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- Chillyphil
- Member Since: 07 Jul 2025
- Location: Paignton
- Posts: 72
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 763
Cheers Phil
The only thing I'm not looking forward to is redoing the auto stop/start CCF edit with the IID tool after the Bling Barge's brain surgery... and hoping Park's don't mess with my settings too much. I think the approach puddle lights with the logo are on the underside of the mirrors though so my blue door card LED's will probably be safe...
I'll tell them to leave the stop/start CCF edit well alone though if I can. Apart from that...all that remains is to make a blood sacrifice to the Norse weather gods to guarantee the ferries won't be cancelled and the roads to the far north will be free of snowdrifts.
If this software update breaks the Bling Barge, I'm blaming Wolfpack and Beno2 for talking me into it...
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- Darras
- Member Since: 16 May 2020
- Location: Inverness
- Posts: 850
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 763
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I decided on the trip down because of the Bling Barge and it's service history, especially dealership service history.
The last recorded dealer service was in 2021 although I've got indy garage paperwork with every receipt for servicing, parts and repairs every year until I bought it...it's quite comprehensive. It was certainly well maintained and looked after with money spent on it when it needed it, albeit not through a Land Rover dealership...which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The dealer servicing doesn't interest me, most dealership 'technicians' are just plugging the car into a computer and ticking boxes on a check list rather than getting their hands dirty. It's also more the software and firmware updates that the car has likely missed out on since 2021 rather than the N877 security update itself...I certainly have no need for that up here.
I had a choice of three LR dealers between Aberdeen and Inverness. Parks in Aberdeen itself, Pentland Land Rover at Elgin and Parks again at Inverness...I only chose Parks at Inverness because of my travel plans and the timings which are all ferry dependent...it's on the way home and we can stop at the retail park for a bit of shopping before heading up to Thurso for an overnight stay at the Premier Inn and turning up at Scrabster for the morning ferry back to Stromness on Friday.
Parks in Inverness just won the coin toss is all...even they suggested Aberdeen or Elgin when I told them where I was coming in from...but, the 14.00 wait in booking time for the update process suited my road trip plans perfectly.
Anyway, it's all booked and paid for...the addition of a cabin on the overnight ferry to Aberdeen and the hotel in Thurso (plus fuel for the Aberdeen-Scrabster road trip) being the only costs. All the actual ferry crossings including the local inter-island ferries were free due to islander discounts.
I have to admit, the pair of us are quite looking forward to the expedition...even if it's for something completely mundane like taking the car in to a dealership for an hour with a bit of shopping in Inverness retail park thrown in. We don't find much excuse to leave this remote and rather beautiful island in the middle of the north sea very often.
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Last edited by Mole HD on 16th Jan 2026 8:15 pm. Edited 21 times in total -
- Darras
- Member Since: 16 May 2020
- Location: Inverness
- Posts: 850
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- T4fty
- Member Since: 14 May 2025
- Location: Liverpool
- Posts: 11
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 763
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 763
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Quote:
From NorthLink Ferries.
Wednesday 21st January. MV HJATLAND is scheduled to depart Kirkwall (Hatston Pier) at 23:45 sailing for Aberdeen. Due to the adverse weather forecast this sailing is under review with a high probability of cancellation and a decision will be made tomorrow morning.
Quote:
From Orkney Ferries.
NORTH ISLES SERVICES – WEDNESDAY 21ST JANUARY
We would like to advise, multiple of our North Isles services for Wednesday 21st January have been placed under review.
This is due to the forecasted wind strength and sea conditions. A decision will be made tomorrow morning.
I guess my blood sacrifice to the mighty Thor for fair winds and calm seas wasn't deemed worthy enough. We'll be stuck on the island until this all blows over.
Now comes the fun part. I'll have to cancel the Bling Barge's brain transplant at Inverness and try to reschedule 4 ferry crossings, a hotel booking and an appointment at a Land Rover dealership to when the god of thunder isn't in such a bad mood.
