Range Rovers - Reliable or Not?
Discussion
Thinking of switching to a Range Rover soon but worried about their poor reliability reputation.
Given our £7k-£10k budget I'm looking at year 2000/2001 using the 2.5D or just squeezing to the revised 2002 model with a TD6 engine. Thoughts on whether it's better to go to the last of the old model (perhaps with flaws ironed out) or first of the new model?
We've had a Toyota Landcruiser for the last 10 years and it's been epically faultless. It's getting on a bit now so we fancy a change and something British.
Given our £7k-£10k budget I'm looking at year 2000/2001 using the 2.5D or just squeezing to the revised 2002 model with a TD6 engine. Thoughts on whether it's better to go to the last of the old model (perhaps with flaws ironed out) or first of the new model?
We've had a Toyota Landcruiser for the last 10 years and it's been epically faultless. It's getting on a bit now so we fancy a change and something British.
Thanks for the replies. Really torn as head says "get another Land Cruiser" while heart says "you must own at least one Range Rover before you die".
But the niggling thought of bad reliability is strong and I have visions of being sat on the hard shoulder for hours, every month. I need someone to convince me that it's possible to find a good one
But the niggling thought of bad reliability is strong and I have visions of being sat on the hard shoulder for hours, every month. I need someone to convince me that it's possible to find a good one
I've recently scratched the same itch and got an 03 L322 . I have the same concerns about long term reliability but so far so good. The early L322's have a large amount of BMW components as they were owned by BMW at the time. Looking back at the history that came with mine it seems to have suffered only minor niggles rather than actual failures, with the exception of the front prop / diff interface which has since been addressed under recall.
I gave up an utterly faultless Audi A6 to buy it and I have to say if the Audi had been a quattro / auto rather than a front wheel drive manual I'd never have sold it.
2 months in the Rangie has only had 1 minor niggle , telling me to check front foglight and every time it's been a false alarm as they both work fine . That seems to have sorted itself now though
If I'm being really honest with myself the image , perception and expectation of them does not quite meet the reality of ownership , can't put my finger on exactly why , but look out for it in the classifieds any time soon.
I gave up an utterly faultless Audi A6 to buy it and I have to say if the Audi had been a quattro / auto rather than a front wheel drive manual I'd never have sold it.
2 months in the Rangie has only had 1 minor niggle , telling me to check front foglight and every time it's been a false alarm as they both work fine . That seems to have sorted itself now though
If I'm being really honest with myself the image , perception and expectation of them does not quite meet the reality of ownership , can't put my finger on exactly why , but look out for it in the classifieds any time soon.
A couple of years back, we had a 53 reg L322 for about 7 months and thankfully under warranty. I can only reiterate one of the comments, find a good local service department, our local one was crap, however, we found a really good indie (rovertune in Pangbourne) and got most of the faults sorted through them and the LR dealer in Reading, again really helpful. Faults included a recall on the differential, air con needed replacing, came back from holiday to a flat battery because a wiper on a headlight hadn't reset itself, then some other fault, so another battery. Would I have another? Absolutely, but don't think it'll be flawless!
10k miles in 8 months in our P38 DSE. Bear in mind it had 173k on the clock when we bought it. It has had a new track rod end and exhaust middle box for MOT; new headlight bulb; hose to expansion tank popped off as no jubilee clip causing loss of coolant and subsequent overheat (easy fix - I flushed system and used that as the time to do a full coolant change and placed a jubilee clip on the hose); new tyres; service (including new 'box oil, check and top up diffs).
We've had the usual alarm/RF interference once or twice but not bad enough for me to even bother checking whether it has the latest RF receiver (£170). Relaced the battery at purchase as existing one of unknown quality.
We've had the usual alarm/RF interference once or twice but not bad enough for me to even bother checking whether it has the latest RF receiver (£170). Relaced the battery at purchase as existing one of unknown quality.
goodlife said:
Thanks for the replies. Really torn as head says "get another Land Cruiser" while heart says "you must own at least one Range Rover before you die".
