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Never Buy
a Jaguar

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13/01/2017

Placed official order with Inchcape Jaguar. They told us it would arrive early March. We had also been looking at an Audi, where we had an order lined up and ready to give the go ahead. We chose to go with Inchcape Jaguar as they advised they could match Audi’s timescale.

23/01/2017

JH emailed to say there had been an error on the order meaning they had ordered a
car with the wrong colour, wheels and trim – completely different to what we
wanted! The car was red, with black wheels and was more expensive than the one
we ordered – our car was meant to be grey!

24/01/2017 

Simon replied to say we are disappointed; they had guaranteed us the car before we
had paid the deposit and signed the contract. We don’t want a red car, the wrong
trim, or wrong wheels. JH replied to say ‘I acknowledge receipt of your email’.

01/02/2017

JH advised new lead time would be May 2017.

03/02/2017

JH advised that they can’t guarantee or give us an exact date.

14/02/2017

Simon chased up JH, he still had no idea of delivery date.

16/02/2017

JH email confirming 17/05/2017 car arrival at Jag

25/04/2017

JH email saying car will be delivered on 28/04/2017. No apology for the delay.

28/04/2017

Car delivered; turned up dirty as if it had just come off the back of a lorry, and hadn’t
been cleaned before delivery to us. Simon tried to call JH to tell him about this and a
number of problems with the car. No call back.

01/05/2017

Simon emailed JH to say he had tried to call him on the Friday, listed the problems in
writing:
– Front bumper doesn’t line up to the bonnet or the body panels on both sides
– Headlamp surround sticks out
– Chip on outside edge of centre console
– Passenger door doesn’t line up
– Overspray on arch inside driver’s side door
– Stereo on mid volume causes doors to rattle
– General build quality of car is poor
– Seats very uncomfortable
– We haven’t been able to insure the car as not showing as registered on DVLA

02/05/2017

JH emailed to say I acknowledge receipt of your email! Then further email saying can
Simon drive the car to the garage and the service manager will look over problems.
We had to drive the car to them!

03/05/2017

Simon drove to them and showed them all the problems which they agreed with.
Left car with them, collected courtesy car.

15/05/2017

After chasing, got email from JH saying they would repair all problems.

25/05/2017

GS emailed to arrange for car to be delivered back that day.

25/05/2017

Simon emailed GS to say car has come back with more problems than it went in
with. New problems are:

– Scratch on front vent
– Scratch on bottom passenger side trim
– Polish left on car, multiple areas
– Car came back dirtier than when it left

Only these problems fixed out of original list:

– Headlamp
– Insurance of car

30/05/2017

JH emailed to say they will collect car 07/06/2017

07/06/2017

Collected car. GS emailed to say struggling to cure vibration of drivers door. Also identified new vibration in back of car, so need to keep car in longer.

08/06/2017

GS emailed – They have damaged drivers side glass, need to order, so will take some time to arrive.

12/06/2017

GS emailed – car ready for return: Confirmed overspray done. Advised that re. the stereo vibrations, they have done all they can do but unable to fix. We paid an extra £2K (approx.) for an upgraded sound  system which can’t be turned up loud!

12/06/2017

Simon emailed to say tested sound system which is doing the same problem. Also more problems:

– Air con keeps cutting out intermittently

– Gas smell coming from the air vents

– Door mouldings not put back on properly

21/06/2017

GS replied to say stereo system working as it should, nothing further they can do! They need to get car back to look at other problems.

22/06/2017

Simon emailed GS to say: Not happy because still vibrating and Jag are saying ‘like it
or lump it’ even though we ordered a high spec sound system. Told them not happy
with everything, expected premium car and premium service to match, haven’t
received either yet from Inchcape Jaguar. Still haven’t been provided with
functioning vehicle yet. We suggested that instead of sending the car back faulty
again, can he personally inspect the vehicle before it comes back next time.

22/06/2017

Simon emailed GS to say: Not happy because still vibrating and Jag are saying ‘like it
or lump it’ even though we ordered a high spec sound system. Told them not happy
with everything, expected premium car and premium service to match, haven’t
received either yet from Inchcape Jaguar. Still haven’t been provided with
functioning vehicle yet. We suggested that instead of sending the car back faulty
again, can he personally inspect the vehicle before it comes back next time.

