So....
A year after purchasing the L322 I thought I would summerise my first year of L322 ownership so you guys can either laugh or cry with me!
Purchased the 2003 4.4 L322 Vogue in Adriatic Blue (Non-descript Blue according to some) exactly a year ago with a years MOT and a months Tax.
After a lengthy test drive and a good check over for all things that can and do go wrong, I made the purchase for just £7.25k.
Picked it up a couple of days later after than bank released the funds and made my first journey in my new L322 - which was to the petrol station!
The first day was one of joy and woe, after a few hours bombing around doing a few errands, I took the girlfriend out for her first taste of the L322 - Bells and whistles, ABS/HDC/EAS fault....the world falls out of my backside, I pull over and switch off....restart and it has gone, panic over so I turn round to head home, it faults again....OK now I am really gutted, truly gutted almost to the point of tears....have I just bought a vehicle with a problem?
Research took me down a dark path of Steering Angle Sensors, ABS Sensors, Yaw Sensors, a myriad of EAS faults. Was I looking at a potentially expensive bill??
Went back out to the car, started her up, no faults, turned the steering wheel and the fault appeared, so looks like it could be the Steering Angle Sensor then, after my research I knew this involved a lot of work to remove the steering coloumn and the replacement SAS unit would need to be coded to the vehicles ABS and DSC systems which would be a Dealer job to plug into the T4....I sat there in the car for a few minutes contemplating fate and the potential bill I was facing on my very first day of ownership, maybe I should have stuck with the DSE, I mean it only had a handful of issues, no major ones, just Blend motors and a few niggles!
The L322 had been a total impulse purchase, a real punt in the dark....I had driven a few previously in my search for another Range Rover before my DSE, but the DSE was at the time the right car at the right price as the L322 was a tad out of my range at that time! Had I made a huge mistake when facing a repair bill the likes of what I was looking at for the Steering Angle Sensor??
Further research was needed, and I stumbled across a post on the 'net about ABS sensor wiring getting chaffed through when the steering is on full lock due to the amount of 'loose' wiring on the sensor and bad routing. It was worth a punt to see if that was the issue!
Outside once again, I jacked up the car and Took the front wheels off. A quick poke about revealed exactly what I had hoped for - one of the ABS sensor wires had indeed been worn to the point of almost complete breakage, so when you turned the wheel it was enough to cause a disconnection and throw the fault. A temporary repair was made and a new sensor was purchased from LR the very next day....I prayed to those who would listen that day I can tell you!
I won't hark on about all the other repairs I have done as they have all been documented on here, but here is a brief summary of my first year with the L322:
Repairs/Maintenance:
(all prices are approximate as I don't have the invoices to hand)
2 Front ABS Sensors - £47 (LR Dealer)
EAS Recalibration - £75 (LR Delaer)
Full Set of Brake Pads and Sensors - £120 (Delphi CAFCO)
Wheel Nut Removal - close to £200 (long story)
4 New Wheel Nuts - £28 (LR Dealer)
Thermostat - £68 (GSF Car Parts Genuine Behr Part))
Radiator - £170 (Island 4x4 Genuine Behr/Hella part)
Fuel Pump - £160 (GSF Car Parts - X5 Fuel Pump)
Water Pump - £85 (CAFCO)
Gearbox Oil and Filter change - £140 (Oil from VW, filter/gasket/O Ring LR Dealer)
ABS Short Harness Repair - £30 (LR Dealer)
ABS ECU Replacement - £257 (Ebay brand New LR Part in Box)
ABS ECU Recoding at Local Indy - £50 (wanted to charge me £30, but gave him extra as he was a decent bloke)
4 New Tyres - £476 (Iota Accelera Cheap as Chips)
Fluids - £100 (Coolant, Oil etc)
Tooling (main):
RSW All Comms - £186
3 Tonne Trolley Jack - £120
12 Tonne Bottle Jack - £30
Ramps - £45
Torx Set - £26
Odds:
Load Space Cover - £50 Ebay
Wraparound Bull Bar - £41 Ebay
Day to Day Fueling Costs:
Number of Fill Ups - 69
Average MPG - 15.44
Best MPG - 17.31
Worst MPG - 12.64
Avg Miles Per Tank - 220.4
Total Miles Covered - 15207.3
Most Miles from a Tank Full - 260.1
Least Miles from a Tank Full - 128.2
Avg Fill Amount - 64.9 litres
Total Fuel Used - 4478.16 Litres
Largest Fill - 75.02 Litres
Avg Cost - £48.64 per fill
Total Fuel Spend - £3356.25
Max Single Fill Cost - £59.56
So for the year on:
Maintenance/Repairs - £2006.00
Tools (Main) - £407
Odds and Sods - £91
Fuel - £3356.25
Grand Total for the Year - £5860.25 (£488.36 per month incl. Fuel) (Not incl. Insurance - £480/year or Tax £270/year)
Not a million miles from what I was working it out to cost when I bought it, but I hope the above figures will give those some insight into potential running costs for an L322 over a year on LPG with only what could be minor niggles....
Remember I spanner the majority of my repairs and it has only been to LR/Indy for the ABS Recode and also the first EAS Recalibration before I got the All Comms!
If you can't spanner your own repairs, consider LR Hourly Rate at £110/hr or an Indy at around £60/hr and the bills could easily be double or triple my yearly maintenance costs.....
