L322 Looking to buy a L322 4.4V8, any tips?

eddie j · Nov 16, 2015

everythings true about the v8 and yes the bmw engine is the best mine is coming up to 180000 and still going strong up until last week now have starting problems {i think battery not enough charge } and yes it is lpg and she stills sounds like a beast. all i can say is over the past 10 months i have only spent about £200 ON HER £140 BATTERY once you drive one you never regret it. spoke to soon bloody starter motor given up now ho well another £220 to get one

donp38 · Nov 16, 2015

I think the late BMW engined is best combination with the later sat nav and manual handbrake.
Service history is vital and try and get a nice unbotched/modified one.
Ok. so I am biased. As I have just one of those....it was a case of 'I have to have it' moment whilst I was quite happy with my p38 D....
Take your time and once you one, you will love it...

holidaychicken · Nov 16, 2015

Koen said:
That water in the boot thing, is that just a doorseal which needs to be replaced or is it something more horrible? Do keep in mind i had a old defender. When it was raining, you got wet, very simple

Haha bless you,the difference being that when a defender leaks all that gets wet is your spaniel and the water just washes some of the mud out , in an L322, imagine washing out the inside of your PC or HDTV or more accurately 12 PCs with a hose pipe and that will give you some idea of what to expect

Saint.V8 · Nov 17, 2015

holidaychicken said:
Haha bless you,the difference being that when a defender leaks all that gets wet is your spaniel and the water just washes some of the mud out , in an L322, imagine washing out the inside of your PC or HDTV or more accurately 12 PCs with a hose pipe and that will give you some idea of what to expect

Fecking ace Andy.....made me laugh out loud in the office...now people are looking at me a bit strange!

holidaychicken · Nov 17, 2015

You should know mate , you have just about every incarnation that landrover can blight our lives with and you still go back for more, bring it on feckers, is that all ya got !!

Saint.V8 · Nov 17, 2015

holidaychicken said:
You should know mate , you have just about every incarnation that landrover can blight our lives with and you still go back for more, bring it on feckers, is that all ya got !!

Ha ha......and I love every minute of it!

holidaychicken · Nov 18, 2015

Like the vest mate, not as fetching as your dress though

Koen · Nov 21, 2015

Haha

Well, had a look at a second one today. Again, disappointed. it looked great, not a scratch. The light interior i wanted. It said it had service history. It did, but only the first 84k km, the other 100k km wasn't in it. When i mentioned that the garage sales dude got a bit angry and defensive. Apperantly changing out batteries and shocks and other parts isn't something you put in it according to him ... It was only 5 min into the look, but the mood was set. He did also mention that the dashboard lights sometimes go dark. He could fix that, but then no discount he said ... weird. When i opened the hood another nasty surprise, sweaty heads. Meh. It did ran nice, when warm. The engine was warm when i got there. Went to the carwash he said. Anyway. after 15 min i was outside again. He was selling it for a friend, guess that didn't help either

"its the best one you'll find, service history says nothing ... "

I do have two questions now. In what was in the service history i did see it loved brake pads. Is that normal? The other thing is, when i asked if i could get the key to move the seat back it wasn't needed. Is it normal that you can operate the chairs without having to turn the ignition on? he did find that a bit weird himself as well.

Saint.V8 · Nov 21, 2015

You can move the seats without ignition on, this is normal.....

They are a 2.5 tonne fat arsed beauty....and like all big vehicles, they take a lot of stopping power....hence they eat pads.

Lights dimming would indicate LCM issues, they are prone to getting damp.

Changing batteries and shocks are not Service Items...and won't be in the book, but regularly fluid/filter/checks should be in the book. So his comment of they don't put those things in the book means that it hasn't had routine service items carried out....

Koen · Nov 21, 2015

Yeah, i thought so. well, not i'm gonna spend 14000 euros for a car i don't trust. Good thing my feelings were right this time. I bought the defender cause i drove it first and went all happy

now i want to look at it first and then drive it if i like what i see so far, else i might go all happy and blind again

holidaychicken · Nov 22, 2015

You are doing the right thing, I searched around for a long time trying to find the colour and engine that I wanted and then when I did, like a buffoon, I bought it without having tested any others.
I got just about every fault you can get thrown in for free with mine and I also worked out afterwards the service history had been penned by a literary genius with a penchant for fiction.
Still, whatever happens, Saint and the rest of the landyzone community will get you back on the road and can offer great advice on remortgaging your worldly belongings to pay for the parts.

tomcat59alan · Nov 22, 2015

holidaychicken said:
You are doing the right thing, I searched around for a long time trying to find the colour and engine that I wanted and then when I did, like a buffoon, I bought it without having tested any others.
I got just about every fault you can get thrown in for free with mine and I also worked out afterwards the service history had been penned by a literary genius with a penchant for fiction.
Still, whatever happens, Saint and the rest of the landyzone community will get you back on the road and can offer great advice on remortgaging your worldly belongings to pay for the parts.