But the niggling thought of bad reliability is strong and I have visions of being sat on the hard shoulder for hours, every month. I need someone to convince me that it's possible to find a good one
I'm having the same though myself and have seen a local one which is an early model (1995) for around £3k. Considering replacing a perfectly good 2005 Mondeo for it!!!But the niggling thought of bad reliability is strong and I have visions of being sat on the hard shoulder for hours, every month. I need someone to convince me that it's possible to find a good one
I scratched the itch two and a half years ago, and bought a 2000 P38 Vogue. Converted it to LPG, and have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Have put 25k miles on it, and yes, it has cost me a fair bit.
First service/repair bill just after purchase was an eye watering £1.1k - to be fair, this was a major service, and a couple of fixes that I had budgeted for, and negotiated into my purchase price... but it also included a couple of things (new RF receiver, and Steering drag links for example) that I hadn't.
Since then, every service has thrown up something extra that needed sorting in addition to the service, but nothing too wallet-busting.
The only "big" failures I've had, are the air suspension compressor (a poorly fitted rear suspension airbag meant the system was leaking, and the compressor was working more than it should, and as such, packed up), the aircon condensor, and most recently, MOT failure for corroded brake pipes, so I bit the bullet and had them renewed fully from front to back (£400) rather than bodged to get through the MOT.
I do feel that I am in a minority of P38 owners, as I know there are many PH'ers whose P38's have performed open wallet surgery on them very regularly during ownership.
However, I did spend a *long* time looking for my car (best part of ten months), and rejected literally dozens of very tired old girls that had been polished up for sale, and had had a few cracks papered over.
TBH, if I was in your position now, and wanting to scratch a RR itch, I would go for a decent L322 rather than a P38.
Not sure what I will go for next..... would really like an L322, but financially can't really look at changing mine for a while yet. (Work on the house, wife and children will see to that in a financial sense!)
Have put 25k miles on it, and yes, it has cost me a fair bit.
First service/repair bill just after purchase was an eye watering £1.1k - to be fair, this was a major service, and a couple of fixes that I had budgeted for, and negotiated into my purchase price... but it also included a couple of things (new RF receiver, and Steering drag links for example) that I hadn't.
Since then, every service has thrown up something extra that needed sorting in addition to the service, but nothing too wallet-busting.
The only "big" failures I've had, are the air suspension compressor (a poorly fitted rear suspension airbag meant the system was leaking, and the compressor was working more than it should, and as such, packed up), the aircon condensor, and most recently, MOT failure for corroded brake pipes, so I bit the bullet and had them renewed fully from front to back (£400) rather than bodged to get through the MOT.
I do feel that I am in a minority of P38 owners, as I know there are many PH'ers whose P38's have performed open wallet surgery on them very regularly during ownership.
However, I did spend a *long* time looking for my car (best part of ten months), and rejected literally dozens of very tired old girls that had been polished up for sale, and had had a few cracks papered over.
TBH, if I was in your position now, and wanting to scratch a RR itch, I would go for a decent L322 rather than a P38.
Not sure what I will go for next..... would really like an L322, but financially can't really look at changing mine for a while yet. (Work on the house, wife and children will see to that in a financial sense!)
goodlife said:
Thanks for the replies. Really torn as head says "get another Land Cruiser" while heart says "you must own at least one Range Rover before you die".
But the niggling thought of bad reliability is strong and I have visions of being sat on the hard shoulder for hours, every month.
We've had Range Rovers & Discoveries for nearly 20 years now and in that time I've been "sat on the hard shoulder", er, once. And even then, not for long (while the Hall Effect transducer in the distributor cooled down enough to start working again). The "secret"? Buy a good one and find a good specialist to look after it for you.But the niggling thought of bad reliability is strong and I have visions of being sat on the hard shoulder for hours, every month.
It pains me to say it, but I would avoid a Land/Range Rover of this age.
If you had asked a year ago I would have given a completely different answer.
My experience is with a year 2000 TD5 Discovery. We bought it in 2003 as an ex-lease car. It's always been serviced at a LR specialist - we've never skimped on any necessary costs, and until this year, has been absolutely no trouble.
I was going to change it last year, but got offered so little for it (€3250 at 230,000km with full service history) that I decided to run it until it died.
This year, it's been one problem after another - always smallish (but quite expensive) things. It's broken down several times (mostly electrical problems) and I hate it when you can't rely on a car.
I think that if you really want a Land Rover, you should look for a newer model, or get something else.
Sorry!
If you had asked a year ago I would have given a completely different answer.
