Looking to replace my old disco 1. Great truck, but need someting newer. Wife works at a dealer out here and they took in a couple rovers recently, 04 HSE which has issues and even popped a coolant hose while I was looking at it, and an 06 sport. Gonna go look at the sport tonight, what are common issues to look for? It's got 142k miles, but her price is just over cost at $14500. Does have cosmetic issues outside, tinted head and tail lights and an awful set of asanti grills. But inside is clean. That sound like a decent price? Any input is appreciated, dont know much about the newer rovers.

 

I wouldn't touch a Range Rover with a BMW engine...

The sport is a great vehicle, but $14,500 is too much for the miles, in my opinion. The Caddy dealer where I live had one on their lot a couple of months ago with more like 80,000 miles for $17,000, and it looked perfect.

 

Around here you can't find a sport for less then 20+ on the low side, this is only low because she works for the company. Looked at the car, everything worked well, drove great, just a bit of noise at the rear door, that's all I noticed. Underside of the car was very clean even. Haven't made a complete decision yet, was a very nice truck though.

 

You did not mention which RRS you were looking at SC/HSE.

Someone mentioned the BMW engine, but I am pretty certain in '06 both NA Sport available engines were produced by Jag (4.2L AJ-V8 Supercharged, and 4.4L AJ-V8).

From my experience both of these engines are rock solid, as is the ZF transmission.

I have seen 4.4L's well over 300K, and 4.2L very close to 300K, not only running, but running great.

All the gross early mods are pretty easy and inexpensive to replace; the grill, the tail lights. The head lights can get expensive, the AFS one's in particular. I would check to see if it is a painted tint or the lens are actually tinted.

I would start with the suspension. The amber "normal ride height" error usually means either a leak in one of the air struts or a compressor that needs rebuilding. Compressor rebuild is an inexpensive, $130 DIY, air struts fairly costly, and fair bit of work DIY.

Sway bar bushings are a common issue. Not expensive ($50-$150) but a bit of work DIY.

LCA bushings go sometimes, usually not all at once, but I have always changed them in pairs, and they can run between $150-$300, and are not bad to change DIY.

I am a few days away from changing my heater core, and LH blend motor on one of my RRS's. I have $120 in parts and it will probably take about 3 hours to install, but it is a PITA, as a lot of the interior dash, and center console has to come out to get to it, and it can be hard to isolate what part is failing. I have heard enough about this problem that I would check the heater well before purchasing.

There is also a common airbag issue, red light, but I have found it is not usually the airbag, but a loose connection either under the seat or the wiring in the column.

Check the tires, for any uneven wear. These vehicles tend to need a solid balance. When you road test it get it to 55 and sit there and see how much, if any steering vibration you get. Generally between 50-60 you will get some, and it goes away below or above that, but it is a good indicator that the car needs a good road force balance.

Parking sensors tend to start acting up, usually a bad wire. Usually requires removing the bumper, fairly easy DIY.

I do not think that the price is bad, I might want to work it a little bit just to cover some of the aforementioned in case you run into some of them down the road.

Mileage I would not worry too much about it if the vehicle is running well. My wifes LR3 has almost the same mileage and runs great, but I am pretty particular about self-servicing her car, because I am scared of her.

Don't be terrified if the car runs a little rough, MAS/throttle body could use a cleaning. If this does not clear it up, perhaps move on.

In general these are very nice vehicles, but like any car you need to keep up on the maintenance to keep it that way, and the downside is that they can be pricey to maintain if you have to rely on a shop for everything, even a indie shop can get expensive if you have to do something like a heater core.

 

He said he was looking at an 04 HSE. 03, 04, and 05 RR have BMW engines. And they are junk after a few miles.

Good point about the SC version. I'd jump all over that price for a SC.

 

Sorry, didnt notice that. The 04 as an HSE, but it told me no lol. The 06 is HSE as well, no negotiations, that's employee price, sticker is 19. Wish it were sc, but being mostly for a winter vehicle/ocasional offroad toy, sc extra power isnt needed, ive got my roush mustang for that lol.

Appreciate the post there, very informative. Lights are spray tinted. Easy enough fix, remove and repolish. Couple hr job. Tires are from another rover, luckily they kept their hideous black wheels. Ran good, interior was good as well. And I do all my own work so it shouldn't be too bad there, just need to look into the diag software for these.

It looks like were gonna go for it and get rid of the disco while it's working well.