... was not a good one at all. The local Service Writer was a great guy - we talked very easily about what needed to be addressed and he was more than helpful. Then came the loaner car ...

Turns out loaners from my local dealer are done through a deal with Enterprise Rental Car. I was surprised at this. So Enterprise Rental shows up with a horrendous stripped model Honda Accord. The car was scratched to all heck, had front bumper cover damage, and was filthy outside and inside (there was actually McDonalds ketchup packets and fries under the seat). The Enterprise guy then had the nerve to tell me we were going to walk around the car and identify all the scratches, dents, etc because he let me know in no un-certain terms that I would be responsible for anything that we did not mark up-front. I have literally never been so insulted in my life (well - not in a VERY long time). Some punk kid lecturing me on how to take care of his POS rental or I pay the price.

I told him at that point "You and I are done". Walked back in and told the Service Writer we would need to reschedule as there was no way I was going to drive that POS. He was very understanding and said he would call me when a suitable loaner was available.

So ... the bottom line here is that I was surprised that service loaners are really nothing more than me renting a car that Jag pays for - and I can get a $10K econo-crap vehicle as a loaner. This is very disappointing.

I would think that Jag would understand it is in their best interest to put me in a NICER vehicle than the one I have as a loaner. If everytime I go in for a warranty issue I get a POS rental - what incentive do I have to ever trade up to an XJ L Supersport or even an XKR?

Crazy the way I was treated and Jag NA is going to hear about it. Whether they like it or not, the Enterprise kid represented Jag Motors and Jag NA - and I could not have been treated in a worse manner.

Any other horror stories out there? Is this common practice for Jag or did I just get "lucky".

 

I got a Ford Focus and a Ford Fusion, neither of which was an acceptable car. I now just drive one of my other cars.

You correctly deduce that Jag's liability under their warranty is to rent you wheels, four of them attached to one vehicle. Anything more than that is up to the dealer to arrange.

One neat scam is for the dealer to charge Jag for a good rental and then scam you with a dregs actual rental.

 

Interesting dealers you guys visit. Here in Dallas (really Plano) we always got a year old Jag as the loaner, Type S (which my wife did not particularly like compared to her XF, but could not complain about). We were recently at the dealership looking at the new XJ and were told the new owner of the dealership (recently sold) was updating the loaner fleet to XF's. We won't be in for service until next month, but I don't think my wife will have a problem about the loaner as it will be an XF that will likely have less time/miles on the road than the one she brings in for the 2 year service. Perhaps we are lucky here as there are at least three Jag dealers in the DFW area.

 

Wow, that sounds like poor service and I wouldn't take it lying down either.....make sure you let your feelings be known!
I've always had a like for like ( even better sometimes ) car when mine has been in for service...that holds true for Ford, Vauxhall, Saab, Jaguar and Audi

Sounds like a shame as you really hit it off with the service advisor ( always a great point of contact to be in with )

Please keep us updated

 

Yeah ... it was pretty bad being treated WORSE than I have ever been treated when renting a vehicle; I get better treatments at every airport I have ever flown into. Unfortunately for Jag, it has more than likely created a permanent scar for any service/warranty work.

I also do not like the fact that they need CC info from me for a loaner ... I guess if I do not carry credit cards I have to walk while my $85K vehicle is in for warranty work?

We'll see what Jag NA has to say about it today - as I said this is no reflection on the Service Writer, he apologized for my travelling over to them only to be completely disappointed.

If Jag wants to approach their customer relationships in such a manner then our relationship will be EXTREMELY short-lived.

 

Spoke with JAG,NA and they were very understanding and apologetic but ...

... they also stated that there is NO commitment by Jaguar North America to provide loaner vehicles. While the practice is encouraged and supported by JNA through their dealership network - there is no requirement for them to do so.

Found that to be interesting.

Anyway, too bad it happened to me right out of the gate. I'm sure it was due to a specific individual from Enterprise. Unfortunately you never get a second chance to make a first impression; I will always be hesitant when I have the XFR in for service/warranty work. I might just go the way of jagular and use another one of my vehicles.

 

We used to have a fleet of jaguar loaners, that all went away with the economy and the need to reduce expenditures. Only a small amount of loaner, rental expenses are reimbursed. There are many years i rememebr running out of loaner car money long before the year was up. We went to enterprise then fired them and are with budget to reduce loaner rental expenses. Just like many other companies and individuals. You either make budget cuts, and changes or go under. But i would call the service manager and let that person know because that is a reflection on his dealer, even though he has no direct control, he can fire them and get another company in there, but if he doesnt have anyone complaining to him about it he/she has no info to use to go to enterprise with. Thats more a reflection on enterprise than the dealer imo. But it is a relationship on the part of all parties

 

Correct ... and when I was speaking with JNA I was "brutally" clear (pun could not be resisted ) that both the Service Writer and the dealership were/are outstanding to work with, but wanted to relay my dealings with Enterprise if JNA is interested or tracks such things. I placed a subsequent call to the Service Manager to let them know that I had spoken with JNA, and that I had nothing but laudatory remarks about them . Gave him a heads up in case JNA should give them a call that this was purely focused on Enterprise Rental Car.

