Worth Getting Fixed?

There is an opposite to this issue regarding your trim damage etc. You are buying/bought a new car therefore in reality it should be flawless.

I'm very careful with the external bodywork on my car, but no matter how cautious you are some unnoticed knocks and scratches appear, in a way I'm so paranoid I have installed security cameras around my property.

Anyhow, when I took my car in for a P/Ex valuation, the LR guy was very very thorough in his inspection and noticed a couple of non self inflicted marks. He was looking at devalueing my car between £250 and £500, the cost it would be for them as a dealer to rectify these problems.

So come resale they are going to penalise you so don't let them get away with this at the beginning.

(03-04-2012 12:33pm)stef.c Wrote:  My question was specifically if any one has experience with replacing the brushed aluminium panel on the dash and if this is easily done by the dealership? Ditto to the plastic door panel at the bottom.

Stef.c, I've come across a very useful website powerfuluk.com, which might be worth you having a look at. They sell spare parts, but they also have loads of videos showing how to remove a huge range of parts on Range Rovers, including lots of interior trim parts. Although none is an Evoque fascia trim or door trim, they have done similar things on other Range Rovers. They certainly seem to be experts at this sort of thing! There are contact details on the site for technical queries, and it might be worth your while asking them if they have any advice.

"A couple of cosmetic bits which need doing" may not sound much but are bad news from a parts and labour cost point of view. Sorry you have these problems but underlines the need to check the car carefully because cosmetic problems are much easier to place on the dealer before you've driven the car. I think the Prestige centre console (and dash rails) are more prone to showing scratches because of the brushed finish, the dynamic has an embossed effect which hides them very effectively.

The auto wipers problem - is this with the wipers off or set to auto? If it's with the switch to off, there is definitely a problem. If it's with the switch set to auto, I'm not so sure. The purpose of auto is to change the intermittent wipe interval to suit the level of rain, not to decide whether they need to come on in the first place. The sensors work on the basis of what's happened since the last wipe, which why the rain sensor is under the sweep of one of the blades and each wipe tells the electronics it's clear and the sensor starts looking for rain through internal reflection of light by the rain drops. It may be that with the wipers set to auto on switch on, there's a single wipe to reset to a known state. I don't know for sure, I haven't tried it since I switch the wipers off before switching off the engine because I don't want the wipers to sweep a dry windscreen to avoid scratching the glass but as someone who designed this sort of stuff, it's what I would have wanted to do to ensure reliable operation.

As for Token's paint chips, my car is free of paint chips because I'm careful to always drop back from the car in front when I can. New paint is soft for the first few months (in spite of it being baked in the paint shop) and gradually achieves full hardness over time, even though manufacturers will tell you it's fit to go from Day One. It's therefore more susceptible to chipping early on. Those with a press-on mentality who drive up the back of someone's exhaust will get the paint chips they richly deserve.

(04-04-2012 04:45am)mark_n Wrote:  "A couple of cosmetic bits which need doing" may not sound much but are bad news from a parts and labour cost point of view. Sorry you have these problems but underlines the need to check the car carefully because cosmetic problems are much easier to place on the dealer before you've driven the car. I think the Prestige centre console (and dash rails) are more prone to showing scratches because of the brushed finish, the dynamic has an embossed effect which hides them very effectively.

The auto wipers problem - is this with the wipers off or set to auto? If it's with the switch to off, there is definitely a problem. If it's with the switch set to auto, I'm not so sure. The purpose of auto is to change the intermittent wipe interval to suit the level of rain, not to decide whether they need to come on in the first place. The sensors work on the basis of what's happened since the last wipe, which why the rain sensor is under the sweep of one of the blades and each wipe tells the electronics it's clear and the sensor starts looking for rain through internal reflection of light by the rain drops. It may be that with the wipers set to auto on switch on, there's a single wipe to reset to a known state. I don't know for sure, I haven't tried it since I switch the wipers off before switching off the engine because I don't want the wipers to sweep a dry windscreen to avoid scratching the glass but as someone who designed this sort of stuff, it's what I would have wanted to do to ensure reliable operation.

As for Token's paint chips, my car is free of paint chips because I'm careful to always drop back from the car in front when I can. New paint is soft for the first few months (in spite of it being baked in the paint shop) and gradually achieves full hardness over time, even though manufacturers will tell you it's fit to go from Day One. It's therefore more susceptible to chipping early on. Those with a press-on mentality who drive up the back of someone's exhaust will get the paint chips they richly deserve.

My Evoque auto wipers don't do a single wipe on start up. Indeed, I was pleased with that, as my Mercedes does. I leave the wipers in this setting all the time, so, in the Merc., the car may be nice and clean and dry but with one fly on the screen, then you inadvertently get it streaked right across the glass! Some people find it disconcerting that they occasionally do a sweep in dry weather, but this is due to the 'reflection' you describe and usually happens in bright sun.

I'm entirely with you on the stone chips, although I've had the occasional one due to people driving too fast in the oncoming lane, especially annoying when the road has been resurfaced with grit, which happens a lot in country areas.

(04-04-2012 09:13am)Donny Dog Wrote:  My Evoque auto wipers don't do a single wipe on start up. Indeed, I was pleased with that, as my Mercedes does. I leave the wipers in this setting all the time, so, in the Merc., the car may be nice and clean and dry but with one fly on the screen, then you inadvertently get it streaked right across the glass! Some people find it disconcerting that they occasionally do a sweep in dry weather, but this is due to the 'reflection' you describe and usually happens in bright sun.

I'm entirely with you on the stone chips, although I've had the occasional one due to people driving too fast in the oncoming lane, especially annoying when the road has been resurfaced with grit, which happens a lot in country areas.

I'm confused now. Can wipers be set to 'auto' as a default even when not raining? Or is their intended purpose to be switched to 'auto' only when it is actually raining?

If its the latter then I think that is why its doing a single sweep when the engine is turned on.

does it not defeat the purpose of having auto, if you have to manually switch them on?!!!

leave them on auto all of the time.
in my last car, the only issue this would occasionally cause is smearing dust across the screen.

(04-04-2012 11:13am)RacingSnake Wrote:  does it not defeat the purpose of having auto, if you have to manually switch them on?!!!

leave them on auto all of the time.
in my last car, the only issue this would occasionally cause is smearing dust across the screen.

I think that seems pretty obvious and is exactly what I would expect. The alternative interpretation would be that they act merely as a gauge for the amount of rain so you don't have to keep altering the intermittent setting, but they still need to be turned ON to auto when it starts raining.

Mark_n seems to be contradicting you on this. If Mark_n is correct then that explains the single wipe on startup. If you are correct then it is faulty and will need looking at.

IIRC the single wipe on start up is also something that Freelander2 is afflicted with, have a look in http://www.freel2.com and there may be a "fix" for it. It isn't something I have experienced on my car (yet).

(04-04-2012 11:25am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  IIRC the single wipe on start up is also something that Freelander2 is afflicted with, have a look in http://www.freel2.com and there may be a "fix" for it. It isn't something I have experienced on my car (yet).

Just to clarify - it seems from what you are saying Tim you think there is a fault and the wipers should be able to be set on 'auto' all the time?

I should just point out as well that my windscreen was replaced. Not sure of the wipers were tinkered with in some way when this was done that has affected them.

Yes, mine doesn't give a single wipe when I start the engine, but I do know it was a problem with some Freely2's
The only time my wipers are not set to auto is when we have a frost forecast and then I switch them off so the frost on the screen the next morning doesn't trigger a load of wipes across the frosted screen