crewcabrob
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2010
- Posts
- 606
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Hi all,
As this is my 500th post on the forums, I thought it was time to admit that my LR4 is no longer part of the family. It was a very difficult decision, but I traded my dream car off about 3 weeks ago.
When my brother and I were in college during the late 80s I saw my first modern Land Rover. My brother and I would finish up at class, and hit the golf course in the afternoon. We had many conversations about vehicles. It was at that time I announced to him, that if I could only have one vehicle, it would be a Land Rover. It epitomized everything about the life style I wanted. The truck was capable and confident anywhere and everywhere. There was a true dichotomy between the off-road aspect and the luxury appointments. It was exactly what I was all about. This was my dream car, and some day I would have one.
Fast forward about 20 years… After a string of new Hondas, then Nissans and a mixture of BMW, Audi and Lexus I was finally getting to the point I could afford one. The jump from our most expensive car at $42k to a $60k truck was a big step. My wife and I talked about it and knew we could make it work, even though we really didn’t need a truck this large anymore. Our three kids had grown up and now 2 of them were driving, involved with school activities and working. Our days of long, driving family vacations were all but over. We had actually thought about downsizing, but my wife knew I wanted this vehicle for a long time.
We picked up the LR4 HSE Lux with vision assist in July of 2010. I quickly added the OEM rubber mats, hitch and harness. I was in love with this truck. It pushed all my buttons and I felt like a king. Never before had I been in such a vehicle that commanded as much respect. It was smooth, powerful and quiet. Land Rover had hit a home run with the LR4 and I was living the dream.
My dealings with the dealership were spectacular during the purchase process. I attended a couple of events with the dealer and felt like I was treated like royalty. I was showered with gifts, free meals and treated to off-road venues with training. My family and I loved it. Then a few problems happened. Let’s just say the honeymoon was over as soon as I started dealing with the service area.
Over the course of 7 months, I had a few minor issues with the truck. They have all been talked about here and many people have experienced the same issues. Radio/Nav screen non-responsiveness, camera issues, TPMS sensors, Suspension faults and a burned out window motor. Eventually they were all fixed by the dealer, as they should be. But the real problem was how the dealer resolved them. My truck made 4 total trips to the service area, for a combined time in the shop of 19 days. Each trip was even more painful than the previous and even after talking to the Service manager, GM, New car manager and getting the owner involved; my frustration grew. It’s not that they weren’t trying, I could see that they were trying at every step. It was a failure of execution. Parts were not ordered when they said there were, time lines were not hit, there was a lack of communication and they even forgot they had my truck for about 5 days at one time. Never before had a single vehicle I had owned in the last 20 years of buying new cars, had one of my vehicles even spent a single night in the shop. It was the most frustrating experience ever. Eventually the dealer came through and made me happy, but it was too late.
Financial reasons were the main culprit for the expiration of my dream. The dealership experience was right there too. I would say the final reason was just the plain uncertainty of owning a Land Rover. Let’s say 50% financial, 40% dealer and the remaining 10% was left over for the future uncertainty. I might have fought harder to keep the LR4 if the dealership could have delivered on their promises, but in the end it was just too late.
When my wife and I bought eh LR4, we were in great financial state. Right after we bought it, both of our heat pumps/air conditioners failed. Our water heater literally split down the side and flooded our finished basement. A rock broke the windshield in the LR4. My wife had lasik done on her eyes. We bought two cars for our kids. We had committed to going on two expensive family vacations and two lesser driving vacations. Our basement flooded again because someone left a hose going next to the house watering flowers for a week. We need to paint our house and we need to think about a new roof. We basically spent a ton of money and more expenditures are coming. Something had to give.
I have never owned a vehicle for such a small amount of time, and I doubt I ever will again. I normally put us on a 7-8 year cycle for new cars. My wife is due to get a new car in 2-3 years to replace her Lexus. That means I will not have a chance to join the LR faithful for another 10 years. It may be better than that, but realistically I know it won’t. My kids are all in high school and the first graduates next year, and then the other two follow right after that. In 3 years, all of them will be in college. Then my girls will want to get married, my wife will want to go on more cruises or another trip to Europe… it will never end.
My time here with you all has been great. I have learned a lot and I hope that I helped at least a few people along the way. I will never forget that I lived the dream, even if it was just for 13 months. I still plan on checking in from time to time. I’m sure you will still see me post a comment here and there. I hope nobody will frown on the fact that I no longer have my LR4 when they read my comments.
