iain m Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Always fancied a Range Rover since I test drove one of the first models some 45 years ago, then a new 88 Land Rover with hard top was £625.00 ( old pounds ) and a new Range Rover was a dizzy £1800.00 about the same price as an E type Jaguar!! I am in my 70s and only drive about 5000 miles a year now and a few years ago I looked at 08/09 plate with the BMW TDI engine which seemed a safer bet but it seemed to be plagued with coolant problems in addition to all the other inherent faults. Looking at 11/12 plate now with the Lion V8 TDI, I can live with the fuel consumption and reasonable maintenance cost but this engine seems to suffer turbo sealing problems and can suck half the sump contents into the intercooler. It appears the cost of replacing the turbo/turbo's is £7000.00 plus as the body has to be lifted off the chassis to get to the engine, a couple of engine companies prefer to chop out the front chassis member and pull the engine off the transmission out the front which keeps the cost down. Even the new model seems to receive accolades like " problems are still of comical proportions " during the past 20 years cars have become amazingly reliable, I have bought several cars which were brilliant but read the test reports by the "experts" and you would walk away from buying one, :cry: is this just such a case and stay with good experiences from BMW and Mercedes. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooch Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 You are answering your own question here. You obviously have an unscratched itch - you can't take it with you, as they say, so ought to do it at least once! If you want one, get one, but my guess is that there will be bills...lots of bills....those big diesels are bullet proof for the first 50-80K then.....whoooomph!!! That's why fleet managers offload them onto the general public at that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Had a 2010 Disco 4 HSE three or four years back. Absolutely loved it, best "car" I've ever owned* in an all round sort of sense. It had the 3 litre turbo diesel as shared with the Jag at the time. Again, a superb engine. Although the engine/transmission were fine, as was the air suspension. I did suffer from regular electrical gremlins, mainly things like windows and occasionally lights. Much though I'd love another, it always felt like sitting on a time bomb. And mine was from six months/about six thousand miles old. A Range Rover Sport, (not mine) that we had after that had four visits to the dealer to sort out the sat nav system, which kept eating discs. Oh, and don't get me started on the dealers... *Leased through work. Wouldn't have dared risk it without lot's of warranty cover and essentially being "new". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyonspride Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Same advice I always give on Diesels, unless your buying brand new, stay WELL clear. Those DMF and DPF issues (to name but two) have made modern diesels nothing more than an expensive time bomb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue ass fly Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 As above Buy a petrol,you will get a later,lower mileage model with your money and have a nicer car to drive Then buy one of those all in warrantees that cover everything inc mot failure items Its an itch ime trying not to scratch myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon besant Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Got a year old discovery 4 It is now the fourth one in a row we have owned and this one is by far the best car by a mile And the others were great All modern cars have there faults and most of the time it is electrical things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyonspride Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Got a year old discovery 4 It is now the fourth one in a row we have owned and this one is by far the best car by a mile And the others were great All modern cars have there faults and most of the time it is electrical things Modern Diesels suffer because of extra bolted on rubbish, stuff fitted in order to meet EU emissions regs. They work well for about 3 years, then they start costing a fortune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain m Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 Well, the no vote seems to be overwhelming!! To buy a 4 years old car when it seems to be when most are " unloading" is not a wise move, comments like " its like setting fire to you wallet every week" and especially "sitting on a time bomb" took me back to a couple of cars several decades ago which were no more reliable than the cars I started driving in 1959, even new cars struggled to their 3000 mile service with out problems. The dreadful dealer network I had not though about, my present and first Mercedes has been faultless over the past couple of years but the dealer would not encourage me to buy another, my last and only service left me driving home with a slow puncture and when tyre was changed there was an iron nail in the other rear tyre. Although I had a full page report on the perfect condition of the tyres at service they would not entertain the idea they were present at the service, I drove 20 miles home to spot the pressure loss and another 8 miles to change the tyres. The dealer principle refused to speak to me on the phone and ignored my letter, I took this up with Mercedes and when this ended up in a telephone call from a 17 year old girl obviously reading from a menu card I gave up. Little wonder having strayed from BMW on very few occasions over the past 40 years I had a mooch around my two local dealers, now interested in a X6 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! forget the outside looks they are bonkers!!!!!! 2012, low mileage, sensible MPG, brilliant spec, still under warranty, service paid for till 2016/17 and renowned reliability for the cost of a 4 year old Vogue, its a no brainer at present, not going to happen till the winter but I have a feeling it's going to happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyonspride Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 my last and only service left me driving home with a slow puncture and when tyre was changed there was an iron nail in the other rear tyre. Although I had a full page report on the perfect condition of the tyres at service they would not entertain the idea they were present at the service, I drove 20 miles home to spot the pressure loss and another 8 miles to change the tyres. The dealer principle refused to speak to me on the phone and ignored my letter, I took this up with Mercedes and when this ended up in a telephone call from a 17 year old girl obviously reading from a menu card I gave up That's not a Mercedes thing though, that's a dealership thing. Manufacturers don't own their franchised dealerships and dealerships for most manufacturers are just as bad. The problem is typically British, unrealistic work targets placed on under qualified and underpaid staff, by someone who has a big mouth and no brain, works in an office, see's everything in black/white and thinks they know it all. Same mess the royal mail got into when they used maps and average walking speeds to decide delivery routes, not taking into account factors that only someone who got out and did the job would actually understand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain m Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 I thought Mercedes bought up all the freeholds some years ago to have more control over the operators, most of the 7 dealers within a sensible distance are operated by the same company so one would expect the same level of incompetence throughout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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