03/07/2017

Simon chased as no response.

05/07/2017

JH emailed saying they are discussing concerns with Jaguar Land Rover. JH emailed
again saying they have tested the sound system using our CD in other XF’s and they
all have the same vibration problem. He concludes by saying audio system in your
vehicle is operating within acceptable tolerances. This brings our investigation into
the vibration concerns to a close. Still happy to look at other problems on convenient
date, told us to deal directly with GS and team (basically palming us off onto service
department, not the manager who should be taking ownership).

07/07/2017

Simon replied to JH and GS to say there must be a manufacture fault then, you are
selling upgraded sound systems that are unusable at a third of the volume. You have
leased our company a poorly constructed car that still has multiple problems and
have been given many opportunities to fix the car, and have not yet provided us with
a fully functioning vehicle. You have 14 days before legal action. Suggested
18/07/2017 for the other faults to be booked in. Also advised that there is another
rattle behind drivers’ seat, with sound system off. Whoever removed passenger door
panel last time hasn’t put it back on properly. NH cc’d into all the problems.

12/07/2017

GS emailed to say that they need to move the booking from 18/07/2017 to 24/07/2017. Another week gone!

27/07/2017

Email update from GS: Unable to fault the a/c system. Replaced waste rail on
passenger door to resolve misalignment. Can’t hear the intermittent rattle. Fixed
interior door handle so it sits flush with leather. Want to drop car back 28/07/2017.

09/08/2017

Simon called JH saying there are additional faults – wipers noisy, parking sensors intermittently faulty

23/08/2017

Simon emailed JH saying: air con cutting out, bad smell from air vents, sound system
still rattling, various interior rattles with sound system off. You were going to find
out options for giving car back. What are the options? On the phone before I went
on leave you said Inchcape Jaguar are not responsible for the car, it would be Jaguar
Land Rover now, who should we send our legal documents to?

31/08/2017

JH response saying apologies for delay, we need to speak to Lex Autolease

31/08/2017

Sent complaint to Lex Autolease.

11/10/2017

WR emailed to say they want to arrange inspection of vehicle to look at faults.

23/11/2017

Inspection by ACE (not independent inspection, this is preferred supplier of Lex Autolease).

27/11/2017

Copy of technical report received, confirming all issues with car.

06/12/2017

Email from GS saying Lex Autolease have asked them to get car back in to look at o/s issues, booked in for 12/12/2017.

07/12/2017

GS emailed confirming collection of car and the faults they would be looking at:
– Vibration from stereo front door and rear parcel shelf
– Rattle from dashboard
– Steering wheel insert has rough finish
– Volume switch on steering wheel intermittently doesn’t work
– Knocking noise from steering
– Steering going stiff when driving
– Exhaust smell from engine
– Wind noise coming from misaligned door
– Glue mark on centre console
– Steering is camber sensitive (we reported it to Lex Autolease as steering veering
when driving)
– Smell from a/c
– Autodim interior lights not working
– Parking sensors intermittently faulty

19/12/2017

Email from Lex Autolease saying Jag are working through list of faults, car won’t be ready until past the new year period.

21/12/2017

GS emailed to say we have completed all repairs ‘we have been able to fix’.

09/01/2017

Lex Autolease emailed to say car has been re-inspected by ACE at Jag garage, awaiting report. They also advised that Jag want the courtesy car back, even though we hadn’t had confirmation that all the faults had been repaired.

10/01/2017

ACE report received. Email from Lex Autolease confirming what had been repaired. Simon emailed back to highlight what has still not been addressed by the report or list from Lex Autolease: – Steering going stiff – Exhaust fumes – Glue marks on interior trim – Steering veering – Autodim fault – Stereo rattle Simon advised he will not return the courtesy car until all problems fixed or a suitable solution has been agreed. Car is not safe to drive. Gave 14 days’ notice to get car fixed.

12/01/2017

Lex Autolease replied to say that engineer has deemed car to be satisfactory, they are closing the case.

