Has Land Rover Damaged My Evoque?

Hey there,

I took my vehicle into Autoglass for a new windscreen this morning and as part of their pre-inspection they identified some mysterious damage which I can't account for.

You only see the damage when the drivers door is open.

There is a scratch that has been poorly 'touched' up on the rear of the A-pillar directly behind one of the 'pegs' which are used to fit the glossy black exterior A-pillar trim.

Coincidentally, I had the glossy black A-pillar trim replaced under warranty by my local Land Rover dealer not that long ago under warranty (since it was wobbly). The chap at Autoglass said the pegs are usually knocked in using a mallet and it looks as though whoever replaced my A-pillar trim caught the paintwork when knocking one of these pegs back in.

If that wasn't bad enough, there is also some minor damage to the bottom of the sill which you see when the drivers door is open to the far right-hand side (directly beneath the A-pillar), which, again, has been poorly touched up. Along with a small dent. Could somebody have dropped a mallet when refitting the A-pillar trim? No idea.

This has really got me worried as none of the above were there when I purchased the vehicle and I know it hasn't been done by me (or the wife) so I don't know what to do.

I'm really trying to look after this car but it's proving to be a challenge!

Careless service work resulting in scratches and dents is not that uncommon and is usually not reported by the mechanic or service manager if they think the owner won't notice. I once had a new Mazda and under warranty Mazda replaced the front strut requiring the removal of the coil spring. Upon receiving the car I luckily noticed multiple small shallow dents on the front fender before driving away. The service manager declined responsibility for the dents until I pointed out that they were spaced exactly to the distance of the coils in the coil spring. They then repaired the front fender at no cost to me.

I can only speculate how it has happened but this, together with all the other stuff I've had to contend with e.g. rattles, wobbly trim, replacing door latches, etc is beginning to put me off buying another Land Rover.

My passenger door has started rattling and with all the inconvenience I went through getting my drivers door rattle sorted, I don't know if I can be bothered going through it again. Moreover I'm not sure I want to take my vehicle back to a dealership which has potentially damaged my Evoque and, worse still, has not even told me about it.