Hiya  If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

🐑
Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.

The Doctor wrote:

... It’s not going to be easy and I hope we don’t get another recession.

Just had an interesting conversation with a sales guy that I have known for years.
He currently drives an Evoque company car, 80K miles in three year, never missed a beat and loves it. A while ago we went out in my DS and his head was turned - his next car was going to be a DS.
Oh and he loves the dealerships - coffee a panini and Wi-Fi while he waits, with the leasing company picking up any tabs.

So he goes to place an order for a new DS - the emissions have gone up, so it's no longer an option, same on the Evoque.
He has now placed an order for a Rav4 - OK not as nice as the DS, dealers were no where near as nice as LR, but his hands were tied. I wonder have LR missed something, a large proportion of their sales must be to company car drivers - the days of the fleet manager telling you what flavour of Mondeo or Vectra you were "lucky" to be getting are long gone.
Would you opt for a car costing £39k with a tax liability of 37% per year, or a hybrid for free?

It doesn't matter if the hybrid only manages 100yds on the battery and is a 3 litre petrol, the current tax system favours them. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

Although the hybrid won’t be free, it will just be a less costly.

I don’t know which one he’s gone for, but the entry level FWD only Rav 4 will incur 22% BiK, the others will be more.

Most large organisations have carbon footprint targets . For that reason alone you don’t find many large fleet operators putting 4x4 vehicles on their fleets . Also , although the fleets may be financed through a leasing company , the fleet discount may be negotiated directly with a sole supplying dealership . Land Rover were indeed an option for me when I was working , but the only thing I was interested in was getting the lowest BIK tax on a vehicle that I didn’t own . A few Evoques did make it onto the fleet , but in real life , high mileage motoring they were not a patch on the 3 and 5 series BMW diesels and the A4 and A6 models , especially when we could make money on the diesel mileage reclaim with some of those models 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46810473

With 5000 jobs more to be cut in the UK it seems that JLR are becoming less and less a 'British Based' company.

I hope our UK engineering capability is not being further eroded, as we seem to have revived the decline that was started in in 1980s when money was diverted away towards the banking / financial world.

Am I the only person that believes that 'making things' deserves support for our long term survival. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

No you are not Ian - I firmly believe that actually making things is the only sustainable way to grow an economy. Andrew

For a good 10 years before Thatchers death I always had chilled champagne in the fridge. Need I say anymore about the poor future she bequeathed the average UK resident then and now. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Smallmankey wrote:

No you are not Ian - I firmly believe that actually making things is the only sustainable way to grow an economy.

Where did it all go wrong? a couple of years ago JLR were in a position that no-one could have dreamed of, massive sales and the Jag range expanding, I cannot believe that China and Diesel are to blame - no other manufacturer seems to be struggling. Perhaps if they stopped shipping out production to other countries they might be in a better position? The new Defender cannot come soon enough and just maybe an affordable FL2 sized 4x4 that has been missing from the line-up, Landrover's need to be affordable for the average working man - unfortunately they are not.

I left the LR brand and bought a BMW simply because the FL2 I wanted back in 2014 was too expensive and out of date compared to what BMW could offer.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6...Rover.html


also on Sky news

shilen wrote:

Where did it all go wrong?

A combination of a weak and spineless Government who cannot make a decision on Diesel, and prefer to hide behind the Brexit curtain to avoid letting the electorate know of their plans long term. In turn, this stops the public spending their hard-earned, and Fleets simply extending the leases on company vehicles as they are also none the wiser.

Meanwhile, dirty polluting Euro 4 Passats still spew fumes as they go about plying their unlicensed minicab trade, whilst those who have invested in a Euro 6 "clean" diesel are penalised further by having to pay increased VED for five years......FOR WHAT?!

A lot of my friends and neighbours work at Castle Brom, EMC, Whitley and Gaydon in a variety of roles. They are all waiting for the 3pm announcement across all plants by Dr. Speth this afternoon as to who still has a job at 5pm tonight, and who doesn't. All those in Slovakia, Brazil and China have nothing to worry about, as that is where the company appears to be headed. Brexit has nothing to do with it, this is TATA flexing their muscles, and using it as an excuse to pacify their shareholders. Very sad times.

What I can't understand is that I visited Guy Salmon (Land Rover) Bristol earlier in the week and it was extremely busy in the showroom. I hardly had room to find somewhere to sit for my coffee and posh biscuit.
Although I have noticed over the past weeks as I drive past that their car park is filling with used and what looks like pre-reg cars.
I was told' when I said about how busy it was, that they are looking forward to their new, bigger, combined Jaguar & Land Rover Dealership being built on the outskirts of Bristol.
Someone must be making money.

PS Looking at the Avonmouth Docks as I go by, it seems the number of cars stored there is reaching it maximum. There are thousands and thousands at a guess, of all makes. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

Bloomberg:

Rolls-Royce sources 32,000 parts used in its vehicles from more than 600 global suppliers, with only 8 percent produced in the U.K. That requires 35 daily cross-Channel truck journeys. The level of customization on offer means each car takes about 800 hours to build, adding to the scope for disruption. Other automakers like Jaguar Land Rover have warned that tens of thousands of British jobs are at risk in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

 FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46794948

Interesting article on the future of car ownership. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)