Range Rover L322 Petrol 2003
Discussion
I am currently borrowing my brothers Range Rover. Me, my wife and little boy are totally smitten with it! He has offered it for sale to us if we wanted to buy. Everything shouts no, do not do it! It would be a weekend toy. Are they as bad as people make out? Its made it 136k so far. Had a gearbox rebuild/service around 3 years ago. Everything works (touching wood) including suspension. No fault codes. He has it running on chunky tires as per the photos.
Tell me, please....why not to buy it because at this point I am very close (£3500 for anyone still reading)
Tell me, please....why not to buy it because at this point I am very close (£3500 for anyone still reading)
OP, if you can afford to lose the money in the case of an expensive part failing, and/or you set aside a couple of grand a year for proactive maintenance/servicing, I’d agree it is a very worthwhile experience.
That said, if you need to worry about MPG don’t buy it, especially if you are thinking of driving much at UK motorway speeds or higher. These things have the aerodynamics of house bricks. In normal use, you’d be lucky to be getting 20MPG. At autobahn speeds, maybe 12.
It is a comfortable ride and a very versatile vehicle. The only car I have had that was more comfortable and easy to drive long distances was a Panamera. My 2004 petrol lasted eight years and tens of thousands of miles in my ownership before I judged it time to give up on economic grounds.
It can shift five adults long distance in comfort and I once fitted an Alfa Spider hardtop inside the rear and drove it from the Ruhr to North Italy without any damage or squeaks..The only thing I’d say is that my dog had some trouble getting in and out unassisted.
The V8 BMW unit is good enough but my car had three gearboxes (two replaced under warranty), a hydraulic suspension failure, necessitating a recovery and once a catastrophic high speed (100 mph+) water pump failure that caused the engine and power steering to fail in the main overtaking lane of an autostrada. The gearbox failures came in at a couple of grand a pop (recon replacements) as did the repairs for the water pump and consequential. I think the suspension was a £1250 repair. All early to mid 20-teens prices.
Of course, a good use of breakers and a willingness to do your own work can keep costs down and there are a couple of user websites (American) with useful troubleshooting tips and tricks.
The interiors scrub up quite well but some of the plastics around the switches don’t hold up well so be prepared to paint them or cannibalise better examples from breakers.
The least userfixable bit is the fibre optic ?MOST system that runs the computers and the HiFi which can be a bit temperamental and watch out for water ingress into the control unit in the near side rear - a very cheap fix (£2-3 shield) if caught before the unit is borked.
HTH
That said, if you need to worry about MPG don’t buy it, especially if you are thinking of driving much at UK motorway speeds or higher. These things have the aerodynamics of house bricks. In normal use, you’d be lucky to be getting 20MPG. At autobahn speeds, maybe 12.
It is a comfortable ride and a very versatile vehicle. The only car I have had that was more comfortable and easy to drive long distances was a Panamera. My 2004 petrol lasted eight years and tens of thousands of miles in my ownership before I judged it time to give up on economic grounds.
It can shift five adults long distance in comfort and I once fitted an Alfa Spider hardtop inside the rear and drove it from the Ruhr to North Italy without any damage or squeaks..The only thing I’d say is that my dog had some trouble getting in and out unassisted.
The V8 BMW unit is good enough but my car had three gearboxes (two replaced under warranty), a hydraulic suspension failure, necessitating a recovery and once a catastrophic high speed (100 mph+) water pump failure that caused the engine and power steering to fail in the main overtaking lane of an autostrada. The gearbox failures came in at a couple of grand a pop (recon replacements) as did the repairs for the water pump and consequential. I think the suspension was a £1250 repair. All early to mid 20-teens prices.
Of course, a good use of breakers and a willingness to do your own work can keep costs down and there are a couple of user websites (American) with useful troubleshooting tips and tricks.
The interiors scrub up quite well but some of the plastics around the switches don’t hold up well so be prepared to paint them or cannibalise better examples from breakers.
The least userfixable bit is the fibre optic ?MOST system that runs the computers and the HiFi which can be a bit temperamental and watch out for water ingress into the control unit in the near side rear - a very cheap fix (£2-3 shield) if caught before the unit is borked.
HTH
Any car like this will cost more to run than a bog standard thing. Why not at least enjoy yourself while spending (potentially) more to run it? :-)
But really, I always think that if you are in a position to, just buy the car you want and fix it if it goes wrong, because most cars will at some point anyway!
Best of luck, looks lovely by the way!
But really, I always think that if you are in a position to, just buy the car you want and fix it if it goes wrong, because most cars will at some point anyway!
