7:06 am, February 4, 2023
Used car dealer Autovogue has closed its doors and blamed ‘failing used Jaguar Land Rover vehicles’ as one of the main contributors.
The business, located at The Old Garage, Stableford, in Staffordshire, claimed it had spent £198,000 in 2022 repairing JLR products in a statement published on its website earlier this week.
It said that ‘with deep regret’ it had ‘ceased trading’, in the note posted this week.
Autovogue wrote: ‘Unfortunately in recent years and with the development of the global economy after Covid-19, further compounded by Ukraine and high UK inflation the automotive sector has been hit hard with significant pressures.
‘Autovogue UK have suffered huge additional costs and continuing issues with failing used Jaguar Land Rover vehicles which were directly due to the poor manufacture of these vehicles by the Jaguar Land Rover group and not Autovogue UK limited associated works.
‘Many failing after under 10,000 miles and the direct repair cost damaging the balance sheet for Autovogue UK Limited in 2022 of some £198,000.’
The used car dealer added: ‘After some nine months of intense investment rounds to support the growth of the business and new models to move away from Jaguar Land Rover vehicles to more stable manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes & Porsche talks broke down directly due to the distressed economy/retail market and the investors ultimately decided to not proceed with the backing required, leaving no choice but to close the company.’
The business has since removed the statement from its website but it remains on its Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Customers of the luxury used car dealership contacted Car Dealer in January when they found Autovogue had shut its premises, closed social media accounts and stopped answering their phones.
Staff at the dealership are believed to have been made redundant and Autovogue said it was ‘incredibly emotional’ after ‘some 30 years of trading’.
Autovogue described itself as an independent sports, prestige and SUV specialist on its website. It offered car sales, conversions and bodywork from its Staffordshire base.
- Land Rover makes most unreliable cars, claims Honest John
- Land Rover Discovery is most unreliable used car, says What Car?
- Jaguar Land Rover makes first profits since the pandemic
Jaguar Land Rover was contacted for comment on the claims from the used car dealer.
A spokesperson for the manufacturer told Car Dealer: ‘At Jaguar Land Rover we are committed to ensuring our clients receive the highest possible levels of service throughout the ownership cycle.
‘As such, we have an established approved used service network offering a transparent market-leading scheme for buyers of pre-owned Jaguar or Land Rover vehicles.
‘We have 124 approved used retailers in the UK all offering a minimum 12-month approved warranty, 12-months of 24/7 roadside assistance, 165 multi-point inspection and an independent mileage and history check so that we can provide our customers’ peace of mind when buying a pre-owned vehicle.
‘We also operate a 30 day/1000-mile conditional vehicle exchange agreement, part exchange service and complimentary driving experiences as standard.’
Image credit: Google Streetview
Updated: Feb 5, 2023, 12.25pm
Car Dealer Live – the future of the car dealer – exclusive conference features talks from leading car dealers, Google and Auto Trader among much more. Find out the full event details and book tickets.