My experience is with a year 2000 TD5 Discovery. We bought it in 2003 as an ex-lease car. It's always been serviced at a LR specialist - we've never skimped on any necessary costs, and until this year, has been absolutely no trouble.
I was going to change it last year, but got offered so little for it (€3250 at 230,000km with full service history) that I decided to run it until it died.
This year, it's been one problem after another - always smallish (but quite expensive) things. It's broken down several times (mostly electrical problems) and I hate it when you can't rely on a car.
I think that if you really want a Land Rover, you should look for a newer model, or get something else.
Sorry!
An update on mine , some more fun and games this week, I'm glad to say have been resolved at little cost
Firstly I had the 'check brake pads, fault come on . After a bit of hunting for info on various fora it became apparent that the new pads don't come with a wear sensor , this is a separate part available for about £12.
I took the rear wheel off to examine the inside pad , the outside was fine , and look at the sensor. It turned out the pads were fine but the wire leading to the sensor had chafed on the calliper and caused the warning light / message. I decided to leave well alone and just join the 2 wires leading to the sensor together and chop the worn bit off , warning lights gone out and all is well . Next time the pads are in need of replacing I'll make sure I do the sensor as well.
Onto another niggle I've had with it. Sometimes it starts first crank with very little effort from the starter , other times it fires up eventually but makes the starter work for about 5 seconds, not the end of the world , but annoying all the same.
Anyway I think I've cured that today . I bought a service kit and decided to do it myself , in the process of changing the plugs I noticed one of the nuts holding the coil pack in place also had 2 wires connected to it and it was loose , a good few turns up the thread. In the process of changing the plug I made sure these were tight when I re-assembled it and it's fired first time every time since. So for a few more days / weeks it looks like I can relax again and say that all is well , how long for is anyone's guess.
Firstly I had the 'check brake pads, fault come on . After a bit of hunting for info on various fora it became apparent that the new pads don't come with a wear sensor , this is a separate part available for about £12.
I took the rear wheel off to examine the inside pad , the outside was fine , and look at the sensor. It turned out the pads were fine but the wire leading to the sensor had chafed on the calliper and caused the warning light / message. I decided to leave well alone and just join the 2 wires leading to the sensor together and chop the worn bit off , warning lights gone out and all is well . Next time the pads are in need of replacing I'll make sure I do the sensor as well.
Onto another niggle I've had with it. Sometimes it starts first crank with very little effort from the starter , other times it fires up eventually but makes the starter work for about 5 seconds, not the end of the world , but annoying all the same.
Anyway I think I've cured that today . I bought a service kit and decided to do it myself , in the process of changing the plugs I noticed one of the nuts holding the coil pack in place also had 2 wires connected to it and it was loose , a good few turns up the thread. In the process of changing the plug I made sure these were tight when I re-assembled it and it's fired first time every time since. So for a few more days / weeks it looks like I can relax again and say that all is well , how long for is anyone's guess.
Hi R60EST,
I see you've previously owned quite a few vehicles including a BMW X5, how do you rate the L322 for everyday use in comparison to the others ?
I'm currently looking for a 2003/2004 4.4 Vogue, at the moment I run a Boxster S and Mercedes ML320, these will be going soon though
Thanks
I see you've previously owned quite a few vehicles including a BMW X5, how do you rate the L322 for everyday use in comparison to the others ?
I'm currently looking for a 2003/2004 4.4 Vogue, at the moment I run a Boxster S and Mercedes ML320, these will be going soon though
Thanks
The Range Rover is a nice place to be whether short trip to the shops, commute or long drive. When all is well there is no better place. A couple of things to note though , the nav and tv in the older models are dated and slow the tv is useless if you don't live in an analogue area. The fuel consumption is not great but lpg makes it reasonable. The diesel is slightly better but the trade off is noise and less performance. It's rare that one will leave you stranded on the hard shoulder but keeping on top of every last niggle can be tedious if not expensive.. Is it better than an x5, yes it's more purposeful ,genuine off road capability , higher towing capacity and iconic looks . If the comparable x5 was significantly better on fuel it would be worth considering but it's not .
If you need to know more send an email and I'll share with you a few other pointers I've picked up.
If you need to know more send an email and I'll share with you a few other pointers I've picked up.
Edited by R60EST on Tuesday 10th August 12:23
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