Unexpected family wagon - 2006 4.4V8 Vogue (going in blind!)

[bolidemichael]

B'stard Child said:

bolidemichael said:

Okay, so my observations thus far. Suggestions and recommendations would be welcome for whether these are best sourced used/new & OEM/pattern.

Bad:

<snip>

My advice (which I hope you will ignore because this thread won't be as much fun) is put a few miles on it make sure you and Mrs B "gel" with it before replacing the entire car part by part

Then find a "nice & friendly" Land Rover parts guy (who recognises the benefit of a reasonable discount on parts to keep you going back) and get him to price all the bits

I've already got an excellent relationship with my local Merc and BMW dealership parts people - hopefully LR dealership parts people as as easy to make good friends

The whole purchase was too magical and spontaneous for us to not have been smitted by 'Grayson', as it has now been baptised by the fam. Mrs B is ridiculously giddy about it. Women, I tell ye!

[dandam]

bolidemichael said:

a Range Rover specialist breaker named Gemtlemen of Salvage

I have ordered a couple of second hand bits from them in the past for my D3, always supplied good stuff

[bolidemichael]

Okay, so what's GOOD?:

Matching Continental tyres, as mentioned



Heated windscreen and an auto gearbox with selectable gears



Heated steering wheel and rear seats



A set of original mats - one rubber and carpet set for the front and a single carpet for the rear.



I've been giving them a clean with the savon de marseille and this proper no messing Wurth fabric brush







Cleaned the rubber mats and dressed them with Aerospace 303 UV protectant, which is great stuff.



It has a venture cam, which is a torch and camera combined (!). The batteries are knackered, so will require a replacement kit from Powerfully Built UK.



Also, the bonnet struts look brand new, so I suspect that the owners cared for this vehicle properly.

[bolidemichael]

dandam said:

bolidemichael said:

a Range Rover specialist breaker named Gemtlemen of Salvage

I have ordered a couple of second hand bits from them in the past for my D3, always supplied good stuff

Good to know, thanks - I've emailed them. However, I'm a little stumped by the pricing of the gas struts for the tailgate - Powerful Build UK offer them new for £22 whereas Gentlemen are asking £17.50 for a used pair.

[RicksAlfas]

bolidemichael said:

Good to know, thanks - I've emailed them. However, I'm a little stumped by the pricing of the gas struts for the tailgate - Powerful Build UK offer them new for £22 whereas Gentlemen are asking £17.50 for a used pair.

The new ones are probably pattern parts and the used ones OEM. But I’d go for the new ones even if they only last half the time.

[Stegel]

bolidemichael said:

Good to know, thanks - I've emailed them. However, I'm a little stumped by the pricing of the gas struts for the tailgate - Powerful Build UK offer them new for £22 whereas Gentlemen are asking £17.50 for a used pair.

The originals are branded Stabilus - AutoDoc have them at £11.90 each, with 29% discount, wait for 39% to swing by (which it does every week) and they’ll get to around £10.

[RicksAlfas]

Stegel said:

The originals are branded Stabilus - AutoDoc have them at £11.90 each, with 29% discount, wait for 39% to swing by (which it does every week) and they’ll get to around £10.

And then wait forever for them to turn up! I've ordered twice off them recently (or one of their many other faces) and nothing arrived despite it being marked dispatched. No tracking info either. Ordered off a genuine UK supplier and the parts were here in two days.

[Stegel]

RicksAlfas said:

Stegel said:

The originals are branded Stabilus - AutoDoc have them at £11.90 each, with 29% discount, wait for 39% to swing by (which it does every week) and they’ll get to around £10.

And then wait forever for them to turn up! I've ordered twice off them recently (or one of their many other faces) and nothing arrived despite it being marked dispatched. No tracking info either. Ordered off a genuine UK supplier and the parts were here in two days.

I’ve received an alternator in 6 days (ordered Saturday, arrived the following Friday) just 2 weeks ago. There was a lumpiness at the start of the year, but the last 4 or 5 orders have all taken less than 12 days from date of order to arrive. Tracking isn’t great, as it simply indicates what stage it’s at, but I also get an email from Parcelforce indicating they have the parcel and when they’re going to deliver.

