Advice from those in the know

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Badger

Well-Known Member
Posts
4,669
Location
Marldon, Devon
I bought a 2nd hand 110 in Febuary from a dealer in the midlands and i live in Devon. I spotted it on a website, RAC Approved, 140k mileage, it ticked the boxs i wanted ( 110 USW ), price was ok, so a deal was struck and off i went to inspect and collect if i was happy.

Rolled up to the dealer, saw the 110 ( 2011 plate ), had a good look around as you do, standard stuff was all good , usual spots to look at seemed good and i took it for a test drive. All things seemed ok so paid my money and drove it home.

Been driving it around abit since then and noticed the gearbox was a little clunky and a i was getting a jerk from the drivetrain somewhere.

I rang the dealer and told them ( given i was some distance from them ), we agreed for me to book it into a local independant Land rover garage to have a look and see what the problem was ( it was under warranty from the dealer )

The report i got back from the garage was either the transfer box and/or gearbox was the problem. They were looking more to the transfer box but as a caution, it would be sensible to check the gearbox if possible at the same time.

That aside, they also reported the brake discs on the front were showing 19.5mm thickness ( minimum manufacturer thickness is 22mm ) and rear is 8.15mm ( minimum manufacturer thickness is 11.7mm ).

I emailed the dealership with the findings to be told the brake components aren't covered under any warranty and that they passed an MOT and, apparently, an RAC dealership check. Also they have no idea how i have used the vehicle in the last 1800 miles and the brake discs could be down to excessive use.
The garage who did the inspection for the gearbox ( the brakes were covered under their car health check they do for every new customer ) has advised that the discs are showing a fairly decent lip around them and were checked for thickness based on this. Also a 3% moisture content in the brake fluid.

How could i prove the discs weren't fit for purpose at the time of sale or were at a low level of thickness? is it an MOT check ( ie you see a lip, check thickness, then check manufacturers details on that specific disc ) ?

To futher my lack of compassion for the dealership, the RAC inspection came with no paperwork, ie i got nothing to say it had been done, neither did i receive anything to do with the RAC from the dealer ( you get a 12 month breakdown cover etc with the purchase of a vehicle from an RAC Approved Dealer ).
There are a few other bits but i'm not that concerned as owning a landy is part n parcel of fixing the damn things, but the discs are something else entirely.

Any advice based on experience of working in the trade ( ie MOT testers ) etc?

Cheers
 
Caveat emptor rings a bell..... I’d be after some more convincing detail on the RAC inspection, and if that wasn’t done then different story. 2 decent new discs wouldn’t cost much. Gearbox/tbox another matter - hope you get to the bottom of that. Good luck, A
 
Caveat emptor rings a bell..... I’d be after some more convincing detail on the RAC inspection, and if that wasn’t done then different story. 2 decent new discs wouldn’t cost much. Gearbox/tbox another matter - hope you get to the bottom of that. Good luck, A

Amen.

I'd ring the RAC and check that the vehicle has actually had the claimed inspection after making sure you can prove that the vehicle was advertised as coming with same.
 
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but the discs are something else entirely.

Whilst i agree completely that the discs are ready for the bin, IME, LR's of that design are very tolerant of that level of wear.

However, since you've posted this on an open forum, and it may come under construction and use regs, I'd be changing them ASAP. IIRC, it's less than £100 for the discs and pads....
 
I bought a 2nd hand 110 in Febuary from a dealer in the midlands and i live in Devon. I spotted it on a website, RAC Approved, 140k mileage, it ticked the boxs i wanted ( 110 USW ), price was ok, so a deal was struck and off i went to inspect and collect if i was happy.

Rolled up to the dealer, saw the 110 ( 2011 plate ), had a good look around as you do, standard stuff was all good , usual spots to look at seemed good and i took it for a test drive. All things seemed ok so paid my money and drove it home.

Been driving it around abit since then and noticed the gearbox was a little clunky and a i was getting a jerk from the drivetrain somewhere.

I rang the dealer and told them ( given i was some distance from them ), we agreed for me to book it into a local independant Land rover garage to have a look and see what the problem was ( it was under warranty from the dealer )

The report i got back from the garage was either the transfer box and/or gearbox was the problem. They were looking more to the transfer box but as a caution, it would be sensible to check the gearbox if possible at the same time.

That aside, they also reported the brake discs on the front were showing 19.5mm thickness ( minimum manufacturer thickness is 22mm ) and rear is 8.15mm ( minimum manufacturer thickness is 11.7mm ).

I emailed the dealership with the findings to be told the brake components aren't covered under any warranty and that they passed an MOT and, apparently, an RAC dealership check. Also they have no idea how i have used the vehicle in the last 1800 miles and the brake discs could be down to excessive use.
The garage who did the inspection for the gearbox ( the brakes were covered under their car health check they do for every new customer ) has advised that the discs are showing a fairly decent lip around them and were checked for thickness based on this. Also a 3% moisture content in the brake fluid.

How could i prove the discs weren't fit for purpose at the time of sale or were at a low level of thickness? is it an MOT check ( ie you see a lip, check thickness, then check manufacturers details on that specific disc ) ?

To futher my lack of compassion for the dealership, the RAC inspection came with no paperwork, ie i got nothing to say it had been done, neither did i receive anything to do with the RAC from the dealer ( you get a 12 month breakdown cover etc with the purchase of a vehicle from an RAC Approved Dealer ).
There are a few other bits but i'm not that concerned as owning a landy is part n parcel of fixing the damn things, but the discs are something else entirely.

Any advice based on experience of working in the trade ( ie MOT testers ) etc?

Cheers
Really for FFS. :rolleyes:

Any new garage will be touting for business. So take anything they say with a pinch of salt for starters.

And you’ll never prove the state of something months ago. So why bother trying and only getting upset. And clearly as you have been driving an MoT’d Vehcile for months. Then the brakes are perfectly fit for purpose.

The lesson to learn here is simple. Check BEFORE you buy and query BEFORE handing money over. ;)

Maybe you’ve heard of the phrase fixing the stable door after the horse has bolted....
 
So c'mon then Badger - now you've had the sympathy.... the real issues - did the RAC know anything about it, and was the box or TB duff and covered under the seller's warranty? Hope a good outcome on this angle. Cheers, A
 
When yer ses it had an rac inspection, did it go through an rac inspection checklist or or did it have an inspection by the rac?

One is done by the rac. The other is someone carrying out the same list of things to look at themselves. The difference is in the wording.

As others have said the brake issue will be considered wear and tear. Get the transfer/gearbox looked at instead after fixing the brakes.
 
Fix the brakes, not much you can do about that.

Gearbox and transfer box. Check the simple things like drive members etc first,

Also describe the clunk to us as it might be A frame cross member or something else.

New garage will probably turn round and say these items aren’t covered under the warranty but are essential and you have to pay some ridiculous amount to fix it direct to them.

Probably work out to be cheap part, so get a second opinion if the costs mount up, but don’t tell the second garage what the first garage have said - just ask them to investigate a ‘clunk’
 
Garage had the truck back, replaced the halfshafts and drive flanges, all discs front and rear, repaired a leak on the water pump housing, replaced a rear a frame, repaired the exhaust and replaced the brake fluid.

They'll be delivering the truck back next week

Not a bad result
 
Excellent result (esp throwing in the discs too) - should name and ‘praise’.....? Cheers A

Agreed - bad news travels so fast that some good news is nice to hear :) Hopefully they'll continue in the same vein .....
 
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