Yesterday I had an appointment at our local LR Official Service Centre to:

1: Have the broken tailgate handle replaced under warranty. I arrived on time (as per norm) at 13:30hrs and was told that it would take 2hrs+ approx (staggering time scale) - whilst there I also asked them to:
2: Fix an oil leak that was coming out of two very large rubber hoses attached to the front mid centre of the engine block just in front of the radiator (sorry no pixs) and,
3: To amend the CCF to facilitate the FPDS centre console switch to function,
4: To investigate why the L/H rear tail light assembly is misting up all the time.

At 16:30hrs I returned to the garage to find re item:
1: New tailgate handle fitted - tailgate closed so didn't look inside - this is important to my comments and pixs later
2: Oil leak fixed - loose hose clips were to blame and mechanic said there are always small oil leaks from that area - nothing to worry about. I've made a mental note to remember his comments.
3: The computer still plugged in and guy trying to programme the CCF for the FPDS. He said he hadn't been able to do this so can I bring the car back next week.
4: He did not remove rear tail light unit to test - so he will do that next week, but warned that if it was only a seal around an individual bulb housing then only that would be fixed with sealant, if it was a leak in the unit's overall construction then he would have to seek LR approval to replace under warranty first. I said the unit cannot be older than 3yrs as the FL2 is only 2 1/2 yrs old and these are white units from MY 2011 so why oh why the delay. I reminded him of the very long delays in the past for B Pillar Seat Belt Trim Damage (4mths) and the 56 days for the tailgate handle. Watch this space re the potential for a new lengthy delay.

So back to item 1.
When I got home I opened the tailgate to find the following masterful interior tailgate trim refitment




At their widest point these gaps measured 5mm in width narrowing down to 2mm. They are the effect of not fitting the black tongues at the sides of the large black trim panel into each of the locating slots in the white side trim panels. Negligent work.

There are 3 other pictures in my Gallery showing their work of destructive art. Needless to say I did not want to do another round trip of 60kms plus total travelling time of 1hr+ and waiting time for them to argue and refit, so this morning I fitted the trim panels myself correctly and snugly as it should be - all in less than 15 minutes start to finish

Why oh why should I ever think about buying any JLR product here in CH experiencing these types of delays and poor service.

Agreed, it makes me so angry when they have no care in the work they do, no personal satisfaction in a 'job well done'. If only they cared about their work it would have been obvious that it was not assembled correctly.

We as owners should not have to check work done and if they are 'slap happy' on trim, can we entrust them with our lives after working on the brake system

It puts a 'downer' on the whole experience.

Sadly this is not just a LR thing. Dealerships are cutting costs all over the place and one area is staff. At the Ford main dealer where I worked they lost all their senior technicians and took on apprentices instead. Nothing wrong with apprentices but all the experience, skill and knowledge was lost. This was particularly evident when a diagnostic job came in....usually wound up with long phone calls to Ford Technical. John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)