[Krikkit]

Just to muddy the waters further with gas struts, I've used SGS Engineering's struts on several cars now and they've lasted extremely well. Not the cheapest but excellent.

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/car-boot-tailgate

[sprouting]

bolidemichael said:

The whole purchase was too magical and spontaneous for us to not have been smitted by 'Grayson', as it has now been baptised by the fam. Mrs B is ridiculously giddy about it. Women, I tell ye!

Your lucky, I've had mine around 2.5 years now, the wife has tried it twice and is still scared to death of it Although at least talk of replacement has ceased now.

[bolidemichael]

Thanks RA, Stegel and Krikkit. I agree that SGS might be the 'best' and for some reason ECP feels rather unapproachable - perhaps it's the 'alibaba' style of selling, whilst SGS are specialists and accountable.

Am I really in line for a £200 anti-dimming mirror from ebay, in order to replace the smashed ns one?

[bolidemichael]

sprouting said:

bolidemichael said:

The whole purchase was too magical and spontaneous for us to not have been smitted by 'Grayson', as it has now been baptised by the fam. Mrs B is ridiculously giddy about it. Women, I tell ye!

Your lucky, I've had mine around 2.5 years now, the wife has tried it twice and is still scared to death of it Although at least talk of replacement has ceased now.

Mate, she refused to test drive it, refused to drive home, followed me in the E500 on the N and S Circular at around 10mph below the speed limit... an XC90 driving friend of hers pops around the next day and tells her that it'll be easy and she jumps in as though it's a bloody go kart.

[RicksAlfas]

bolidemichael said:

Thanks RA, Stegel and Krikkit. I agree that SGS might be the 'best' and for some reason ECP feels rather unapproachable - perhaps it's the 'alibaba' style of selling, whilst SGS are specialists and accountable.

Am I really in line for a £200 anti-dimming mirror from ebay, in order to replace the smashed ns one?

If it helps influence your decision I have an SGS garden multitool and it's been great!


Mirror:
https://www.lrdirect.com/crd500190-glass-asy-rear-...
You find with Land Rover stuff you get ample choice of pattern/OE/Genuine parts. I think £63 would do me.

[AmitG]

W00DY said:

What a steal. Jag engine, clear glass and it looks to have been well cared for. I'm hoping it treats you well so I have no excuse not to buy one.

Is the 4.4 V8 not a BMW unit? The Jaguar V8s are generally 4.2 or 5.0. I thought that the 4.4 was BMW.

[BrettMRC]

Following with interest OP - good buy sir!

[W00DY]

AmitG said:

W00DY said:

What a steal. Jag engine, clear glass and it looks to have been well cared for. I'm hoping it treats you well so I have no excuse not to buy one.

Is the 4.4 V8 not a BMW unit? The Jaguar V8s are generally 4.2 or 5.0. I thought that the 4.4 was BMW.

Later 4.4s switched to the Jag engine as found in the Disco 3 and Sport.

[AmitG]

W00DY said:

AmitG said:

W00DY said:

What a steal. Jag engine, clear glass and it looks to have been well cared for. I'm hoping it treats you well so I have no excuse not to buy one.

Is the 4.4 V8 not a BMW unit? The Jaguar V8s are generally 4.2 or 5.0. I thought that the 4.4 was BMW.

Later 4.4s switched to the Jag engine as found in the Disco 3 and Sport.

Ah I see - thanks

[bolidemichael]

Well, that didn't take long!



Took it ('Grayson') to show my Dad and it failed to start - a repeated clicking sound when the key was turned in the ignition.

[RicksAlfas]

Please tell me you've got something else under there and not just a jack!


Hope you get it sorted. Are you definitely in P for Park?

[JustGREENI]

D'oh.

When was the battery replaced? Don't know? Just replace it.

I tip my hat to anybody buying these, they're great, but I admire the gonads of the gamble.