Member Since: 07 Dec 2007
Location: Herts
Posts: 13
Waxoyl - a warning
Happy New Year All
Having weighed the pros and cons, I decided at the end of last year to get my disco waxoyled, as it has been the best car I ever owned and I intend to keep it indefinitely.
So last month I took it to the guy who advertises in LRO every month and who everybody recommends whenever this subject comes up. All the recommendations I'd heard were from owners of older leaf-sprung or coil-sprung Land Rover products so I specifically asked him if he had done modern Land Rovers before and he said yes.
So I dropped the vehicle off with him first thing in the morning. In retrospect, the alarm bells should have started ringing then as I had to show him how to lower the spare wheel and he said that they don't normally do that, but at the time I was still confident in his reputation.
I went away. I came back at 5 o'clock to find him not finished, so I had to wait.
Then he told me that they had accidentally broken off my nearside wing mirror.
'Oh well!' I thought, accidents happen, it was the season of good will after all.
I went to inspect the wing mirror and found that they had also managed to completely flatten the battery, to the extent that it was just flashing odd red lights on the dash. Slightly annoyed now, but he has a charger so we put it on charge while the boy finished cleaning the car. The car which was filthy. Now the detailed Terms and Conditions that he sends you in the post before the job do include the warning that there may be the odd smear of waxoyl on the paintwork, but it was entirely covered, right up to the roofrack in sticky waxoyl overspray, which he was cleaning off with white spirit.
Whilst the battery charged, I phoned a Land Rover dealer and got a price of £240 to have the wing mirror replaced and after a bit of negotiation he agreed to knock this off the price. So I paid the difference and left, disappointed about the wing mirror, but at least confident that he has a good reputation for the waxoyling.
This week I took it to my friendly neighbourhood independent Land Rover chap to sort the wing mirror and to bolt back on all the underbody plates that the waxoyl guy wanted removed before the job.
Imagine how I felt then when my Land Rover guy called me at work to ask who had done the undersealing as it was the worst job he had ever seen.
The problems were:
- significant patches had no waxoyl eg. the boot floor and the inside of all wheel arches behind the plastic liners
- everything else underneath, irrespective of what it was made of had a liberal coating, eg. plastic compressor cover, plastic wheel arch liners, air springs, exhaust, fuel burning heater, rubber brake hoses, and most ridiculous - he had thoroughly covered the inside of every alloy wheel!
- the paintwork is still completely covered in a thin, but sticky film of waxoyl.
I have posted some pictures in my gallery.
I would be interested to hear what you all think about whether I am over-reacting or not.
well I've never Waxoyled a vehicle before...but based on your post and some of the picture, I wouldn't be happy with that job. Having plastic, suspension parts and (worst of all) the inside of the alloys all covered in the stuff doesn't look right to me. God knows what it will have done to your height sensors...The next American ex-pat that calls it a "truck" is going to find out what 2.7 tons feels like on their foot...
Club "yes, I too have had the EGR's replaced..."
Club "yes, I too have had the compressor replaced..."
Club "yes, I too once had the car at the dealer for a couple of weeksnearly 4 weeksover 4 weeks...5 weeks"
Club "yes, I too have had EPB failure..."
Club "yes, I too get mysterious bings and bongs..."
6th Jan 2011 8:14 am
wiggs
Member Since: 03 Sep 2006
Location: Manchester
Posts: 14368
I would not be happy with that at all G4 Gone ...but not forgotten
6th Jan 2011 8:40 am
countrywide
Member Since: 16 Sep 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 6019
The wheels should have been off at some point surely to cover the brakes. Getting wax all over them will not make them very efficient.
If you got almost £300 back for the mirror, how much did the job cost
I never bothered to get mine done as you need the chassis to be very clean and they use steam and jet washers and I was concerned the electrical connections and sensors could be damaged.
6th Jan 2011 8:41 am
Matty 2332
Member Since: 02 Dec 2008
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 670
What a complete mess, I hope you are planning on requesting a refund, I was thinking of having this done but I think I will give it a miss now.
I had my D3 done, when it had covered less than 1k miles by the guy at Hatfield AL10 9BB, and was very pleased with the result.
NJSSAm I Gammon or Woke ? - I neither know nor care.
2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
2011 Mercedes Benz SL350 (R230)
1973 MG B GT V8 - 3.9L John Eales engine, 5 speed R380 gearbox, since 1975.
1959 MGA roadster - 1.9L Peter Burgess Engine - 5 speed gearbox
Past LRs - Multiple FFRs, Discos & a Series I - some petrol, some diesel,
none Electric or H2 fuel cell - yet.
There are 10 types of people in this world: Those who understand binary, and those who don’t.
I always understood that the waxoyle process was put inside the chassis box sections. Surely these days all of the vulnerable place are adequately coated during the vehicle manufacturing.
