Topix - Paint Damage report & Dealer attitude

All,

I have recently been offered 3 stock cars by various dealers and each one is showing the following in Topix

Services --> Vehicle --> Inspection Information

S04LR - LandRover Customer Vehicle Visit Report - SO4 Paint Damage

Is this normal on every car i.e. the report is placed on file if damage exists or not or is Land Rover Paint department worse than I thought?

Also may I say how difficult it is to buy a new car, with the current economic climate, 9 speed auto on the way within 6 months, advertising compaigns on the radio and waiting lists down to 12 weeks and I'm finding myself chasing dealers, no call backs etc... and when you ask for discount they look dumb struck.

Finally managed to get a quote of one and they had the cheek to add £1440 of utter rubbish to the deal including £529 life shine (£30 on ebay), Gap insurance £529, Tye and Alloy cover £250 and amazingly £132 for mats that are already included in the price for a prestige model.

I have bought LandRover products before (when the rest of the world wasn't interested) but the current attitude of these dealers is awful, Come May they will be ringing left right and centre with 6 speed auto's they can't shift and I will have great pleasure in telling them I'm not interested.

Regards
Paul.

Just to add the £30 Lifeshine you may see on Ebay is not the proper kit, it will be part used containers from an application that the seller has done on a car at the dealer that he or she works at - so terchnically stolen.
It won't include a warranty registration certificate ( if it does it is stolen/duplicated) & it won't include the aftercare pack that depending on which Lifeshine package you would normally buy is worth around £110 on it's own!
So all in all if one wanted a Lifeshine package or similar then there is no way you will ever get the proper deal for £30.

Paul, try contacting either of the dealerships that are forum sponsors. They do try harder to get forum members into new cars than many dealerships. Even if you are a long way from London they are both very competitive with deals.

Hi.
Regarding Topix, I think what you are referring to is just a generic blank document template that would be used for reporting paint damage if there was any?

(10-03-2013 12:33pm)The Valeter Wrote:  Just to add the £30 Lifeshine you may see on Ebay is not the proper kit, it will be part used containers from an application that the seller has done on a car at the dealer that he or she works at - so terchnically stolen.
It won't include a warranty registration certificate ( if it does it is stolen/duplicated) & it won't include the aftercare pack that depending on which Lifeshine package you would normally buy is worth around £110 on it's own!
So all in all if one wanted a Lifeshine package or similar then there is no way you will ever get the proper deal for £30.

At £529 (Life Shine) it's a complete rip off, Regardless of the cost of the product it's applied by the dealers valeter with a total applicaition time of 2 to 3 hours max.

You would get change from £529 if you use a "Detailer" not only would they use better products they would spend 8 to 10hrs doing it. Ask anyone in the know it's all about preparation when you apply sealants.

The warranty for Life Shine isn't worth the paper it's written on and I love the way dealers tell you if would add to the resell value - what a laugh have you every been asked when you trading in a PX if it's got Life Shine?

Life Shine or any other dealer sealant is just a way of adding extra profit at overly inflated prices. That's why 9 times out of 10 the £500 asking prices suddenly gets discounted to £199.

Why dealers don't offer professional detailing services I will never know. My local Land Rover dealers attacks their cars with a brush (and I mean attacks) and then wonders why they have so many scratches on new cars. But if they did I suspect they would want £1,000 for it.

Regards
Paul.

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(10-03-2013 12:46pm)pluckerson Wrote:  Hi.
Regarding Topix, I think what you are referring to is just a generic blank document template that would be used for reporting paint damage if there was any?

Pluckerson - Thanks I was hoping that was the case.

Regards
Paul.

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(10-03-2013 12:42pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Paul, try contacting either of the dealerships that are forum sponsors. They do try harder to get forum members into new cars than many dealerships. Even if you are a long way from London they are both very competitive with deals.

Thanks XFullFatTim - I have spoken to Hadley Green and they are trying to get a car from another dealer for me.

To answer your question not every car has this - I've had three orders (one I rejected) and none have had any mention of paint damage on their topix record.