Buying FF range rover 12-15k - what to look for?
Discussion
pistonbrah1 said:
need to upgrade to something big, im looking at some 2010 FFRR for around 12-15k.
Is there anything i should know before buying?
im looking for comfort above all else.
There are a few things you should know before buying one, but they are incredibly comfortable. They are large and airy and will feel like sitting in your front room. That's a good thing because you'll likely do as many miles in it as your front room has done before it breaks down.Is there anything i should know before buying?
im looking for comfort above all else.
There are plenty of storage places for your crying tissues and recovery membership card too which is useful.
Generally the only parts to worry about that are likely to be an issue will have Land Rover stamped on them, apart from whatever engine/gearbox combination you decide on - and those can either go wrong, or fail to go right.
If you're one of the lucky few who don't have an issue immediately, it'll almost certainly be stolen.
Follow these three golden rules and you'll be fine:
1. Don't do it
2. Don't do it
3. FFS, don't do it
Blu3R said:
pistonbrah1 said:
need to upgrade to something big, im looking at some 2010 FFRR for around 12-15k.
Is there anything i should know before buying?
im looking for comfort above all else.
There are a few things you should know before buying one, but they are incredibly comfortable. They are large and airy and will feel like sitting in your front room. That's a good thing because you'll likely do as many miles in it as your front room has done before it breaks down.Is there anything i should know before buying?
im looking for comfort above all else.
There are plenty of storage places for your crying tissues and recovery membership card too which is useful.
Generally the only parts to worry about that are likely to be an issue will have Land Rover stamped on them, apart from whatever engine/gearbox combination you decide on - and those can either go wrong, or fail to go right.
If you're one of the lucky few who don't have an issue immediately, it'll almost certainly be stolen.
Follow these three golden rules and you'll be fine:
1. Don't do it
2. Don't do it
3. FFS, don't do it
Amazing machines.
If you buy one also buy a diagnostic kit, makes living with one much less stressful, most of the niggles are usually something easy.
I have been using this over the last few weeks, not had one for a couple years and never had the 4.4 TDV8, had the 3.6, it is such a good bit of kit.
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic58205.html
If you buy one also buy a diagnostic kit, makes living with one much less stressful, most of the niggles are usually something easy.
I have been using this over the last few weeks, not had one for a couple years and never had the 4.4 TDV8, had the 3.6, it is such a good bit of kit.
https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic58205.html
I spent £13k on a 4.4 TDV8 about 15 months ago. It had done 85k at the time and is now on about 97k. I've had to change the Fr lower suspension arms, repair some rust on the tailgate and change the intake hoses. Total cost in repairs has been about £1k so nothing too dramatic really. Had to do the tyres and battery but it is a 10 year old car so that's just normal. I get a "water in fuel system" message if I drive through a lot of puddles but it is just a dodgy sensor. There is a HVAC problem but it's fixed by switching it off and then on again. In car entertainment has crashed a few times but I can cope. Oh and the seals on the sunroof have collapsed so I get wind noise unless you just dab the open button to lift the back edge of it about 2mm. All these things about just what you get with older cars.
I've not had any major problems. It was 2 owners before me (one was the dealer I bought it from) and it still had the original owners France house programed in the satnav. I tried a few then broke the budget for the 4.4 over 3.8 and it was worth it.
Best analogy someone on here said - it's like a drug addiction. It's awesome and all fun when on a high but when the inevitable lows come it will cause pain. I've not had a low yet and it is my favorite car I've ever owned so far.
I've not had any major problems. It was 2 owners before me (one was the dealer I bought it from) and it still had the original owners France house programed in the satnav. I tried a few then broke the budget for the 4.4 over 3.8 and it was worth it.
Best analogy someone on here said - it's like a drug addiction. It's awesome and all fun when on a high but when the inevitable lows come it will cause pain. I've not had a low yet and it is my favorite car I've ever owned so far.
witten said:
It had done 85k at the time and is now on about 97k. I've had to change the Fr lower suspension arms, repair some rust on the tailgate and change the intake hoses. .
