Hello Ladies & gents,

My name is Chaz (Charles). I am new to the Land Rover world, so I need some guidance and advice A.S.A.P! I have always had a love for the looks of land rover/range rover. However I have yet to own one, but I may be hours away from making a purchase of a 1999 Land Rover Range Rover. I did some reseacrh on this model, and was sad to see such negative reviews on edmunds. The reviews have me skeptical now? So What I would like is some input from the pro's with the passion. Feed back needed on the following questions:


1999 RANGE ROVER 4.6 HSE (149,000 mi.)

1.Should I even make this purchase?

2. What can i do to verify I'm not getting a lemon? (without taking it to a mechanic)

3. if this is a Great/Good Purchase, can you tell me the Joy's I will get from this machine?

4. any additional input you could offer would be great!

 

Listen to engine with a mechanic's stethoscope (auto parts stores sell them). Listen for "ticks" and "clunks". Oil pump could be an soon to go issue at this age. Free shop manual set called the RAVE at link below. Every wierd noise you hear, price goes down. Every oil leaking item on the underside, price goes down. Use www.statewidelist.com to search for all Rovers in your state, it will sort output by city; indexes craigslist, which will give you a current feel for prices. Open coolant jug, look for bubbles, tiny particles in coolant (brown, black, copper, aluminum) - to see head gasket leak in progress or evidence of stopz leekz used to mask a problem. There is a combustion gas in coolant test you can buy from auto parts store, will test a number of cars, about $35. Make truck idle for 20 minutes to see if it overheats, with AC on. Look inside oil fill cap with flash light - are parts covered with oil, or crusty brown deep fried grease (lack of frequent oil changes). Tranny fluid smell like burnt coffee, not good red color (worn tranny)? Oil on stick? Can read marking on stick thru the oil (clean oil)? Any repair or service invoices and paperwork? Shift tranny and transfer case through all positions. Work all electric seats, windows, door locks, and electrical items (washers, wipers, radio, lights). Measure with voltmeter across battery, when running at idle should have 13.8 - 14.2 volts, turn on head lights, should not drop below 13.4 (weak alternator).