Range Rover Opinions

[fuzzo]

i was having a chat with a service manager from frontier today and was asking him about the state of the range rover in SL. i really like the RR despite the numerous issues they have.

he was telling me that there areonly about 12 RR's in SL. most of them are diesel 65-. he said that the diesel engines will only last for about 50K and then needs to be rebored. after that, the engine needs to be replaced. aparently only one has had a engine change which was done 2 years ago. the price on the engine change has been 1.1 mil.....2 years ago!!

then he said that the electronic suspension gives out sometimes and needs work. all in all he said they are good vehicles but need attention sooner than other vehicles

still want one someday.

what are other thoughts on owning a RR in SL?

[Gummybr]

i was having a chat with a service manager from frontier today and was asking him about the state of the range rover in SL. i really like the RR despite the numerous issues they have.

he was telling me that there areonly about 12 RR's in SL. most of them are diesel 65-. he said that the diesel engines will only last for about 50K and then needs to be rebored. after that, the engine needs to be replaced. aparently only one has had a engine change which was done 2 years ago. the price on the engine change has been 1.1 mil.....2 years ago!!

then he said that the electronic suspension gives out sometimes and needs work. all in all he said they are good vehicles but need attention sooner than other vehicles

still want one someday.

what are other thoughts on owning a RR in SL?

Well Fuzzo tell me for exact what model of RR you are after.

From the looks it seems you are interested in a P38 model. Well its a lovely desing that was there till the 21st century.

But as a useable vehicle I'd recomend a RR Classic. which was built from 1970s to 1990s. There are some nice diesels available (64- or 325- nos) these do not have the electronic suspension and all but they are quite good with all round coils maybe better than modern day Monteros(I place the Montero to be better on comfort than the rest barring the Freelander, Disco & the rest with air springs).

Drop me a mail on my email if you need to find a decent model.

Also tell me machang why are you interested in one.

[fuzzo]

p38 is the model i'm interested in.. i like the newer models as well but i definitely can't afford them.

ive always liked land rovers, only problem was the constant reports on how unreliable they are. before getting the x-trail, we checked out a few defenders but my wife was not too happy with the ride etc.

we did agree on the range rover coz it rides and looks much better than the rest. then we got impatient and got the x-trail

[xXx]

From what I’ve heard there are only a handful of P38s in SL. couple of them were brought down by our ex-president to be used by the PSD.

Anyways how much is a P38 these days?????

I meant to asked this for some time now, defenders have a massive reputation as a hardcore offroader but everyone is SL says they are very unreliable. Is this a local issue? or is the defender actually that bad?

[fuzzo]

according to the guy i talked to, there are about 12 that came down. he says the market value will be anything around 4 mil and up depending on condition etc

as for the reliability issues, its not just a defender problem. it's an issue across the board at LR..

[Hola]

Fuzzo the P38 is with full time 4WD isnt it?

[Supra_Natural]

A P38 diesel, 65- HSE version with all the toys, from about 1996 I think, was for sale recently for around the 3mill mark... mint condition with a new engine... Fantastic value, but even the guy who owned it said point blank that it isn't exactly a landcruiser when it comes to reliability... especially that air suspension system....

Devinda should be able to elaborate more though

[fuzzo]

so that range is now sold is it. i remember looking at that and even the agents said that it would be the best vehicle to buy since it had a new engine.

the other RR's are all due for engine change sometime soon..... as per the service guy.

[Supra_Natural]

so that range is now sold is it. i remember looking at that and even the agents said that it would be the best vehicle to buy since it had a new engine.

the other RR's are all due for engine change sometime soon..... as per the service guy.

This was the one in col- 07... and as far as i know it may be available.. devinda took a look at it, but didn't buy it because a certain black object that resides in his garage is still refusing to find itself a new owner

[fuzzo]

when i checked on it. it was not transferable..so i gave up on it.

[xXx]

How much of a bigger issue is this air suspension thing??? Isn’t there a one off fix for this??? SUV of that calibre for 3mil is very tempting. Specially compared to the other options you get under that price bracket

[fuzzo]

it definitely is tempting but the issues that it comes up wiht is the problem.

i would want to be able to go out of town in peace andnot worry about breaking down somewhere..and specially since not every sunil mechanic will be able to attend to these...

as per devinda, there is a one off fix for the suspension...convert to coils.

[Supra_Natural]

it definitely is tempting but the issues that it comes up wiht is the problem.

i would want to be able to go out of town in peace andnot worry about breaking down somewhere..and specially since not every sunil mechanic will be able to attend to these...

as per devinda, there is a one off fix for the suspension...convert to coils.

but then you lose whatever ride quality the RR has... its got Live Axles Front And Rear so convert to coils and the ride will become pretty basic... and your very right about the reliability factor fuzzo, even P38 Owners say that they dont usually consider going outstation without another vehicle in convoy..... preferably a Landcruiser...

[fuzzo]

yeah the fact that they are that unreliable is turning me off... i don't want a vehicle for just colombo city running.

[tuk tuk]

Slightly OT but:

Anyone know what the "safari cables" on the J44 advertised in the classifieds do? (They run from the two top corners of the A pillar to the edge of the fenders).

