Discovery 4 - 5.0 Petrol - help needed!!

[djo]

Yes, really, it appears there are a few of these in the UK built when the car was launched. Normal disco 4 with all the UK trimmings except with a normally aspirated 5l petrol used in the Range Rover . I have a deposit on a used HSE version, fully loaded and with low mileage coming in at 6k less than an equivalent diesel.

Question is, does anyone have any experience of them, anything I should be worried about, apart from the usual lower fuel economy and potential issues come resale time?

All and any thoughts greatly appreciated. Am I nuts ?

[A.J.M]

I will say i never knew LRuk made a few of them for here.

Erm, its a disco4 with a v8, so it should be faster than the diesel, drink fuel like no tomorrow and be all the better for it. 385bhp keeps jumping out at me for engine power but im not 100% sure on it.

Buy it, enjoy having a rare car and to hell with resale etc.

[unrepentant]

I sell Land Rovers and Jags in the USA. We don't bring in any diesel cars so all our LR4's (Disco's) are 5.0 V8's. The engine (in normally aspirated or supercharged form) powers all the Jags here and all the Range Rovers and LR4's. It's a great motor, very responsive and with 375 BHP in stock form it has plenty of performance. We sell lots of all models and I am not aware of any issues with the engine. OK it likes gas stations but it's a small price to pay for such a capable, versatile and powerful vehicle as the LR4.

[JW911]

Are you mad? Maybe but you can get around 1000 gallons for £6k which will get you 15000 miles for "free" versus the coal burner. Keep the car long term, LPG it and it may yet become sensible!

Edited by JW911 on Monday 18th July 11:04

[djo]

Thanks for all the feedback and good point on the "free fuel". What with that and the high spec of the car it does seem too good an opportunity to miss. looks like I am adding another petrol guzzler to the fleet! At least I won't have any of that smelly diesel stuff to worry about at the pumps!

[djo]

Thanks for all the feedback and good point on the "free fuel". What with that and the high spec of the car it does seem too good an opportunity to miss. looks like I am adding another petrol guzzler to the fleet! At least I won't have any of that smelly diesel stuff to worry about at the pumps!

[JW911]

Don't forget it will always be worth less than the equivalent diesel and is probably going to be harder to sell if you do decide to get rid of it.

[topsparks]

I should be getting my "5 litre" Disco 2 back on the road soon,its amazing what you can do with a stroked 4.6 crank,new tophat liners and some chevy pistons,oh and should be slightly more spritely running 12;1 on LPG! ,would love a new Disco 4 v8 though,need to buy new truck first thanks to LEZ!

[RedLeicester]

JW911 said:

Don't forget it will always be worth less than the equivalent diesel and is probably going to be harder to sell if you do decide to get rid of it.

I'll bloody buy it! I tried to chop the our D3 V8 for a D4 but was told they were strictly log burners only, so I've kept it. Idiots.
Idiots. So if there were any promo D4 V8s floating around, they could have shifted one on to me and had it joyfully recieved. Utter, utter idiots.

What the hell is it with LR salesmen and their antipathy towards anything petrol powered? As I have related before, from day one of LR ownership, I've had nothing but grief from them over it. Even the first day I walked into a LR dealer looking at L322 Rangies:

"Hello, I want to buy a V8 Vogue"

"Oh you don't want a V8 sir, we can't sell them, everyone wants the diesel"

"You have three sat on your forecourt..."

"As I say, we can't sell them sir"

"So I see"

>gives up and leaves<


There will almost always be a market for it, so don't fret too much over the resale value - likewise both our L322 Rangie and current D3s have been V8 and saved 8k and 6k respectively over their log burning counterparts. That money won't magically reappear when we come to sell, but the trade off of quieter, smoother, cheaper fuel drunk at only a marginally faster rate than the diesels makes an awful lot of sense.

Edited by RedLeicester on Monday 18th July 14:14

[tonys]

djo said:

Yes, really, it appears there are a few of these in the UK built when the car was launched. Normal disco 4 with all the UK trimmings except with a normally aspirated 5l petrol used in the Range Rover . I have a deposit on a used HSE version, fully loaded and with low mileage coming in at 6k less than an equivalent diesel.

Question is, does anyone have any experience of them, anything I should be worried about, apart from the usual lower fuel economy and potential issues come resale time?

All and any thoughts greatly appreciated. Am I nuts ?

Probably.

But a lovely vehicle, and what's wrong with some people thinking you're nuts if you like it. Engine has a good reputation.

