I have had nothing but great service from my local dealer in Kalamazoo, MI. They have worked hard to make sure they get me in for any of the scheduled maintenance that JLR can pay for. With all due respect, JLR is a business, contracts are contracts, you should have contacted them before the expiration of your warranty and "made arrangements". I get that you have an auto-immune disorder and you were protecting yourself, but sometimes that comes at a cost...in this case, $300 for an oil change. I would think your health and well-being is worth $300. If you are not, frankly, blindly, IN LOVE with the Jaguar brand, then you probably will want to shop elsewhere anyhow. I have NEVER bought a Jaguar because I thought it was a good deal, or I expected the service to be fantastic...I bought all my Jags because they are Jags and there is nothing quite like a Jag...so help me God.

 

I will concede the point on belly aching etc; however, we don’t all choose when to get service. I had a similar experience when my dealer was doing a major remodel and couldn’t handle the regular service volume. I called 60 plus days in advance and they failed to contact me back for 3 weeks (and yes I contacted them back 4 more times in between). I finally requested to speak to the general manager and had the Volvo service manager contact me back and make the appointment, bottom line was that the appointment was in late June and my Free/included/whatever you want to call it oil change the following year couldn’t be scheduled more than 30 days early and any time after would be out of the free service period. I paid it and was told to call JLR for reimbursement (18 documented phone calls - just voicemail) and they did nothing. I contacted the service manager who said they would make a note that next years oil change is free - of course after that year, I was quoted 3 different prices for a 5 year service (they are very consistent), they acted like they had no idea what I was talking about. Less than impressive as was their effort trying to sell me a car. I’ve heard great stories and seen posts about all the wonderful things other dealers do, and that’s great. I worked for numerous car dealers - service, sales, and finance, and I always did what I could to make people feel valued but many don’t care. That dealer owns quite a few franchises and most have been similar with the exception of their Porsche crew - they were exceptional in very way.

 

We used to own 3 Jags. A discriminatory JNA promo so pissed me off that we own none now. Yeh - they’ve lost us as customers as well. Very happy with Audi now. Not sure what JNA management considers when setting policy, but it seems they aren’t looking at the “long game”.

 

Honestly, I’m not too impressed with dealers in general, but I had a positive situation at my Jaguar dealer when the warranty expired. About a month and a half after the warranty expired I had problems with one of the ECUs, after talking with the service manager they went ahead and did all the work for me free of charge. It was about $2000 worth of work plus parts. I think realistically, you probably just went about it in an aggressive way. They have the ability to help, but as they say, you get more flies with honey than vinegar.

 

Had a situation when I asked for an oil change within warranty but because I like to change oil/filter every 5/6,000 I just fine. They reduced $300 to $175 without asking...
Keep them running. All the better to enjoy when they are happy...

 

@PatentlawTX: Not sure any of that was necessary.

Dealers do treat folks differently.
Where I live, I won't touch or take my jag to the dealer.
I actually drive 150+ miles to another dealer if I need service.
Why? The dealership where I live is owned by a car conglomerate that owns a crap ton of other dealerships around the country, which means, you're just a number, you're really not appreciated, and you are a bean for them to count. They will never care at the end of the day.

I experienced this with a similar situation with that Jag dealer here and that has cost them the sale of 3 jags since 2003. Here is another example of how they work: The Caddy dealership in town (of which they also own) - did a horrid job on repainting my bumper from a factory defect on my SUV.
The paint started to peel off the bumper again within 2 years...
They informed me it must have been something I did
I had it repainted by a local shop and they informed me the issue was the caddy dealer they add the rubberized undercoat to the bumper to account for bumper flex when driving.
The bumper has remained defect free since.

Two different cars-
Two different dealerships
One corporate owner
Same terrible service

The jag dealership I go to now, and I have been going to and will continue to go to is still family owned.
Seek out a new dealership.