15/01/2017

Simon replied to say car not fully repaired and issues pointed out in original ACE report have not been repaired. Car unsafe to drive as steering pulls aggressively when breaking and constantly pulls in either direction. Not going to risk our safety. Advised that we have instructed an independent impartial qualified engineer to inspect the vehicle. Any expense incurred will be charged back to Lex Autolease.

16/01/2017

KB emailed to say nothing further they can do with this case.

16/01/2018 to 21/05/2018

Numerous emails and calls going back and forth with Jag saying they want to take courtesy vehicle back and deliver our unrepaired vehicle back, and us arguing that they need to fix the car before we accept it back. Jag solicitors threatened court action if we didn’t return the courtesy car and take our vehicle back. So we were forced to take vehicle back knowing it was unsafe.

22/05/2018

Car delivered back to us, but Simon refused car as it was covered in small scratches all over bodywork and stains from bird droppings. Emailed JH to confirm refusal of car. Kept courtesy car.

22/05/2018

JH replied to say they will machine polish car and return it back on 25/05/2018.

23/05/2018

Letter from Jag legal team confirming that the car was scratched and it would be re-delivered on 25/05/2018. Letter said if we don’t have courtesy vehicle back by 4pm 25/05/2018 they will move forward with court action without further notice.

14/06/2018

Booked independent DEKRA inspection of car.

July-September 2018

We were out of the country, inspection booked for when we got back.

15/10/2018

DEKRA inspection completed and report received confirming the following faults: Wording from DEKRA report:

The engineer has commented on the above identified partial defects to be present.
Rattling to the rear parcel shelf a driver’s door components is present when increasing the stereo volume. Further investigation into this finding is recommended.

An adjustment defect was present to the exterior passenger door mirror assembly. Juddering and poor adjustment was identified to this component. Further investigation is strongly recommended.

Excessive squeaking and evidence of audible rubbing was present to the driver’s seat base. 

The seat adjustment operated to a satisfactory standard during the inspection. Further investigation is advised.

The interior lamp did operate when switching manually. When opening the doors on the vehicle, the lamp did not operate automatically. Further investigation is recommended.

Misalignment to the offside front door panel is present. This is minor, but visible, both during observations from outside the vehicle and when observing from inside the vehicle through the offside exterior door mirror assembly. Further investigation/adjustment is advised.

Residue glue/sealant was visible to the nearside centre console silver trim. This is a cosmetic defect and is not in keeping with the remainder of the dashboard components identified. Further investigation is recommended.

Road noise was identified from the offside of the vehicle when road testing. The vehicle owner did road test the vehicle beforehand, with the engineer as a passenger. No road/wind noise could be identified by the engineer from the passenger side front of the vehicle.

Upon the engineer carrying out a lone road test, an audible noise was identified from the offside front door. This was identified as road noise only. Further investigation is advised.

During road testing, the engineer has identified the vehicle to veer whilst travelling on uneven road surfaces. This did slightly worsen under heavy braking and travelling over speed bumps at suitable speeds. Corrections were made regularly to the steering wheel direction during road test. The steering wheel was not identified as travelling off-centre. Upon inspection, the condition of the front tyres were satisfactory. The front lower steering and suspension components were checked visually. No vehicle jacking was undertaken in order to carry out this check. Further investigation into the steering defect is strongly recommended.

The reverse parking sensors did operate when reverse gear was selected. When reversing, the sensors would intermittently operate. The tone identified did change on occasions of testing this component. Further investigation is recommended. 

The engineer can conclude on the vehicle showing significant defects identified.
This would deem the vehicle to be currently of unsatisfactory quality. Further investigation into the finding’s during the inspection is strongly advised.

15/10/2018

DEKRA report sent to Jag, Lex Autolease and legal saying DEKRA report confirms car as unsafe, we would like vehicle replaced with one that is fully functional and roadworthy.

17/10/2018

Lex Autolease replied to say complaint has been logged, don’t drive vehicle and get Jag roadside assistance to recover car back to Jag.

19/10/2018

Simon spoke to DB. He said on the phone that he would negotiate with Lex Autolease about putting us into a replacement vehicle.

