Is there any reason I should not get a range rover as a toy?
Discussion
morning everyone.
At home we have a few miles of forest tracks which are ripe for a bit of off-road fun. nothing too serious, but more than a £50 fiat panda is capable of (even though that can be a lot of fun!)
I have been looking for something cheap, bomb-proof and fun to get as an off-road toy. as it will be declared SORN, MOT stuff isnt important, but strong engine and gearbox are.
last week i had my first proper look at a classic range rover and I am really quite liking the idea, but I just thought I would check here if anyone can tell me why it would be a bad idea.
I am really looking at the £5-700 1990-ish range rovers, but i really would prefer it to be a V8 rather than a diesel. plus im quite impressed by how much car you get for the money including leather, air-con etc etc.
As long as i check the engine and gearbox seem fine, is there anything else major that is likely to catch me out?
cheers for the help.
At home we have a few miles of forest tracks which are ripe for a bit of off-road fun. nothing too serious, but more than a £50 fiat panda is capable of (even though that can be a lot of fun!)
I have been looking for something cheap, bomb-proof and fun to get as an off-road toy. as it will be declared SORN, MOT stuff isnt important, but strong engine and gearbox are.
last week i had my first proper look at a classic range rover and I am really quite liking the idea, but I just thought I would check here if anyone can tell me why it would be a bad idea.
I am really looking at the £5-700 1990-ish range rovers, but i really would prefer it to be a V8 rather than a diesel. plus im quite impressed by how much car you get for the money including leather, air-con etc etc.
As long as i check the engine and gearbox seem fine, is there anything else major that is likely to catch me out?
cheers for the help.
Mechanically the RR Classic is pretty robust. Even the 4 speed Auto box, which is the most common, will take a lot of stick. Watch out for overheating engines (oil in coolant etc: usual stuff). Rot is the big issue but if you're SORNing you won't need to worry much, although check front shocker turrets, rear seat belt mounts, & make sure the 'B' post isn't floating at the bottom. Also boot floor. Tailgates that stay shut without bungees are nice, but a bit of a luxury. Pull headlining out if it bothers you.
In my experience (relatively limited) they are bomb proof in the nitty-gritty mechanical elements, engine, gearbox(ish), diffs. its everything else: the electrics, the body, the trim etc. The air suspension wont last forever either. if you aren't going to use it on the road then these things wont be a problem and you will probably want a sprung one too.
In my opinion get a Defender or earlier land rover 90/110. Less thing to go wrong, but (just to confuse you) my dad bought a 94 Range Rover Vogue had it a year and nothing has gone really wrong with it unlike the 05 TD5 defender i have which went through a turbo in less than a year.
In my opinion get a Defender or earlier land rover 90/110. Less thing to go wrong, but (just to confuse you) my dad bought a 94 Range Rover Vogue had it a year and nothing has gone really wrong with it unlike the 05 TD5 defender i have which went through a turbo in less than a year.
For the kind of money you are looking at it shouldn't really matter. All of the older LR's have interchangable parts to a greater degree.
A Defender really is not so different from a Range Rover or a Discovery under teh skin.
On an old Rangie just make sure it seems to run ok. A tranny rebuild won't be worth the cost. Also check for rust.
They are pretty ribust, but depending on what you do and how big tyres you run you could end up making a mess of driveshafts, diffs and CV joints.
V8 will drink fuel and you'll be hard pushed to find a diesel RR for that kind of money.
If you are serious about off roading in tight areas then a smaller vehicle will be eaiser, such as an old Series 88", but you'll lose the comfort and power unless you do a bit of modding.
You won't get a 90 or D90 for that kind of money.
A Defender really is not so different from a Range Rover or a Discovery under teh skin.
On an old Rangie just make sure it seems to run ok. A tranny rebuild won't be worth the cost. Also check for rust.
They are pretty ribust, but depending on what you do and how big tyres you run you could end up making a mess of driveshafts, diffs and CV joints.
V8 will drink fuel and you'll be hard pushed to find a diesel RR for that kind of money.
If you are serious about off roading in tight areas then a smaller vehicle will be eaiser, such as an old Series 88", but you'll lose the comfort and power unless you do a bit of modding.
You won't get a 90 or D90 for that kind of money.
Can't comment on quite as low as you are going, I ran a 3.9litre vogue classic for a couple of years that cost me £3k to buy. I enjoyed it massively.
No real problems, but the late Classics have:
air suspension - really quite a giggle going up and down, but did break a few times, you need a local independant specialist to rest it for you or forget it.
power brake system - I still can't get my head around the idea of over £1k for a brake master cylinder.
No real problems, but the late Classics have:
air suspension - really quite a giggle going up and down, but did break a few times, you need a local independant specialist to rest it for you or forget it.
power brake system - I still can't get my head around the idea of over £1k for a brake master cylinder.
thanks for all the replies guys. i thought about things very carefully and in the end went with a series 3 landy instead simply because it was so close to home and already had all the extras i would have wanted to add anyway:
it may not have quite the comfort of a range rover or a nice v8 burble but it seems to be nicely capable of off-road fun and i can still get 7 people in it if i need!
it may not have quite the comfort of a range rover or a nice v8 burble but it seems to be nicely capable of off-road fun and i can still get 7 people in it if i need!
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