Insane to buy a 60k mile Supercharged RRS?

[Chr1sch]

Hi all

Recently moved to the country and had 2 kids, so we do actually need a 4x4...

Budget is around £15-£18k

Now and again within the masses of xc90's, x5's and Toureg diesels up pops a RRS supercharged jobby around 07-08 plate with approx 60k miles

Simple question, I don't have £5k a yr for maintenance (on top of tyres/tax/ins), can I actually afford to run one? Are they money pits?!

Not worried about fuel consumption, wife has done 9k miles in 2.5yrs

Cheers

Chris

[Dave^]

Sounds like you want one more than need one...

[dingg]

get a FF instead of the sport

[Simes110]

As above, buy the full-fat (L322) Range Rover with the 4.2 SC engine.

Far more space and practicality in my view, especially in the rear.

Fuel consumption differences are negligible and secondhand prices about the same. Build quality is far better, especially compared against the pre-facelift RRS models.

The FF doesn't handle anywhere near as well but is a much nicer place to be in.

I can also highly recommend having the supercharger pulley upgraded to a larger size. It's a common modification on these engines and drastically improves low-end response. The 4.2 isn't slow in any guise, but it responds exceptionally well to this upgrade.

Are they money pits? Any car that's been badly maintained will be. So buy well, as with any purchase. There's plenty of information on the FFRR.com forum and plenty of help.

Edited by Simes110 on Sunday 2nd March 14:11

[camel_landy]

Drive both the FFRR & the RRS as they are both very different cars. Personally, I'd go for the RRS as a family car but everyone's different...

As the others have said, a poorly maintained car can be a money pit. Check the servicing and check the quality of the tyres as they will give you an idea of how well looked after it has been (i.e. if it's fitted with the cheapest set of 'ditch-finders', they probably haven't paid attention to servicing either) and don't get suckered in by lots of 'bling'.

Once you've decided on what you're going for, go and drive a few of them as I have found some cars to be more 'lively' than others.

M

[Chr1sch]

Great thanks guys, the wife doesn't want a FF basically due to size and truthfully I'd only want a facelift one and not sure that's in budget

Granted I do want one more than can justify the excess, are there any common pitfalls I should be aware of!?

Eg leaks, big services, recalls etc?

Thanks again

Chris

[Impasse]

I'm glad you've posted this as I'm getting ready to begin the hunt for a Supercharged Sport myself. I'll be getting out of my aging L322 which I've owned for almost ten years and am starting to look forward to the change in vehicle.
So I'll keep an eye on your thread to see what pops up.

[bogie]

I know a couple of people with 150K mile old RRS 4.2 and no real big bills other than suspension compressor, bushes etc

otherwise routine maintenance....I have a late 08 4.2 and its great

I would have no issue in paying £15K for an early car...thats a low miler, barely run in

[A.J.M]

The engine is fine, no real issues from it.

The suspension at that mileage/age may need a few of the bushes done.
Common ones are F/R arb bushes, £70/80 for genuines and easily fitted on the driveway.
The wheel bearings tend to need changed by 80-110k, £100 a side for a good one.
Front lower wishbones are similar age. A knock over bumps is the ball joint, a knock under braking is the bushes. £130 a side.

Check the sunroof's don't leak, the drains can block up, easily fixed though.
Brake pads can be bought off ebay for £100 or so, disc's for similar as well.

I have supercharged Brembo's on my D3 and i got EPC Yellowstuff pads for £80 and disc's for £77.
The autobox will need the oil changed by 100k. About £275+vat to do. Diff's and transfer box sound get done by 75k or so.

If you want one, go for it. Please don;t stick 22s, a Khan bodykit and colour code the pillars though. That looks ste! Stick a set of off road tyres on it and stand out from the crowd.

[Impasse]

So what toys are going to be missing in the cabin of a Supercharged Sport when compared with a L322 Vogue? Heated steering wheel? Dual zone climate? Rain sensitive wipers? etc...

[A.J.M]

Compare the specs on autotrader for the model you have and what your considering.

Easiest way.

[camel_landy]

Impasse said:

So what toys are going to be missing in the cabin of a Supercharged Sport when compared with a L322 Vogue? Heated steering wheel? Dual zone climate? Rain sensitive wipers? etc...

Depends on age & spec of both...

The RRS Charger will have dual zone & the wipers but will have to be a 5.0 before you get the heated steering.

M

[MaverickV12]

I had a FF RR from 2005 to 2009, I consider it's the best car I ever drove, I really do believe that ..... performance of a sports car, space of a MPV, towing ability of a tractor, looks of a model ..... other than fuel consumption, I could not fault it. Having said that, I knew I was buying a V8 supercharged engine, so the consumption was no surprise. Best car I ever drove....

..... I got rid of it at 60k, so not sure how helpful I can be

Maybe it was just me, but from 0 - 60,000 I had almost nothing ever go wrong with it .....

.... I did get through some tyres though, but that was purely me and my driving of a sports car the size of a small lorry

...... i can't fault the supercharged petrol ..... its stunning ...... which would be even faster in the RRS

[Impasse]

camel_landy said:

The RRS Charger will have dual zone & the wipers but will have to be a 5.0 before you get the heated steering.

Wha...? No heated steering wheel?
I'm not sure I'll cope.

[Chr1sch]

Thanks all,

Problem i have is every independent dealer i talk to says that this era of RR or RRS are all hideously unreliable and involve body off work for some relatively minor servicing procedures like alternators etc?

Leaning towards an Altitude Spec Toureg just as i know that engine, but i want an RRS lol

[Bill]

AIUI the Touareg has an appalling reputation for unreliability.

[A.J.M]

There is no need to lift the body for anything bar engine removal these days.

My Indy did my D3 rear brake pipes, all 8 wishbones and a starter motor all on the driveway.
A mate out an alternator in his D3 on the drive.

Even the tdv6 belts can all be done on the drive, as can a turbo replacement.

I won't lie and say its easy to do, but it's all doable.

[bogie]

Impasse said:

camel_landy said:

The RRS Charger will have dual zone & the wipers but will have to be a 5.0 before you get the heated steering.

Wha...? No heated steering wheel?
I'm not sure I'll cope.

I missed it so much and the wheel was tatty on the RRS, so a new heated one was fitted ...its a couple of hundred quid of new parts though ....

[bogie]

Chr1sch said:

Thanks all,

Problem i have is every independent dealer i talk to says that this era of RR or RRS are all hideously unreliable and involve body off work for some relatively minor servicing procedures like alternators etc?

Leaning towards an Altitude Spec Toureg just as i know that engine, but i want an RRS lol

strange, maybe Im lucky as my experience on 2 Range Rovers has been the opposite and Ive done over 100K miles to date in them in the last 6 years, both used buys

My boss is a fan, a caravan guy...so has had 6 so far, and done well over 500k miles, his worst was his 200K mile P38, that had a lot of maintenance but each generation since got better

I know of 1/2 dozen friends/colleagues doing 20-30K miles a year in RRS or FFRR over the last 10 years and all are happy and just changing for newer cars the same...once youve had the luxury of a Range Rover, nothing else much comes close

As with any used car as it gets older, your experience is really down to luck and what maintenance the car has had before in its life......buy a poorly maintained car at a bad time, try to do 20K miles in it, you might spend thousands on various issues/consumables

or you buy a well maintained 60K mile old car, keep it 2 years and put + 20K miles on it with nothing other than a £250 service at indy....

do your research, try and buy with 12 month warranty, stay on top of the maintenance and enjoy for what it is

[Chr1sch]

Sound advice, thanks gents