hi,

completely new here. i drive a 1996 explorer that i'm now retiring to use only for weekends and shows.

i'm in the market for a vehicle i can use to tow a 20' boat and my explorer (only a few times a year for the explorer). the explorer weighs around 6,000 lbs (yeah i've added a few- they weigh 4200 stock) and the trailer is about 1500. i know that 7500 is probably pushing it with a late 90s 4.6 hse but what experiences have people here had in the real world?

i am also wondering about what to look for in one of those vehicles- i see that they are going for much less than i would have expected locally. i can pick up a pretty nice 98 or so for well under 10k. this obviously means there must be some issues with reliability. what is it that goes wrong on these trucks? what should i look for that could be going wrong? i do all my own work on my show truck etc. and i'm mechanically adept- will i be able to get the parts and figure out how to repair the problems that are likely to crop up with one of the 4.6 hse's?

i'm planning on searching throughout the forums for answers as well, but please forgive my being a newbie and let me know all you can to aid in my search for a new daily driver. i'd like to make a purchase in hte next two or three days tops.

thank you

-drew

 

no need to forgive being new. we all were at one time. The biggest thing about buying a rover is making sure you get all the maintianence records. If they don't have them, stay away. a bad rover is a nightmare. Parts are expensive. There is a parts supplier list on the forum. The range rover ACE system can be a pain and is expensive to repair. Most of the things that have to be fixed can be done by a good do it yourselfer. Get the shop manual and follow it for most things. General mechanic info can get you to a problem in most cases, but making the repairs can be very different. rover clubs are generally a good thing, good people. a rover nut is a rover nut. they are happy to help with most things. Keep in mind towing mileage is not the same as normal mileage. If you can find out what kind of work the vehicle you purchase has been doing. The price of used rovers is determined by the market in that area. Go to edmunds.com for the numbers in your area. They are lower than what you might expect because most people are not comfortable with they vehicles, since they know nothing about them. Remember with other imports they didn't get the resale value until people were comfortable. rover has become more popular in the last 10 years. They tend to be pricely at purchase and most think that a used on will be too. I have had mine for 10 years, have spent 5ooo.oo in maintainence and repairs, to include tires and brakes. that is pretty good. I am a maintainence freak. mine has 130k on it. It is still the best 4x4xfar. gotta love a rover. duboff