This guy has made an absolute mess of your D3, I hope there will no long term problems as a result?Run silent, run deep!! HM Submarines Conqueror, Churchill, Renown, Ocelot, Porpoise, Onslaught.
Oh Lord! send down a dove, with wings as sharp as razors.
To cut the throats of men, that sell bad beer to sailors.
VIN 138A476***
6th Jan 2011 9:17 am
Discoed
Member Since: 16 Jun 2010
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 1020
Looks grim! I had my 110 waxoiled by my local specialist. He did a thorough job inside and outside chassis legs, axles and everything and it cost the princely sum of £80. I do wonder how some places get away with what they charge for this treatment. I wouldn't consider the D3 for such treatment. I'd rather have some light surface rust.
Thanks for the tip off gasman, I was considering going there as it is convenient for my regular trips to the midlands office and I could use his free courtesy car to get to work, but given your experience I will think again.Craig
2015 D? SDV6 HSE Loire Blue
2009 D4 TDV6 HSE Santorini Black
2006 G4 Challenge V8 HSE (Gone, but fuel bills not forgotten!)
Media Support Vehicle Stage 1 & 2 Thailand and Laos
Driven by Rudi Thoelen, 2003 Winner
6th Jan 2011 9:22 am
John C
Member Since: 28 Aug 2007
Location: East Yorkshire
Posts: 3292
Really sorry to hear this.
Had mine done twice now and it came back immaculate - looking like a new vehicle underneath.
I don't buy these guaranteed long term waxoyl treatments at all - IMHO a far better option is to find a local specialist and get it done every year or two. Someone who knows D3 would be a bonus, but it's really not rocket science. Wait until a really warm sunny patch in the summer, then take it to friendly truck fitter to get them to clean the underside with a steam cleaner on a ramp. Give it a day or so to dry out, then find one of those small independent paint shops and ask them to Waxoyl it. I used this approach on my D2, and paid about £70-£80 every couple of years - it was immaculate at the end of it.
Lakeland did mine when I bought it - part of the deal. Duckworths did it again when I had a service last year - very nice job. Think I paid about £100, but it may have been an offer.
If you rub any off the underside or it needs touching up at any point, it's easy enough to warm a small tin of waxoyl and use a brush to apply it.
I'd light fires under this guy... 2020 SDV6 D5 HSE, Carpathian Grey +
2022 Tesla Model Y LR... almost Carpathian Grey
Previously : 2005 TDV6 SE Auto, Cairns Blue (288K) - ours for 16 years
Or maybe a bushfire under his What an 2008 ,hse, it does what it says .
6th Jan 2011 9:45 am
Stoveman
Member Since: 18 May 2010
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 104
For a guy who seems to have been doing this for years I would say he has done a job on yours.I would have thought the D3 is a nightmare to cover properly underneath as vehicles are more and more complicated these days.
Used to hear some good reports about the firm I suspect your talking about but they were on 90s and 110s.
Personally I would want the whole lot removed,at his expense.
What did the small print say,do you have any comebacks after you have collected the car.
If it is the one I'm thinking of he used to be on the LRO forum when I was on there years ago.Came across as a bit of a prat to deal with if things were not going his way so good luck.
6th Jan 2011 10:16 am
crwoody
Member Since: 09 Mar 2009
Location: Littleborough
Posts: 2109
I had my 90 done before he moved and was generally OK with the result apart from a couple of minor missed bits and some overspray.
I was also thinking of getting the D3 done but looking at the state of yours, I don't think I'll bother now.
It's a sorry sight indeed, I hope you get some resolution - and thanks for the heads up.Clive
6th Jan 2011 10:35 am
grzesiul
Member Since: 11 May 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 6266
well feckup job you'll start smoking soon pal when exhaust gets very hot u'lll be like a steam train
what a that "pro" I would make him clean it afterwards
has he covered height sensors/rods and all bit fragile?
6th Jan 2011 11:41 am
gasman
Member Since: 07 Dec 2007
Location: Herts
Posts: 13
Thanks for all the replies so far.
He says my complaint has no substance, that getting the waxoyl on other components doesn't matter and won't do any harm and that he never guaranteed 100% coverage.
I threatened to take him to the small claims court and he immediately replied with the fees for his expert witness £1100 for a report, another £1100 to appear in court plus 1st class rail fare etc. with the threat that he would ask that costs be awarded to me if he wins.
This makes me suspect that he has been taken to court over his workmanship before (I wish I'd known!) and is used to trying to frighten people off.
So now I have to gamble £2500 on recovering the £460+vat that I paid.
All in all my advice would be stay away from this man, he is very difficult to deal with.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
I had my 110 waxoiled by my local specialist. He did a thorough job inside and outside chassis legs, axles and everything and it cost the princely sum of £80. I do wonder how some places get away with what they charge for this treatment. I wouldn't consider the D3 for such treatment. I'd rather have some light surface rust.
Or maybe a bushfire under his 
