‘I am having same issue with Mercedes.’
When a Jaguar owner took his F-Type into his dealership for warranty work, he expected factory-level care. Instead, in a recent TikTok, he says the visit introduced new problems along with excuses that left him questioning the entire service process.
In the viral clip from Marinos Katsouris (@marinokatsouris), it is evident from the very start that he’s a detail-oriented owner who wants the absolute best care taken with his vehicle. Since that didn’t happen at a recent visit, he said he’s losing faith in dealerships and service teams as a whole.
“The problem is that they left the car a mess. There was just black smudges all over the leather. They’d chipped the center console, and I had to go back and forth a couple of times so that they would fix it,” he said in the clip that’s been viewed more than 83,000 times. “It’s literally been a nightmare. … This dealership has been nothing but problems.”
Katsouris explains that the visit was supposed to be routine. His Jaguar F-Type went in for its annual service, with only a minor alarm-related issue noted. Earlier in the year, however, the dealership had already replaced sections of the passenger seat upholstery under warranty due to fading and loose stitching, an issue he says is surprising for a two-year-old, roughly £90,000 ($120,000) car.
He says the car was returned with visible interior damage, including stained leather and chipped trim, requiring multiple follow-up visits before those issues were addressed. A few days later, a new problem emerged: an aggressive, almost-constant squeak from the passenger seat whenever someone shifted their weight.
Katsouris says he waited until his next scheduled service appointment to raise the issue, assuming the dealership would correct what he believed was a problem introduced during the warranty repair. Instead, he claims he was told the noise was normal.
The explanation didn’t sit well with him. In the video, Katsouris says dealership staff told him that all F-Types develop interior squeaks over time, an assertion he disputes. He points out that the noise didn’t exist before the seat repair and argues that other F-Types on the dealer’s lot didn’t exhibit the same issue.
Interior squeaks are not unheard of in modern performance cars, particularly where leather, plastic trim, and tight tolerances meet. Automotive engineers have long noted that even small changes in seat positioning or trim fitment can introduce noise, especially if pressure points are altered during reassembly. However, Katsouris believes the dealership dismissed the complaint rather than investigating whether the seat had been reinstalled incorrectly.
“I had to give them a solution,” he said in the video, explaining that he suspects the seat is now seated too deeply into the plastic side frame, creating friction and noise. “It just feels like no one knows about the cars and no one seems to care.”
The clip struck a nerve well beyond Jaguar owners. Dozens of commenters shared similar stories involving luxury-brand dealerships, including complaints about unresolved warranty issues, rushed service visits, and damage discovered after routine maintenance. Several self-identified dealership employees also weighed in, suggesting that systemic issues often drive poor service outcomes.
Industry reporting from outlets such as Automotive News has repeatedly highlighted the tension around warranty work, noting that manufacturer-set labor times and reimbursement rates can make warranty repairs less profitable for dealers than customer-paid work. Consumer Reports has also documented wide variations in dealership service quality across brands, even within the same metropolitan area.
Dealerships are reimbursed by manufacturers for warranty labor, but typically at standardized rates and time allowances that may not reflect the true complexity of the work. As skilled technicians become harder to retain, service departments are often under pressure to move vehicles through quickly.
The result, critics say, is an environment where meticulous interior work, such as seat upholstery repairs, can suffer. Even minor mistakes can feel magnified to owners who expect premium treatment commensurate with a premium price tag.
Katsouris’ experience echoes a broader frustration among enthusiasts who argue that luxury ownership should include not just performance and design, but confidence that problems will be handled carefully and transparently.
In a follow-up comment, Katsouris said his car is still at the dealership and that he plans to switch to an independent Jaguar specialist moving forward. That approach is increasingly common among performance-car owners, particularly once warranty coverage expires. Independent shops that focus on a single brand often attract technicians with deep model-specific knowledge and more flexibility in how long they spend diagnosing issues.
For Katsouris, the issue goes beyond a squeaky seat. It’s about trust lost in a process that’s supposed to protect owners from exactly this kind of frustration. A £90,000 car ($120,000 US), he argues, shouldn’t come back from warranty work with new problems or explanations that feel dismissive.
As the video closes, the situation remains unresolved. The noise persists, the car remains in dealer hands, and one enthusiast’s confidence in the dealership model has been shaken.
Motor1 reached out to Katsouris via direct message and comment on the clip. We’ll update this if they respond.
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