Link to the advertisement

[Watchman]

Slightly OT but:

Anyone know what the "safari cables" on the J44 advertised in the classifieds do? (They run from the two top corners of the A pillar to the edge of the fenders).

Link to the advertisement

if i'm not mistaken itsused so that when you're off-roading through narrow roads surrounded by trees, branches dont come hit your windshield.. the wiers kind of drag/push the branches to the top of the vehicle so that they pass over it rather than go SMACK on your glass!

[srajendr]

if i'm not mistaken itsused so that when you're off-roading through narrow roads surrounded by trees, branches dont come hit your windshield.. the wiers kind of drag/push the branches to the top of the vehicle so that they pass over it rather than go SMACK on your glass!

Yup, that's exactly what it's for, to keep branches off of your windscreen. They are called 'limb raisers'.

[xXx]

but then you lose whatever ride quality the RR has... its got Live Axles Front And Rear so convert to coils and the ride will become pretty basic... and your very right about the reliability factor fuzzo, even P38 Owners say that they dont usually consider going outstation without another vehicle in convoy..... preferably a Landcruiser...

So what sort of problems falls under the 'unreliable' category???

[Elvis_Pil]

Just wondering.. is the reliability issue something to worry about across the LR line or in just in the RR

[Devinda_Z]

but then you lose whatever ride quality the RR has... its got Live Axles Front And Rear so convert to coils and the ride will become pretty basic... and your very right about the reliability factor fuzzo, even P38 Owners say that they dont usually consider going outstation without another vehicle in convoy..... preferably a Landcruiser...

on the contrary changing to coils will not make all that much of a difference!!

it'll give a slight increase to the degree of articulation and allow a lift of upto 2" depending on the set up

further more coils make RR's handle a tad better at speeds and corners as they will make things a tad firm - Air suspension is a nice luxury to have on a brand new vehicle but over a decade of use on local gutted surfaces they are bound to go bad

No P38 owner said anything of the sort!

i apologize on S_N's behalf - he seemed so have misconstrued My personal reservations on taking a P38 outta colombo - That statement by no means reflects the view of any RR owner

[Devinda_Z]

Just wondering.. is the reliability issue something to worry about across the LR line or in just in the RR

with regard to this thread most view shared in regard to 'unreliability' stem from issues pertaining to one primary component :

The EAS (Electronic Air Suspension)

P38 or 2nd Generation Range Rovers,i'm sad to say don't stack too high on the reliability table given that they were loaded with all sorts of complex electronics which ,imo the Rover Group nor Bmw later on, had quite sorted well enough when they chucked it into the "King of the Hill"

Land rovers as a whole have been plagued by reliablity issues,but they tend to be over exaggrated by non Land rover users and exponents on Jap SUV's - i will concede to the fact though that most Jap SUV's and thier drive trains will outlast standard LR mechnicals.

However it should not be forgotten that most LR's (Defenders & Series Vehicles) live a very hard life - if properly servied and maintained many of the issues can be avoided or negated.The 200 & 300 Tdi power plants and the primitive 12J 4cyl 2.5L units are quite competant

Freelanders are the guilty party in letting the side down in terms of realibility issues amoungst the newer vehicles - at glance from the way the vehicles degenerate it can only be speculated that BMW,LR's owners during the better part of the Freelander 1st gen production run,cut corner by using cheap materials when building them

all in all LR's as a whole can be summed up as being Temperamental vehicles - its quite clearly a "Love it or Hate it" affair - once they get in your system your sold on the Green Oval for life!

[Watchman]

Its quitye suprising that a company like LR that has been in the 4x4 business for so long still hasnt been able to get the small things right.

And i live reasonably close and used to pass the Brown's workshop near thimbirigasyaya road, and have always seen some RR or the other there. Most of the time it has been maroon P38s. If as someone said there are only 12 or so RRs in SL, that'd mean pretty bad figures.

I remember even the Freelander (that was available for the 1998 permit) was quite famous for having trouble with fancy electronic systems like its hill-decent control system (or some name like that), and as a result though Freelanders the number of 65-XXXX that were so often seen on the roads are no longer around..

We once had a Landrover for a couple of weeks and it had this awful play in the driveshaft that whenever you shift gears or release/stepon the gas it'd end up giving a terrible thud. BUt was awfully fun to drive. i've heard its a common thing on LRs. Devinda, is this true?

[Devinda_Z]

We once had a Landrover for a couple of weeks and it had this awful play in the driveshaft that whenever you shift gears or release/stepon the gas it'd end up giving a terrible thud. BUt was awfully fun to drive. i've heard its a common thing on LRs. Devinda, is this true?

very common machan

its not always a play in the shafts - more often than not, the thud is the resut of the a worn Central Ball joint on the rear "A" Frame.

if its less prnounced then its a typical LR trait n can be eliminated to a fair extent with some very careful & precise balancing n shifting

but as u rightly put it,aside from the niggles,its a fun drive

Edited April 27, 2007 by Devinda_Z

[xXx]

Right, now that the reliability issue is addressed lets talk numbers,

How much will an engine replacement and coil conversion cost???

Edited April 28, 2007 by xXx

[fuzzo]

i think more than the engine and coil replacements (which would be a 1 time cost hopefully) i think the killer would be the cost of getting the small "issues" sorted.

cost of service and things like brake pads are all along the norms of other vehicles.