Yeah, all the arms on the one I have been driving were replaced recently too. Big heavy cars that are now 10 years old roughly, bushes will need doing if not already done.
The only issue with the one I have been in is the volume knob on the stereo sometimes doesn't work, steering wheel fine, and the seatbelt doesn't always retract. But genuinely drives like a new car and in many ways much nicer than the newer L405.
Having said that the L405 I have been driving is a 3.0 which doesn't come with all the lovely air suspension etc.
It just doesn't feel as plush as this L322.
What engine are you looking at? Petrol or diesel?
I've got a few friends with these. Two of them had TD6's for years. No issue apart from the gearbox rebuild which is just part of the course on the Td6. Both now on 4.4 TDV8's.
Another friend has gone RRS (L320) to D4 and now 4.4 TDV8 L322. A couple of sensor issues when he first got it and a knackered battery. All good now though.
Another friend has a 4.4 BMW petrol V8 on LPG.
I don't think any of them have has any sort of major issue over the past 10 years of ownership.
I've got a few friends with these. Two of them had TD6's for years. No issue apart from the gearbox rebuild which is just part of the course on the Td6. Both now on 4.4 TDV8's.
Another friend has gone RRS (L320) to D4 and now 4.4 TDV8 L322. A couple of sensor issues when he first got it and a knackered battery. All good now though.
Another friend has a 4.4 BMW petrol V8 on LPG.
I don't think any of them have has any sort of major issue over the past 10 years of ownership.
I think the biggest problem with these is the dealers. They don't diagnose anything passed plugging in the software and replacing the parts that logged the error.
Good example was the Disco I bought.
Guy sold it silly cheap as LR had said it needed new height sensors all round, yaw sensor and new air suspension compressor and air springs.
The Quote was for close on £5000.
He wanted to rid.
That all sounded unrealistic and and I took a punt.
When I picked it up he said he had had both control arms replaced recently which cost £600, so the cra drove great, but after a few hundred yards on a fast road the lights on dash all lit up, suspension deactivated, no esp, no hill decent, or no off road modes available.
Was fine driving round the block no matter how many times we tried to get it to go off we couldn't.
I bought it anyway, it was silly cheap and I knew I could do all that work for £1500 or so.
As soon as I pulled away from his and onto the M1 it lit up. Bugger.
On the way home I started to think about what he said, that it had happened after the control arms were replaced. I was think a sensor maybe unplugged?
I got home and scanned it, no faults at all that stood out. Reset all codes and went for another drive. I wanted to take it to get a Hunter alignment and the guys I know so they will quickly whack it on the ramp and tell me what needs doing. It was driving there that I suddenly thought, "If the steering wheel is at 11 o'clock then maybe the steering angle sensor is out too?"
I ran the software and sure enough the sensor was out by 4º i think it was.
I reset this and BINGO!
No more faults.
The new control arms had been put in, alignment not done and the steering angle sensor was out compared to the yaw sensor etc. So many sensors the car thought it was going round in circles or falling over.
All the off road abilities on these can mean that unless you read data properly it looks like the whole car needs replacing, unfortunately that seems to be exactly what main dealers do these days.
You can see why so many people slag these off, they get a quote for a repair that is in the thousands when in reality it probably only needed 30 minutes driving logging the data and looking for anything outside of the expected parameters. Then a simple reset of the sensors.
But they don't do that these days.
When people used to say "these are complex vehicles, a lot to go wrong." I used to think they meant they are big, heavy and lots of toys and never really thought about what they really meant. I now understand them far better and they don't worry me in the slightest any more, in fact I would say LR products are some of the toughest and easiest to diagnose and fix.
Good example was the Disco I bought.
Guy sold it silly cheap as LR had said it needed new height sensors all round, yaw sensor and new air suspension compressor and air springs.
The Quote was for close on £5000.
He wanted to rid.
That all sounded unrealistic and and I took a punt.
