Buying a Classic Range Rover

[turbo-tastic]

Hello,

I have always liked the classic Range Rover, and it is coming up to that time where I am starting to think about changing cars.

The only thing that has put me off in the past is the cost of running one on a daily basis.

I will have up to £2k to spend, so I'm obviously not looking at one built under BMW, but thinking along the lines of a 1990> V8 with LPG.

Excluding the fuel costs, are they expensive vehicles to run?? I dont plan on doing any off roading, so how do they cope with normal everyday driving?

What should I look out for on a model in my budget? (rot I would imagine)

Is the LPG any good? I have read that it produces nearly the same power as petrol, but at under half the cost??

And most importantly, would you recommend a classic rangie for a daily driver??

Cheers all,
Ed.

[liszt]

I have a 91 Vogue SE on LPG which I use every day and off road in.

Fuel works out at about £32 for 225 miles, which is how far I can get on my tanks.

Parts can be cheap, but some items can be expensive. You can pick up a engine for a couple of hundred quid and a re furb gear box for about 500 notes.

They do need looking after, lots of oil changes, but are easy to work on. You should be able to get one for that money. Look out for chassis rot. Have a damn good look at all the chassis you can see.

Try the LRO forums or Difflock.com for buyers guides.

[zumbruk]

turbo-tastic said:

And most importantly, would you recommend a classic rangie for a daily driver??

I commuted from Bedford to Welwyn Garden City in one for 8 years. Does that count..? And yes, they're fabulous daily drivers, if you can manage the upkeep.

Things to look out for? Electrics, leaks, electrics, corrosion (especially anywhere the Ali body touches the steel - bottoms of doors, edges of bonnets, tailgates), electrics, transfer boxes, electrics, steering boxes, electrics and brakes. Oh, and don't forget about the electrics.

[sb-1]

I paid just under £2K for my 1990 Classic.I have spent several hundred £ on welding/waxoiling and core plugs etc etc.& it now runs extremly well.(113K Miles)In fact it just passed its MOT yesterday 1st time!

It doesn't have LPG though.I am probably getting around 17MPG I would guess.


Great fun though,highly recommended!

Steve



>> Edited by sb-1 on Thursday 6th October 09:30

[turbo-tastic]

zumbruk said:

they're fabulous daily drivers, if you can manage the upkeep.

This is the only remaining hurdle now. Just roughly what sort of monthly expenditure can I expect to keep it on the road??

zumbruk said:

Things to look out for? Electrics, leaks, electrics, corrosion (especially anywhere the Ali body touches the steel - bottoms of doors, edges of bonnets, tailgates), electrics, transfer boxes, electrics, steering boxes, electrics and brakes. Oh, and don't forget about the electrics.

So the electrics are good then??

Cheers all,
Much appreciated comments. It was a toss up between an LPG rangie, or an LPG XJ6, but the Rangie has won it. Now to find a good one i can afford....