FF RR - high mileage examples
Discussion
Hi, I've been trawling the various forums for FFRR's for a while now, I'm looking to get back into the fold (used to have a 4.0 P38 a few years back). The L322 looks tempting, however tales of gearbox failures and other gremlins are making me extra cautious.
I'm trying to get the balance between looking for a high mileage example that's had a good life, been well cared for and possibly had some of the issues recetified compared to a relatively lower mileage example that's about to go bang....
Are there any tell tale signs of impending issues that one can look out for when inspecting? I've seen the various guides warning to check all the usual things, but in terms of bigger mechanical problems such as gearbox, what are the warning signs?
I'm probably going to go Petrol, 4.4L (mileage and urban driving means diesel doesn't offer any noteable gains), would this make a difference in terms of reliability?
I'm trying to get the balance between looking for a high mileage example that's had a good life, been well cared for and possibly had some of the issues recetified compared to a relatively lower mileage example that's about to go bang....
Are there any tell tale signs of impending issues that one can look out for when inspecting? I've seen the various guides warning to check all the usual things, but in terms of bigger mechanical problems such as gearbox, what are the warning signs?
I'm probably going to go Petrol, 4.4L (mileage and urban driving means diesel doesn't offer any noteable gains), would this make a difference in terms of reliability?
What like 9 front diffs, 2 turbo chargers, 1 transfer box, 2 rear prop shafts ( the front prop was also replaced 9 times).
What is odd is that it never let me down and always got me home, including a 1200 mile dash across france at 110 mph. That was with the broken transfer box!
The cost of the repairs:- all covered under Land Rover warranty except the last gear box. I had that rebuilt by a local specialist and was with out doubt the best one fitted, and only cost me £900. I had an AA warranty at the time!
The last successful warranty claim was for the transfer box. At that time the car was 2 years out of warranty and they replaced the diff (again) and both props just in case.
And, they were fully aware that the engine has been chipped with an aggressive map. "Gosh that's fast" was a comment I heard on a number of occasions by the technicians.
Would I have another one:- without hesitation. best car you can buy, even if they have a occasional minor faults
What is odd is that it never let me down and always got me home, including a 1200 mile dash across france at 110 mph. That was with the broken transfer box!
The cost of the repairs:- all covered under Land Rover warranty except the last gear box. I had that rebuilt by a local specialist and was with out doubt the best one fitted, and only cost me £900. I had an AA warranty at the time!
The last successful warranty claim was for the transfer box. At that time the car was 2 years out of warranty and they replaced the diff (again) and both props just in case.
And, they were fully aware that the engine has been chipped with an aggressive map. "Gosh that's fast" was a comment I heard on a number of occasions by the technicians.
Would I have another one:- without hesitation. best car you can buy, even if they have a occasional minor faults
pjdow said:
What like 9 front diffs, 2 turbo chargers, 1 transfer box, 2 rear prop shafts ( the front prop was also replaced 9 times).
What is odd is that it never let me down and always got me home, including a 1200 mile dash across france at 110 mph. That was with the broken transfer box!
The cost of the repairs:- all covered under Land Rover warranty except the last gear box. I had that rebuilt by a local specialist and was with out doubt the best one fitted, and only cost me £900. I had an AA warranty at the time!
The last successful warranty claim was for the transfer box. At that time the car was 2 years out of warranty and they replaced the diff (again) and both props just in case.
And, they were fully aware that the engine has been chipped with an aggressive map. "Gosh that's fast" was a comment I heard on a number of occasions by the technicians.
Would I have another one:- without hesitation. best car you can buy, even if they have a occasional minor faults
bloody hell - i'll never moan again about my cars 'niggles' - lol!What is odd is that it never let me down and always got me home, including a 1200 mile dash across france at 110 mph. That was with the broken transfer box!
The cost of the repairs:- all covered under Land Rover warranty except the last gear box. I had that rebuilt by a local specialist and was with out doubt the best one fitted, and only cost me £900. I had an AA warranty at the time!
The last successful warranty claim was for the transfer box. At that time the car was 2 years out of warranty and they replaced the diff (again) and both props just in case.
And, they were fully aware that the engine has been chipped with an aggressive map. "Gosh that's fast" was a comment I heard on a number of occasions by the technicians.