Best of luck, looks lovely by the way!
psi310398 said:
OP, if you can afford to lose the money in the case of an expensive part failing, and/or you set aside a couple of grand a year for proactive maintenance/servicing, I’d agree it is a very worthwhile experience.
That said, if you need to worry about MPG don’t buy it, especially if you are thinking of driving much at UK motorway speeds or higher. These things have the aerodynamics of house bricks. In normal use, you’d be lucky to be getting 20MPG. At autobahn speeds, maybe 12.
It is a comfortable ride and a very versatile vehicle. The only car I have had that was more comfortable and easy to drive long distances was a Panamera. My 2004 petrol lasted eight years and tens of thousands of miles in my ownership before I judged it time to give up on economic grounds.
It can shift five adults long distance in comfort and I once fitted an Alfa Spider hardtop inside the rear and drove it from the Ruhr to North Italy without any damage or squeaks..The only thing I’d say is that my dog had some trouble getting in and out unassisted.
The V8 BMW unit is good enough but my car had three gearboxes (two replaced under warranty), a hydraulic suspension failure, necessitating a recovery and once a catastrophic high speed (100 mph+) water pump failure that caused the engine and power steering to fail in the main overtaking lane of an autostrada. The gearbox failures came in at a couple of grand a pop (recon replacements) as did the repairs for the water pump and consequential. I think the suspension was a £1250 repair. All early to mid 20-teens prices.
Of course, a good use of breakers and a willingness to do your own work can keep costs down and there are a couple of user websites (American) with useful troubleshooting tips and tricks.
The interiors scrub up quite well but some of the plastics around the switches don’t hold up well so be prepared to paint them or cannibalise better examples from breakers.
The least userfixable bit is the fibre optic ?MOST system that runs the computers and the HiFi which can be a bit temperamental and watch out for water ingress into the control unit in the near side rear - a very cheap fix (£2-3 shield) if caught before the unit is borked.
HTH
Thanks for that review, long story but my wife keeps pestering to replace my old Volvo 940 Estate and having just sold an old TVR I was speaking to someone else interested in that TVR who is shortly selling a RR Classic/ P38/ L322. They're tasty, roomy for two dogs etc but under 20mpg with rising fuel costs? And their rumoured reliability record (my TVR's have been reliable before anyone says).....That said, if you need to worry about MPG don’t buy it, especially if you are thinking of driving much at UK motorway speeds or higher. These things have the aerodynamics of house bricks. In normal use, you’d be lucky to be getting 20MPG. At autobahn speeds, maybe 12.
It is a comfortable ride and a very versatile vehicle. The only car I have had that was more comfortable and easy to drive long distances was a Panamera. My 2004 petrol lasted eight years and tens of thousands of miles in my ownership before I judged it time to give up on economic grounds.
It can shift five adults long distance in comfort and I once fitted an Alfa Spider hardtop inside the rear and drove it from the Ruhr to North Italy without any damage or squeaks..The only thing I’d say is that my dog had some trouble getting in and out unassisted.
The V8 BMW unit is good enough but my car had three gearboxes (two replaced under warranty), a hydraulic suspension failure, necessitating a recovery and once a catastrophic high speed (100 mph+) water pump failure that caused the engine and power steering to fail in the main overtaking lane of an autostrada. The gearbox failures came in at a couple of grand a pop (recon replacements) as did the repairs for the water pump and consequential. I think the suspension was a £1250 repair. All early to mid 20-teens prices.
Of course, a good use of breakers and a willingness to do your own work can keep costs down and there are a couple of user websites (American) with useful troubleshooting tips and tricks.
The interiors scrub up quite well but some of the plastics around the switches don’t hold up well so be prepared to paint them or cannibalise better examples from breakers.
The least userfixable bit is the fibre optic ?MOST system that runs the computers and the HiFi which can be a bit temperamental and watch out for water ingress into the control unit in the near side rear - a very cheap fix (£2-3 shield) if caught before the unit is borked.
HTH
There’s reliable and reliable.
In my experience they are reliable until one day something happens and they won’t go. Once fixed, they will go on until the next big failure, and rinse and repeat.
Unlike, say, various 80s Alfas I had that were only viable if you had a German car to use on the many days when the Alfa simply couldn’t be arsed to start…Nothing major, just bloody mindedness.
In my experience they are reliable until one day something happens and they won’t go. Once fixed, they will go on until the next big failure, and rinse and repeat.
Unlike, say, various 80s Alfas I had that were only viable if you had a German car to use on the many days when the Alfa simply couldn’t be arsed to start…Nothing major, just bloody mindedness.
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