I love this forum and I have been reading the threads for a year now. I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on a gem I found, literally 1.5 miles from work. It's a 2011 HSE Lux with HD, vehicle was CPO until 2017 and the previous owner still did the head gasket and tensioners less than a year ago. We do 3 off road trips a year and beach driving a few times a year. The rest of the time this will be a daily driver and family hauler. Good or bad for the 95% of actual use? Am I in for problems using an 11 year old truck on the daily? Will my wife murder me in my sleep for this purchase??? Go!

 

How many miles?

Having the timing chain done is great. The head gasket…you might want to get some more info about why that was done, how many miles since, and any problems afterwards. Maybe have you own mechanic check the compression or do a leak down test, take a look at the oil and coolant to make sure they look okay and no mixing. I’ve usually heard of head gaskets replaced as a result of overheating. Overheating often warps the heads, and if the heads warped and only the gaskets were replaced, you could be in for more problems. Of if you had slow leaks that ran coolant into the oil over an extended period … again, could be looking at damage to other components. The other problem with head gaskets on these trucks is that the block is aluminum and the head bolts can strip out. I’ve heard some mechanics won’t do them anymore because they don’t want people coming back with more problems.

Depending on the mileage, other items that should have been replaced (or will likely need to be) are the waterpump (once maybe twice), alternator, and coolant crossover pipes. You’ll need some suspension work at some point - front control arms at least, and the compressor for the air suspension won’t last forever either.

Not trying to dampen your mood on the vehicle, just encouraging you to have someone experienced take a good close look. Pay them to take a little time with it. They are great cars, but repairs are not cheap and they require maintenance. On the plus side, oil changes and brakes are super easy to do in your own garage. Buy an oil extractor and you can do your own oil changes entirely topside in 15 minutes, no joke. Get a GAP tool so you can run codes (and do loads of other diagnostics and adjustments), then hop on the forum to get help figuring out problems.

I have a 2016, so different engine, but many of the same issues and much the same car otherwise. It is a fantastic daily driver (if you can swallow the fuel bill) and still very capable offroad - one of the few cars that does both really well.

Also encourage you to read through the forums at landroverworld.org for additional info about problems and fixes.

 

Thanks for all of the info, and not a discouragement at all. As far as mileage it's a shade over 105k, regarding services it has all been at LR dealers except for a couple low end services like brakes and oil. Priced at 18,899 (covid pricing!). I have a Indy mechanic that's LR certified but the dealer will only let me take it to LR dealers which are charging 550. I will bite the bullet I guess, I don't want a lemon.

 

Wonder why the dealer won’t let you take it to you’re own mechanic? I don’t really think dealers have very good mechanics working at their shops for the most part. They’re definitely not going to take a hard look at that head gasket issue. If it was done at the dealer, though, they should have some record of why the head gasket was replaced and whether there was any evidence of overheating, or what the symptoms were at the time. And, knowing dealers, they probably would have replaced the heads if they were warped - they try to replace whatever they can charge for. That seems like a steep price, but I haven’t been in the market for a while. Anyway, good luck with it. Hope it works out.

 

if you cannot take this to your own mechanic then walk. I would never trust a dealership that has done all the work they are stating and NOT allow this.