Thought this new topic would be helpful.
I'm about to take delivery of my new MY13 Freelander SD4 and don't intend taking it to any dealers for servicing.
Would like to know where others take their pride and joy for servicing.
I came across Techno British in Brisbane, the service guy who I believe is the owner, is Landrover trained and seems to be very genuine. Has anyone used this guy before and what are your experiences with pricing and quality of workmanship etc? His web page states that his servicing will not void Landrover warranty.

Any other capable mechanics around the traps worth going to?

Free2go wrote:

my new MY13 Freelander SD4 and don't intend taking it to any dealers for servicing

I'm west of Sydney so can't help with Brisbane.. The last dealer service I had was the 36k service. I have almost 150k on the clock now and have extended warranty. I've used the warranty at 80k for a whining diff and 120k for a power steering squeal both at the Parramatta dealer I bought the car at. I just use my local guy for services and the charge is around the $300 mark unless there are extra filters or brake pads involved. He stamps the log book and follows the service schedule I printed out for him. The $850 second service cured me of using the dealer quick smart.

alex_pescaru wrote:

Free2go wrote:

my new MY13 Freelander SD4 and don't intend taking it to any dealers for servicing

Sorry for the off-topic, but could you explain to me the reason behind this? Thanks!

 

Hi I am in the same position I have heard good things about Mr automotive I am going to give them a go next week

If you can get in......

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/166...hop-3.html

I am Brisbane based and have solely used Austral Land Rover so far. But now my car is *well* out of warranty, I have decided to investigate my other options also.

I visited SBL, which is in Acacia Ridge, to have a mechanic listen to some wheel noise I had. The guy was nice enough to talk to, spent 15+ minutes with me on a test drive, was honest enough to tell me how best to handle the issue myself before getting him involved and offered me a courtesy car (old Disco 2) should I drop my car there for service ever. He also seemed to know what he was talking about on the FL2 (in the short time I chatted with him).

http://www.landroverservicebrisbane.com.au/

Obviously, the fancy Austral showroom with coffee percolator and smug salespeople has a better external appearance (this was nothing more than a warehouse like facility) but I will definitely be giving him at least one go at servicing my car in the coming month, so long as he uses genuine LR parts and service schedule and stamps the books correctly.

(There was another Jag/LR/Jeep building very nearby but I think they sell parts only, in case you get confused like I did).

Cheers,
Whytey

Let me know how you go. 1st time FL2 owner. 2007 SE i6 in Tambora Flame.

djwhyte wrote:

I am Brisbane based and have solely used Austral Land Rover so far. But now my car is *well* out of warranty, I have decided to investigate my other options also.

I visited SBL, which is in Acacia Ridge, to have a mechanic listen to some wheel noise I had. The guy was nice enough to talk to, spent 15+ minutes with me on a test drive, was honest enough to tell me how best to handle the issue myself before getting him involved and offered me a courtesy car (old Disco 2) should I drop my car there for service ever. He also seemed to know what he was talking about on the FL2 (in the short time I chatted with him).

http://www.landroverservicebrisbane.com.au/

Obviously, the fancy Austral showroom with coffee percolator and smug salespeople has a better external appearance (this was nothing more than a warehouse like facility) but I will definitely be giving him at least one go at servicing my car in the coming month, so long as he uses genuine LR parts and service schedule and stamps the books correctly.

(There was another Jag/LR/Jeep building very nearby but I think they sell parts only, in case you get confused like I did).

Cheers,
Whytey

Let me know how you go.

I decided to use Austral despite the 3 hour drive as they sold me the new vehicle. However, a couple of weeks ago, one of the windows kept winding itself down, no matter what I tried. It was therefore insecure and prone to water damage as it was a rainy day. I rang Austral's service department and they said there was nobody there who could help and suggested I bring the FL2 in for a look the following Monday. Yeah right!
I re-affirmed I was 3 hours drive away and just wanted to talk to a technician to see if there was a common problem at stake. This was lunch time on a Friday.
I never received a call. Nothing. I eventually resolved the problem after a lot of time wasted unscrewing and removing panels that were unnecessary. A technician would have been able to quickly and efficiently explained this over the phone.
Strangely though, a weeklater I got a letter from them suggesting it was time for a service. What a laugh. Perhaps they seriously thought I would again drive 3 hours to hand over lots of cash. It appears revenue is top of mind, but simple "after sales service" is merely a remote priority. Now looking for a local service centre.

jaksbak@freel2 wrote:

