do you personally pronounce "Jaguar"?

Like the Americans Jag Wire. I know its supposed to be Jag U er lol

Is the new Defender looking somewhat reliable? I think I'm going to get one...

First few models had some problems. Mostly Software issues which are fixed with updates. Some things from the factory not put on correctly, which also can be fixed at the dealer, but it seems like they worked out the kinks. Haven't had any new issues yet

Any idea when the Defender 90 will realistically hit the States? Would love to get one.

Were supposed to get 1 by the end of this week. So you should be able to get one from your local dealer. They are pretty new so it may be a bit before they are just sitting in the lot.

How do maintenance costs for a Range Rover compare to the same class vehicle from other luxury car manufacturers?

Maintenance is expensive. Your average oil change for the Land Rovers with V6 and V8 engines are $200+, but the intervals are 1 year or 16,000 miles. The newer models 2020+ are 2 years 21,000 miles. They all require a full synthetic, and take about 9qts.

Annual service for a land rover ( Oil change, tire rotation, cabin air filter) is about $360 out the door.

Jaguar covers the first 5 years of maintenance for the customer as long as they get it serviced on their in-service date.

Where does the oil change interval come from and are you putting magic dust in the oil with every change? With a full synthetic from any of the big-name oil brands (valvoline, castrol, lucas, etc) there's no way you'd wanna go 16k miles and definitely not 21k.

It uses a full synthetic oil, nearly 9 quarts. Has a cartridge's filter as well, so the filtration system is good. I sure as hell wouldn't go 2 years 21k miles on my intervals.

Is there a way to disable the auto on/off on the F-Pace? The vehicle “dying” at an intersection only to start up when I press the gas reminds me too much of my car from college that would do this and it gives me anxiety.

No, its not possible. However, the vehicle has a secondary battery that the electronics run on when its in the eco off mode. If that batteries charge drops below threshold it won't activate anymore.

What's the highest mileage and/or oldest Jaguar and Land Rover you have seen come into the shop? And what service was needed at that age and mileage?

I just had a guy with a 2008 Land Rover with 300,000 miles. Has had every maintenance in the book done. He won't get rid of it, wants to get it to 1 million. Hes very religious about his maintenance, so I'm confident he may get there.

We've owned 8 JLR products over the years and we've only had two issues that required immediate dealer attention. Only once did an LR4 strand us. Everyone acts like they're maintenance nightmares but our experience is just the opposite. We love them.

What does an SA say? Are there rare problem vehicles or is reliability a systemic issue?

As I said, some come in every other month, some I never see unless its for maintenance. LR4's in my opinion are amazing. Its too bad they stopped making them in 2016 :(

What was the weirdest complaint or the weirdest cause for the vehicle to be repaired?

Lady put gasoline in her Diesel Jaguar, some chick had a snake caught in her XKR belt and messed everything up. Best one was a lady with a Range Rover had a bunch of crows eat her weather stripping on the roof lol

Is it better to go to a dealership’s service center for jag maintenance or visit a European specialist mechanic?

Depends on the year. I will say JLR really goes out of their way for their customers, as long as the customer is loyal to the brand, and has all maintenance done at the dealer. I've seen JLR pay hundreds and thousands for customers out of warranty.

What's the most reliable diesel Range Rover of the last 15 years?

Full size Disco.

Which new or used car would you buy with your own money?

Land Rover LR4

How many yachts does your boss own? How many employees there actually drive those unreliable turds, sans the manager demos?

1 Yacht I believe. I think only 1 employee drives one. Some are reliable, some aren't lol

The Aston DB7 was based on the XJS and a few owners used to have them maintained at Jaguar service centres.

Is that still a thing? Or are they now too old for that and need specialist care?

As the years go by its getting harder to diag older vehicles. You may want to find a Euro Specialist. We try to stay away from vehicles older than 2005 since we don't have the tech to properly diag.

what's the most common service problem you get from customers and what vehicle/year?

Software issues, which are usually solves by updates. Typically newer, 2019+

Do you see any trend among owners? Do they keep them for many years, or is it a car usually just kept for the term of the lease/loan and then changed out? Do they treat their cars any differently?

Typically they get rid of the car come end of lease if the car has been giving them trouble. I get a lot of Dr's who seem to just keep their vehicles long term

What does happiness mean to you?

Not working for someone else

Are you still seeing turbo issues with the 2.0 2016/2017 f-paces? Had an absolute nightmare with one blowing.

I've never had an issue with F-pace turbos, now Land Rover Evoque yes. I get one maybe once every few months.

Did you buy your own tools?

No, they provide my pens, techs pay for their own tools

After not driving for ~12 hours or so My LR4 reeks like coolant (or what I assume is coolant, it's smells like cinnamon bread). I took it in and they said everything looked ok as far as coolant pressure. Any ideas what else it could be? It's driving me nuts!

Check and see if you've ever had any coolant repairs done. Coolant doesn't evaporate, so if there's residue from an old repair that has be sitting in a craves or something, that would be your culprit. I'd recommend a really good engine bay cleaning. You have Skid plates underneath that can catch old coolant too. Clean those off as well.

What's it like to work for the company? Any sweet perks?

Discounts on products, they have a lot of awards and trips for top performing advisors.

Why do I have a low battery warning in my Evoque, but it will still start just fine in -25C weather?

Low batter please start engine light? It means the battery is under the vehicles comfortable threshold. Either drive it, or charge it.

I keep seeing deals on used Diesel XEs, are they solid?

Yes! had a few with motor mount issues but that car is probably the most reliable in my opinion.