Hello all,

I currently daily drive a Tahoe and have an e93 M3 weekend car. I've had 3 Tahoe's and its time for a change.

I've owned 10 BMW's so I'm no stranger to luxury car maintenance costs.

I have narrowed my search down to a 2016-2018 BMW X5 50i V8 twin turbo with all the fixins and an 2014-2017 L405 Range Rover 5.0 V8 supercharged.

I've never owned a Land Rover/ Range Rover and am relatively unfamiliar with the reliability of these vehicles.

I found a car in the color combo and features I like and want. Car is a 2016 Range Rover 5.0 V8 s/c (not the sport) with 60k miles. I have a budget of around $40 ish grand.

So, i'm lookign for some advice on reliability, long term maintenance costs etc. I can deal with small faults but I cannot afford to be left stranded SO please i'd love some feedback on reliability, whats its like to live with a range rover. . Common issues faults etc.

Thank You!

 

SFLo. . . I have a 2016 RRover 5.0 SC--just like you're looking at, and have now had it a bit over 5 years (ordered new). Love it, had virtually NO problems!! I use it for a bit of offroading and not just valet parking :-). The one thing I most get concerned about is the air suspension; that's quite pricey if it goes, and I've heard you start having issues around 50K miles. I've got 35K on mine. Have it checked by a LR mechanic--even take it to the local dealership for a once-over. That's crucial in my mind.

Also, this is my third RRover in about 15 yrs--starting w the 2004 RRover made at the time by BMW. I really don't understand the large concerns about these being so high maintenance. With all three, I've found them very reliable. You're right--they're luxury cars, with more complex offroading systems than other luxury SUVs, and thus with more complications. And not cheap to fix when somethign does go wrong.

I say go ahead; they're fantastic to have as an option in your garage.

 

I had a LR Discovery 5 (2018) I bought new. Once all the software bugs were fixed it was pretty much trouble free (30,000) miles. Little things here and there just like any new vehicle. I came out of a 2015 GMC Denali, which I wasn't happy with. (Other than that sweet 6.2 engine.)
Just traded for a 19 RR HSE ...full. 6 cyl engine is plenty! Ride is superb. I do like the factory 7/100,000. but as any vehicle some are trouble free and others aren't. So far so good with me.

 

The BMW V8 is garbage- as I had a bi-turbo M that started leaking oil around the valve seals at about 50K miles- and they all do it. Valve job is the only way to fix it and it is expensive... This problem alone makes the X5M garbage in my opinion- as valve guide seals should never allow oil to by pass into the combustion chamber that early in a car's lifespan- just shotty choice of parts/.materials... I also had an E92 M3 V8 that through a rod bearing at 19K miles on a 2012- and I had to sue BMW to get them to cover it under warranty because I bought it used from the dealership with 7K miles on it... I would imagine most X5 M v8 owners are pissed off once they surpass the warranty period only to find out they have to foot the bill on a valve job because they are now out of warranty! I would go with Mercedes AMG product before ever looking at a bimmer again- or go with the supercharged 5.0 RR- which is what I am driving now. I have a 15 RR SC V8 with 50k miles on it- and I bought it with 28K miles on it with zero issues except replacing the aux battery- which I did recently. I also updated the infotainment- retro to the new 18+ android system which was well worth it for the functionality and 10.25 touch screen.

Cons
throttle program needs refinement for sport mode ( I added a pedal commander to fix it), auto stop/start is simply annoying and should have the option to permanently disable but it does not, factory brake pads squeal at times for no reason due to design, and 13-16 year models infotainment is garbage and antiquated compared to other luxury model systems ( I updated mine for $700 and uploaded the factory UI to it).

Pros
Pedal commander fixed laggy throttle and it now drives like an AMG suv with accurate gear selection for all pedal inputs, extremely fast and feels light for such a large vehicle, I can clear 30 inches of snow in full lift mode without getting stuck, air suspension on l405 is the most reliable version yet, most ECU faults are glitches that can be readily cleared with a GAP IID tool and don't need dealer diag fees, and finally low service costs over l322 models- as the l405 is the most reliable RR made to date and easy to service ( I do all services on my own vehicles).

 

Roger, I had a 2013 RRS SC that had both of the front suspension bags go out. Used aftermarket replacements and did the work myself. Lots of vids on how to do it and the L405 is even easier to swap out than the the L320. Cost for the aftermarket (not Arnott) was ~$300 each and about an hour per side depending upon your confidence level. I ended up with 124k miles before I parted ways with my beloved Sport and went with a 2013 L405.