airportmark said:
What if I found one with full service history, 130,000 V8 and it had gearbox and front diff replaced ? Would I still be making a mistake ?
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If you listened to all the 'nay sayers' you'd never do anything. I spent 7.5k on my L322 V8 - yes true the vanos may go, and the gearbox possibly, but it's great fun and a bit 'brutal' in the acceleration stakes compared to my P38 diesel (which now feels like driving through treacle in comparison). Had the gearbox oil changed for the correct fluid and now running fine. Changed the oil cooler and rad and no longer have overheating gearbox. Trouble is with these forums is the most only post when they have a problem.
Go in with your eyes open and enjoy! Glad I did :)
(It's my p38 that's now broken :(
 
The L322 is gorgeous but please don't buy one that costs all your money. You'll scrimp on maintenance it it will turn into a money pit.

If you can get one with some cash in reserve then go for it. They are lovely, even the not-especially-powerful Td6.

A P38 for £2-3k leaves you plenty of cash to fix all its 'personality' and not go bankrupt.

Just don't close the doors with the keys inside....
 
I looked around for ages and got a 52 plate TD6 from a so-called Range Rover specialist for £6k. Came with lots of history and most importantly a recon gearbox from another garage with a receipt and guarantee, so hopefully got a few miles before it needs doing again. The"Specialist " knew nothing about the gearbox problems or if the front diff connection had been modified. I checked and it had. They couldn't get the infotainment system to work. Might have helped if they checked it was all plugged in!! Only issue I can find is the drivers heated front seat doesn't work. Just put it through MoT after 8 months ownership and only needed handbrake adjusted. It does have surface rust on the rear wheel arches which I will get sorted but apart from that it's been very reliable as a daily driver and on a couple of 2-300 mile round trips. Slightly better mpg than my diesel P38 as well as being more powerful. Having been through early and late classics and a couple of P38s it's simply a case of each model being an improvement over the earlier ones. I've spent loads of money repairing rust on the classics, quite a bit on P38 air suspension and brakes and probably going to spend more on the L322. I've found that spending out on preventative maintenance is a must on RRs. I've got a VW Golf as a family car and a Porsche 944 Turbo as a toy and both of them can stand an element of neglect and still keep going. The RR is a much more temperamental creature which is probably why we keep buying them with all their problems!!
 
Lyndasbottom said:
I looked around for ages and got a 52 plate TD6 from a so-called Range Rover specialist for £6k. Came with lots of history and most importantly a recon gearbox from another garage with a receipt and guarantee, so hopefully got a few miles before it needs doing again. The"Specialist " knew nothing about the gearbox problems or if the front diff connection had been modified. I checked and it had. They couldn't get the infotainment system to work. Might have helped if they checked it was all plugged in!! Only issue I can find is the drivers heated front seat doesn't work. Just put it through MoT after 8 months ownership and only needed handbrake adjusted. It does have surface rust on the rear wheel arches which I will get sorted but apart from that it's been very reliable as a daily driver and on a couple of 2-300 mile round trips. Slightly better mpg than my diesel P38 as well as being more powerful. Having been through early and late classics and a couple of P38s it's simply a case of each model being an improvement over the earlier ones. I've spent loads of money repairing rust on the classics, quite a bit on P38 air suspension and brakes and probably going to spend more on the L322. I've found that spending out on preventative maintenance is a must on RRs. I've got a VW Golf as a family car and a Porsche 944 Turbo as a toy and both of them can stand an element of neglect and still keep going. The RR is a much more temperamental creature which is probably why we keep buying them with all their problems!!
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Thanks for that I will probably still buy one but will be extra carful on service history and such. So there is a visual way to check that the the front diff has been upgraded/repaired ?
 
I spent £6K on a 2004 4.4 nearly 2 years ago which was a good price in theory however i have since replaced the front struts, Edit water pump, aircon condenser, gearbox cooler, stat and pipes, EAS compressor piston ring, all front suspension arms and ball joints / cv joints, torque converter and rebuilt the box, headlight wipers (£300), rear suspension arm bushes, battery, i am working towards the vanos and cam chain and guides, instrument display, i have bought an all comms and also a faultmate just so i can start it after disconnecting the battery, more tools than i thought i could fit in my garage.

Saying that i do sort of enjoy it, love driving it and fixing it can be fun and also a total fecker...

Dealer history is a must and check the book for genuine stamps and not numbers tampered with, a long test drive making sure the suspension adjusts to all the positions quickly, get it warm and then start it and listen for the rattle if its the v8, long MOT and not done by the garage selling it.
The v8 is nice but be prepared for 16 mpg combined, 21 if you never leave a motorway, i dont have LPG and didnt want it.
i reckon i have spent almost the same money i paid for it again in the last 2 years , not including the petrol of course.

if you are not going to repair it yourself, forget it :)
 
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airportmark said:
Thanks for that I will probably still buy one but will be extra carful on service history and such. So there is a visual way to check that the the front diff has been upgraded/repaired ?
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have a look at this link, there i a photo you can compare to your front prop shaft where it meets the front diff or you can just ring up land rover with the reg and they should tell you although the recall has officially finished you might get lucky

Front Differential Failure (Range Rover Mk III)
 
holidaychicken said:
I spent £6K on a 2004 4.4 nearly 2 years ago which was a good price in theory however i have since replaced the front struts, all front suspension arms and ball joints / cv joints, torque converter and rebuilt the box, headlight wipers (£300), rear suspension arm bushes, battery, i am working towards the vanos and cam chain and guides, instrument display, i have bought an all comms and also a faultmate just so i can start it after disconnecting the battery, more tools than i thought i could fit in my garage.

Saying that i do sort of enjoy it, love driving it and fixing it can be fun and also a total fecker...