When I picked it up he said he had had both control arms replaced recently which cost £600, so the cra drove great, but after a few hundred yards on a fast road the lights on dash all lit up, suspension deactivated, no esp, no hill decent, or no off road modes available.
Was fine driving round the block no matter how many times we tried to get it to go off we couldn't.
I bought it anyway, it was silly cheap and I knew I could do all that work for £1500 or so.
As soon as I pulled away from his and onto the M1 it lit up. Bugger.
On the way home I started to think about what he said, that it had happened after the control arms were replaced. I was think a sensor maybe unplugged?
I got home and scanned it, no faults at all that stood out. Reset all codes and went for another drive. I wanted to take it to get a Hunter alignment and the guys I know so they will quickly whack it on the ramp and tell me what needs doing. It was driving there that I suddenly thought, "If the steering wheel is at 11 o'clock then maybe the steering angle sensor is out too?"
I ran the software and sure enough the sensor was out by 4º i think it was.
I reset this and BINGO!
No more faults.
The new control arms had been put in, alignment not done and the steering angle sensor was out compared to the yaw sensor etc. So many sensors the car thought it was going round in circles or falling over.
All the off road abilities on these can mean that unless you read data properly it looks like the whole car needs replacing, unfortunately that seems to be exactly what main dealers do these days.
You can see why so many people slag these off, they get a quote for a repair that is in the thousands when in reality it probably only needed 30 minutes driving logging the data and looking for anything outside of the expected parameters. Then a simple reset of the sensors.
But they don't do that these days.
When people used to say "these are complex vehicles, a lot to go wrong." I used to think they meant they are big, heavy and lots of toys and never really thought about what they really meant. I now understand them far better and they don't worry me in the slightest any more, in fact I would say LR products are some of the toughest and easiest to diagnose and fix.
I’ve been running a 09 3.6 L322 for the past 2.5 years. Here’s some thoughts
Wheels - beware of cars running aftermarket replica wheels, a lot of them aren’t;t weight rated for the car and are made of chocolate, the car I bought looked to have oem turbines which turned out to be copies - be really careful with Overfinch rims - I changed mine to oem ones and they are weight stamped on the inside.
22 inch wheels cause a lot of problems with suspension wear and generally wreck the sublime ride. The tyres also puncture like nobodies business, I downgraded and put general grabbers on and the comfort is immense,they work in snow and you no longer shudder when you go over the pothole.
Maintenance hasn’t been ruinous. Full service last year including a MOT, replacing front brake discs and pads, fixing the filler cap hinge was about 550 to 600 gbp.
Other repairs - replaced the battery in September as it had been sat during lockdown, AA did it with a upgraded Bosch unit that was about 230 gbp including at home fitting.
Brake lines are prone to rust. I had mine replaced at a cost of 250 quid by a specialist.
Can’t say a theft is an issue. Mine is parked in a residents zone in central Chelsea, never been stolen, but then people park Huracans and all sorts on our street and lots of l405’s.
Insurance is expensive. My premium is 800 gbp a year with 7 years no claims, which was double what I paid on my E63 amg.
Specialists do a much better job of maintenance than main dealers.
At 10k we;re getting to the point where the break up value of the car is close to the price - I spent 2.5k on new wheels and tyres alone which is now 25 percent of the car!
Some tatty examples about but there are a good few owned by people who paid lots for them and took good care of them. I was the first owner of mine after it had been previously sold through LR main dealers and then imperials so was in really good condition when I bought it and it’s only done 90k Miles now, passed its mot with only 1 minor and runs like clockwork even when it’s been sat fir a month during lockdown.
Tbh I think if you get a good one they are fantastic value, but bear in mind even at 10k you are buying a originally 80-100k car so there is a lot of toys but also a lot to fix. But in terms of ownership at this point you are swapping depreciation for maintenance. I lost 15k in 2 years vacation 1k of maintenance, so a lot of people talk about maintenance bills but reality is a newer L405 is costing you much more in monthly depreciation and the l322 is supremely quiet and has good performance and still feels quite modern with the post 09 digital dash.