23/10/2018

Simon emailed DB to follow up phone call in writing.

23/10/2018

DB emailed to say still trying to get hold of Lex Autolease.

29/10/2018

Simon spoke to DB and MG and followed up conversation in writing. Lex Autolease were trying to start a brand-new case, but Simon explained that this is all part of the existing complaint, it needs to be added together not new case. Simon informed them that car would be recovered back to dealership on 30/10/2018.

30/10/2018

Roadside assistance attended, inspected and drove car, confirmed issues. Arranged
for car to be recovered back to dealership the next day.Roadside assistance attended, inspected and drove car, confirmed issues. Arranged for car to be recovered back to dealership the next day.

31/10/2018

Car recovered back to Inchcape Jaguar. Simon arranged for courtesy car to be collected from Ascot dealership to save having to deal with Inchcape Jaguar face to face again! Simon had to drive to Ascot to collect car.

1/11/2018 to 12/01/2019

Silence from Jag and Lex Autolease for 2.5 months. Simon called multiple times and was promised call backs but didn’t receive any updates about car.

12/01/2019

Simon received letter from AA Mobility Loan Vehicles saying we must return the loan vehicle no later than 15/01/2019 at 4pm, or they will take court action against us.

12/01/2019

Simon emailed AA cc’d DB with a copy of the letter received saying this is the 13th time the vehicle has gone in for attempted repair, and this letter is first correspondence we’ve had since the car was deemed dangerous to drive and recovered back to Jag on 31/10/2018.

14/01/2019

Reply from Jaguar Land Rover ‘VOR Team’ saying the loan vehicle is only provided whilst your vehicle is being repaired and is required to be returned once the retailer advises that your vehicle has been repaired. The legal action still stands if not returned by that date and time.

14/01/2019

Forwarded email to DB saying we haven’t yet been informed that the car is ready or repaired.

22/01/2019

Simon emailed Jag and Lex Autolease saying we have been forced to give the courtesy car back again, so writing to confirm that the issues have still not been repaired since the DEKRA report. Listed all issues plus advised further issues: – Problem with steering veering has worsened – Exhaust gases still present intermittently when fan on – Car has further scratches on bodywork – CD player not working Informed them we are arranging a further Dekra inspection of vehicle, following this we will recover vehicle back to Jag – which will be 14th time it has gone in for repair.

31/01/2019

2nd independent DEKRA inspection and report compiled, again confirming the following faults:

The engineer has commented on the following –

Defects are present to the vehicle. These consist of both mechanical and electrical faults.
A total of four miles was road tested in the vehicle. This was to establish any present steering and wind noise faults identified.

The steering system has been identified as allowing the vehicle to veer over uneven road surfaces. Constant correction of the steering wheel has to be undertaken in order to allow the vehicle to drive parallel. In the engineers opinion, further investigation into this finding is strongly recommended.

The electrical defects identified consist of poor mirror adjustment and rear parking sensors to be faulty. Further investigation into this defects are recommended.

The rattling panels were identified with the vehicle’s audio volume increased. The offside front door trim interior panel was identified as secure and correctly fitted to the door panel. Further rattling within this panel was present. Further investigation into this finding is
advised.

The offside front door outer seal was identified as showing a gap between the outer frame and outer ‘A’ pillar assembly. This may be the cause of the wind/road noise identified. Further investigation is advised. 

Further outstanding repairs are still present based on the findings during the inspection.

Based on the above finding’s the engineer would deem the vehicle to be of current unsatisfactory quality. Further investigation into the finding’s identified is strongly recommended.

01/02/2019

Simon forwarded DEKRA report to DB and Lex Autolease informing them we have arranged for vehicle to be recovered back to Jag again.

20/02/2019

Email from TP saying they are working through the concerns we have experienced and that have been noted on the report, they are waiting for parts to arrive, will keep us updated.

20/02/2019

Simon replied to ask what parts were ordered and which issues they are intending to address.