And we may even let you join the cross dressing club

holidaychicken · Nov 22, 2015

Maybe, although it is rather exclusive.
I know this is the wrong section but here is Saint having a problem with the tranny on his defender.....

tomcat59alan · Nov 22, 2015

holidaychicken said:
Maybe, although it is rather exclusive.
I know this is the wrong section but here is Saint having a problem with the tranny on his defender.....

View attachment 93197

I told him to keep our photo's private. I'm so angry

Koen · Dec 13, 2015

car salesmen are a strange breed .... how the hell can you call a car with a busted rear light and full of scratches "in mint condition" ??? Drove 3 hours for nothing yesterday. I'm starting to think the L322 might be just above my budget. The cheapest ones are from about 8000 euro's (the non working ones 5500euros) The 2002's start around 10.000 euros and the 2005's are from 15k and up and for 15k you also see some 4.2's. The thing is, i don't mind a little scratch here and there, they are after all 15 years old, but its the combination of the car salesmen which are basically willing to lie even over something as little as some scratches and a busted up rear light which is even visible and having to go over budget and hope the bastard didn't trick me in buying a car with some more skelotons under the hood.

i've been playing with the idea to buy a very cheap P38 and use it for as long as it lasts and save up a bit more. It's not that i cannot afford the L322, its just the voices in my head i need to get in line

. It's just me and my mancave so no gf or wife telling me i'm a ****ing idiot

Anyway i have 2 problems with a getting a cheap(er) P38. 1) i find one which just doesn't want to give up and is basically fine, or 2) i fall in love with the damn thing and keep patching it up all the time

Pro's are that you can get them from 2000 euro for one that looks like a P38 till about 9000 for a "mint" one. The other plus one is that, other then the engine spitting out it's liners its fairly cheap to and easy to fix but the L322 seems to have a hell of a lot less problem, but if they do it will cost a little bit more.

And then ofc my mom is telling me, why don't you just buy a Kia or a VW Polo ....

holidaychicken · Dec 13, 2015

You could always buy a Toyota land cruiser and you wont even find out how to open the bonnet.

I have seen a large increase in L322's with the 4.4 BMW engine on ebay for cheap money because of the timing chain guide failures and I would imagine that will only increase.

Prices for parts are definitely coming down for the L322 and if you can DIY most of the jobs are ok but the big money on an early model 4.4 is going to be the M62 engine if it hasnt been looked after or is heading towards the 150k miles mark, the ZF transmission on a 4.4 petrol is better than the GM on the TD6 but both could need replacing at around the 100 - 120 k miles mark the ZF you may get way with just the torque converter but the GM will most likely need a complete rebuild.
If the budget wont stretch into the 2005 Jag vehicles then i would be looking at an 04 4.4 (as i have one) as i prefer the V8 but if you can get a TD6 that has had the transmission replaced then as long as you have a decent toolkit and bank on having a £1000 in your kitty at any one time, you should be ok.
I have never owned a P38 but i do see the amount of problems on here that they have but as you say, quite cheap and easy to fix so if you could get one of those that has had the engine rebuilt with the upgraded liners then you could be onto a winner.
Just keep looking, you might find somebody who is as daft as me and has replaced just about every part on the thing just because it's 'fun'

Koen · Dec 13, 2015

The diesel is no option. Roadtax for it is killing, 3200 euros a year, petrol "only" 1900 euros. I mainly use my motorbikes to get from a to b and only need the car if i go fishing, holidays (to go fishing) or when the weather is really ****, as in snow and ice etc.

The gearbox i'm not too worried about as it turns out there is a specialist in ZF's not too far away from me. Even restoring is a possibility, hell o f a lot cheaper than the dealer. But like one of you said before, if it is smooth in the gears it should be ok. If i find one which isn't i'll leave it be.

holidaychicken · Dec 13, 2015

Smooth change isn't always a guarantee of a good box but it's a good start, drive slowly with light throttle up a slight incline to see if it rumbles which is the torque converter and sometimes the transmission can overheat after considerable driving but this could just be the transmission cooling system or main radiator blocked.
I would buy yourself some diagnostics, i love the Allcomms, almost as soon as you buy an l322 as this will pay for itself in no time
i just bought the first car i saw as it was cheap and looked great, that was an expensive way to go....

reggieroo · Dec 15, 2015

An L322 is a much nicer vehicle and you always feel special driving it.

ukadamwest · Dec 15, 2015

Koen said:
i've been playing with the idea to buy a very cheap P38 and use it for as long as it lasts and save up a bit more. It's not that i cannot afford the L322, its just the voices in my head i need to get in line .

Get a nice P38 (2001 - 4.6 Thor engine) on a multipoint LPG and have plenty left to chnage out all the bits like air springs, maybe do a HG change, and still have money left over. it wont rot a break down like an L322 or be as expensive to repair.

The P38 is last of the proper range rovers.

L322 Looking to buy a L322 4.4V8, any tips?

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