 

I actually disagree with this approach since no one will feel uncomfortable at the dealership, the record will state that they did a good job. The rental car company to be honest doesn't give a damn.

As far as I am concerned the service experience is from arrival at the dealership to picking up my car again, the complete experience including any car loaner (rental) and that is the job of the service writer (rep). If any element is not satisfactory then he has to take responsibility for it and any service feedback (phone or on-line) needs to be clear about that. He (or she) needs to get a less than perfect rating so that he feels (as well as hears) your dissatisfaction. I am pretty sure that for dealerships that ask for ratings, there are bonuses associated with the feedback system (along with other criteria) along with an assessment of the delaership sent to Jaguar NA.

 

We are saying the same thing here. The Service Writer DID hear my disatisfaction directly, apologized that things went south with Enterprise and vowed that things would be handled differently in the future. That is the extent of what he could do at the time. Therefore (imho) he did everything in his power at the time to rectify a bad situation.

Obviously, he had no control over an Enterpise employee with a major atitude - which is the crux of the situation. He also had no control over the condition of the vehicle (or even the vehicle itself) that was delivered - he was expecting an XF to be dropped off as well.

Again in my opinion the Service Writer and the Dealership responded appropriately here and were very understanding of the situation. That was the reason I gave them high marks with Jag NA.

 

would you punish an employee or 1 of your kids for something the other did? Cause thats what youre advocating, an advisor cant do everyones job and most dealerships tie a advisors pay to those surveys to the tune of half their pay. So a bad survey can easily cost them a $1000 or more. Its not considered a "bonus" its considered half your pay
to have all 10's. So think about next time youre punishing someone for someone elses poor job or poor performance. Ive seen advisors get nailed for alot of money cause a car sat in the bodyshop too long and was an issue with their service. It comes over here for a for recall etc which prompts a survey from jaguar and the customer gets back at the bodyshop through the advisor and takes food off that persons plate for someone elses mistake... People should grow a set and talk to the person or dept. directly instead of being cowardly and slamming someone behind their back for something they had little or no control over. Yeah you got their attention allright.......

 

Why on this forum whenever anyone puts forward a differing point of view they are called names such as "cowardly". People are allowed to have different perspectives.

If your Jaguar does not perform to it's expectation and the dealer apologizes profusely but says that he cannot do anything are you going to say "oh never mind then" it's not your fault it's Jaguar's fault. No you are going to hold the dealership as responsible as the manufacturer.

So for me the service advisor is responsible for all aspects of the service. Do you think you are going to change the system by calling Jaguar NA, you saw their response. I suppose you would give him a perfect score if one of the mechanics did not do what he was supposed to, after all the advisor cannot be held resposible for what the mechanic does. If the service advisors were to be hit in the pocket for poor service (any aspect) which is the purpose of the feedback system then they may push for change, giving them glowing reports from less than happy customers will change nothing. The dealer or service department put in place the loaner policy (not Jaguar) and so the service department employees need to be held responsible for any dissatisfaction.

There is no going behind the back of anyone when you tell them why you are dissatisfied and let them know what you are going to do. They are usually very quick in asking you to give them a perfect rating.

Do you really think doing what the OP did is going to change anything at that dealership?

 

Technically, the rental company is a supplier to the dealership. You are not their customer and it is usually pointless to complain if you are not the customer.

The most useful avenues of complaint would be to Jaguar to question their loaner policy and the dealership to communicate dissatisfaction with the service. It is up to Jaguar to design their warranty policies to attract and retain customers. Dealerships are stuck with both the cars and the contracts. If the loaner car is a dealership initiative and not Jaguar then complaining to them is constructive. All good businessmen want to hear every possible complaint about their business, one can always ignore the bad customers but you want to keep the good ones.

My XF warranty entitles me to a replacement vehicle if the car is to be in the shop for more than routine service. I would be pretty miffed if they palmed me off with a rent a wreck.

My personal policy is stated to my dealer: "I understand that you don't build the cars or write the warranties, you just have to fix them under the warranty."

As long as my service guys are trying their best to fix my car I do not offer any criticism even if they cannot fix it. I save that complaint for Jaguar and even there I prefer to let my dealer pass along the complaint to Jaguar for me. Dealers have much more pull with Jaguar than any single customer can hope to have. Stay friendly with your dealer or change dealers.