21/02/2019

Tony replied to say they have ordered parts to resolve the interior rattles. Simon replied to say what about the rest of the issues? Tony replied to say they have resolved the issue with the wing mirror and have done another wheel alignment. Simon replied to say the car has already had 6 wheel alignments (all came back as correct). Wheel alignment isn’t what’s needed and won’t fix the steering problems. Please do not send the vehicle back until you have fixed the steering and confirmed what steering parts have been repaired/replaced.

22/03/2019

DS called Simon to say he is taking over from DB. He had not read any of the correspondence and had no understanding of the case. Simon advised DS that we are having our first baby so we need to get this resolved before the baby arrives in September, cannot drive unsafe car. DS was in agreement to get this done.

25/03/2019

DS emailed to say that the main issue of the steering had not been identified by their staff. He suggested getting a DEKRA engineer to go to them to show them the problem.

25/03/2019

Simon replied to say no point arranging another inspection until you confirm that the car has been repaired.

04/04/2019

Jag swapped our courtesy vehicle for a different car – the replacement car arrived filthy dirty inside and out, Simon emailed DS to report it.

05/04/2019 to 16/05/2019

Various phone calls with DS about Jag buying car back from Lex Autolease and putting us into a new vehicle. DS told us to go and look at some cars in the forecourt to have a look at what vehicle we would like.

16/05/2019

DS emailed to say he is still trying to agree price with Lex Autolease and hope it to be sorted soon.

10/06/2019

Simon chased DS for update, DS replied to say not yet, he would chase.

21/06/2019

Simon chased again. DS replied to say they have tried but their Ts and Cs with Lex Autolease do not allow for Jag to put us into a different car.

01/07/2019

Simon called DS for update. Discussed them putting us into another new Jag through Jaguar Finance. He was going to have a meeting about it and confirm back.

02/07/2019

Followed up discussion by email. Further call with DS: If we buy a new car from Jag, they will settle the other car with Lex Autolease so we can get out of that contract with them. DS would get NK to contact me within 2 days about what car we want, and to get ball rolling with order. Only car we would have been interested in would be the iPace (electric car, better reviews than a lot of the other models).

03/07/2019 to 13/08/2019

Heard nothing more from anyone about buying a new car in those 6 weeks!!

14/08/2019

Simon called office to chase NK. Got email back saying he had been trying to call me on my mobile previously (a lie!) and they have an iPace demonstrator for me to look at.

14/08/2019

Replied to NK to say he was supposed to call within 2 days, why would I want to part with my hard earned money for this level of service?!

14/08/2019

Called DS to complain that it has taken 6 weeks for someone to make contact from the sales team. Not happy with service – again! Don’t want to risk going ahead with another vehicle from Jag.

14/08/2019

DS emailed to confirm conversation that we will not be going ahead with iPace. He confirmed also confirmed that the ‘phenomenon’ with the steering on our car was related to the genetics of the 20” wheels the car has. He said it has been tested with 19” wheels and the steering behaviour changed. Finally admitting in writing that there IS a problem with the steering! (Because we had then decided not to buy another car from them) DS also said they want the loan car back and will return our (unrepaired) car.

14/08/2019

Simon replied to ask him to confirm in writing that ALL issues in 2nd Dekra report have been repaired. Once confirmed in writing, we will then arrange a 3rd Dekra inspection to check the work before accepting car back.

15/08/2019

DS replied to say they want courtesy car back and they will not be carrying out any further work on the car. Simon replied to say as the dangerous steering ‘phenomenon’ hasn’t been repaired, the car will need to stay with them. Suggested he speaks to Lex Autolease to resolve the situation, as they own the faulty vehicle. DS replied to say Lex Autolease won’t accept early settlement. Simon replied to say that’s between you and Lex Autolease, and not our problem.

15/08/2019

DS replied to say they want courtesy car back and they will not be carrying out any further work on the car. Simon replied to say as the dangerous steering ‘phenomenon’ hasn’t been repaired, the car will need to stay with them. Suggested he speaks to Lex Autolease to resolve the situation, as they own the faulty vehicle. DS replied to say Lex Autolease won’t accept early settlement. Simon replied to say that’s between you and Lex Autolease, and not our problem.
16/08/2019 to 29/09/2019
No correspondence from Jag or Lex Autolease so Simon called numerous times but didn’t hear back from DS. Then advised DS had left and GW is new point of contact. Simon spoke to GW back and forth between these dates. GW again hadn’t seen any of the correspondence and was unaware of all the issues. Simon suggested he reads the correspondence and fully explained the situation and what had been happening over past 2.5 years.