Take care!
Rob
As this is my 500th post on the forums, I thought it was time to admit that my LR4 is no longer part of the family. It was a very difficult decision, but I traded my dream car off about 3 weeks ago.
When my brother and I were in college during the late 80s I saw my first modern Land Rover. My brother and I would finish up at class, and hit the golf course in the afternoon. We had many conversations about vehicles. It was at that time I announced to him, that if I could only have one vehicle, it would be a Land Rover. It epitomized everything about the life style I wanted. The truck was capable and confident anywhere and everywhere. There was a true dichotomy between the off-road aspect and the luxury appointments. It was exactly what I was all about. This was my dream car, and some day I would have one.
Fast forward about 20 years… After a string of new Hondas, then Nissans and a mixture of BMW, Audi and Lexus I was finally getting to the point I could afford one. The jump from our most expensive car at $42k to a $60k truck was a big step. My wife and I talked about it and knew we could make it work, even though we really didn’t need a truck this large anymore. Our three kids had grown up and now 2 of them were driving, involved with school activities and working. Our days of long, driving family vacations were all but over. We had actually thought about downsizing, but my wife knew I wanted this vehicle for a long time.
We picked up the LR4 HSE Lux with vision assist in July of 2010. I quickly added the OEM rubber mats, hitch and harness. I was in love with this truck. It pushed all my buttons and I felt like a king. Never before had I been in such a vehicle that commanded as much respect. It was smooth, powerful and quiet. Land Rover had hit a home run with the LR4 and I was living the dream.
My dealings with the dealership were spectacular during the purchase process. I attended a couple of events with the dealer and felt like I was treated like royalty. I was showered with gifts, free meals and treated to off-road venues with training. My family and I loved it. Then a few problems happened. Let’s just say the honeymoon was over as soon as I started dealing with the service area.
Over the course of 7 months, I had a few minor issues with the truck. They have all been talked about here and many people have experienced the same issues. Radio/Nav screen non-responsiveness, camera issues, TPMS sensors, Suspension faults and a burned out window motor. Eventually they were all fixed by the dealer, as they should be. But the real problem was how the dealer resolved them. My truck made 4 total trips to the service area, for a combined time in the shop of 19 days. Each trip was even more painful than the previous and even after talking to the Service manager, GM, New car manager and getting the owner involved; my frustration grew. It’s not that they weren’t trying, I could see that they were trying at every step. It was a failure of execution. Parts were not ordered when they said there were, time lines were not hit, there was a lack of communication and they even forgot they had my truck for about 5 days at one time. Never before had a single vehicle I had owned in the last 20 years of buying new cars, had one of my vehicles even spent a single night in the shop. It was the most frustrating experience ever. Eventually the dealer came through and made me happy, but it was too late.
Financial reasons were the main culprit for the expiration of my dream. The dealership experience was right there too. I would say the final reason was just the plain uncertainty of owning a Land Rover. Let’s say 50% financial, 40% dealer and the remaining 10% was left over for the future uncertainty. I might have fought harder to keep the LR4 if the dealership could have delivered on their promises, but in the end it was just too late.
When my wife and I bought eh LR4, we were in great financial state. Right after we bought it, both of our heat pumps/air conditioners failed. Our water heater literally split down the side and flooded our finished basement. A rock broke the windshield in the LR4. My wife had lasik done on her eyes. We bought two cars for our kids. We had committed to going on two expensive family vacations and two lesser driving vacations. Our basement flooded again because someone left a hose going next to the house watering flowers for a week. We need to paint our house and we need to think about a new roof. We basically spent a ton of money and more expenditures are coming. Something had to give.
I have never owned a vehicle for such a small amount of time, and I doubt I ever will again. I normally put us on a 7-8 year cycle for new cars. My wife is due to get a new car in 2-3 years to replace her Lexus. That means I will not have a chance to join the LR faithful for another 10 years. It may be better than that, but realistically I know it won’t. My kids are all in high school and the first graduates next year, and then the other two follow right after that. In 3 years, all of them will be in college. Then my girls will want to get married, my wife will want to go on more cruises or another trip to Europe… it will never end.
My time here with you all has been great. I have learned a lot and I hope that I helped at least a few people along the way. I will never forget that I lived the dream, even if it was just for 13 months. I still plan on checking in from time to time. I’m sure you will still see me post a comment here and there. I hope nobody will frown on the fact that I no longer have my LR4 when they read my comments.
Take care!
Rob