One of the many joys of living on a small rock in the middle of the north sea where winter lasts for 9 months...
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 763
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Made it down to Inverness for the security update. I must admit, I'm well impressed by Parks Land Rover as a dealership, we were treated like royalty from the second we walked through the fancy automatic doors into the showroom.
After booking the Bling Barge in and having a friendly chat over a coffee, the service manager arranged for a driver to take us into the town for a bit of shopping and mooching around...chauffeured in a brand new top of the range Full Fat Range Rover no less. Once my car had it's brain transplant done...which took around 2 hours, they phoned me up to let me know it was ready and sent the driver down to pick us up again....who even loaded our shopping bags in the boot for us too.
When we got back to Parks, I discovered that they'd washed the Bling Barge, checked all the fluids etc for the long drive home and given it a quick interior valet as well...all this for a 9 year old Disco in for a complimentary software update... on a car that hasn't been near a dealership in years...that's almost above and beyond.
Did I mention the free barista style coffee?
Anyway...like I said, I'm well impressed by Parks Land Rover in Inverness, proper customer service, even though I hadn't spent a penny.
270 miles round trip over 2 days and 4 ferries with an overnight on the boat down to Aberdeen on Wednesday, the drive to Inverness and a Premier inn at Thurso on Thursday night on the drive back north, cracking sunny spring weather all the way too.
Spot the grubby looking Disco amidst all the shiny things...
New and expensive toys to muse over as you enjoy your posh coffee and free biccies...
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Last edited by Mole HD on 21st Mar 2026 9:53 am. Edited 2 times in total -
- Darras
- Member Since: 16 May 2020
- Location: Inverness
- Posts: 850
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Sorry to rain on your parade, but I’ve dealt with Parks, both at the Inverness and the Ayr branch over the years and I wouldn’t give them the time of day!
The free security update must have gone to your head for something you probably didn’t need but involved ferries and overnight stays! You obviously haven’t been to a dealership in years, they all drop off and collect these days and valet.
They used to be MacRae and Dicks. Now that was a good firm, but Parks bought them over in 2018. The last man standing from those days is the Service Manager, literally everyone else bailed out or was encouraged to leave. The place is filled with opportunistic, tight fitted shirted salesmen sipping their Costa Coffees between victims.
Ive even rejected one new vehicle from them, which was a fraught process when it didn’t need to be, caught they telling a lot of untruths and generally giving me the run around and I am not the only one.
If you got them on a good day, you were more than fortunate, don’t bet on it happening twice!
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 763
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Ach Darras, you're getting too cynical in yer auld age.
It's not like I'm ever going to darken their doors again, either to buy anything new and shiny or to hand the Bling Barge over to them to fiddle with. I only went there because the security recall update was free and I fancied a trip away from Orkney for a couple of days.
It was intended as an honest commentary on how I was treated when I arrived, nothing more to it than that. I can still remember MacRae and Dicks, they were certainly a decent firm and it was sad to see them being swallowed up by the corporate monster of the Parks franchise...
That said and all the corporate Land Rover imagery and sales front aside...the service staff were all perfectly pleasant and very friendly, I even went into the workshop to talk Land Rover nuts and bolts (as a former fitter) with a couple of their Technicians fitters which was nice...not to mention them giving the Bling Barge a bath and a quick hoover which was a genuine surprise...considering I paid for nothing at all except for the fuel getting down there.
I enjoyed the trip...it's been a while since mrs Mole and I have been off our little island. The drive up from Aberdeen, the wander around Inverness for a couple of hours and the retail park afterward for a bit more shopping, then the leisurely drive north to Scrabster for the boat home were all a rare treat... but don't go mistaking me for a wet behind the ears corporate Land Rover fan boy...I like my Discoverys, but bought old and used either through AutoTrader or privately... I'm a million miles away from ever hanging around main dealerships to look at shiny cars, new or otherwise.
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