So I'm looking for a truck to replace my rusty old Durango and my daily from the last 6 years, a BRZ with a blown motor. I have a problem with uninspiring vehicles and can't convince myself to get another American SUV and other than the Landcruiser/Lexus LX/GX it seems to me that a few LR/RR models are just good ol' English trucks in the same vein as these others from around the world but they're designed to be maintained rather than replaced and disposed of and they're nicer and being on the more mature side of things I think I like that idea. Unfortunately there's also that 'Lucas - Prince of Darkness' thing that's kind of ingrained on my psyche after years of hearing it and knowing that LR's can be kind of finicky has me a little concerned. I've come across what looks like a couple of nice LR3's and earlier today an 06 RR Supercharged (L322?) and can't decide if I'm a little off base thinking that I could count on a 15 year old LR as a daily. I'm ok with doing a lot of the regular basic maintenance myself as long as the weather is agreeable to working outside (no garage) but if big, expensive things that need a shop are going to be a regular thing I may shy away. The crazy part is thinking that I can handle so much of that on the RR SC, right? I mean it's gotta be too complicated for a shadetree guy like me isn't it?

Thoughts?

 

Range rovers that are out of warranty can be very pricey to fix, just my thought.

 

I guess my question is how much more expensive are LR parts than other manufacturers? Are they 25% higher or double? The mechanical work itself isn't any more difficult and in many cases appears to be easier because, as mentioned above, in many cases these vehicles are intended to be maintained rather than just removing old parts and replacing them with new. If it's only the maintenance costs that scare people away I'm not quite as worried because I hope to do much of my own labor, if the parts are twice as expensive as say Dodge or Chevy that could be a problem.

 

Parts can be 3 to 4 times more expensive in some cases. For example my transfer case from a 2009 RR Sport was $5,000.

 

It's harder but not always impossible to source cheap parts... but I don't put cheap parts on cars I own... learned in my teens that parts store lifetime warranties on their cheap parts aren't worth it when you get to repeatedly fix the same thing at no monetary cost but still your own time being eaten up and reliability sacrificed. Internal engine work is expensive regardless of make....
nothing crazy about Rover ownership if you arent scared to research and repair.... which goes for anything. If you're scared to learn or do mechanical work and don't have patience to do jobs correctly then I'd tell you to buy something under warranty or something cheap to have others work on... if you jave the attitude of learning and patience then dive in... you know you.

 

Well said, these trucks drive beautifully and are built to last.

 

That's insanity.... while a D1 tcase can be a pretty much "please remove this free one from my garage" lol.

 

I'm dealing with an engine issue with my current DD and to replace the thing will cost about what the car is worth and that's with an (unknown) used motor and I'm having a hard time justifying the cost even though I love the car. For the cost of putting a motor in it I can get a nice LR3 or for a fair bit less this crazy deal I found on an 06 RR SC. So if I hold on to the difference, about $1500, that should be enough to deal with little things that would pop up on the RR SC unless it's something like that $5k transfer case. I guess what I should ask is if one of these is in very good shape with no known faults, a decent service history and only one owner would you go for it and trust it to be a reliable daily for 2 years or so other than the ~$2k/yr in regular maintenance that pretty much any nice car would have?

 

That’s one of the biggest Misconceptions about these trucks in my opinion is that they just have issues out of the blue. Granted they do have quirky things about them and the Land Rover ghost that lives in them LOL. In all honesty if you maintain these trucks they should last a very long time. It’s the deferred or lack of maintenance that starts the issues. That’s not something most folks will openly talk about though. If it has a good service history and checks out at a dealership with a prepurchase inspection I would have zero hesitation.

 

Thank you. As long as I don't have a transfer case go bad...