Hi All,

I've had this 2003 RR since it was new, and it's held up through the years, but I'm finally considering selling it.

I'm in and out of the Atlanta area and my ol' steady RR stays with friends when I'm gone. They had to jump it due to the battery drain issue.

Apparently they did something wrong while jumping it because the car is now a mess. Right door won't open. Liftgate won't open. Wipers not functioning. Fob does nothing.

I took it to European Motor Cars(anyone know a better shop?) in Atlanta and they found a lot of stuff(but no blown fuses), but most importantly multiple no-communication faults with the BCM, Immobolizer has a fault, but is working. Driver door lock actuator is not communicating, but opens with a key. The shop said you can't jump it with fob in ignition? How do you start it without charging it for hours? Had no idea this was an issue and have done it multiple times after that dang battery drain.

The car still starts and drives.

Some other issues: fan clutch is leaking silicon, slow coolant leak, upper timing covers are leaking oil.

The car has 107k miles and is in otherwise good condition(engine runs great), and I dearly love it, but the shop is suggesting replacing the BCM(and they can't guarantee it will fix it) for $1000. With all the other work remaining and the low value of the car, is it worth fixing? Do these sound like a huge bill coming?

I don't know what to do. I guess I would feel more confident if they could actually diagnose the electrical issue, but I realize it can very difficult.

Anyway, I would really appreciate any advice for my ol pal.

 

Oh man, sorry to hear about this. 13 years is a long time and 107,000 miles is very low mileage actually! I purchased my Discovery 2 about four years back and whoever had owned her before me hadn't done an amazing job of looking after her. They'd even ran over a deer with the car, according to the CarFax report.

I put quite a bit of money into getting all the "little things" addressed, and still, slowly but surely, issues crop up every few months. It seems like your RR is in a similar position to what I was in about 6 months ago - I needed quite a bit of work doing on it and considering the low value of the car (worth less than $2800 now according to Kelley Blue Book) I went back and forth in my mind as to whether I should drop the $1500 or so on repairs or just bite the bullet and get another car.

Long story short, I ended up getting the repairs done. I didn't regret it.

Although I can't even being to diagnose those electrical issues for you, as it sounds awfully complex, I would get the work done. Firstly, do the minimal amount needed to get her up and running. Then take her to a real RR specialist and get those issues diagnosed. A lot of places will let you pay any bills over 6-12 months if you inquire. Just remember, a $3000 bill for instance, split up over 12 months is only $250 a month. You cannot get a decent new car for $3000. Getting a new car (or quality used car) will set you back much more and will not have anywhere near the sentimenal value of your RR.

I would stick by your trusty RR and don't be afraid to bite the bullet and pull out your credit card, as painful as it may be.

I don't regret getting my Disco fixed up. She's running great now. And what did I lose? A few grand? I would have shelled out 14k or more on another used vehicle and that would have been a huge waste of money.

Apologies for the really long response buddy. Hope you find a resolution.