Range Rover 3.0 TD Vogue, good S/H buy?
Discussion
While looking for a comfy sensible 4x4 that can pull a car trailer, I noticed that these are very affordable.
It seems you can pick up a sensible low mileage 2002/3/4 from about £6K upwards.
Is it going to be a money pit? Can I drive around like Lord of the Manor without thinking that I'm going to break down at any time?
I have had various Mark one and Mark two discos in diesel and V8 guises so I know what the old school Land Rovers are like .
I have a budget of about £8K.
Otherwise I have narrowed it down to a 3.0 grand Cherokee, 3.0 ML320 or the usual generic BMW X5d.
Thoughts?
If anyone has a sensible car that would suit the bill, please contact me. I am Surrey based of course!
It seems you can pick up a sensible low mileage 2002/3/4 from about £6K upwards.
Is it going to be a money pit? Can I drive around like Lord of the Manor without thinking that I'm going to break down at any time?
I have had various Mark one and Mark two discos in diesel and V8 guises so I know what the old school Land Rovers are like .
I have a budget of about £8K.
Otherwise I have narrowed it down to a 3.0 grand Cherokee, 3.0 ML320 or the usual generic BMW X5d.
Thoughts?
If anyone has a sensible car that would suit the bill, please contact me. I am Surrey based of course!
The early model L322 TD6 engined Range Rover is a great tow vehicle and a very comfortable place to be and with the right tyres fitted it is also very capable off road.
It does have a few issues that you need to be aware of. The TD6 models were fitted with a GM sourced 5l40E auto gearbox which suffers from premature wear of the valve body and torque converter due to the poor quality aluminium used for the castings. They tend to go at around 100k miles requiring a gearbox rebuild or an exchange unit. You won't get much change out of £4000 to have this job done properly !!
Many older L322 models have already had the gearbox replaced under warranty but that was with the same model of gearbox so only really good for another 100k miles. Worth bearing in mind if you are looking at a high mileage example.
The diff bearing can fail where the propshaft enters the front diff causing a fair bit of damage to the housing. The early models did not have a universal joint to allow for movement of the prop which put a lot of strain on the bearing if used off road. A modified propshaft with a universal joint was fitted under warranty to rectify this so it is worth having a look underneath to see if this has been done.
The L322 can suffer from various electrical problems which can be irritating. The good news is that most of these can be eliminated by keeping the battery in a good state of charge. The L322 is very sensitive to voltage drop in the battery (even by a small amount) which causes the various ecus to register all sorts of fault codes. A good quality battery is a good investment.
There are several very good owners websites with plenty of technical information to help you resolve the issues that the L322 can suffer from. I would recommend that you try and find a L322 wich has plenty of service documentation and as few owners as possible, that way you should get one that has been looked after and had any major issues sorted out.
I bought a 2003 TD6 Vogue with 112,000 miles on it as a tow vehicle in 2010. The gearbox failed after 2 weeks which cost me £3800 to have replaced (I did not have the benefit of the advice I have just given you !). I went on to do a further 60,000miles of heavy towing and off road driving with no further serious problems. I sold it in 2014 to my neighbour and it is still going strong.
It does have a few issues that you need to be aware of. The TD6 models were fitted with a GM sourced 5l40E auto gearbox which suffers from premature wear of the valve body and torque converter due to the poor quality aluminium used for the castings. They tend to go at around 100k miles requiring a gearbox rebuild or an exchange unit. You won't get much change out of £4000 to have this job done properly !!
Many older L322 models have already had the gearbox replaced under warranty but that was with the same model of gearbox so only really good for another 100k miles. Worth bearing in mind if you are looking at a high mileage example.
The diff bearing can fail where the propshaft enters the front diff causing a fair bit of damage to the housing. The early models did not have a universal joint to allow for movement of the prop which put a lot of strain on the bearing if used off road. A modified propshaft with a universal joint was fitted under warranty to rectify this so it is worth having a look underneath to see if this has been done.