 

JLR is the worst manufacturer on earth. I could tell a really long story about my '16 F-Type R, but here are the bullet points:

- In August of 2018 I bought the car from Hornburg Jaguar in Los Angeles as a CPO with a full warranty.
- Immediately began having issues - they agreed to fix a dent in the car with the purchase, which took an entire month after I had already paid for the car. When it was returned to me, they had damaged the wheels, so I had to bring it back again. Another 2 weeks in the shop.
- Leather stitching started coming apart on the dashboard. No big deal, covered under warranty. Once again service took 3 weeks and they returned my car damaged, this time with the carbon fiber interior trim being scratched deeply.
- Service Manager (Marwan Korban) pulls me into the back room mafia-style with his burly mechanics, calls me a liar, threatens me with physical violence, and says "I don't give a **** about you or your business." All because of a scratch in the carbon fiber.

Fast forward to this year.

- Vehicle started experiencing total electrical failure WHILE DRIVING. Jag attempted to fix the issue 5 different times, with the car in the shop for 5+ months this year. As a clear case of a Lemon, I immediately filed for protections under Calfiornia Consumer Privacy laws.
- JLR corporate ignored me for the last 8 months. This has created an enormous financial burden, as I was forced to buy a new car since the F-Type is not safe and undriveable.
- Eventually they replaced the entire Power Control Module, but the service manager admitted that he had no idea if this would fix the problem, told me that it was a "bad car," and that he wouldn't drive it on the highway if he were me. How is this acceptable?

Now here's the final kicker -- Hornburg sold me this car fraudulently. It turns out that this car has a branded title and was already repurchased for the same electrical issues in the first place. They hid this fact from me, the salesperson who sold me the car was fired the very next day which I always found strange. They also lied to the bank in order to get financing for a Lemon. Totally ridiculous.

Net/net - JLR North America has finally agreed to buy the car back, which is the right thing to do. They only did this after I hired legal representation and filed a lawsuit. Consumers should not need lawyers to deal with an obvious case of Lemon and fraud. The second lawsuit is ongoing against the dealership itself, and I'm going to take them to the cleaners.

**** this brand and everything they stand for. My AMG GT R is 1000x better car.

 

I am disappointed that such a "high value" manufacturer like JLR would be so petty, so, for 95% of your situation, I agree with you. My only critical remark to you would be to ask if you had called JLR *before* the warranty expired and explained your health situation and anxiety about coming to the dealership before the pandemic had "cooled" enough for you to feel safer. Did you do that? If not, I still think you've got the moral High Ground on this but you could've managed the risk of this situation happening by making some calls beforehand. Regardless, I'm sorry for your situation.

I apologize -- I see this same response from others. Sorry for the redundancy.

 

Last summer, in the midst of the 2020 lockdown, Jaguar Peoria, (IL) called me about my service timeframe. Due to the pandemic, they were closed for a couple of months. They waived the "deadline" and set up an appointment for me to come to the dealership. They gave me a choice of waiting in their customer lounge that was "sanitized" with no-one else allowed in, or they would send one of their drivers to pick up the car. I went to the dealership and indeed, it was the cleanest customer lounge I ever experienced. No-one else entered during my stay. My only issue was no coffee or cookies available. I moved to Texas late last year and now Sewell North Austin is taking care of me. They are outstanding. I have two XFs, and have nothing but great things to say about the Jaguar organization.

 

Like you stated yourself "over a stupid oil change". A contract is a contract. Now, personally, I probably would have honored it just for good will but, that's just an opinion and we all know what they're worth.........

 

I feel your pain - I would think that there is someone at the dealership that is not so shortsighted. Repeat business and good word of mouth advertising is much more important to them than some guy in the service dept.

Call and speak to the General Manager or the Owner of the dealership. If they won't help you, shame on them.

 

Hi Turko, Is it worth your effort to write a letter (basically copy and paste this) to JLR NA, make your case, and hope that someone else in customer service takes this situation more seriously? I say this because maybe it is just some by-the-books quisling lacking in any sort of decision making to understand the situation and make an exception. My God, you buy an expensive car like this, and you get treated like this? That being said, I am not surprised by poor customer service there. Remind them how much you appreciate Jaguar cars, but corporate backup of the cars is unacceptable. Remind them that you will replace this car one day, and whether you buy another Jaguar or a (Porsche, Tesla, Corvette, Mercedes, whatever) hinges on an amicable solution. LOL, I have written LOTS of complaint letters, and find them very effective. And if I don't get a reasonable solution, they lose my business entirely.

