New here and want to join the L322 club. Where should I get an inspection?

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KILOCHARLIE

Member
Posts
91
Location
East Grinstead, West Sussex / North Cardiff, South
Looking to get myself an L322 in the coming weeks and have done quite a bit of reading so far. I would want to get any potential purchase checked out professionally before buying as I'd like a good inspection to check for anything.

Does anyone know of any recommended or reputible garages I could get this done? I am based in Crawley in Sussex but travel to NW london regularly so either area would be prefered. If not what are the opinions of taking to main dealer?

I'm also keen to get one with lpg and in my budget I will be looking at 100k+ mileage and an early example. Do most land rover garages, independent or otherwise cater for lpg servicing etc as usual or would I have to find a specialist place or take it elsewhere for that side of things?

Grateful for any advice whether thread specific or just any thoughts on what I'm after. Expecting to be an active member here as I always like doing as much as I can to my own cars!
 
:welcome2:

Glad to hear you have been reading about owning these things, they are complex, expensive, frustrating and awesome...

A Main Dealer will seldom look at the LPG system and will shy away from work on it at all costs, an Indy *may* have a look at it but it is best to find a decent LPG Authorised Service Centre for any LPG work.

There is Autogas Croydon, Capital Autogas and Tasso Autogas in and around....(My BRC System was fitted by Tasso prior to my purchase)

Remeber the Golden Rule to Range Rover purchasing and ownership:

Never buy a Range Rover with faults unless you are prepared for the potential cost, time, frustration and heartache involved in repairing it. Never Max the budget, always keep a couple of grand aside for potential repair costs.

Unless you have deep pockets, don't use Main Dealers for servicing and repairs as they will empty a healthy bank balance rapidly, best to spanner your own repairs and get hold of your own Diagnostic Computer - Bearmach Hawkeye, RSW Solutions All Comms, Faultmate Extreme, Snap-On Solus etc.

Expect about 15mpg or so on LPG.....

Awesome vehicles - but unreliable....aslong as you understand that, and have cash for repairs welcome to the L322 Elite... :D
 
We have scheduled you in for the mental health unit on the 10th of October at 10AM. Please be there in good time, you do not need to bring anything with you, everything you will require shall be provided by the unit. Enjoy your stay.
 
KILOCHARLIE said:
Looking to get myself an L322 in the coming weeks and have done quite a bit of reading so far. I would want to get any potential purchase checked out professionally before buying as I'd like a good inspection to check for anything.

Does anyone know of any recommended or reputible garages I could get this done? I am based in Crawley in Sussex but travel to NW london regularly so either area would be prefered. If not what are the opinions of taking to main dealer?

I'm also keen to get one with lpg and in my budget I will be looking at 100k+ mileage and an early example. Do most land rover garages, independent or otherwise cater for lpg servicing etc as usual or would I have to find a specialist place or take it elsewhere for that side of things?

Grateful for any advice whether thread specific or just any thoughts on what I'm after. Expecting to be an active member here as I always like doing as much as I can to my own cars!
Click to expand...

Look to pay less then £6K and put £6K aside for fixing it or more if you can't DIY:eek:
 
Thanks for the welcome!! And yes I was kinda expecting the mental health check up advice, I left myself open for that!! I've read some horror stories so I'm halfway prepared of what to expect. Have thought about it long and hard but an L322 is really what I'm after and fully prepared for problems and to get my hands dirty. Looking at the alternatives that family and friends have recommended such as X5's and ML's though shows they have their fair share of issues too but nowhere near the rewards of having a running range! I also bought my dream car about a year ago also which others again warned against. That was high mileage also and have managed to fix everythinh on it myself so far and actually look forward to finding stuff that needs doing! Crazy yes I know. Also getting less than 12mpg in that non Lpg so a range on 15mpg Lpg at around 70p a litre? Frugal motoring!

Thought as much about the stealership. About £6k to spend and £4k just in case is about what I was budgeting for too. I know a reliable LPG centre back in my hometown of Cardiff. Would you guys recommend someone LPG qualified looks at the LPG system prior to purchase or in reality would I be relitively ok if the system switches over and drives ok? I could then get the LPG serviced and checked over next time I go home? In other words can they have a lot of expensive problems or is it likely that if something's wrong it generally means a few hundred quid to fix? I'm more worried about the mechanical side of things such as the state of the gearbox, suspension etc.

Will a standard ODBII reader suffice for fault diagnostics or wil I need to get something more Land rover specific? Can you recommend any indy's that are reliable and cheap at all Saint or do you do all your own work?
 
KILOCHARLIE said:
Thanks for the welcome!! And yes I was kinda expecting the mental health check up advice, I left myself open for that!! I've read some horror stories so I'm halfway prepared of what to expect. Have thought about it long and hard but an L322 is really what I'm after and fully prepared for problems and to get my hands dirty. Looking at the alternatives that family and friends have recommended such as X5's and ML's though shows they have their fair share of issues too but nowhere near the rewards of having a running range! I also bought my dream car about a year ago also which others again warned against. That was high mileage also and have managed to fix everythinh on it myself so far and actually look forward to finding stuff that needs doing! Crazy yes I know. Also getting less than 12mpg in that non Lpg so a range on 15mpg Lpg at around 70p a litre? Frugal motoring!

Thought as much about the stealership. About £6k to spend and £4k just in case is about what I was budgeting for too. I know a reliable LPG centre back in my hometown of Cardiff. Would you guys recommend someone LPG qualified looks at the LPG system prior to purchase or in reality would I be relitively ok if the system switches over and drives ok? I could then get the LPG serviced and checked over next time I go home? In other words can they have a lot of expensive problems or is it likely that if something's wrong it generally means a few hundred quid to fix? I'm more worried about the mechanical side of things such as the state of the gearbox, suspension etc.

