So my never registered 2012 XFR with 5k miles has a loose aluminum trim on the rear left door (outside the car). I must have not noticed it on friday when picking the car up and only noticed it the next day. I took it to the dealer and my service advisor tells me that fixing it won't be covered by the warranty. I am rather surprised as it is obviously a quality control issue and am wondering what is my next step? Do I call Jaguar customer service and file a complaint? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Depends when the car was put in service to accumulate the 5K miles. Trim and finish problems are normally not covered by the warranty after the first year of service. Otherwise, I'd sweet-talk your salesman and the sales manager to see if they will fix it as a matter of good will.

 

I can't believe that a '12 model is out of warranty! Bumper-to-bumper has always included trim on my car. The chrome finisher on the bumper of my '04 was replaced under warranty 3 years after purchase.

 

That's what the dealer told me. At six months, I'd been bugging them about the aluminum window trim becoming streaked with a white substance that resembles oxidation. Jaguar reluctantly agreed to replace the trim, but only once. They think that touch-free car wash chemicals are causing it. However, I used the same car wash for my 2009 and never had a problem. Since they have to tear all the doors apart to do it, I decided to keep the original trim and just hand-buff the streaky white stuff off of it every once in awhile. I think the anodizing may be defective and there was no guarantee that the new trim would be any better.

 

Well the plot thickens as we speak. It turns out that the dealer discovered that my car has been repainted! So the aluminum panel wasn't reinstalled properly. How could an unregistered car sold to me as an exec demo been repainted is beyond me and I am livid. I am asking for a buyback from the dealer...

 

BMW had a major court case regarding this a few years back. They were reprinting doors, roofs, etc that were damaged during shipment and not telling customers. I believe the resolution was that it must be disclosed if a certain percentage was repainted and that there was a settlement of some sort. That may be a good place to start. Note that your facts are slightly different given your car was not billed as brand new.

 

Surprising that it wasn't disclosed that the car was repainted - mine was, and they told me about it and I had to sign to say that I knew. That said - it was repainted - so what? Is the finish OK? It will have only been repainted in the interests of preparing it for sale. I think this happens to a lot of the exec/demo cars. Not sure it is worth pursuing a buyback. I know from experience the sickening feeling you get when you sink a lot of money into a car and you think there may be a story or you have a problem with it. My advice, also from experience, is to stay calm and stick with it. You have a great car - be happy! Incidentally, my car had the exact same trim problem and it was sorted under warranty - no questions.

 

Thanks for sharing, but honsetly your experience is totally different. You had a choice, you were told the truth. I didn't and would have NEVER purchased the car knowing that it was apparently completely repainted and god knows what else was wrong with it and was done to it. Was it in a wreck? Did it fall into a ditch? Who the heck knows…. In addition, many of the panels were put back on poorly and the car is full of 'gaps'. to top it all off, jaguar refuses to pay to fix the aluminum trim on 2 doors so I will have to pay 1.5k for that. Are you kidding me, Jaguar? Really? This is the way you treat a customer? This is my first Jag and probably the last.

 

I agree. I would be pissed!!!
They intentionally didn't disclose this information.

Had they have just replaced that aluminum trim piece you might not have even found out.
In Canada hey they have to disclose if its been in an accident. Or something. They might be by the book to say its never been in an accident (because they only reprinted panels) but its still not good. Especially for a 'jag'

 

I have the same problem with my drivers side rear door! I just noticed it yesterday. My XFR was also an executives car with 3600. It came Fromm NJ. I'm going to call the dealer and see what happens. Andrew in Los Angeles

 

Hard to say how intentional it was from the facts presented. Or maybe I missed something.

"Executive" or "Demo" cars can come from a variety of sources...such as auctions, dealer buy-outs, etc. The dealer that ultimately sells the car to a retail customer may not have known about the repaint job.

I've known of cases where transport companies damage a vehicle en-route, have it repaired, and never tell a soul!

Or, yes, it's entirely possible that the car in question was used by the selling dealer as a demo, repainted by the selling dealer, and never disclosed. Very deceptive.





In the USA such disclosure laws vary greatly from state-to-state. In some cases, repairs over "xxx" dollar amount must be disclosed. In others, for example, only if frame damage occurs or weld-on panels are replaced.

Best bet is to first find out what laws apply in the state the car was sold.

As a rule corporate headquarters of any manufacturer keep a safe distance from these situations unless the dealer develops a history of such complaints.

Obviously they have an interest in keeping customers happy and will often exert pressure on a dealer to do the right thing. However, if the car was damaged and repaired entirely out of corporate purview don't be surprised if they consider it a consumer/legal dispute to be kept entirely between the dealer and the buyer, subject to the laws of the state in which the transaction took place.

I hope a hope for a happy resution in this case, of course. You can find out an awful lot about the quality of a dealership in cases like this.

Cheers
DD

 

ory, on Saturday mornings in LA on radio station KFI (AM640) from (I believe) 6 AM until 11 AM, Bill Handle, radio personality and lawyer, hosts a call in for people to ask questions about their (somewhat) legal problems. He also has a website to contact a lawyer, it's
www.handleonthelaw.com

He may be able to offer advice to you on what to do about this problem. I say may, because if you listen to his show you'll know what I'm saying.
Give it a go and good luck

 

If you just bought the car, just return it. I think you have 30 day timeframe.

 

I can see why you're pissed with the dealer, find a way to make them take the car back. Why you're pissed off with Jaguar is beyond me, every make has scummy dealers... Don't let it ruin what made you love the car enough to buy it in the first place. Just find a good one.

 

"Just return it" ?

Can you elaborate, please?

I'll readily admit that I'm not aware of all the consumer laws in all 50 states but I'm not aware of any where a titled item can simply be "returned" ..... as you might return a coffee pot to Walmart.

Cheers
DD

 

You are right, I shouldn't be pissed if at Jaguar. It is the dealer's dishonesty that is the issue here. I am in touch with a Jaguar rep now so we shall see...

 

Presumably you've spoken with the dealer management and not received satisfaction. What did they say when confronted with the matter?

Cheers
DD

 

Well, all of the sudden it went from 'the car was driven by an executive', to 'we know nothing about the history of the car, we bought it at a Jaguar dealer auction'. Now that I know the car has been COMPLETELY repainted, I am confident they had full knowledge of it.

 

I sorta figured as much....




Quite possibly.

This also brings into question disclosures the auction house is required to make, and disclosures the seller is required to make to the auction house.

Sometimes dealers bid online and may not have even seen the car in the flesh at the time. And/or some dealers hire a buyer to go 'round and buy cars for them...so it may not have even been a dealer employee who decided to bid on the car.

A 2012 car with 5k miles would probably get minimal scrutiny as to condition, especially if the repaint was high quality.

I'm mentioning all this not to let the dealer off the hook or because I'm against you (I'd be pissed, too, believe me) but rather to illustrate that there ARE situations where the dealer may not have been aware that the car was repainted. I've lived through similar disputes a few times.

IMHO the dealer should do right by you. *If* they themselves were duped on this car, they can take it up with the auction house.

Cheers
DD

 

Well, it was a Jaguar auction, meaning it is done by Jaguar NA for dealerships only, so I am quite certain they knew but chose not to let me know. I am expecting them to resolve this asap….