New owner questions

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cobraman

New Member
Posts
3
I currently have a 2.0l tdi Audi A4 which has been a very good car for the past two years. However, with another sprog on the way, we are looking to get something a little bigger and I've always thought about a 4x4 of sorts.

Prior to the Audi A4, I owned a Subaru Impreza STi and am fully prepared for high running costs and regular visits to my local Shell forecourt!

The RR I am looking at is an early L322 with no more than 100k on the clock. It would have to be the 3.0l TD6 which I would no doubt have remapped to boost the power further and improve fuel economy a little. I'd also like satnav although I don't think my budget would stretch to a Vogue so it will probably be a HSE. And the budget of course is £11k at a max.

So onto my questions...

1. How many miles does a full tank of diesel return you (urban/motorway)?

2. How big is the fuel tank and how costly is it to fill?

3. Should I go for a generic remap or a BHP+ box?

4. What are the servicing intervals?

5. What are the weakpoints of the RR (gearbox, clutch etc)?

6. Does the suspension suffer from being lifted and lowered all the time?

7. I know the tyres are huge on RR - what size offers the best comfort?

8. Do I need to look for rust as these seem to go offroad and probably end up in quite a lot of water from time to time?
 
Gearbox, Suspension bushes, water ingress to the rear quarter swamping the electronics, EAS etc etc. Keep plenty of spare cash for all the problems you WILL have. Remember, a Range Rover is not a car, it's a hobby, unless you can DIY it will empty your wallet faster than any wife.
 
If you have any worries about running costs - a Range Rover is not the car for you....

the Tank is 100 litres so will be in the region of £140 to fill....and you no doubt return around 450 miles from that so around 22-26 mpg as an average...

The more comfort tyre is the 19" rim size....budget around £120-200 per tyre

Servicing is yearly or 12K miles, but would benefit from more regular...

The TD6 eats the gearbox - well the gear box eats itself actually - the Valve block is prone to wear casuing reduced hydraulic pressure which chews the Torque Convertor up which then dumps metal into the box and trashes it for fun....they go between 80k and 100k.....

Suspension air bags last about 7 years and will need to be done around 85-90k

The EAS compressors wear out, the Valve block for the EAS is prone to failure, as is the pressure switch.

Change the Crank Breather for the new cyclone one if it already hasn't been done.

The Turbo pipes like to blow off with regularity...!!!

The rear quarter leaks trashing the electronics bay underneath it!!

Rear suspension bushes fail regularly.....

Diagnostic costs will empty a healthy bank balance if you haven't got your own kit....

£11k to buy with £75k car running costs...

I could go on....but I'll only depress myself!
 
Thanks peeps.

I've just gone off the idea - I am absolutely useless as to DIY maintenance so I can see this costing a lot.

Perhaps a BMW X5 may be my next port of call.

Cheers.
 
Seriously don't bother unless your DIY savvy. My X5 has cost me £3500 so far in one year of ownership (£2500 gearbox) and I've still got the heater matrix to go on my list
 
I don't want to swear but have you considered a Lexus RX460 Hybrid- it will be more reliable and more economical than a Range Rover. It will also be easy to load into/and out from and still have a safe elevated driving position. My neighbour has one and it is really quite annoyingly good!
 
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