 

THERE IS A SECTION FOR US TECHS TOO, AND YES ENTERPRISE IS A "CONTRACTOR" TO THE DEALER. WE FIRED THEM FOR SIMILAR CRAP. AND GOTTEN MANY A WRECKER SERVICES FIRED FROM JAGUARS ROADSIDE SERVICE AS WELL FOR NOT REALISING JAGUAR AND DEALERS EXPECT A DIFFERANT LEVEL OF SERVICE THAN WHAT THEY THINK THEY NEED TO PROVIDE. "COWARDLY" IS THE EXAMPLE I USED FOR THE PERSON THAT SLAMS AN ADVISOR FOR A BODY SHOP THEY HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. WHEN THE LEVEL OF SERVICE WAS EXCELANT FROM THE SERVICE DEPT, JUST NOT THE BODY SHOP. BUT INSTEAD OF GOING TO COMPLAIN DIRECTLY TO SOMEONE THAT COULD EFFECT CHANGE IN THE DEPT THEY CHOSE TO JUST RANDOMLY SLAM SOMEONE WITH NO CONTROL OR INPUT OVER THAT SITUATION. I THINK THATS CHICKENSH** AND COWARDLY DONT YOU.
I DONT KNOW MAYBE NOT, NOT ALL DEALERS ARE THE SAME NOR THE PEOPLE THAT WORK THERE. YES JAGUAR BUILDS THEM AND WE WORK TO FIX THEM, AND WISH WE COULD FIX EVERY SINGLE CAR TIMELY AND CORRECLTY THE FIRST TIME. BUT WE CANNOT DELIVER ON THAT ANY MORE THAN SAY A DOCTOR OR ATTORNEY CAN EITHER...OH I FORGOT THOUGH, THOSE ARE CALLED PRACTICES
MY SISTER IN LAW IS AN ATTORNEY, BY DAD AND BOTH UNCLES ARE DOCTORS, AND MY BROTHER A PILOT...MOST PEOPLE WITH DECENT CHARECTOR TRY THEIR BEST TO DO A GOOD JOB WITH THE TOOLS AND SKILLS THEY POSSESS, TO BAD TOO MANY PEOPLE EXPECT PERFECTION AND ARE NON TOLERANT OF A MISTAKE....I ALSWAYS TRY TO GIVE GRACE SO THAT I MIGHT GET IT IN RETURN FOR I TO LIVE IN A GLASS HOUSE AND AM FAR FROM PERFECT

 

Boy am I glad I got out of this business!

 

Not according to the JNA CSR that I spoke with. They were clear that there is no entitlement to a loaner as part of the warranty.

 

Exactly ... and no-one is. That is why it is important to focus on specific issues, and to rectify those issues at the lowest level possible. Escalation paths are there if warranted, however (and this is a critical point) - they should only be used as a last resort.

In my specific situation (and as I have stated) - there was no need to call JNA about my Service Writer or Dealer. I called them specifically about JNA's possible relationship with Enterprise Rental. IF (and I have no data to support this), JNA is looking to enter into an agreement with Enterprise at a Corporate level - then my feedback regarding my experience with Enterprise is valuable and that is my motivation for calling. I would not have called them otherwise.

My Dealer handled this situation in an excellent manner - nothing about this was something he could have prevented. It did, after all, happen in real-time. Since I am the customer it speaks volumes that I still find no fault with the Dealership - but can find a plethora of issues with the Enterprise employee.

I am also confident that this scenario will not be repeated in the future ... what more can a reasonable person ask?

 

I am in Canada and I am offered a free loaner when my car is in for service. Different warranty maybe?

 

Hmmm ... dunno ... maybe.
Jag CSR that I spoke with stated that loaner programs are supported and ecouraged by Jaguar Corporate - but is soley a Dealer offered incentive and not part of the warranty. Since each dealer is an independent franchise - pretty safe to assume that loaner programs will vary from one Dealer to the next.

While Jag has different country sites (such as USA and Canada) I would think that it is all under Jaguar North America. However, different laws in different countries could govern what must be provided via warranty.

Would be interesting to know for sure ...

 

I live in Austin, Texas and get a loaner (an XF, no less) whenever I take the car in for service or a defect problem. The dealer told me it was part of JCNA's "policy" to provide loaners when the cars are in for repair or service. However I did not ask whether either this applied after warranty had expired or it was voluntary or not. Anyway with my sample size of one dealer (!) they do provide a loaner.

I have previously owned BMWs and have lived in 5 states in the US. I have always been given a loaner when in for service etc. during the warranty period. Once you are outside the warranty only some of the dealers provided loaners. This is, apparently, a BMW NA funded arrangement. Not sure whether this is relevant but it is useful for comparison.