I decided to use Austral despite the 3 hour drive as they sold me the new vehicle. However, a couple of weeks ago, one of the windows kept winding itself down, no matter what I tried. It was therefore insecure and prone to water damage as it was a rainy day. I rang Austral's service department and they said there was nobody there who could help and suggested I bring the FL2 in for a look the following Monday. Yeah right!
I re-affirmed I was 3 hours drive away and just wanted to talk to a technician to see if there was a common problem at stake. This was lunch time on a Friday.
I never received a call. Nothing. I eventually resolved the problem after a lot of time wasted unscrewing and removing panels that were unnecessary. A technician would have been able to quickly and efficiently explained this over the phone.
Strangely though, a weeklater I got a letter from them suggesting it was time for a service. What a laugh. Perhaps they seriously thought I would again drive 3 hours to hand over lots of cash. It appears revenue is top of mind, but simple "after sales service" is merely a remote priority. Now looking for a local service centre.

What was the window problem in the end? Did it just need recalibrating?

I'm bewildered by the attitude of these dealers. They obviously do very well financially, but to think how much better their business could be if they took customer service seriously.
I was offered an extended warranty the other day for my MY13 FL2. I nearly laughed when I was told it was $2500 for an extra 2 years What are these people on? What I am going to do is put that $2500 aside in the bank, and if I need work done on the FL after the warranty period is up then I have my own warranty. If I invest in my shares a 5% return is easily obtained in today's market probably more like 10. But let's say I get 5% compounded over the first 3 warranty years. that's $125 for the first year, 131.25 for the second and 137.81 for the third. So now my self funded warranty is worth $2894. If i go for the 5 years without claiming a warranty then I will have $3190 dollars still in my pocket and not given to a Landrover dealer. Then it will be time to sell the car. So now I have $3190 dollars to put toward my new FL3 I guess that might buy me carpet mats  "I'm a fuel injected suicide machine"

Just had my first service done on the SD4 by an independant Land Rover specalist. Cost $270 dollars with oil, oil filter and airfilter included. Service was done by Mr Automotives at Redcliffe and they provided a free courtesy vehicle (Discovery). Im stoked with their service and advice so far. I was quoted $606.15 by the Brisbane dealership and i nearly laughed in their face. All original parts are used and service documented to retain my warranty.
The dealerships really are so pathetic.  "I'm a fuel injected suicide machine"

I originally had my car serviced at B.L. on the GC for the first 3 Services, they insisted that i the car needed to be serviced every 12k because the gold coast is apparently a harsh environment - about 500 for the minor service $800 for the major (2010-2011). always had difficulty getting in - they also couldn't tell me what the high pitch whine was after turning the car off. I then tried austral, $350 for minor, $550 for major, but no car wash or clean - still at 12k intervals. I had a few problems with Austral, mainly you could never get hold of the service dept to see if your car was ready to be picked up, another time, headlight was out after service - so they obviously didn't check them, and when they replaced the locking module in the rear door they screwed something up, the handle feels really fragile in comparison to the other doors and doesn't shut with a good thud. I now just source the parts and oil myself and do the minor service myself and get a mates dad to to the majors - he used to run one of the bigger dealer workshops on the GC.

We've been using Comet Automotive (in Albion) for our VW Golf for about 3 years now. There is always a bevvy of late model Audi's, BMW's, VW's - and recently LR's out front. Have been pretty happy with the LR service dept in Bundaberg (the fact that we drive to brissey for our VW gives some indication of the quality of VW service dept. up here) so haven;t take our Freeo to brissy for sevicing yet - but they do do LR as well so I'd suggest looking them up.

Not sure what the policy on necromancy is here, but this thread seems the right place to ask...

Are the specialist non-dealer LR mechanics able to do things like check if your gearbox has the latest software, check the service campaigns applicable etc? In other words do they get access to the LR bulletins and software patches etc?

I've had Austral do my service but I'm unhappy with them because they always overbook and can't get the extras that they promised done... I wanted my gearbox oil sampled and sniffed, and the brake fund changed... they ran out of time and could only just do the basic service.

So if the other guys are reasonably priced, and can access the campaigns and software etc, then I'll go with them.

they have been pretty honest and reasonably cheap for things so far

I had what I thought were Haldex issues and they were not keen to push me into a $3-4k replacement, rather putting it down to tyre noises.


www.mrautomotive.com.au


another useful mob for parts are

www.triumphroverspares.com.au

they do wrecking of most LR models and are cheap for interior bits and bobs especially.

What annoys me most about the dealerships(of all marques) is that they charge $125/hr for work and it's usually done by an apprentice on $25/hr. shameful 2009 Freelander 2 TD4SE Auto Silver
2003 Freelander 2.5 V6 ES- Auto Silver - gone
1998 Freelander 1.8 Man Red - gone