Tom Wood
A man who got into a row with a car dealership is now refusing to move a number of vehicles that he’s left outside with angry messages emblazoned on them.
Michael Cox has parked a van, a caravan, and other vehicles outside the Cardiff Land Rover dealership because he believes the motor company failed to honour a warranty agreement that he had with them on a car he bought four years ago, and wants the rest of the world to know about it.
Cox has now left the Range Rover and the other vehicles outside and the dealership for weeks and won’t get rid of them.
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They’re parked legally too, so there’s not much that the dealership can do about it.
The 36-year-old says that he took out an extended warranty on an eight-year-old Range Rover that he bought in 2018, but has since had numerous problems with the car.
The engine failed back in December, and that seems to have been the last straw for him.
He claims that Land Rover have reneged on the deal.
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From the side of the dealership, it has said it's investigating the case.
On the side of the cars, he’s put messages such as ‘Don’t buy a Land Rover! They don’t honour their warranty’.
He’s also got one that says: “How can Thierry Bollore – the CEO of Land Rover – let it get to this?”
Cox now says he’s received an injunction ordering him to get rid of the vehicles by Saturday – however, he’s got a plan for that.
He says that he’ll just move them to a different dealership if he’s forced to shift them.
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He told Wales Online: "I told Land Rover's head office, I’m going to move it around all your dealerships and make a point, because what you’re doing is wrong.
“I’ve had to send that car into the dealer eight times because of the coolant problem, the engine has gone bang because of the coolant problem and they're trying to blame me.
"It’s not like I’ve taken it to a back street garage, I've brought it back to the main dealer.
"They need to stop messing people around and instead give them the service that they expect to get.
“In my case, they are just trying to backpedal now and are using excuses. It's ridiculous."
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He continued: "For the last two years, I’ve bought a top of the range warranty which costs £2,000 a year.
"But since I’ve owned the vehicle, bearing in mind it’s only got 42,000 miles on it, it’s been back and forth to the main dealers with a coolant problem.
“I've taken it in to the main dealer around eight to ten times and they’ve never got to the bottom of the issue.
"It went back in last December with the problem, and two days before Christmas they phoned and said my car was ready.
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“The following morning, the cooling light came on again, so I went back to them and said about it.
"They told me that it was probably an airlock and I should keep the water topped up, and if I had any further problems I should come back in the new year.
"Well, over Christmas, the engine went bang.
“I took it back in at the start of January and asked if they would replace it, but they said no.
“They said I had driven it because it was hot. But they told me to drive it – I’m not going to blow my own car up for the sake of it."
Cox also claimed that he’s received a lot of public support since his protest.
He said: “I've had a hell of a lot of support from it, social media wise.
"People offered to lend me their vehicles and to help me pay for the wrap. People even offered to leave vehicles there for me – the other day a friend of mine wanted to put a 40-foot trailer there.
"A friend of mine was actually driving down Hadfield Road and he watched them put the cover on. He rang me and asked if I wanted him to take it off, so obviously I said yes."
A Land Rover spokesperson said: "Land Rover always aims to provide the best customer service. We're currently investigating this case and are in regular contact with the customer concerned."