Intro to mwillems, also near Toronto

[mwillems]

Hey all: intro here. I live near Toronto (in Oakville, a suburb) and have a second home north of the city, where it's cold, snowy, and the roads are unpaved. I have just sold my 2-year old Mercedes Benz ML500 for a new LR3 HSE.

I had been promised it today, but "the truck from Halifax has not arrived yet and we do not know when it will do so, and even when it does, the detailing and inspection take half a day". Not an auspicious start to a new dealer relationship (Budd's in Oakville): I specially flew back from the UK today as my car was meant to be here.

Anyway, when it DOES arrive, tomorrow I hope, I will be looking forward to quickly learning all about it, as ina few days I plan to drive it to Dallas with my family for a very short holiday. Who knows, may even find a desert on the way to try the sand mode

I've put a few links to reviews on http://www.mvw.net/LR3/ and so far I am glad to say I have seen only glowing reviews. As soon as I get the car and have driven it, I'll post a detailed comparison.

So far the LR3 was more comfortable (three test drives), much better off-road, and has heated rear seats and front windscreen. On the positive side for the ML, it is much more classy inside (no cheap plastic), has auto windscreen wipers and is more powerful. All those I can live without.

Looking forward to being an LR3 owner soon, very soon,

Michael
Oakville, Ontario, Canada

 

[Slam]

Michael,

Thanks for the introduction. Please let us know when it arrives, and post a review. We would also love to see some pictures in the gallery of your new Land Rover.

 

[mwillems]

Michael, Thanks for the introduction. Please let us know when it arrives, and post a review. We would also love to see some pictures in the gallery of your new Land Rover.

It is now due to arrive tomorrow (first it was the 15th, then today, now tomorrow. Fingers crossed - and you will definitely see both pictures and reviews.

Michael

PS I saw just ONE Disco 3 in the UK this past week - in London, parked outside the Prince's Trust just north of Marylebone Road, i.e. in a *very* expensive area, between the Bentley's and the Range Rovers.

 

[JackUnion]

Hi Michael, I hope that you get it in time for your trip. I have not had chance to drive the LR3 yet let alone take one off-road but I have spoke to a couple of my tech friends that have been off-road with them and they all rave about it. As one of them put it "it is just so capable off-road that it kind of makes off-roading driving boring". So if you do venture off the beaten path you shouldn't have any worries. You enjoy that new machine of yours and keep us all posted on how you get on with it.

 

[mwillems]

Sure, I will let you know - when I eventually get it! It is now "end of the day today or maybe it will go into tomorrow morning or something" - this is probably a euphemism for "tomorrow".

So I will have gone from a "Bimmer" (or "Beemer") via a "Merc" to a "Landy" or even "Disco", though of course it's an LR3 here. One day I will drive a car that does not come with a pet name.

The serious offroad driving I have done was both in the deserts of Libya 20 years ago, and more recently, the unpaved mud and snow at my cottage. I'm looking forward to this - and 'boring' is good

 

[mwillems]

Nope, no car today either - now it is tomorrow and I have no commitmewnt to when tomorrow. The experience with Budds' Imported Cars to date has been NOT a positive one. No commitment has been met so far....

 

[tmiller1]

Nope, no car today either - now it is tomorrow and I have no commitmewnt to when tomorrow. The experience with Budds' Imported Cars to date has been NOT a positive one. No commitment has been met so far....

Are they an "official" LR dealer (do they sell only LR's - since the dealer name you mentioned doesn't appear that this is the case)? The reason I ask is that allocation of the new LR3 is weighted differently for various dealers - i.e., the dealers that sell the most with the best customer satisfaction scores tend to get first rights to new vehicles. This practice is probably not official, just my own observations and conversations.

And when I say "official" dealer, I am referring to the dealers that sell on Land Rovers, and they often have a name like "Land Rover <city/area>", something like "Land Rover Oakville".

 

[mwillems]

Are they an "official" LR dealer (do they sell only LR's - since the dealer name you mentioned doesn't appear that this is the case)?

Oh yes, they are an official LR dealer. And they sell only LR and Jaguar (both Ford-owned). And no car today. Maybe tomorrow... the reason I feel so uneasy is that this will only leave Thursday to test the car.. Friday they are closed and Monday we leave for Dallas, 2100 km south. So if anything is wrong or I have any questions there will be just one day to do all that. IF I get the car tomorrow - as of 8pm this evening it has not arrived at the dealers.

Michael

 

[tmiller1]

What a pain!

I had delivery problems when I bought my 2004 Discovery last year. My dealer was really good to me though: they let me have a loaner Discover (a 2003) for the entire time, and they threw in some "comps" for the hassle that I went through.

I had the loaner for about a week, and one of the "comps" was membership in their Premium Member Maintenance program (I have loved that part already).

 

[mwillems]

A pain indeed and just had a shouting match with the sales amnager - but at least the car is in Oakville now and I am getting it tomorrow. Unless the snow storm we expect tonight cancels that...