Buying an LR4 from a Buick dealer?? Please help

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BillyBones

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TLDR: "My question is, is this too good to be true? Should I not trust a Buick dealer shop to do timing chains on an LR4?":

Hi! I've been lurking for a while and am thankful for all the info I've gleaned from this forum. I've been trying to buy an LR4 for a few months and I finally made a deposit on one I thought was perfect. I've done a lot of research and decided I'd get a 2013 LR4 because of the updated timing chain tensioner design. I'm a sucker for a naV8 and the 2013s seemed to be the top of my price range and hopefully the most reliable (touch wood). I drove ~3hrs to see a few in the Philly/NJ area and while up there I went to see one that was recently traded in at a Buic dealership. It hadn't been "processed" yet but I was up there and it checked most of my boxes so I went to see it before they had put up photos. It has pretty decent service history with a water pump job around 40K and nothing else major, all at LR dealerships. Corris Grey 90K miles, HSE Lux. Well, it was in straight enough order but clearly needed lower control arms done and it had a check engine light on. It sounded good to me, no real ticks from the engine and it drove totally fine. So the sales rep said they'd fix anything they found wrong with it and sort everything out if I wanted it. It was a great price relative to all the other's I'd looked at, too. So i made a "risk free" deposit on it and waited to hear what they intended to fix, knowing I could back out if I didn't like what I heard.

So today, they tell me they just ordered the parts to replace the water pump, the LCAs, and... the timing chains. They're going to do all these fixes for the originally agreed price of about $23K, no extra charge to fix everything. My question is, is this too good to be true? Should I not trust a Buick dealer shop to do timing chains on an LR? For context, they are just down the street from the LR dealer and had LR do the diagnostics to see what needed to be done, and to order the parts. The Buick shop will do the work. They're going to sell me a 3rd party extended warranty, too. So that's a safety net(?) LMK if anyone has thoughts on a 3rd party warranty.

Any thoughts are appreciated!
 

ryanjl

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Ironically, the original Rover v8 petrol engines were Buick designs.

Agree with the above. They'll know immediately if they did it wrong. Beyond that, who's to say the Buick mechanics didn't just quit the Rover place, or the Rover mechanics had only been there a few months after working at the Chevy place.
 

mm3846

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Though it may seem daunting to some people, the timing chain job is not difficult. It can be done by anyone competent with a wrench and I'd go as far to say that any technician at any shop would have zero problem doing it. The 5.0 V8 is a very easy modern motor to work on.
 

BillyBones

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Ah! I knew y'all would be helpful! Thank you! I've wanted an LR4 since 2009 and they aren't getting easier to buy. It's an awful time to buy a car but I don't want to put more money into my Jeep GC. The irony is I've only been considering 2013's bc of the timing chain issue. ...and we need a timing chain.

I've been mostly shopping used car dealers and have largely had bad/****** experiences with way over priced trucks with clacking engines. This 'real' dealership has been so much more transparent and encouraging to work with. The reason I've avoided buying private is because used/new dealers are offering these 3rd party warranties. ~$2K-$3K for 2years and pretty complete coverage. I called my local LR mechanic and he said they work with these companies all the time. Anyone here have a follow up opinion about a $3,000 2-year warranty?

(disclaimer: I would never hold anyone accountable for sharing your personal opinion on a financial decision. I know some people get shy about "Should I/Shouldn't I" questions. I'll live either way.)
 

Manndolins

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Be aware that some dealers will do bare minimum to make symptoms go away and get it sold.. I bought mine from a Jeep dealer..they put a water pump on (autozone) but didn’t replace oil cooler pipe or o rings and even re used old water pump gaskets.. I discovered this when I replaced crossover pipes..the actual leak.
Their mechanic also tried to tell me that the clunk I heard when braking was just the floating calipers…
 
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BillyBones

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@Manndolins This is what I'm sort of worried about. They aren't bumping the purchase price we already agreed on, so they have no incentive (other than their reputation) to do a superb job. I believe that the LR dealer is ordering the parts, so hopefully it's all OEM stuff. I don't want to be that guy, but I might try to get some confirmation/details around what all they're doing to it.
 

ryanjl

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Land Rover won't ever mess around with any parts that are not OEM--not even anything rebuilt--so if the Land Rover dealership is ordering the parts, you'll be okay there.

The parts for this job aren't super expensive. Maybe $1k or less. The labor is what the biggest cost is. If the Buick dealer just told the Land Rover dealer to order everything associated with the job, you'll get all the important stuff replaced.

Of course, your issue could be the other things they see while they are in there, and whether those would otherwise be replaced if you were footing the bill.

All this said, I wonder if that dealership has some sort of insurance for mechanical failures that occur while the vehicle is on their lot? Either that, or they have some mechanics sitting around looking for work. Seems kind of strange they haven't reassessed the deal after learning what the Land Rover needs.
 

mm3846

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Yes the timing chain stuff was supposedly changed end of 2012, but if the owner of the truck is still doing an oil change every two years or 15k miles, it doesn't matter. As for the work being performed, I wouldn't worry about it. I would try and get some sort of guarantee from the dealer for the timing chain and associated other work done and skip the aftermarket warranty.
 

BillyBones

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They listed the price they "thought was fair for a truck in good working order, so we want to make sure we give you one in good working order", "we would never sell a car that isn't fully road worthy", etc. I know the margins on trade-ins can be pretty good so maybe they have enough wiggle room there?

I very well might be a sucker, but after all of the rust-buckets on bald tires other used-car lots have tried to sell me for $30K, I want to trust these people(?)
 

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