I have owned 10 Rovers in my time and the LR4 is top of my list. I am looking at a LR4 in Loveland CO (FT Collins area) living on the east coast. This LR4 is my dream car on so many levels and I want one. The one I am looking at recently had the motor replaced. The car has around 100k on it. He has replaced all of the hoses, new A/C compressor, brakes amongst other things. He is asking $21k and I am wondering if any one has experience on reliability with a car with 100k with a new engine. My concerns are the air suspension, the sunroof, and electrical. The mechanic at the garage who did all the work said it checked out. Do I get another opinion? My wife will absolutely kill me if i bought this and it broke down immediately. I need a car that my wife feels safe with the kids that wont leave me on the side of the road.

My wife has a sour taste in her mouth because of our 2014 RRS I had to get fixed with blown head gaskets. I got scammed and the inspector and dealer lied (not a shock they got paid). You cannot sue them because it will cost you more than you purchased the vehicle, I was stuck with a $14k bill the car is still having minor problems (sunroof and non mechanical).

Any advice or experience with buying an older car with a new engine would be very helpful. A bonus would be knowing a great Land Rover mechanic in Loveland / FT. Collins area as well. The guy I am purchasing it from used Garage 9.

 

Mine's done about 190K miles, there are others with higher mileage. They're very well made trucks BUT have infuriatingly delicate and complex cooling circuits and it doesn't take much to damage the head gaskets if it overheats from a coolant leak. Water pumps, plastic pipes and hoses are prone to failure about every 50K miles. JLR have some updated alloy front pipe replacements which helps with reliability. Last year I replaced the 2 front air struts as the rubber bags had started to leak, it was an easy job, otherwise no other air suspension issues. Front LCAs good for about 80-100K miles.

 

Thanks for sharing. They used a range rover depot rebuilt engine with all the OEM parts. I heard something about the cross over plastic hose needs to be changed out to aluminum. Curious why it took them so long to do such changes. included in the rebuild was a new air compressor, water pump, and all new hoses. My wife is on my butt about possibly buying this because of the stain left with the one i just sold. I love the way Land Rovers drive, the looks, etc. I know they can be rough if not taken care of properly. I just do not want to dump another 20k in a truck. on top of the 20k i paid for it if you know what i mean.

 

What warranty is being provided for the engine replacement? Did they use genuine parts - water pump, compressor, etc? JLR released the new pipes nearly a year ago, easy to replace and the most notorious to fail. Water pump shaft seals fail, not certain if JLR have made any recent updates, oil cooler pips o-rings fail, especially if they aren't replaced when the pump's removed. Only genuine parts should be used. I've done comparisons between genuine and aftermarket and found fitment issues every single time (pumps, gaskets, seals, pips, hoses, etc). Also PCV membranes eventually crack and valve covers leak. But if everything's already been done, you should be good for 50-100K miles before needing any major servicing. If not driven many miles per year, you should get plenty of use out of it.

 

err... there are enough available vehicles out there... I would shy away from "a replacement engine from a different vehicle"...