Saying goodbye to an albatross

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

ryanjl

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Posts
3,018
Reaction score
1,793
Location
KCMO
I feel that lot of the "issues" with Land Rovers are due to wear-item decisions that were made to value luxury over long-term reliability.

The control arm bushings, for example, go out because they are soft to provide a superlative ride, as opposed to a design that may have been more reliable in the long-term but less comfortable. As a Land Rover is a premium brand, Land Rover decided its owners are willing to pay for higher maintenance costs in exchange for the difference in ride quality.

The issue becomes when the maintenance is deferred, or when the used cost of the vehicle trickles down to where the dealership quote of $1,500 to swap out control arms seems relatively absurd.
 

mpinco

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Posts
297
Reaction score
113
Location
Colorado
Agreed Ryan. Those luxury design point decisions are now present with all manufacturers. Brother-in-law just bought a low end GMC pickup. Looked for the most defeatured truck available. Commented that everything is now dressed up, at much higher prices.
 

spawnywhippet

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 30, 2015
Posts
48
Reaction score
21
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, California
While I appreciate you have spent some money on your Land Rover, that list of things just looks like routine maintenance for a complex 75k mile vehicle to me (well maybe should have needed only 1 water pump instead of 2).

If you want to see long lists of failures, go talk to a BMW owner who has more than 100k miles on his car.
 

Super Rover

New Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Posts
2
Reaction score
0
I have a Range Rover full-size with the 4.2 supercharged engine. Sorry to hear of your problems. If you have the 5.0 I know that 2010 was the first year for that engine. Supercharger bearings, water pump were both issues on those early production vehicles. I have 150k and still have the original water pump and t-stat. I actually just bought them as the hoses are getting a little soft and I want to do some preventative maintenance. I worked with Jaguar up until July and looked at trading mine in on some trade-ins we had the last couple of months of our dealerships operation. (We were purchased by another company and the facility moved) Infiniti, BMW, lexus were all trades that I tried, drove over the weekend and passed on as they didn't give me the ride quality I've come to expect from my Rover.

Good luck on your next vehicle!
 

bbyer

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Posts
895
Reaction score
151
Location
Alberta
This list is probably correct. I figure the LR costs more in the first five years than any of the others below the first five makes.

The reality is for the first four years, most vehicles are on new car warranty but the LR and the first five will need money spent on them not covered by warranty.

From five to ten years, the LR will suck up more money than any between 6 and 30, however after ten years, most stuff in the LR will have been upgrade or fixed whereas the 6 to 30 vehicles will not be economic to repair.

I regard my 2005 LR3 at 180,000 miles as more reliably now than it was when it came from the factory. I might also add it has never left me walking but I spend a lot of money on preventative maintenance.
 

viper_iii

Active Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2016
Posts
33
Reaction score
14
I totally agree. Most of my friends drive low maintenance SUVs from Honda, Lexus, etc. But anytime I ride in one it feels like a transportation appliance. Tons of interior plastic, tin doors, cheap leather, boring designs, no character.

I'll keep buying brakes and tires and see what repair comes up next. Once our LR3 & LR4's are gone, there probably won't be anything like them ever again.

Couldn't agree more..

Value on kbb is nearly junk stays but try to find one with V8 and good condition, they're out there but mostly lots of evoque and disco sports coming off lease.

Won't be another... Yup...
Struggling with the new look of defender as well..
Have loved the look and capability of the trucks right up until they started looking like everything else on the road...

Always liked the unique look... Kinda lost that now...

Repair wise... Yup, can be a pain / albatross / nightmare at times.

I personally don't even use LR shops for repairs when I can help it... And buy parts from wholesalers / ~50% of dealer at least.

Drive into some shops and price goes up 50% (I just leave most times)
That happens with my D2 as well... And it's just my fun truck!
 

jwest

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Posts
2,041
Reaction score
409
Location
Seattle WA
speaking of what's next or what could be as all encompassing, the new Benz G wagen will have IFS but looks like same boxy body shell and a pretty sweet interior redesign. Too bad they cost 2-3x a new Disco ;)
 

iSurfvilano

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Posts
652
Reaction score
417
Location
North Beach, FL
what's next question on defender line.... didn't look to good unless this was just a shell for testing.....

http://www.roverparts.com/News/archive/DefenderTestMuleSightingsReported.cfm

otherwise the unit does not look all that wonderful...

rather just buy the G63 Wagen
(and if budget wasn't an option the G2 version or hell the 6x6 since I'm spending fantasy $$$ anyway!)

That's just a mule, the body will not look like that. The wheelbase and underpinnings are probably the only things that will remain from those photos. Just like the Ford Bronco mule that was spotted, it was meant to look like a ford everest so they could test the drivetrain and suspension on the road.
 

MiamiRover

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Posts
3
Reaction score
0
I’ve had three 91-93 RR classics and total maintenance over 10 years can’t even touch how much I’ve spent on a X5 twin turbo BMW in the two years since service warranty expired. I miss my rovers.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
36,223
Posts
217,591
Members
30,473
Latest member
OnoA
Top