I honestly don’t know another car i’d have that ticks all the boxes so well. Sadly thanks to Sadie extended ULEZ to RBKC mine has to go this year which i’m gutted about as what i’ll get for it is ridiculous for what it delivers.
Wheels - beware of cars running aftermarket replica wheels, a lot of them aren’t;t weight rated for the car and are made of chocolate, the car I bought looked to have oem turbines which turned out to be copies - be really careful with Overfinch rims - I changed mine to oem ones and they are weight stamped on the inside.
22 inch wheels cause a lot of problems with suspension wear and generally wreck the sublime ride. The tyres also puncture like nobodies business, I downgraded and put general grabbers on and the comfort is immense,they work in snow and you no longer shudder when you go over the pothole.
Maintenance hasn’t been ruinous. Full service last year including a MOT, replacing front brake discs and pads, fixing the filler cap hinge was about 550 to 600 gbp.
Other repairs - replaced the battery in September as it had been sat during lockdown, AA did it with a upgraded Bosch unit that was about 230 gbp including at home fitting.
Brake lines are prone to rust. I had mine replaced at a cost of 250 quid by a specialist.
Can’t say a theft is an issue. Mine is parked in a residents zone in central Chelsea, never been stolen, but then people park Huracans and all sorts on our street and lots of l405’s.
Insurance is expensive. My premium is 800 gbp a year with 7 years no claims, which was double what I paid on my E63 amg.
Specialists do a much better job of maintenance than main dealers.
At 10k we;re getting to the point where the break up value of the car is close to the price - I spent 2.5k on new wheels and tyres alone which is now 25 percent of the car!
Some tatty examples about but there are a good few owned by people who paid lots for them and took good care of them. I was the first owner of mine after it had been previously sold through LR main dealers and then imperials so was in really good condition when I bought it and it’s only done 90k Miles now, passed its mot with only 1 minor and runs like clockwork even when it’s been sat fir a month during lockdown.
Tbh I think if you get a good one they are fantastic value, but bear in mind even at 10k you are buying a originally 80-100k car so there is a lot of toys but also a lot to fix. But in terms of ownership at this point you are swapping depreciation for maintenance. I lost 15k in 2 years vacation 1k of maintenance, so a lot of people talk about maintenance bills but reality is a newer L405 is costing you much more in monthly depreciation and the l322 is supremely quiet and has good performance and still feels quite modern with the post 09 digital dash.
I honestly don’t know another car i’d have that ticks all the boxes so well. Sadly thanks to Sadie extended ULEZ to RBKC mine has to go this year which i’m gutted about as what i’ll get for it is ridiculous for what it delivers.
4.4 TDV8 is a decent engine with plenty of grunt. Try to find a decent Vogue SE instead of Vogue. Avoid anything modified like the plague, also avoid anything on stupid 21 or 22 inch wheels. one thing you can do is increase the tyre profile which also improves comfort, e.g. if you have 20 inch wheels, you can go from 50 to 55 profile tyres. Make sure it has a full service history, doesn't have to be main dealer, but it does need to have been serviced. Air suspension bags are essentially consumables after a decade so have a reserve for replacement bags; some swap for coils but that ruins the amazing ride. Expect the odd electrical gremlin, and perhaps not every gadget to work as intended a decade ago; laptops and phones from a decade ago don't function desperately well these days so it's not unreasonable that neither may a built in sat nav which hasn't been updated. You may get the odd warning (e.g. camera system fault), but most things are cured by turning the engine off and back on again. It'll work fine most of the time, and more importantly, it'll get you to where you need to get to in comfort every time.
Nobody is forcing either of you to read or reply. If you don't like it, don't read it and don't reply to the thread to keep it alive.
I was about to write don't worry, schools are back tomorrow, but suddenly remembered that we're in the middle of a pandemic and we're going to have to put up with you kids for a while yet.
I was about to write don't worry, schools are back tomorrow, but suddenly remembered that we're in the middle of a pandemic and we're going to have to put up with you kids for a while yet.
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