Build quality of latest Land Rovers

A couple of weeks ago I was at the dealership for regular maintenance etc. While my LR4 was being serviced I roamed around the floor checking out the cars. I noticed on a brand new LR4 that the rear door (top part) was fitted incorrectly and its bottom right corner/edge didn't line up correctly/evenly with the rear bottom door. It was so off that I quickly and easily spotted it from ten or fifteen feet away. I asked a sales person and he said that its because LandRover factory is assembling their cars in a super rush because of too much demand. They have less factories and more cars to build.

I was simply stumped. This is a luxury brand competing with the Lexuses and Audis of the world. They simply cannot afford to have this kinda **** passing thru the factory quality check points. I almost took a picture of that LR4 to send to LRNA but was in a rush so passed the trouble.

As it is LR vehicles do not have such great reputation when it comes to build quality and then you see stuff like this, it just kills off any confidence in the brand that you have been trying to build. What else may not have been fitted correctly at the factory inside the vehicle? Engine mounts, wiring harness/clips, seats not being seated properly, dashboard components? "Oh honey, that creaking sound from the rear right, dealer couldn't figure it out where its coming from or couldn't replicate... I guess we'd just have to live with it..."

I completely agree with what you are saying. For the price tag, every Land Rover should leave the factory perfect and the two that I bought were delivered perfect. Most of the parts I replaced on the LR3 over the years just wore out.

Land Rover has come a long way. When Ford bought them, they put billions into the plant to modernize it and improve quality, especially electronic components. Nobody buys a Land Rover for it's quality reputation. Those people that prioritize quality are driving transportation appliances from Honda and Toyota.

I have always driven cars for how they drive, not for their reputation. I drove Audis for 20 years because they handled better than most other cars and quattro helped me go skiing in any weather conditions. The only reason we traded our Q7 for an LR3 was because we moved to a town with a drive-on beach and the Q7 got stuck in deep sand. Audi quality has come a long way because they sold more cars, made more money and invested in quality improvement. You may see the same thing happen with Land Rover as the popularity continues to grow.

Indeed very surprising! However, our LR4, produced in February 2015 shows flawless fit and finish. We are holding our breath on DTC P2183-00 which is applicable to our VIN.

Yeah I've heard the brand new ones have issues of this sort and even software bugs, on my last visit to the dealership I noticed more new range rover L405s being fixed than LR3s

While I intend keeping my 3 for at least 5 more years, I think I'd rather buy a 2nd hand Defender than a brand new RR or Discovery, I prefer defender's look and apparently they are well more reliable, or at least easier to fix hahahha

Sounds to me like the salesperson at the dealer was just making **** up. Yes they are in hot demand and are probably pushing units out quickly, but that does not change any of the procedures or engineering that goes into building these vehicles. It could have been a mistake, but more likely something happened to it in shipping or even during prep at the dealer.

manoftaste said:

I asked a sales person and he said that its because LandRover factory is assembling their cars in a super rush because of too much demand.

Click to expand...

LOL, "super rush"... My guess is that he is not going to be a salesperson for too long.

I'm with mbw on this one...probably damaged in transit and repaired poorly.

True story - a co-worker took his Camry with 40K miles to get new tires on his lunch break. Comes back furious as the tire installer remarked how good the welding and accident repair was done. But he bought it brand new and never had an accident. He went back to the dealer and they admitted that the car was damaged while being unloaded off the car carrier. To avoid legal action, they gave him half off the sticker on a new Corolla for his daughter.

PaulLR3 said:

I'm with mbw on this one...probably damaged in transit and repaired poorly.

True story - a co-worker took his Camry with 40K miles to get new tires on his lunch break. Comes back furious as the tire installer remarked how good the welding and accident repair was done. But he bought it brand new and never had an accident. He went back to the dealer and they admitted that the car was damaged while being unloaded off the car carrier. To avoid legal action, they gave him half off the sticker on a new Corolla for his daughter.

Click to expand...

Whoa! That is quite the failure to disclose information!

A lot of local dealers in Qatar have recently come under fire for these exact same practices.
http://dohanews.co/car-buyers-fume-doha-nissan-dodge-dealerships-accused-fraud/