30/09/2019

Call from KG (who had a bad attitude from the outset) saying they want their courtesy car back. Simon called GW and he agreed to give us another courtesy vehicle. We agreed to swap them over.

01/10/2019

Courtesy vehicles swapped over, so we now had our final courtesy vehicle from them: LG69 BYO.

11/10/2019

Email from KG saying workshop have been unable to find any of the faults from the DEKRA report. They want to arrange to get loan car back. Simon replied to say stop wasting my time, a qualified DEKRA engineer confirmed the faults on 2 separate reports. DS has also confirmed in writing about the steering fault. Don’t come back to me unless you have fully repaired the vehicle.

22/11/2019

KG emailed to say they want loan car back and where should they take our (unrepaired) car back to, in order to swap them over?

24/11/2019

Simon replied to say they need to fix the car, then we will get an inspection. DS has confirmed in writing that the car has faulty steering. If they are unable to fix the car they need to speak to Lex Autolease to settle the matter. After faults have been repaired, and the car is confirmed as roadworthy by independent inspection, we will arrange to have the car back and return loan car. Simon explained that we have an 11-week-old son and cannot put him or our family in an unsafe vehicle.

28/11/2019

Email from KG (ignored previous email) saying the insurance on the loan car will be cancelled from 6pm today so they want to collect loan car and return our (unrepaired) car, let me know the address you want the car delivered back to. Simon replied to say if the car is delivered back, it will be delivered straight back to you, and we will send an invoice for the cost of this. Simon informed KG not to contact him again, to deal directly with our solicitor going forward.

That was the last we heard from them until
THEY TRESPASSED ON OUR PROPERTY
AND STOLE OUR PERSONAL ITEMS!

01/12/2019

Inchcape Jaguar trespassed on our property late at night and removed courtesy car from our driveway. I went to get something out of the car later that night and discovered car was missing.

02/12/2019

I called Inchcape Jaguar to report missing items. Caroline brought unrepaired car back to my house with some of the personal items in the boot. I discovered some items were still missing and reported these back to Caroline. Simon returned the car back to dealership and demanded our baby’s personal items back from KG. Simon refused to leave dealership until baby items returned. KG had the cheek to call the police on Simon!

03/12/2019

I reported the theft to the police and spoke to our business solicitor. We drafted the formal letter to request items back and emailed it to Inchcape Jaguar and Lex Autolease.

10/12/2019

No response from Inchcape Jaguar within the 7 days.

13/12/2019

Letter from Jaguar basically saying that they didn’t have our items and the car is fully functional! The letter asked us to collect the XF!

20/12/2019

Emailed Alexandra Saxon at Lex Autolease to ask her to liaise with Inchcape Jaguar about collecting the car from them (as the car belongs to Lex, not us). We do not want the car back and do not wish to deal with Inchcape Jaguar directly.

List of staff we have dealt with:

NH: Neil Holborn, Head of After Sales, Inchcape Jaguar

JH: James Hilyard, Business Development Manager, Inchcape Jaguar

GS: Glen Smith, Service Manager, HA Fox Jaguar Guildford

DB: David Boniface, Head of Business, Inchcape Jaguar

DS: Duggie Sarris, Head of After Sales, Inchcape Jaguar

KG: Kevin Grimes, After Sales Manager, Inchcape Jaguar

KB: Keith Beards, Case Manager, Inchcape Jaguar

TP: Tony Pepper, Customer Care Manager, Inchcape Jaguar

NK: Nathan Kneller, Sales, Inchcape Jaguar

GW: Greg Wilcox, Head of Business, Inchcape Jaguar

WR: William Ruffley, Senior Customer Resolution Executive, Lex Autolease

MG: Matthew George, Customer Resolution Executive, Lex Autolease

Every single courtesy vehicle we have had over the past 3 years, has had some kind of issue or problem.

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