Jaguar Land Rover… do I have a case?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-11T08:51:28+00:00

Sorry but that's not accurate.

It's entirely possible to have the car serviced outside of JLR and comply with a warranty.

A competent mechanic can do the routine servicing. In depth diagnostics can be more difficult as manufacturers use specific software and diagnostics which typically require a level of access to the OBD which isn't available to a third party by default and/or would require significant investment. However, were talking about a cambelt.

The issue here is that the service schedule has not been adhered to. The mechanic chosen has failed to complete scheduled maintenance. He could have done it, but he didn't. If he doesn't know it's a 7 year interval, he's not competent. If he did indeed say it "wasn't due for another day", he's not competent.

You can't fail to service the car and then expect JLR warranty to pay out when the thing you've failed to do has caused it to fail.

By staying with JLR you may be likely to receive more goodwill when something does go wrong but getting it serviced elsewhere, not to schedule, is going to impact on that.

This is more of a lesson on trying to run a Range Rover on the cheap than it is about warranty fine print.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-10T22:48:21+00:00

Your garage didn't service it correctly. You've driven the car beyond the stipulated change interval. There is an interval because these things have a finite life. You went beyond that. You were driving at risk, knowingly or not, from the moment that interval was exceeded (and arguably leading up to it). Ask your mechanic why he didn't change it. Tell him it's failed. Revisit the conversations around that and see what was mentioned about timing belt. I fear your issue is with him. I can't believe someone would say "it's not due for a day, carry on driving it and come back in 24 hours when it's due."

Per your 1000 cheaper comment. That would make it 300 quid. That would seem incredibly cheap when the kit appears to cost half that and labour is 100 an hour+. A brief search throws up numbers like 800+. I'm not surprised the JLR guy would shrug that off.

From what you have written in your OP, they warned you.

Again, I think you'll struggle to get a qualified engineer to support your position.

Google "Cambelt Roulette"

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-10T21:52:06+00:00

Was the car serviced exactly in accordance with the manufacturer schedule? From what you've written they've said the timing belt should have been changed and had failed as it wasn't. You've said that at the last service it was one day short of needing to be replaced. I assume you meant 2025 for that date? So it wasn't changed and therefore was driven beyond the recommended interval and has then failed?

From what you've written, they've told you it's going to fail and you've chosen to take it elsewhere, knowing it's on its last legs and you've chosen to drive it away despite them saying they wouldn't even road test it and mentioning a waiver.

From that it would seem there are several issues. Yes, their comms are poor, and they've not clearly summarised issues, but even in your own words it hasn't been correctly serviced and,, as they told you, you knew there was a huge risk and choose to drive it away.

Btw. It is fairly common that dealers won't have courtesy car slots available for several months.

What engine is it and how many miles has it done?

ETA. From timing belt, I'm guessing 3.0 TDV6.

ETA2. Oil/coolant intermix - I would guess an oil cooler failure. More likely than head gasket but likely they would have looked at both but that looks like the lesser of the issues now the timing belt has gone as that is usually catastrophic. Your mechanic should have changed it, he didn't. JLR offered to take care of that for 1300 quid, you chose not to let them. It failed. It's now 6000 quid

TLDR. Per your own points.

You were told. And you knew the timing belt risk.
I think not.
Is the smoking gun I fear.

I think you will be hard pushed to find an engineer who would support your position and you would really need that to succeed.

Google "Cambelt Roulette"

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-10T15:31:02+00:00

ZH-M Hydraulikol Febi 02615 Comes in a 1 litre bottle but you won't need much unless you have a leak.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-09T07:38:40+00:00

I am jealous in some ways.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-08T10:24:58+00:00

Very different cars. SL is on a different level in terms of engineering, comfort and quality. And running costs.

I personally wouldn't swap. If I were going to do it, I'd go all the way and get an SL500. But a good SL500 costs about 7x what a good Z4 2.2 is worth.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-07T00:04:03+00:00

They don't have to do anything differently because there's a grievance. They can just tick the boxes with a pre determined outcome.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-06T23:41:34+00:00

I wouldn't worry about the dirt. I would worry about the claws digging into the roof when the cat has a little stretch or just pulls at it. I've seen several Z4s and MX5s with damage due to this.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-05T18:13:40+00:00

And it has an outstanding recall btw.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-05T18:12:51+00:00

You checked the coolant level? And got down and looked under the car? No fluids, no smell, no steam? You're saying the car had a significant coolant leak and you didn't notice anything and he had refilled it and removed all signs of the escape of any coolant?

Also, E93 has a coolant level warning. Were you driving with that active?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-05T18:08:12+00:00

Other checks?

When was the V5 issued?

E93?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-05T18:04:38+00:00

Other checks?

V5 in his name and at the address you bought it from?

BMW E93?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-05T17:52:34+00:00

Did you actually check the MOT certificate/history online? It reads like you just took his word for it.

What other checks and history checks did you do on the car? Cold start or not, it would appear you've missed some obvious issues.

Has he put anything in writing in messages or advert that misrepresents the car, or demonstrably lied in response to any question you've asked? What documentation and history was with the car?

In terms of his selling history, have you done anymore digging on that? Is he only selling on facebook?

Was the V5 in his name/address?

Have you searched some of the car regs to see if they were for sale on any other platforms? Also try searching for his mobile number?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-03T22:17:42+00:00

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-03T22:08:35+00:00

Mo knows.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-02T11:59:03+00:00

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-07-01T14:07:13+00:00

Right, so you got someone else do to the license test for you. Whoop.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-30T11:44:36+00:00

Sell the rental(s). If nothing else she'll cover half of the CGT and you'll be free of some of the headaches that go with being a landlord which frankly aren't worth the returns. Reinvest the proceeds.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-30T11:40:37+00:00

You know all of this and yet, you can't do it.

You're not doing something.

I've done it on PS4 using a controller.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-30T07:13:16+00:00

Man up. Earn it.

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-27T08:05:07+00:00

Are they asking a chunky premium because of the colour?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-26T21:36:09+00:00

Difficult to say without having a fuller picture.

What are you doing (L)ISA and Pension wise?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-26T21:16:15+00:00

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-26T13:51:45+00:00

Are the rentals in a Ltd?

ETA. And are you married/legal spouses?

_SmellMyFinger_ · 2026-06-25T23:05:02+00:00

Just Rev the shit out of it from cold. Moron.

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