The L322 can suffer from various electrical problems which can be irritating. The good news is that most of these can be eliminated by keeping the battery in a good state of charge. The L322 is very sensitive to voltage drop in the battery (even by a small amount) which causes the various ecus to register all sorts of fault codes. A good quality battery is a good investment.
There are several very good owners websites with plenty of technical information to help you resolve the issues that the L322 can suffer from. I would recommend that you try and find a L322 wich has plenty of service documentation and as few owners as possible, that way you should get one that has been looked after and had any major issues sorted out.
I bought a 2003 TD6 Vogue with 112,000 miles on it as a tow vehicle in 2010. The gearbox failed after 2 weeks which cost me £3800 to have replaced (I did not have the benefit of the advice I have just given you !). I went on to do a further 60,000miles of heavy towing and off road driving with no further serious problems. I sold it in 2014 to my neighbour and it is still going strong.
Thanks Doug, very informative.
The more I look at the competition, the more the RR makes a good lot of man sense
While up in London today, passed a dealer with a 58 plate Grand Cherokee and tried it for seating position. I'm a standard 6"-3" and I needed another 2" of headroom!
The few MLs I've looked at have been ex lease and a lot of money for 100K milers!
Theres a few RR's local to me, the last one may be honest!
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The more I look at the competition, the more the RR makes a good lot of man sense
While up in London today, passed a dealer with a 58 plate Grand Cherokee and tried it for seating position. I'm a standard 6"-3" and I needed another 2" of headroom!
The few MLs I've looked at have been ex lease and a lot of money for 100K milers!
Theres a few RR's local to me, the last one may be honest!
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Peter
If you are planning on keeping your Range Rover for a while and want peace of mind regarding reliability it would be worth stretching your budget by a few grand and buying a 3.6 TDV8 diesel from 2006 onwards.
The TDV8 is a far more refined engine than the TD6 and is also more powerful and more fuel efficient. It is mated to a six speed auto which has none of the reliability issues of the earlier five speed.
The build quality and electrics of the later Jaguar/Land Rover TDV8 L322 is much better than the earlier BMW era vehicles so well worth forking out a bit extra.
If you are planning on keeping your Range Rover for a while and want peace of mind regarding reliability it would be worth stretching your budget by a few grand and buying a 3.6 TDV8 diesel from 2006 onwards.
The TDV8 is a far more refined engine than the TD6 and is also more powerful and more fuel efficient. It is mated to a six speed auto which has none of the reliability issues of the earlier five speed.
The build quality and electrics of the later Jaguar/Land Rover TDV8 L322 is much better than the earlier BMW era vehicles so well worth forking out a bit extra.
Now you have me thinking and spending more cash mentally!
I would get a better deal if I shopped around in the , (dare I mention it) RR Sport arena.
God I hate the image they portray. The steps and badges would have to come off for starters.
Trouble is, I do a lot of London work 2-3 times a week so the shorter Sport is desirable in that respect.
Think I'll go and try one tomorrow as well as sourcing an early TDV8 Rangie and compare.
As for alternatives, the Merc is probably the only decent rival, similar performance and about half a ton lighter.
As for this subject being in the Off Road section, we weekly do a few simple lanes finding new places to stretch our dogs legs as well as the usual trailer towing and people carrying.
I would get a better deal if I shopped around in the , (dare I mention it) RR Sport arena.
God I hate the image they portray. The steps and badges would have to come off for starters.
Trouble is, I do a lot of London work 2-3 times a week so the shorter Sport is desirable in that respect.
Think I'll go and try one tomorrow as well as sourcing an early TDV8 Rangie and compare.
As for alternatives, the Merc is probably the only decent rival, similar performance and about half a ton lighter.
As for this subject being in the Off Road section, we weekly do a few simple lanes finding new places to stretch our dogs legs as well as the usual trailer towing and people carrying.
Looking at this one at a dealer on Monday.
Full LR service history and totally unmolested.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
Defo a little "Lord of the manor"!
Full LR service history and totally unmolested.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
Defo a little "Lord of the manor"!
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