Would I have another one:- without hesitation. best car you can buy, even if they have a occasional minor faults
love your closing comment '...occasional minor faults'!!!!! - i'd say that if yours were minor faults then god help you with major faults
on a more serious note i'm surprised that they accepted any warranty work after the car was 'chipped' as main dealers are really severe on this - see tech notes issued to all dealers by JLR about ANY mods to engines?
Edited by grand cherokee on Sunday 15th July 10:27
My budget is ~ £13-15K. I always try and buy on condition as opposed to mileage, colour, spec etc.
There are so many FFRR's for sale, and I've heard that there's a new model being launched later in the year that could then impact on residuals for the older models (making them a bit cheaper), so I may wait a few months and see how things play out.
The stories about new 'boxes and other running gear woes does worry me a tad. This is why I'm trying to decide if a car that's done 100K+ miles maybe a better bet if it's had the work done compared to the 70K miler that about to fail...
Having owned a P38 variant before I'm sold on the RR image and refinement, different class to anthing else in it's league.
There are so many FFRR's for sale, and I've heard that there's a new model being launched later in the year that could then impact on residuals for the older models (making them a bit cheaper), so I may wait a few months and see how things play out.
The stories about new 'boxes and other running gear woes does worry me a tad. This is why I'm trying to decide if a car that's done 100K+ miles maybe a better bet if it's had the work done compared to the 70K miler that about to fail...
Having owned a P38 variant before I'm sold on the RR image and refinement, different class to anthing else in it's league.
banjolucknicker said:
My budget is ~ £13-15K. I always try and buy on condition as opposed to mileage, colour, spec etc.
There are so many FFRR's for sale, and I've heard that there's a new model being launched later in the year that could then impact on residuals for the older models (making them a bit cheaper), so I may wait a few months and see how things play out.
The stories about new 'boxes and other running gear woes does worry me a tad. This is why I'm trying to decide if a car that's done 100K+ miles maybe a better bet if it's had the work done compared to the 70K miler that about to fail...
Having owned a P38 variant before I'm sold on the RR image and refinement, different class to anthing else in it's league.
at that price you should get a 'facelift' 4.4V8 (last of the BMW engines) or an early superchargedThere are so many FFRR's for sale, and I've heard that there's a new model being launched later in the year that could then impact on residuals for the older models (making them a bit cheaper), so I may wait a few months and see how things play out.
The stories about new 'boxes and other running gear woes does worry me a tad. This is why I'm trying to decide if a car that's done 100K+ miles maybe a better bet if it's had the work done compared to the 70K miler that about to fail...
Having owned a P38 variant before I'm sold on the RR image and refinement, different class to anthing else in it's league.
i'd not bother with the supercharged - the 4.4 V8 is milliseconds 'slower' and rated by many to be the better engine
as regards residuals with the forthcoming 'new' model - this seems only to affect 2010+ cars?
as regards gearboxes etc - as stated before its mostly a diesel problem
Edited by grand cherokee on Monday 16th July 11:40
grand cherokee said:
at that price you should get a 'facelift' 4.4V8 (last of the BMW engines) or an early supercharged
i'd not bother with the supercharged - the 4.4 V8 is milliseconds 'slower' and rated by many to be the better engine
as regards residuals with the forthcoming 'new' model - this seems only to affect 2010+ cars?
as regards gearboxes etc - as stated before its mostly a diesel problem
What he says. I've had a 4.4V8 for years and engine and gearbox have been pretty bulletproof (now with 80k). I have the gearbox oil changed at Inspection II, which is not in the schedule but that's all I do differently.i'd not bother with the supercharged - the 4.4 V8 is milliseconds 'slower' and rated by many to be the better engine
as regards residuals with the forthcoming 'new' model - this seems only to affect 2010+ cars?
as regards gearboxes etc - as stated before its mostly a diesel problem
It has had the usual age related issues (radiators for example) and the upgraded front diff so it hasn't been entirely plain sailing but it has been a million miles better than I expected it to be.
I sold my 2002 4.4 v8 with 147k on the clock, it had two gear box rebuilds ( one as the garage made a mistake) other than that it was pretty reliable.
Would I buy another high milage one .... No, only due to the fact that I worried about something expensive going wrong all of the time
Phib
Would I buy another high milage one .... No, only due to the fact that I worried about something expensive going wrong all of the time
Phib
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