Jaguar Land Rover’s brand new 3S (sales, service, and spare parts) facility is now open to the public, along with a new state-of-the-art body shop designed to meet the needs of modern-day vehicle repairs. The two new facilities are the result of significant investment in the Jaguar Land Rover brand from the sole authorised agent in Sri Lanka, Access Motors.
Open to the public for the first time since it was announced last year, the new 3S centre represents an investment of US$8mn on behalf of Access Motors, into what is a globally compliant retail centre. By consolidating the functions of sales, service and spare parts under one roof, Jaguar Land Rover’s presence in the market it not only solidified, but it also represents a seismic shift towards customer satisfaction for loyal owners of their products.
Meanwhile, the opening of Jaguar Land Rover’s new body shop provides customers with the peace of mind that, if an accident were to occur, their luxury automobiles can be repaired back to manufacturer-specification.
The new Jaguar Land Rover body shop has been designed as a state-of-the-art repair centre to cater to the exacting demands of modern bodywork repairs. While being an authorised paint-shop for Jaguar and Land Rover cars, the body shop is also open to service all other brands as well.
The new facility is one of the few body shops in Sri Lanka that is capable of repairing aluminium monocoques — the style in which all modern Jaguar Land Rover cars are constructed in. The new body shop conforms to the strict requirements needed to successfully repair aluminium monocoque bodies, with clean and strictly monitored enclosed work bays that avoid contamination with other metals. Singaporean-trained technicians that have been certified to comply with Jaguar Land Rover’s international repair standards, undertake all repairs.
The new body shop from Jaguar Land Rover also incorporates the latest in chassis-repair technology. For the safety of a vehicle’s occupants, it is vital that any structural repairs are carried out to the exacting standards prescribed by the manufacturer. The new chassis bench installed at the Jaguar Land Rover body shop uses the latest in computerised measurement to perfect all repairs within 1mm of accuracy.
The new Jaguar Land Rover body shop also introduces the latest in waterborne painting methods. Waterborne paint is the standard in which all modern Jaguar Land Rovers are painted. Not only does the local introduction of such paint and painting techniques mean that any respray of a Jaguar Land Rover product will be identical to that of the factory but, as waterborne paint does not use any toxic solvents, paint technicians are not subjected to breathing in toxic fumes. While still in its infancy in Sri Lanka, waterborne paint represents a significant leap forward in terms of finish, drying time, and consistency.
The new Jaguar Land Rover body shop also sees a significant improvement in turn-around time. Preparation time is faster, cleaner, and more efficient thanks to the new dust-free dry-sanding method. In addition, new painting, refinishing, and preparation bays are integrated into a revised “flow line” system supplied by SAIMA Mechanica, Italy, minimising vehicle movement and increasing work speed. The fact that the new Jaguar Land Rover body shop is located within one kilometer from the new 3S facility also helps minimise the time for each job.
In the near future, the new Jaguar Land Rover body shop will also offer “smart repairs” for minor scuffs and dings. Such repairs aim to be completed within hours, minimising disruption to a vehicle owner’s daily life. Examples of such smart repairs are paintless fixes for minor dents, as well as localised paint touch-ups. The introduction of such options means that not only are costs are kept low, but also downtime is kept to a minimum.
The new Jaguar Land Rover sales, service and spare parts facility is easily located at No. 117, Dehiwala Rd, Boralesgamuwa, and is now open to the public.