Dealer history is a must and check the book for genuine stamps and not numbers tampered with, a long test drive making sure the suspension adjusts to all the positions quickly, get it warm and then start it and listen for the rattle if its the v8, long MOT and not done by the garage selling it.
The v8 is nice but be prepared for 16 mpg combined, 21 if you never leave a motorway, i dont have LPG and didnt want it.
i reckon i have spent almost the same money i paid for it again in the last 2 years , not including the petrol of course.

if you are not going to repair it yourself, forget it :)
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You see that could be a problem as I can do basic jobs but not full servicing on the rangie. Give me a Mk 1 or 2 escort and I am well away ! Showing my age now.
 
I have a mk1 escort waiting in the wings for a full restoration it was my first car that I bought in 1988 and for the money I have spent on the range I could have rebuilt it as a cosworth twice over and would be worth a fortune now
Anyhoo back to topic
I would check and recheck service history and what is has had replaced.
To check for vanos you need to get it warmed right up and if it starts to sound a bit like a diesel then it's on its way.
Transmission, try a slow drive up a slight incline using a light throttle up to 60 mph so it changes through the gears, if you get a vibration and the Rev counter moves at all that's torque converter and quite big money and the same time get it as hot as possible and gears should shift faultlessly
Try adjusting air suspension up and down a few times which should take 30 seconds or so watching the lights on the knob which should stop flashing when it reaches each height.
Try air con that should be ice cold

It's not a vogue so may be missing some toys
The warranty may be worth next to nothing , see if it covers all parts and labour and isn't a token £500 towards repairs that will get you nothing on a range.
Being quite high mileage it may have had a lot of the work done but if it was me and you are on a budget I would walk away but your call but these are terribly unreliable and I would say only feasible to own if you can repair yourself

Servicing is easy to do and I think the number plate says it all. I would look around at loads of different ones to get a feel for what they are about, I bought the first one looked at and paid a heavy price and didn't research like you are either
 
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my two pence worth i'd save a little more and look for something around 7-7.5k but be extra carefull, check the gearbox has been reconditioned if the miliage is around 100k, i bought mine 2 years ago with a gearbox fault, the price reflected it as i only paid 6k for a 2003 l322, but at least i know the gearbox is good after getting it done myself, i had a different oil cooler fitted in front of the rad as the standard coolers block up and help towards g/box failiure and was advised change the fluid every 40,000 miles.if you buy a petrol model, buy one lpg converted the money you'll save will definately help towards repair costs.

apart from that other issues i had to deal with after purchase were.
new battery
radiator was leaking & needed replacing
water pump (2 months later)
service
wheel bearing (also a known fault when i bought it)
and in 2 years other costs have included

front suspension struts, 2x height sensors, various water leaks, oil leaks, pcv valve & pipes, new engine ecu (caused because the e-box fan failed), front suspension arms, suspension recalibration, lpg service and the list goes on.

not the most ecconomic vehicle to run, i had a volvo v70 for 5 years before the rangie and it cost nothing in repairs, regular service and 2 anti roll bar links and that was it. but i wouldn't be without the rangie it is one of the best cars out there but don't be mistaken it will be cheap to run, and when those repairs come round buy better quality parts not the cheapest you can find.
 
Yeah sadly as someone pointed out, these forums tend to only be here for the nasty problems and advise but thank the lordy they do exist.

I've had a helluva time with mine since buying it in September, I spent 10K on buying it and I'm probably a tad over 2K in problems since then with minor problems still to fix. I've got another 2K put aside for the gearbox rebuild which I see coming in the next few months!

With me though it's simply the fact that I love the Land Rover badge. This car nearly broke me, financially and mentally, but will I give up on it? Nope, well hopefully not.

Decent ones do exist as they have to or scrap yards would be full of them and you'd see them broken down at the side of the roads everywhere :eek:

There's tonnes of horror stories on here about bad Discoverys and Freelanders but I've had 6 Discos and a Freelander with 99% faultless running. I never thought a Land Rover could cause me so many problems after all that trouble free motoring but with an L322, you're in a whole new world :bounce:

With my limited knowledge and experience, 6K does seem a little cheap for one of these beasties but you never know. But at the end of the day you only live once and you can't take it with you.

Do your homework and keep asking questions. You'll make the right decision :)
 
Datatek said:
The D3 has it's own problems including the stupid electric handbrake and lots of repairs need the body off. You need to double your budget to leave at least £3K for repairs in the first year.
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Don't agree with this exactly. Or your other posts.

Sure, you can be unlucky and certain vehicles might need 'x' doing to them. Doesn't mean they all do. And it certainly doesn't mean you can't buy a good that just happens to be older.

But no way is it a certainty that you'll experience all of the problems.
 
300bhp/ton said:
Don't agree with this exactly. Or your other posts.

Sure, you can be unlucky and certain vehicles might need 'x' doing to them. Doesn't mean they all do. And it certainly doesn't mean you can't buy a good that just happens to be older.

But no way is it a certainty that you'll experience all of the problems.
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Feel free to disagree, my experience is that LR products are intrinsically unreliable, the stats back that up.
 
Datatek said:
Yes if £6K is all you have. Unless you want to enter a world of pain.
Look at some of the posts by Saint.V8 or rs2000 custom if you don't suffer from nightmares.
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Oi.....!!! (but yer not wrong...) :D
 
Right I have taken everything on Board and looked at a few cars over the bank holiday and decided to wait. I am very grateful for all your help and comments,it has made me see sense that for one I cannot afford to repair a serious problem eg engine, gearbox, diff or vanos units and I would not really be able to self service so that would be more money. I also have a wife and 2 children who do not want to be homeless because of me and my car ! Once again THANKYOU (you know who you are)
 
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