1997 Armored Range Rover

[chuyrdzc]

Good day guys
A friend of mine just called me about two days ago offering me a two owner 1997 Range Rover HSE.
It has 70 000 kilometers or 43000 Miles. It has a supercharger on the engine.
It is in almost flawless condition.
The big BUT with this Rover is that it is bullet proof. It has a NATO Level 5 armor on it. This means from what I have read it is closer to a Tank than to an SUV. It has Steel run flat tires, pepper spray defensive system, armored battery and fule tank and operating windows.
I'm wondering if the armoring might become an issue over time. Mantainance and off road wise.
I have read that armored cars usually tend to require constant brake service.
What do you guys think, should I make an offer to buy this car or just step away.
The original MSRP on this Range in 1997 when it was delivered to the first owner was $179 000.
The second owner is offering the car to me at $11 000. Due to the model year and that I'm a close friend.
Hope to read your opinion.
Best Regards
JR

 

[tmiller1]

I have a family friend in my area that runs a car armory business. With that level of protection, there is usually a TON of extra weight added onto the vehicle (which is why they usually have larger engines, and I am assuming in your case a supercharger).

Personally, I think it would be a blast to own what you are talking about... I think it would be a lot of maintenance work, and possibly more expensive maintenance (maybe more of a pain to work around the extra add-on items too...) - but what fun you could have .

 

[Jaak]

Check the local laws. It may be illegal to own an armoured vehicle without permits.

 

[chuyrdzc]

Check the local laws. It may be illegal to own an armoured vehicle without permits.

Thats true.
I live in El PAso Texas and I have the Mexican citizenship. The Range is a Mexican model so I would drive it with mexican license plates. So in that case I would not have a problem.

 

[SteveA]

What are you planning to do with it? I might be kind of neat to have a real one of a kind RR, but if you are planning to use it for normal driving or off-roading, I think there are a lot better choices.

We have 2 armoured Range Rovers that we see for service regularly. They are both used as primarily armoured limousines. I would not advise using one off road due to the extra stress on all the components from the added weight. Also the extra weight would be a disadvantage off road.

I would also be scared of the supercharged engine. I've seen a few conversions like this, and all of them had the check engine light permanently on. In addition to that the supercharged conversion does not work too well with the GEMS system and can lead to lean running conditions on cylinders 5 and 6. Long term this can lead to valve and piston damage.

I suppose it would be a fun toy though.

Stephen