My trust was lost in JL vans and never regained
A dealer's reputation isn't judged by how they respond when everything goes well—it's judged by how they deal with problems.
I raised concerns within days of purchase. As my complaint progressed, I discovered that important aspects of the vehicle had not been accurately represented before sale, including the advertised number of previous owners. An independent inspection later concluded that the issues it identified were already present at the point of sale. Concerns I considered serious were repeatedly described as "teething issues".
This entire experience could have been avoided had the vehicle—marketed as having passed an RAC 100-point check—had its issues identified and addressed before sale.
Although some repairs were paid for and rejection of the vehicle was offered, neither changed my overall experience or the reasons this review has been written.
Trust needs to be earned back. My trust and confidence in JL Vans were never restored.
If this is what JL Vans considers "teething issues", I would be very concerned about what they consider a serious problem.
Based on my experience, I would not buy from JL Vans again, nor would I recommend them to anyone else.
For accuracy, I feel it is important to correct a number of factual inaccuracies in JL Vans' reply.
The independent ACE inspection did not conclude there was "no issue with the condition of the vehicle". It concluded that the vehicle's general condition was good, but that it was not of satisfactory quality at the time of sale, and that the faults it identified were already in development at the point of sale.
JL Vans also state they replaced my brakes and headlight. They did not. They contributed towards repairs to the rear shock absorbers, nearside front wishbone, nearside front top strut mount, two electric wing mirror units and a replacement battery. They declined to fund a number of other repairs identified by the independent inspection, including repairs to the sliding door, bodywork, wiring, parking sensor issue and headlight damage.
My review reflects my experience and I stand by it.
Antwoord van Jlvans
Hi Morag We always try our best to work with people and make sure they have a great experience with us. We sell used commercial vehicles which have all had a life before they arrive with us.
We do our best to prepare them to a high standard before they go on to their next adventure but we can never get them exactly as they left the factory without some sign of wear. We recognise customer expectations can differ but we don’t sell brand new vehicles. In this case you raised a couple of small cosmetic issues when the van arrived as well as having the van checked over where your garage advised the brakes show signs of use. There was no issue with the brakes but to appease the situation we paid for new brakes to be put on the van as well as a new headlight that again you said had a mark on, which you were not happy with.
When you kept coming up with more and more claims, we offered to buy the van back at full money and collect at your earliest convenience. You decided against this but still kept asking for more and more and at each point we have tried to be fair and offered repeatedly to buy the van back.
Your finance company had the van inspected and found no issue with the condition of the vehicle. If you were not happy with the van. why not take the option of having your full money back?. After 21 years in business, we've learnt over this long period that sometimes a customer just isn't the right fit for us and no matter what you do it will never be good enough.
We were desperate for you to take the offer of a refund as we knew that the van we sold you, would come back to us and be resold without the repeated complaints and late night emails. Predictably we also knew you'd take pleasure in then defaming our reputation, that we've spent so long building.
Unfortunately we have learnt over the years you can’t keep everyone happy. We feel over the last 7 months we have tried our best to offer solutions and offered to buy back the van at various stages, always at the full asking price so you would not be out of pocket.
We are sorry you feel the way you do but at no stage can it be said we haven’t tried our best to find a resolution.
JL Vans