QuestionHi John,
Okay, I purchased this "Money Pit" type truck in late Sept 09 and it is Jan 10 so far I have had to have the Traction Control, Hill Decent, ABS, Horn, Wires, Spark Plugs, and Fuel Injectors fixes and tomorrow I have to go back to Land Rover to see what else is wrong with this piece of crap! I drove to my college this morning and it is about 38miles from my house and when I got there and parked the Service Engine Soon light came on (once again)!
I am so sick of this truck and if it was not beautiful and spacious I would drive it into the river. I am continually out of money with this thing because the Land Rover people charge you an arm and a leg to fix things and I am afraid to see what else I am going to have to pay tomorrow!
My question is (sorry for all the venting) can you tell me what it sounds like it maybe (to the best of your ability) from my description, which is: When I start it, it seems like it is going to go dead and sometimes is does but I just restart it and it goes then when I am at a light or sitting, I can feel the truck like hesitating or bubbling like while it is idle. Normally, I do not drive it far but I just started classes today and had to drive 38 miles to the University and now it is sick again! I do not trust the LR people because I am a female and they look at me as if I am dumb or something and you seem to help a lot of people out so maybe you can tell me what you think it is so I will know if they are trying to get over on me!
Thank you!!!
AnswerI'm afraid your description is too vague for any meaningful diagnosis. However, I will say that the attitude yo express in this post - if expressed to the Land Rover service manager - increases the likelihood of a bad outcome for you in the service department. If you are as sick of the truck as you say, it's time for a different vehicle.
You bought an older vehicle with a number of problems from the sound of it. That's a very common scenario in the used car world - someone takes their rig in for service, gets told it needs $5,000 in work, and they trade it. Some used car dealer polished it up, and voila! Their $5,000 problem is now your $5,000 problem.
Everyone shakes their heads and you are left with the bills because you bought it.
What can you do?
First of all, never buy a used car without a careful inspection by a really good specialist in that make.
Now that you have it, such an inspection could reveal more incipient issues so you could at least plan for them.
Laying the attitude you express on the LR dealer people is just going to alienate them. After all, would you want to work for someone who comes in and tells you how much they hate their vehicle and your service? I wouldn't. Poor customer attitude is one of the principal reasons for bad experiences in service departments.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but I feel sure the problem here is that a sleazy owner dumped the problem, then a used car dealer passed it to you, and now you are stuck and you are mad. It's not the car's fault. All you can do is decide to find a service person you can work with and go forward with a positive outlook, or cut it loose.
And if you decide to keep it, a good independent shop can be hard to find. I know we get service from all over the east coast because there are so few specialists.
In closing, there are a number of articles on LR service on my website, www.robisonservice.com under service > rover > articles and also on my car blog at http://robisonservice.blogspot.com
Best of luck with this
