Vehicle Handover

Funny that the thread is even started. Of all my Audis and BMWs I have never had a situation where I did not get the options I ordered. I would be amazed if Land Rover delivers my car without any options etc. The handover for me is just some paperwork and a walkthrough of some of the basics. Already driven an Evoque and not sure if I need explanations of anything to be honest. Well one thing I would love them to show me is how to set the car in tow mode if the battery is all out or similar. I have done that once in my X5 and even though its in the manual it was kind of a messy process. So I would just assume every buyer has his owns need during the handover.

But if you really need to check just write down all the details your car should have and walk through the car to check. A little excel sheet.

At BMW I just go back to my sales rep with any complaints and they usually fix it under warranty. But never lost any options yet.

(23-09-2011 07:30am)Tekno Wrote:  Charlie - if you don't like my posts, just don't read them. Personally, I don't come on here to congratulate and pat the back of a bunch of people I've never met. You won't hear me going "Congrats [user] - great car! LOL You're so lucky mate!"

I'm here do discuss, glean information and, yes, have a good moan about how awful some aspects of this car buying process has been.

But again, if you don't like it, simply don't read it. A lot of forums actually have a function to block users (not sure about this one though).

...back to handovers.

Fair enough I suppose, it is a forum after all so should be used for those purposes. What I don’t understand though is why you would not want to congratulate someone on their new car. After all, whether you know them or not, these are the same people who you glean the information from, enter into discussions with and ‘listen’ to your moans. It shouldn’t be hard therefore to share in their excitement when they take delivery of the car that they’ve spent months eagerly awaiting. If it’s not genuine though, then don’t bother, but also don’t post negative comments when some people do.

...back to handovers

Just saw on Tim's thread,

Ensuring dealer enabled options like folding mirrors are enabled, thought that was appropriate to this thread.

Vital is to check the car for cosmetic damage because once you've driven away, they will deny all responsibility. Check for dings and scratches, scuffed wheels, door sills and leather, especially the driver's seat side bolsters.

Before you drive out of the dealership in your haste to get on the road make sure that you have both transponders, especially if your car has keyless entry. During the "here is how all the toys work" part of the hand over the salesman will start the engine to prevent battery drain, sometimes the salesman will put the transponder in his pocket, you drive away and when you stop the engine you cannot restart it............................. because the salesman has both transponders, one on his desk with all the documents you also left behind in your haste and one in his pocket!

(24-09-2011 09:38am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Before you drive out of the dealership in your haste to get on the road make sure that you have both transponders, especially if your car has keyless entry. During the "here is how all the toys work" part of the hand over the salesman will start the engine to prevent battery drain, sometimes the salesman will put the transponder in his pocket, you drive away and when you stop the engine you cannot restart it............................. because the salesman has both transponders, one on his desk with all the documents you also left behind in your haste and one in his pocket!

That's a good one Tim!, hope it's not learnt from experience!

I still miss the days when the engine is running the keys are in the car... no room for error! like leaving it running but locked in a noisy airport car park going on holiday for 2 weeks only to find on return the car park people have had the police tow the car as it was "suspicious with the engine running!"... as happened to a relative of mine!

Not personal experience - The Evoque is the first car I have had with keyless entry but the second I have had with a starter button. For those who haven't had such a system before here are some tips!

1) If you have keyless entry don't put the fob in the same pocket as you have either a mobile phone, other keys or loose change in - I don't understand why (except in the case of the mobile phone) but metal objects in the same pocket seem to mask the transponder signals, I would have thought they might have acted as an antenna rather than an attenuator!

2) With the starter button you cannot set the ignition to the old "position 11" with key started cars so how to make the radio or auxiliaries work without running the engine? Well you press the starter button but don't put your foot on the foot brake of an auto (I assume in the manual it's the clutch) and then press the starter button - the dash board will spring to life and everything will get powered up except the engine. BUT your radio/ TV/HiFi /RSE will in the Evoque will only run for 10 minutes before powering down again.................. this is to preserve the battery, so you are best to start the engine which is expensive on fuel.

Sorry if to some this might seem obvious or in the category of "teaching your granny to suck eggs" but I have received quite a few PMs asking about running kit when the engine isn't running, the keyless entry one had me foxed for a few days as the car wouldn't open unless I used the fob until I found out the situation, and after I had read that section of the owner's manual to find out what I was doing incorrectly after all the idea of the system is that you don't need to aim the transponder at the car to open it, you stand within a metre of the car and just open the door, but it wasn't working.

This is a great thread for those of us that have never collected a new car before...well done people...

Tim...once the radio etc powers of after 10 minutes, what happens if you then go through the same thing again? My Audi goes off after c.10 mins but if I switch the radio on a second time (without the engine) it then stays on.

I've had keyless before in a Merc that I had and whilst entry was great, overall it was a pain! If you're a woman then it's brilliant, keep the key in the bag and enjoy the experience. If you're a chap, then sitting in a car with keys in your pocket can be uncomfortable and putting them anywhere else often means scratching the surface you put them on or leaving them in the car...solution...man bag... Ouch!

I'm not interested in learning about gadgets generally during the handover but I shall be doing a detailed check of condition / finish, a check of the dealer enabled options, a check of optional extras, a check of cameras (stupid not to given the issues), and I shall be asking how to Jack the car up, how to tow it, and his to charge the battery (remember being confused by this one in the FFRR)

P.s. Congrats to everyone who has taken delivery

I can answer the towing one............................ DON"T, put it on a flatbed. It is possible to recover one by towing but you can do terminal damage to the 4WD system it is isn't done exactly as the owner's manual says.

If you need to jack it up then you will have 3 years Land Rover Assistance - call them out to save you from getting all mucky at the roadside or on your drive. It's included in the price of your car and currently LR uses the AA, who are not a patch on the Mondial Assistance guys they used to have who were specially trained to deal with Land Rovers.

The radio, I haven't tried yet so cannot say.

Battery charging - I can recommend a Maplin solar battery charger for £12.99 that plugs into one of the power sockets and trickle charges the battery. I left my last FFRR almost the entire winter last winter, covered in snow, frozen up and the battery was in tiptop condition when I got home - the panel doesn't need sunshine to charge the battery it only needs daylight to work.

How is keyless entry going? I didn't go for it because the car still comes with keyless start. I thought the keyless entry would actually introduce annoying scenarios like when you're in the house and someone wants to pop out to get something from your car - you'll need to give them the key rather than just pressing the button from the lounge.

Also as you go to bed - without keyless, look out the window, press the key fob and you can see the car is locked. With keyless I'm assuming you can't do this?