"Steve Firth" <%steve%@malloc.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1h12t9n.1e49o2fjzqynN%%steve%@malloc.co.uk...
> nevillef <F_CK@FF_SPAMMERS.COM> wrote:
>
>> Mmmm....seen today on the Toyota Hilux Surf forum.......
>
> Not unusual. Land Rover owners have brand loyalty, but have a bizarre
> ability to pass every failure of their vehicle off as "expected" or "not
> as bad as it seems".
I run and have run most Japanese vehicle marques and a fair few Land
Rover/Range Rover.
Mechanically I have never had a Land/Range Rover recovered. Never a Japanese
badged version either.
All have suffered failures of some sort. Where they have really differed
until recently is in build quality and failures under warranty. I have to
say that my Range Rover, which is now nearly a year old, is the most problem
free and best built vehicle I have ever bought apart from and equally superb
Jaguar XK8, and this includes my current Land Cruiser Amazon, a BMW X5 and
an appallingly poorly put together Mercedes ML270
I should say that my current LR 110 is now 21 years old and has never
actually broken down despite being worked hard and consistently. It has had
to have many replacement bushes, a couple or three steering boxes, a clutch,
several master and slave cylinders and, over the last three years, a few
propshaft uj's. This in some 11000 to 12000 hours of work.
The Land Cruiser has had a few bulbs, a new seatbelt, a failed aircon belt
and a failed rear wheelbearing in its short 3000 hour life so far. A far
easier life than the Land Rover.
Neither has actually stranded a driver.
>
> Someone commented about Land Rovers being used in deserts. They are.
> They also break down with horrible regularity and need rescuing and they
> also have a reputation for severing the limbs of those that drive them
> in deserts, when they roll over.
This I will agree with. They are an old design which would never be allowed
if it was tested as a new vehicle to be launched today. They have inadequate
roll over, side and frontal impact protection. Their protection in an offset
frontal impact is probably next to non existant. No airbags. No crumple
zones. No side impact protection. No roll over protection. These were the
reasons that Defender was withdrawn from the USA and the roll protection
issue was the reason that when they were sold in the USA they had to have an
external cage. This was not a cosmetic cage. It was there so that LR would
not be liable for deaths in the USA. When it was forced to comply with
stricter controls, it was withdrawn from the market. The UK has lower
standards it seems.
>
> I used to work with a survey company that had vehicles in Libya. After
> one year of running Land Rovers they were all retired and replaced with
> Land Cruisers. The Land Rovers had to go into the desert with a huge
> load of spares to enable running repairs. This didn't leave a lot of
> room for payload. The Land Cruisers needed none, not a sausage, bugger
> all. We started off running a spares truck just in case, but in five
> years of operations it was never needed. By contrast every trip in a
> Land Rover required major repairs and I lost track of how many times a
> Land Rover would limp back with broken springs, broken half shafts or a
> a bolloxed engine.
Series vehicles maybe. I did have another 110, a station wagon that was
indeed crap and during that time I ran two 110's, a Discovery and a Range
Rover. Indeed I could not stand the constant problems multiplied by four and
changed all but the hi-cap for Japanese. What a relief. But like I said, I
was never stranded although the station wagon came close several times and
if I was way out in the desert then it is likely that one would have
stranded me.
>
> I owned several myself, loved every one, but I'll not kid myself that
> they were practical transport.
>
The TD5 is an abomination in a working vehicle. I know of one Discovery
based here in the UK that went in to the dealer with an oil light on. An oil
contaminated loom was diagnosed and a new one fitted. The light did not
extinguish so the engine was revved hard and taken on a high speed run to
see if the light would extinguish. No oil pressure test or anything
sensible. Result? An engine seized and ruined by the idiot dealer staff.
Then a new engine delivered. The wrong model. Another four weeks and another
engine. Customer visits dealer and asks to see his vehicle when staff
suggest he looks at another model because it is the same model! "WHERE'S
MINE?" he asks with trepidation. Um....... well actually......it's had to
take a trip back to Land Rover because we have failed, despite our best
endeavour, to get the engine fired up. Ho hum. Would you want one of these
things as a long term work vehicle? Not me. I'll stick with the old 110
until it fails terminally then........who knows, there may be something
better by then.
Huw
