Collected my SH FL 2 diesel a few weeks ago from a non franchised dealer, who as part of the sale did an oil change and stamped the service book accordingly.
However, when i checked the oil level a week or so later on the dipstick the oil was black. their service dept say this is normal for diesels to show black soon after a change .. can anyone confirm this and does it show that old oil is present in the engine

I would consider it normal after a few weeks, depending on mileage and use since the change. Could always change it again if you are worried but I wouldn't say it was indicative of anything.

yeah .. been worrying about this for last week as obviously don't want to run the car for another year on potentially dirty oil.
Just spoke with their service dept who assured me both oil and filter had been changed .. this is my first diesel engine. Just seems a bit odd that oil would show black so soon with just a few hundred miles done since.

Been there done that and was told the same,asked around and indeed it does seem fairly normal,I convinced myself by crawling under the front and when I found a nice clean filter area I thought ok it's been done.

Ok .. many thanks. I'll try and forget about it then .. hopefully.

A couple of years ago I had my desiel Galaxy serviced by a main dealer. The dealer is about 8 miles from my house , I collected the car and drove home . The next day I checked the oil and it was black , the dealer said it was normal with the my drive home. Do it now ! Your a long time dead !!

As said above perfectly normal for a diesel petrol a different animal seems to stay clean for ages.

thanks guys .. I can rest easy

As for more evidence, I changed oil and filter, ran for 200 miles, then did engine flush and oil and filter change again. My oil was black after a few weeks. I think you are safe.

For a change engine oil to rule d 'art, you have to leave school' s hot oil for 12 hours, clean very well the headquarters oil filter removing any traces of old oil, after which put the 'new oil and filter ... ........ I need about 2500-3000 km. before reviewing the 'black oil ....

Per un cambio olio motore a regola d ' arte , si deve lasciare la scuola ' olio caldo s per 12 ore , pulita molto bene il filtro dell'olio sede rimuovere qualsiasi traccia di olio vecchio , dopo che ha messo il ' nuovo olio e filtro ... ........ ho bisogno di circa 2500-3000 km . prima di rivedere l' ' olio nero ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...

Diesel engine oil will go black almost immediately. It's normal. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

Thanks again everyone.. very helpful and reaasuring.

Depends how they service it. When we do a service the first thing we do is we warm the engine up while we are checking lights etc, drop the oil and then do the rest of the service and any other work while the oil is draining. Completely clear IF you leave it long enough - an hour or so is normally good enough. Doesn't stay clear for long though!

Had this conversation with many customers when diesels became more popular early 80's. Oil is black after road test and before customer gets it back. All FL2's (3) Gone
2011 Mercedes C180 CGI Gone
FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.