Hello,

I may be buying a RR in the next few weeks, mainly looking at the 1998 or 2000. A buddy has had a 96 discovery and loves it.

Once I told family/friends that I was seriously looking into RR's I got the typical response of "be prepared for EVERYTHING to break" "All your electrical will fail" :blah blah blah:

Now I know every car breaks, or needs repairs. I did some looking on the forums here and other sites, and saw some horrific stories about air suspension and electronic failures resulting in costly bills.

I currently own a 2000 VW passat, and I have never had any issues, but when I go to passat forums I see more horror stories. This makes me think that no matter what car I pick, I will see many problems/examples of broken equipment. Which makes sense, the people who post, have problems the ones who dont have problems dont post.

My question, forgive me if I should not be posting here, is if there really is such an abundance of issues with the 98 99 or 2000 RR that it would be in best interest to avoid it. I welcome some work (I have very limited understanding of how vehicles work) and that is a good oppurtunity to learn.

I would hate to spend 9k on a car, then 1k every month to maintain it.
any thoughts,advice, words of comfort would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Derek

 

I would say that overall a properly maintained RR will be a dependable vehicle for you. Yes it will have problems but usually they are more of the small annoying kind rather than big ticket items. A RR has many more options on them and thus have many more opportunities for things to go wrong. However, if you are not comfortable doing most of the work on your RR and shopping for parts on ebay you will find they can be expensive to maintain. I have had two Passats and I LOVED them. They are one of the best cars I have ever owned. I rode them hard and they kept coming back for more. Switching from a VW to a RR you will be in for quite a shock. Be prepared to get 1/3 of the gas mileage, eat up tires and brakes at twice the pace (but hey, they weigh twice as much so what can you expect.) Will you be happy with the RR? Probably, but it will depend on what you are looking for. If you want the best combination of luxury and off road capability you will love it. If you want an efficient, low maintenance vehicle you will probably be disappointed.

 

Had a 2000 HSE. Great car but it was really underpowered. Only had a 260 hp engine, It would climb a brick wall though and was one of the better looking RR's. One thing, if you where 4 wheeling in a 100 plus temps the air conditioner would quit, the warning would go off and it wouldn't start working again until you developed some speed for a while.

 

I have to agree about the underpowered part. One of the things I liked about the VW is how peppy it is. The Rover is the exact opposite. I live in the hills of PA and it struggles holding speed on the steeper inclines but it WILL climb anything you throw at it.

 

Thank you guys for the answers.

I still am hooked on getting an RR...

I really have no knowledge on "how things work" when it comes to cars. (thank bill gates for removing shop class at my highschool)

Would maintaining the RR outside of the shop for minor fixes be doable by a newbie w/a manual?

Also,
If i find an RR I am interested in, can i post here w/ details and VIN to get advice and ensure it is not included with any known problems? (read about a bad oil pump)

Thanks guys,
Derek

 

Yeah but they still got 10 mpg, best I ever got was 13. My RRSC has damn near 400 hp, runs very fast and gets exactly the same milage. Go figure.

 

Hi Derek
You're in the same boat as me. I want to order a 2010 RRSport HSE but I"m still not sure.
ChrisN loves his and krazzz had overall logical good advice.
Even with a brand new one, the RR is going to cost me alot more to operate just with gasoline and tires...20" tires no less.
Simply put, RR drivers can afford to operate them. Gas prices or maintenance fee's aren't an issue for them.
Thank you
Karla

 

I find the service at Land Rover South in Denver excellent. The deal breaker with buying a car with historic issues is service. These guys say bring it in right away and if they can't fix that day they give you a free Land Rover Loner without any augment. I realize that all dealerships are not the same but I sleep better at night that they will help me when all goes wrong.

The best selling point a dealership can have is that they have good service like that.

 

Very true Karla. If you can afford to buy it you shouldn't have any trouble maintaining it. Newer is always better. If your primary concern is $$$ I would't recommend it. But if you want to drive the most comfortable SUV with all the bells and whistles the RR is the only way to go.

 

The 1999 4.6 HSE RangeRover
Sunroof, Power Seating REAL SEXY
Ash Black Leather was only available on the HSE.
18” Hurricane wheels.
Very clean nicely kept
Cassandra 3053709126
Title in hand
Ready to sell

Vin SALPV1449XA424549