Harris goes 4x4 shopping: PH Blog

The Range Rover is dead, long live the... um... er...

Spend the pounds and the pennies will look after themselves. I have got that the right way round, haven’t I?

It’s certainly the mantra I’ve used to underpin every car purchase of the past 20 years, but it has culminated in a strange set of behaviours that now leave me unable to choose which old off-roader to buy for winter. I’ve bought supercars standing in a showroom I had no intention of entering, without even thinking about the consequences. Why the hell can’t I just buy an old 4x4? I’ve been vacillating for weeks now. Actually, it’s been months.

A faithful hound, shortly for its last trip out...

The reason for this coming to pass is the death of my lovely old soft-dash Rangie. Purchased as an old knacker in 2009, it was supposed to last that winter and perhaps the following year, but the moment it cost me a thing, I was going to scrap it.

Two things then happened: the car refused to die, and values of old Rangies began to climb. Apart from a new battery and unseizing the odd brake, I didn’t need to spend a thing on my soft-dash until now. The rot has set in and it needs all manner of welding. I’ve decided to start again. Oddly, it’s probably still worth near-enough what I paid for it as a non-runner.

My immediate thought was to simply buy another classic Range Rover. Pre 2009, I suspected I’d enjoy burbling around with my elbow on the door-top, but not to the extent that I actually did. From November to February I used it for almost all short journeys. So I’ve been looking around.

Maybe another soft-dash, but a better one? Prices are strong, but they look set to rise further, so I’m not too worried about having a few quid in one. But I’ve found the tattiness of mine a real bonus – glancing off hedges and throwing wood into the boot just didn’t matter, and a beautiful, clean car wouldn’t be able to do that.

Overfinch tempts ... but at £35K like this one?

And what of corrosion and all the other gremlins that lurk in them? I’d want the thing to have a new chassis, be slopped with masses of Waxoyl and I’d quite like it to be faster in the interests of towing. Which had me looking at old Overfinches. The asking prices for those are quite silly, but I would really, really like one.

Thinking rationally, or at least attempting to, I then found myself looking at L322 supercharged RRs with the 4.2 litre motor. If someone wants £25k for an old Overfinch, why not just find a clean 06/07 plate car, clear glass, tow-hook and be done with it. I think the 322 looks very dignified next to the new car, we ran a SC one back in ‘07 and despite using silly amounts of fuel, it was a brilliant thing.

Then I read some forum posts. And I suddenly became a little scared of having a 60K mile version and using it to tow the rally car to several events next year. How cheaply could you have a 5.0 SC car? I must stop this right now.

Which led me, inevitably, to G-Wagens. Or G-Glasses or G-Wagons, or whatever the correct nomenclature is. I’ve been hot for one of these for years, but with the prospect of towing I’ve suddenly lost interest. A decent 420 CDI is the only motor up to the task I think, it would be ideal, but they’re hen’s teeth, LHD only and finding one that hasn’t been pimped appears to be impossible. The new 350 CDI would be nice, but it’s £60k minimum.

The Twitter brain-bank tells me that a Shogun is a top vehicle, but there’s no romance in them for me, and this needs to be an interesting car. Same goes for Cherokees. I like them but have no desire to own one. Which is silly because they’re very cheap and potentially perfect for what I need. Such are the vagaries of searching out old tat to own and abuse: without an emotional attachment I’m just not interested.

Right spec, right price - Harris to Hampshire?

Which has led me, inevitably, to the Land Cruiser Amazon – probably a 4.2 diesel. These are the trucks-of-all-trucks. Several friends have them and none will ever look at a Land Rover product again. A friend scoffed when I mentioned this whole dilemma. “If you buy something else, you’ll just regret not having a Land Cruiser.”

And he’s right. They’re built to last like nothing else in the category, they tow superbly and an £8K example will probably last another 10 years with some light TLC. To many it’s the most bland 4x4 of all, but I love the awesome reputation they carry with such anonymity. And that’s where I’m currently at. Looking at 4.2 VXs, wondering if an older 80 series version would just be too slow and crude for towing, and deliberately averting my gaze from all those lovely Overfinches.

But still somehow unable to just commit and buy one of the bloody things! If it doesn’t happen by first snowfall, I’m a complete idiot.

Chris

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