I had been a regular GM buyer for years, and despite the cars now being entirely competitive for my purposes, I found the "lets just sell this thing and be done with it" attitude swore me off the company completely. I reminded myself that this is not pre-1980 GM, but most of their cars have the halo leftover from the 1960s in my "mind's eye". Jaguar needs to treat customers well at every point in the lifetime of ownership, from walking in the showroom, to the final dealer service. There are plenty of other competitors out there. Yes, they are not our beloved Jaguar, but don't let the current Tata-owned company rely on the snobbery of the independent 1960s Jaguar Cars to think they can fob off nonsense. They don't need to know you bought the Jaguar because of image. Let them think that you bought it on level of customer service, and find it grossly lacking. Stand by your guns (or taser, or pepper spray, fists or whatever). Good luck!!!!!

 

The real elephant in the room here in NJ is that there might be three mechanics that understand the car, to begin with, the rest attempt to fix Land Rovers. JLR NA has always been a nonresponsive, anti-customer, company that barely returns calls and takes weeks to follow up on anything to do with your car. You do not buy a Jag for "service" in fact, that is the last function they perform. Jag NA, is just a distant relative of Jag Coventry and they need permission on everything.

I wonder how many "Jag experts" work for JLR NA? Maybe one.The company has been going downhill for years and the F type is barely an afterthought,

 

Companies are getting bigger and bigger, philosophy has switched from existing customers are number one to gaining new customers are first priority. Sad state of affairs.
Snowball

 

I applaud you for sticking to your guns. A man has to have principles. I try not to let money get in the way of my principles.
For many people. Money means more. All to often, we are all forced to give in when are principles are under attack.
This is the greatest dilemma we face today. But I will always error on the side of a man with principles.
There is a lesson to be learned here. Unfortunately, the cooperate world isn't prepared to listen. It doesn't mean they don't hear you.

 

If the contract states an expiration date for your contract then they have honored your contract.

 

There's a great deal of truth to what you wrote. I understand that any large company must "draw a line in the sand" when it comes to policy. They can't have
dealers or employees giving out favor, with no boundaries. That would be a bit of a Black Hole and have some unmanageable consequences.
But Jaguar needs to be doing it so much better than it has in the past, just to earn back customers. Jaguar's image has taken an enormous hit during the 70's and
80's. Ford motor co. is the only reason they even exist today. Before that period of time, Jaguar management was it's own worst enemy. During the late 60's and
into the 70's, Jaguar was faced with a sweeping change in the technology being built into automobiles, and they failed miserably. Their own arrogance almost
ended the company. Choosing to ride on their past success and popularity, rather then solve the reliability issues that plagued the entire Jaguar line up.

Jaguar needs to be doing it better, harder, faster, friendlier, more economically than their competition. The publics perception of Jaguar is not particularly
favorable, based on past performance. Jaguar can't just put "their best foot forward". Jaguar needs to jump in with both feet to change the publics
perception of what Jaguar has to offer. The only way that is going to change is for Jaguar to demonstrate some true generosity and stand behind their product.

 

search out a reputable mechanic that will work on your Jag in the future and get him to do the oil change. It may mean going to your favorite parts store and buying oil and a filter. Keep putting the oil the dealer was putting in and choke down the price of a filter. Whatever the dealer is advertising for their price will be about 1/2 for Oil, filter and labor. You'll take less time and both you and your mechanic will be happy. You'll just drink regular coffee out of his Walmart coffee maker in his sitting area. LOL!

 

I agree with other members that letting the guarantee ran out made things worse. You could probably have made an appointment for the oil change within the guarantee period and then explained your situation to the dealer and see if they could reschedule without charging you. If they could not, at least you would have been able to decide to keep the original appointment or not. In any case, you do have a point that for an oil change, they could have shown a little flexibility.

 

Two factors at play here; the comany's contractual obligation and good business sense. And I agree with both sides of the argument (if that's possible). Find yourself a good independent shop, even if they are not the most experienced with Jaguars. I found one in my area and bring all four of my Jaguars to them even though they specialze in Subaru performance modifications. Whatever task I assign to them, the tech researches it on Alldata before he touches the car. When in doubt, he calls a tech at the local dealership to confirm that he's approaching it correctly. They also eat their mistakes and when I was unable to pick up two of my cars that were there because my wife was sick, own of the owners and his girlfriend shuttled both cars to my house without being asked.
You're either in the service business or you're not.