Paint Finish Scrutiny , LR Responds

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One problem is that the tax the Australian Government chooses to impose on this car makes it expensive in world market terms, never mind that the Australian dollar is at what some might say is an artificial and in the long term unsustainable high which would make it even more expensive in your eyes.

Then factor in your "meticulous detailing" which means you are focussing your attention closely on the quality of the paint finish more than a typical owner might. Both add up to you probably having unrealistic expectations about the quality of the paint finish. What's a problem for you may go completely unnoticed by the vast majority for whom this is just a car - an interesting car no doubt but, in the finish, just a car.

Minor paint rectification is part of the QA process and is intended to bring the car up to a standard which still has to fall short of perfection. For the price, how could it be otherwise? We know that the car does not quite measure up to the best German standards and LR may well be victims of their own success. With one of these things entering QA every 88 (some say 72) seconds, they are under pressure.

I don't think getting anything resprayed is the answer, there's no guarantee the end result will be better and you run the risk of colour matching and shading problems. My advice to you is to obsess a little less, enjoy the car some more and go back to LR for a better offer, 3 years free servicing would be my starting point.

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Does the car come with the service plan as standard? If not, you could ask them to refund what they charged you for it.

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(15-01-2013 05:16am)Jai Wrote:  Hiya, late last year I made my dealer aware of a number of paint blemishes I found whilst meticulously detailing the car. I even came across "factory touch up paint" on bumpers and fenders where obviously the bumper fitter was overzealous upon fitment in total I found about 10 minor defects on the paint, covering 80% of the panels. The spots are under the base coat, not stuck to the clear coat. I didn't want their local panel shop respraying most of the car as I don't believe that a brand new car should get that treatment, and it would be a potential nightmare in the future holding anyone accountable for issues that arise in the future. I put the ball in LR's court, knowing full well they would be potentially facing the cost of entire vehicle respray and they have come back with an offer of 1 years extra warranty.

I am not sure if I want to accept the initial offer or If I should seek further compensation. The vehicle cost me AUD$92,000 which is no cheap vehicle. I am being picky but I would think the paint would be perfect otherwise someone would have picked it up in QA... But I bet the fact that the car was built a day before the 2 week summer holiday closure may have had something to do with them slipping under the radar.

I'm interested in hearing the opinions of those who have been in this kind of situation before and what you have done about it thank you!

Jai, I became quite obsessive about minor issues with my previous Audis and to be honest it spoilt the ownership experience a little. I have come to accept that my Evoque is not built as well as an Audi and I now accept minor niggles and even fix rattles etc myself. The main benefit of this is that I am enjoying my Evoque.
Just drive and enjoy
PS dont forget to get your compensation though

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(15-01-2013 09:22am)Jai Wrote:  I think I could have accepted one or two, but when you're talking 3 on a panel, and about 12 in total, as well as a host of other imperfections its sorta taking the piss as to what's acceptable and what's not.

Fair enough.
Go gettem

I think with that level of scrutiny of the paint you have spoiled the pleasure of owning the car for yourself. "Minor" paint defects as you call them are a fact of life with any car, yours has also travelled half way across the globe on a ship as well, you are lucky LR didn't disclaim all lability as any damages incurred in transport will be farmed out to a company other than LR for rectifying at the port of delivery, so you cannot say for 100% they are production defects.
As the others say, go out and enjoy the experience of the driving rather than beating yourself up about minor defects and graciously accept any financial compensation. Have you thought about asking for a year's fuel supply so you can go out and enjoy the experience rather than buying parts?

I agree that 1 or even 2 minor defects "could" fall into the realms of acceptablitiy however there comes a point where, for the price we pay for these cars, we should expect a high quality product.

I don't think we do LR or ourselves any favours by being too accepting of our lot in life, high prices, not making a fuss customers and unfortunately many of the businesses we see going bust in the newspapers every day are suffering because they're not keeping up.

In the case of LR they are fully capable of producing cars with a very good finish as many of us have or had such cars. When the odd lemon comes through I find it unacceptable that we pay full price but get a sub standard product.

My second evoque had one flaw in the rear quarter panel. It was however big enough to be visible from 10 feet away and frankly to this day I can't believe it slipped past QC. Hundreds of cars had the same flaw and it either hadn't been spotted by the factory or when it was they chose to turn a blind eye - both poor outcomes in my book.

If LR are to continue their current success the last thing they need is to be seen as the company with stylish, capable cars that are poorly finished.

In my case LR customer care have stepped up and are replacing the car and ensuring I am happy.


To answer your question Jai, I don't think extra warranty is good enough. Firstly ask yourself if you're likely to keep the car that long? If not then ask yourself what would make you happy with the car - how about some money back or accessories for example? If nothing is going to get those blemishes off your mind then the only alternative is to reject the car with use of this one until they replace it.