How expensive ?…..really

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
Of course not! L405 mirrors are circa £300 too, the heating elements seem more robust than the L319 / L322 ones though.
Roythebus seems to be someone that buys cheap, buys twice three or four times, if his postings elsewhere are an indicator.
My o/s one has now gone the way of the n/s a couple of years ago -the brown tinge of death 😔
 
To be fair, they generally have a life in excess of fifteen years before the electrochromatic film starts to die - no consolation if you're the one that has to replace them though!.
 
Probably one of these cheapo tinted ones I bought 6 years ago as a stop gap until I found the proper one :)

1729029182812.png
 
To be fair, they generally have a life in excess of fifteen years before the electrochromatic film starts to die - no consolation if you're the one that has to replace them though!.
They have both done well. I honestly can't remember when the n/s went. The post is on here somewhere, but I reckon 2 - 4 yrs ago. The o/s started being silly just after I replaced the n/s but I have lived with it. I have been looking, in vain, in case I get the same luck and find someone selling new old stock.
The point about the price was to show that unlike other marques, the price does not come down as the model ages. Mine is 22yrs old and the wing mirror glass is around £300, 🙈
 
Last edited:
The heating element went in mine and it was winter so no choice. Couldn't find the proper glass at the time and TBH I forgot all about it.
Stupidly, the mirror heating elements are on all the time with the ignition on the P38 which is what leads to failure. Mine went years ago but I can't say I have ever found it a problem, a quick squirt of deicer and a wipe does the job. The photochromic function still works.
 
As a long time owner of one of the oldest L322s I can only say one thing and it is not meant as an insult, "if you have to ask about cost you cannot afford it".
If you have £40 -45k to spend , reckon on 30 -35 for a Range Rover and keep the rest for what may, can, will need fixing. No matter which model you buy.
Range Rovers are the gift that likes to keep on costing. Dealerships class anything over 4yr old as 'old' and although they may sell them they are not interested in maintenance. Which leaves the search for a good independant. The cost of parts never goes down, unlike other marques. In fact most parts stay with market increases. £300ish for wing mirror glass for my L322. I don't have the courage to look at the price for the same part on a newer model 😮
If however you have fallen in love with a particular model, but accept that it will never love you the way a Volvo will and will never get less expensive to run like other marques, then the cost of unrequited love can be worth it. 😁


P.s stay away from electric. You lose space. Especially leg room. I had a weekend test drive in a lwb about 5yrs ago. Less boot space and less leg room than my L322.

I understand your point, but its a slightly facile argument about needing to ask the cost. If that was the case only Alan Sugar and Bernie Ecclestone would drive RR's.

I don't expect a RR to cost the same to run as a Ford Ka, but I'm comparing it to my wife's BMW. I'm trying to get a feel for whether its twice as expensive or five times. I own a small fleet of vans and trucks, for my business, so I'm well aware of the pitfalls of vehicle ownership, just not RR ownership.
 
Stupidly, the mirror heating elements are on all the time with the ignition on the P38 which is what leads to failure. Mine went years ago but I can't say I have ever found it a problem, a quick squirt of deicer and a wipe does the job. The photochromic function still works.
Same on the L322. They also come on with the FBH if it's cold enough :)
 
I understand your point, but its a slightly facile argument about needing to ask the cost. If that was the case only Alan Sugar and Bernie Ecclestone would drive RR's.

I don't expect a RR to cost the same to run as a Ford Ka, but I'm comparing it to my wife's BMW. I'm trying to get a feel for whether its twice as expensive or five times. I own a small fleet of vans and trucks, for my business, so I'm well aware of the pitfalls of vehicle ownership, just not RR ownership.
It's not really a complex argument. I cannot speak for the Ford Ka , but then that was not what I was comparing with when I said other marques. Nor can I comment on newer models but from experience of the L322 using some BMW parts , look at 3 - 5 times the cost of running a BMW. Many of us with BMW L322s will try to find the much cheqper BMW parts.
Also from the experience of having owned a BMW which was 4yr old when bought and to 7yr old when I traded for a Volvo, I I found BMW parts go down with age of the vehicle. As stated a couple of times Range Rover parts don't.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
 
If your worried about price or Alan sugar nicking your new RR, why not put it down as part of the ‘fleet’ of the business?
TDV8 with tow hitch and a shovel in the boot = plant machine (for towing…wink wink)

I thought the rear windows had to be blanked and the rear seats removed? There are companies that specialise in the conversion. Of course, you could just put it through the company books.
 
I know someone who got a Discovery van, 63 reg, ex dealer runabout. that was made with bak windows blacked out, rear seats not fitted and a wire mesh bulkhead behind the front seats. Registered as type M, commercial. Got himself VAT registered for a while, got the vat back on the purchase price, a year later got de-registered. All quite legal, but you couldn't do that for a car. The benefit at the time (2014) was it was ULEZ and C zone exempt until they changed the regs, but had to pay van price on the Dartford Crossing.
 
I thought the rear windows had to be blanked and the rear seats removed? There are companies that specialise in the conversion. Of course, you could just put it through the company books.
Can’t remember exactly and this was when the Sport came out new, may have changed since then, but worked for us. You’d typically think I’d be the type to rant about the Disco in Lipstick, but I really liked that Sport. Preferred my P38 for comfort and convenience but they are far more modern and really nice to drive/tow
 
I thought the rear windows had to be blanked and the rear seats removed? There are companies that specialise in the conversion. Of course, you could just put it through the company books.
How times have changed, never had any hassle with cars registered to my company being used for the business including towing but it was a long time ago.
 
Back
Top