Will a standard ODBII reader suffice for fault diagnostics or wil I need to get something more Land rover specific? Can you recommend any indy's that are reliable and cheap at all Saint or do you do all your own work?
Click to expand...
I try and do all my own work as I can seldom afford Garage Prices....even indy prices on the L322 can get out of hand.

When I do have to take it to a garage, I have used Rangers Of Guildford (bloody nice blokes - all ex Hunters of Guildford Land Rover staff who got fed up with the politics) really know their shizzle too.

OBDII will only read a few engine parameters and nothing else on land Rover products, you'll need something LR specific such as the ones I posted above.

I'd budget around 2.5k to 3k for potential repairs....search my threads for one about a years running costs on my L322...

Yes the Gearboxes are a weak point but on the Petrols (ZF box) it is a little less 'dramatic' but will still need attention. Again plenty of posts about such things on here so a search wouldn't go a miss on that either.

They are complex, but it does have an old(ish) engine - the BMW M62 - which has been around since the mid 90's so plenty of info around on here and other LR forums as well as BMW forums too.

Most of the car is an X5 with 5 (E39) & 7 (E38) series gubbins thrown into the mix so loads of electrical parts can be interchanged.

I fixed my fuel pump issue with one from a 2001 X5 - so they are a very easy car to spanner your own repairs on!
 
Thanks Saint, that all correlates with what I've read so far. I will give Rangers a call and see what they say. Would you also consider doing an inspection too if I could tempt you with enough beer seeing as you are so close?

I've actually just come off the phone with a seller too. The car is just what I am looking for with a good enough price to boot but the seller has had an issue with the temp gauge rising and falling and suspects a head gasket issue. Normally I would steer clear but if I'm aware of what it entails beforehand it might make sense. Do you know what this might entail? I know it's going to be expensive but I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks again.
 
KILOCHARLIE said:
Thanks Saint, that all correlates with what I've read so far. I will give Rangers a call and see what they say. Would you also consider doing an inspection too if I could tempt you with enough beer seeing as you are so close?

I've actually just come off the phone with a seller too. The car is just what I am looking for with a good enough price to boot but the seller has had an issue with the temp gauge rising and falling and suspects a head gasket issue. Normally I would steer clear but if I'm aware of what it entails beforehand it might make sense. Do you know what this might entail? I know it's going to be expensive but I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/curious-temp-gauge-readings-194769.html

As Above Link, I had similarly curious Temp readings with the gauge going up and down....

Mine turned out to be a dodgy electronic thermostat issue...replaced stat and repaired wire leading to it, and it has been fine since (fingers crossed)

If he suspects Head Gasket - you can get DIY sniff test kits (Goooooooogle for them) and see if that throws anything up!

On the other side of the coin, a Range Rover is on the limit Cooling system-wise so I would exercise caution with one that has an 'issue' even if it does turn out to be a simple one like mine - it could even turn out to be a engine killer!

As for inspecting a potential purchase, with the very greatest of respect to yourself (and anyother who asks me, for that matter) I wouldnt feel very uncomfortable advising others on their purchase....get a Trade recognised body to do that, that way, if it is not quite what it seems you have a legal recourse of action.....if I advised you on a potential purchase and it goes pearshaped - I would feel really really bad and I couldn't have that on my concionous(? spelling) I do hope you understand...

Happy to help if I can after a purchase, but sorry not for purchase (really sorry :eek:)
 
Last edited:
Thanks again Saint and no need to apologise at all! Your expertise is clear to see so I thought it was worth a shot!

I'm going to have a look at the car this weekend and will try to arrange an indy to do an inspection from there. Will give Rangers a ring plus a few more I've found online. Harris Mayes and Brunswick garage as well if anyone's heard of those. It seems there's a lack of highly recommended indy compared to other cars where sometimes you can be spoilt for choice for cheap, reliable and recommended companies.

Looks like I have an evening of investigating head gaskets and sniff tests ahead of me as its something I have no experience with. I have heard sniff tests aren't always definitive but I know of tests such as running the car with the water cap off to check for bubbles and also the mayo in the oil tank check. If anyone has any other tips that's great but hopefully youtube will have some basic checks too.

Regarding the lpg system, do you think I'll be ok if its working to assume a few hundred quid max to cover any potential problems or can they totally fail and therefore a separate visit to a specialist is worth my while?

Thanks again.
 
KILOCHARLIE said:
Thanks Saint, that all correlates with what I've read so far. I will give Rangers a call and see what they say. Would you also consider doing an inspection too if I could tempt you with enough beer seeing as you are so close?

I've actually just come off the phone with a seller too. The car is just what I am looking for with a good enough price to boot but the seller has had an issue with the temp gauge rising and falling and suspects a head gasket issue. Normally I would steer clear but if I'm aware of what it entails beforehand it might make sense. Do you know what this might entail? I know it's going to be expensive but I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

IMO. AVOID, there should be plenty others.
Why would you buy one with potentially useless engine:confused:
 
+1
A HGF could be caused by any number of things & can be an extremely expensive excercise if you don't know the previous symptoms that may have caused it etc.
The gearbox's are bad enough without a fubar'd engine to boot:eek:
 
hgf are rare on these engines, but also not an impossibility. It's more likely to be as Saint said. I've read a few documents on the thermostat heater failing and allowing water to leach right up to the ecu causing erratic temp gauge readings. Be warned a hgf will cost £££, twin cams, vanos units, timing all lead to large bills. I had a quote of £1100. From an Indy will all the correct gear.
 
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