5:42 am, December 8, 2023

A used car dealer believes ‘panic’ is causing the prices of Jaguar Land Rover models to tumble as soaring insurance costs and reliability issues impact values.

Phil Johnston, boss of used car dealership Spencer Flint Automotive said he had seen evidence of insurance costs for Range Rovers soaring, especially in London.

This, coupled with the brand’s unreliability issues and an on-going parts crisis, is seriously impacting prices, he believes.

Used car trade valuations experts Cap HPI revealed that out of the top 25 largest falling used car models in the past six months EIGHT of them were Jaguar Land Rover models. Seven were Land Rover models.

The Range Rover Evoque has been the biggest faller, losing nearly a third of its price (30.4%) during the period.

A number of newer models from the car manufacturer have also been seriously impacted with the latest Range Rover Sport, in petrol hybrid and diesel variants, losing up to 28.3%.

Speaking on last week’s Car Dealer Podcast, Johnston explained he has specialised in selling Range Rovers despite their notorious reliability issues.

He said: ‘The reliability issues are certainly not a myth. Range Rovers have slight issues selling at the moment, but probably 50 to 60% of the cars I have sold in the last three to four months have still been Range Rovers.

‘That means I know what they’re worth and whether it’s sensible to buy or not. But, yes, insurance premiums have gone up.

‘In London, insurance prices for them have gone up crazily – they’ve spiraled.

‘But it’s important the motor trade doesn’t panic and reduce those cars because outside of the Big Smoke it’s not had that much of an effect.

‘Maybe [the motor trade] should not panic as much as they are as that’s pulling the prices of them all down. Everyone is panicking on JLR product at the moment.’

In some parts of London, Range Rovers are almost impossible to insure. Earlier this year, Car Dealer reported how many insurance companies were simply refusing to provide cover for them altogether. Even JLR’s own insurance was forced to stop providing insurance for them.

A recent report by The Independent found just two insurers would provide quotes for a 35-year-old woman living in zone four on a Range Rover Velar – the cheapest was £20,000.

DVLA data revealed that one in 100 Land Rover models were stolen during March 2022 and March 2023, making them the most vulnerable model. While last year, more than 5,200 Range Rovers were stolen in the UK.

The issue led to JLR boss Adrian Mardell admitting to investors in March that ‘theft of our vehicles in large cities has become a problem’.

This widespread media coverage has seemingly spooked buyers leading to a drop in the values of the cars since those reports first emerged.

Largest used car price drops in last six months

Source: Cap HPI, data for three year old cars with 30,000 miles

Range Rover Evoque (20- ), £11,371 drop, 30.4%
Renault Captur (19- ), £4,697 drop, 30.1%
Range Rover Sport (17-23) Petrol Hybrid, £13,840 drop, 28.3%
Land Rover Discovery Sport (20- ) Hybrid, £10,900 drop, 28.3%
Skoda Karoq (17- ), £5,414 drop, 28.1%
Vauxhall Grandland X (17- ), £4,369 drop, 27.1%
Lexus UX (20- ) Electric, £6,488 drop, 27.1%
BMW 2 Series Convertible (14-21), £4,981 drop, 26.2%
Vauxhall Grandland X (19- ) Petrol Hybrid, £4,875 drop, 25.8%
Range Rover Velar (17- ) Diesel, £9,072 drop, 25.4%
Hyundai Kona (19- ) Hybrid, £4,561 drop, 24.5%
Volvo XC40 (19- ) Hybrid, £7,055 drop, 24.3%
Discovery Sport (19- ) Diesel, £7,389 drop, 24.2%
Range Rover Sport (17-23) Diesel, £12,341 drop, 24.2%
Skoda Kamiq (19- ), £4,025 drop, 24.2%
Land Rover Discovery Sport (19- ), £7,633 drop, 24.0%
Renault Kadjar (18-22), £3,573 drop, 23.9%
Vauxhall Crossland X (17- ), £3,024 drop, 23.9%
Cupra Formentor (20- ) Hybrid, £6,550 drop, 23.9%
Jaguar F-Pace (15-21) Diesel, £6,121 drop, 23.8%
Seat Ateca (16- ), £4,528 drop, 23.7%
BMW 4 Series Convertible (13-20), £5,430 drop, 23.5%
Peugeot 3008 (19- ) Petrol Hybrid, £5,558 drop, 23.3%
Vauxhall Grandland X (17- ) Diesel, £3,614 drop, 23.3%
BMW 4 Series Convertible (13-20) Diesel, £5,225 drop, 23.3%

Used car dealer Johnston, who is based in Wetherby, North Yorkshire, said that not all his customers had been affected by the insurance price hikes.

On the podcast he told the story of how he sold one customer a 69-plate Range Rover Sport to replace her old model and she paid an additional £280 for her new premium. But he admitted there were others who have not been so fortunate.

Last month, Land Rover said it would be spending £10m upgrading security for older models in response to the high theft rates.

The fix is designed to stop thieves hacking the keyless entry system with an upgrade to the car’s body control module (BCM). Owners are being contacted by their dealers to offer them the solution.

JLR UK managing director Patrick McGillcycuddy said: ‘While vehicle theft in the UK is affecting the whole car industry, at JLR we understand the negative impact this can have on the ownership experience for our clients.

‘Our investment of more than £10m demonstrates our ongoing commitment to tackling this issue.

‘Through our long-standing collaboration with law enforcement and key partners, our expert team will continue to develop and deploy effective anti-theft measures to ensure clients are protected. It’s my personal priority.’

JLR told Autocar that it believed the fix will have a ‘positive’ impact on owners’ ability to obtain insurance.

You can listen to the Car Dealer Podcast weekly on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or your favourite podcast platform. New episodes are released every Friday afternoon.