[unrepentant]

RedLeicester said:

What the hell is it with LR salesmen and their antipathy towards anything petrol powered? As I have related before, from day one of LR ownership, I've had nothing but grief from them over it. Even the first day I walked into a LR dealer looking at L322 Rangies:

We have the opposite situation here. LR USA won't (can't?) bring the diesel in and I would love to be able to sell it. Having said that our biggest problem at the moment is getting hold of inventory so maybe it doesn't matter..

[JW911]

RedLeicester,

Me too - except it's too big for the garage. I bought a V8 L322 on the "free fuel" basis. I'm significantly quids in after 40000 miles and a bit of gas. It's covered most of the subsequent depreciation.

I've looked at the new model Range Rover (L402?) details and as fantastic as it appears, it's too damned big. I don't like the RRS and a Disco won't fit in the garage. In all seriousness (and a bit of thread creep), the thought is occurring to me that the best replacement for the L322 is the L322. Assuming I run the current car to 150k miles (or another seven years or so), is there a coachbuilder who will rebuild it to "as new" standard? I figure it could be done for around £30k (strip and rebuild bodywork, new engine, gearbox, etc) , which compared to the 2012 RR, is potentially a snip if I keep the car for good (which I'm happy to do). There simply isn't anything else out there that I like. Granted, I could pick up a 2011 TDV8 for £50k or so, which would be the alternative consideration....

I know JE quote £80-120k for a full Classic restoration but that's considerably more than I'd require.

Would I be certifying myself as a window-licker by considering this?

RedLeicester said:

I'll bloody buy it! I tried to chop the our D3 V8 for a D4 but was told they were strictly log burners only, so I've kept it. Idiots.
Idiots. So if there were any promo D4 V8s floating around, they could have shifted one on to me and had it joyfully recieved. Utter, utter idiots.

What the hell is it with LR salesmen and their antipathy towards anything petrol powered? As I have related before, from day one of LR ownership, I've had nothing but grief from them over it. Even the first day I walked into a LR dealer looking at L322 Rangies:

"Hello, I want to buy a V8 Vogue"

"Oh you don't want a V8 sir, we can't sell them, everyone wants the diesel"

"You have three sat on your forecourt..."

"As I say, we can't sell them sir"

"So I see"

>gives up and leaves<


There will almost always be a market for it, so don't fret too much over the resale value - likewise both our L322 Rangie and current D3s have been V8 and saved 8k and 6k respectively over their log burning counterparts. That money won't magically reappear when we come to sell, but the trade off of quieter, smoother, cheaper fuel drunk at only a marginally faster rate than the diesels makes an awful lot of sense.

Edited by JW911 on Tuesday 19th July 01:21

[RedLeicester]

JW911 said:

RedLeicester,

Me too - except it's too big for the garage. I bought a V8 L322 on the "free fuel" basis. I'm significantly quids in after 40000 miles and a bit of gas. It's covered most of the subsequent depreciation.

I've looked at the new model Range Rover (L402?) details and as fantastic as it appears, it's too damned big. I don't like the RRS and a Disco won't fit in the garage. In all seriousness (and a bit of thread creep), the thought is occurring to me that the best replacement for the L322 is the L322. Assuming I run the current car to 150k miles (or another seven years or so), is there a coachbuilder who will rebuild it to "as new" standard? I figure it could be done for around £30k (strip and rebuild bodywork, new engine, gearbox, etc) , which compared to the 2012 RR, is potentially a snip if I keep the car for good (which I'm happy to do). There simply isn't anything else out there that I like. Granted, I could pick up a 2011 TDV8 for £50k or so, which would be the alternative consideration....

I know JE quote £80-120k for a full Classic restoration but that's considerably more than I'd require.

Would I be certifying myself as a window-licker by considering this?

Too big for the garage?! How come, surely the Disco is narrower than the L322? COme to think of it, may be higher and longer...???

TBH I'd still expect it to be performing well enough at 150k to just keep on going, but then as you say the alternative would be another 322 and you can pick them up at ever decreasing prices. I'm seriously considering an 06 S/C as a replacement work hack when the time comes... then in another couple of years or so an '11MY, then on to the new ones when they're 3 or more years old. And ever the circle turns!

[JW911]

RedLeicester said:

Too big for the garage?! How come, surely the Disco is narrower than the L322? COme to think of it, may be higher and longer...???

Yep. Too high for the door.

[RedLeicester]

JW911 said:

RedLeicester said:

Too big for the garage?! How come, surely the Disco is narrower than the L322? COme to think of it, may be higher and longer...???

Yep. Too high for the door.

Bugger. We're just planning a garage block at the moment, and my one main stipulation to the architect was that it has to accomodate the Disco with roof rack as a bare minimum.... going to be very tall doors methinks!

[JW911]

I'll see what 2011 cars are going for in a couple of years and maybe take the plunge...