Looking to buy this LR4, but rattle at cold start. Goes away when warm...

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Alchern

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The price is just way too high IMO. 44k cad + tax will get you close to a 50k cad for a 6yo vehicle and it is not even a range rover.
I bought my 2012 hse lux (not hd) in summer 2020 for half of that. It really is hard to find a decent LR4 in Toronto area, but 44k… Honestly, I’d put it as a downpayment for a new Defender.

But maybe I’m just cheap
I know the price is steep… I’ve been watching these for years. It’s the worst time ever to be buying a used car, but I’m stuck and need something sooner than later. My Jeep Grand Cherokee has electrical gremlins, and it’s too old to repair. I have a newborn and would like something big and safe that can rip through the snow and go camping in during the summer months. I’ve been searching for a long time, and there are so few options to work with here… especially one where I can get it to a trusted shop to complete a PBI. HD LUX is important to me, which adds to the complexity, and price (supply and demand). This unit just had the complete towing kit installed ($2500) and has two nice sets of rims with new rubber. The brakes are new. Suspension tight. The way I see it, I’m getting the vehicle for more like $33, paying for some of the extras, and paying a shop to get it back into perfect shape. Everything else has been extensively examined, and no other issues were found. I’d love a defender, but it’s not in my budget… I’d be hard pressed to find one with the spec I’d like for under $100k. Also, if I convert the CAD dollar to USD and look at the market for LR4’s in the US, it seems to be on par / cheaper than what is available there. I don’t know… my mind is running in circles. Ha ha. I really appreciate everyone’s input and all the great info. If I can get the oil filter checked out and make sure there are no metal particles in the engine, get the rattling noise fixed, I’ll likely pull the trigger on this one. We will see.
 

t3s1a

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Fair enough.

2016 basically is the best you can get. The less Canadian winters it saw the better. And still, LR4 is a very VERY tough vehicle with a strong gas engines. It won’t break that easy.
Timing chain guides/VVT is the only major issue, but once done you forget about it with frequent oil changes.
10k miles is too much for the oil. With start-stop system no wonder tensioners wear out quickly especially for a heavy truck in the city conditions.
 

ktm525

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Fair enough.

2016 basically is the best you can get. The less Canadian winters it saw the better. And still, LR4 is a very VERY tough vehicle with a strong gas engines. It won’t break that easy.
Timing chain guides/VVT is the only major issue, but once done you forget about it with frequent oil changes.
10k miles is too much for the oil. With start-stop system no wonder tensioners wear out quickly especially for a heavy truck in the city conditions.

2013 would like to have a word with you.
 

Red Top Engine

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@Aboshi: These comments are a complete surprise to me. I’ve done a whole lot of reading on this forum and several other LR4 forums in both the US and other countries, but I’ve never seem a single report of a crank failure in the petrol engines. I’m certainly aware of the problems in the diesel variants (both Jag and LR), but not the petrols. Can you point us to some of these reports for the petrol motors? Would be good for us to know if that’s truly an issue.

I’m also not aware of any lawsuits on the 3.0 scv6 motor - just googled it and didn’t come up with anything. Can you point us to that as well? I’d like to read what that was about.

Anyone else hear about a crank problem with the petrol motors?
Never heard of crank failure aside from worn out bearings. I had to replace my crankshaft due to oil starvation, it was damaged beyond repair. Finding a replacement part globally was incredibly difficult. I found one in Bahrain for $1k. Lucked out finding a bottom end of the engine at a local yard for $300. If you need a crankshaft, salvage it off a blown 5.0 engine.
 

Alchern

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Out of interest, which JLR indy are you using in TO? I own a 2010 and am also in TO
Westminster Motors. The owners name is Avo - he really knows his stuff. Communicates very well and responds quickly, uses only genuine LR parts, and his costs are reasonable. If the current LR4 owner brought the vehicle to Avo earlier, the noise issue would have been diagnosed while still under CPO and the owner would have had some evidence for JLR to repair. Anyway, I would say its worth a visit to his shop. He will show you around.
 

Tapps33

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At the end of the day, everyone has their opinion as to which years and engines were better than others. If this is the truck you want, don’t let their opinion stop you.

A used LR4 is still a used vehicle. Even the well cared for vehicles have issues, but then again, so do the new ones. FYI, I bought a brand new 2019 Honda Odyssey and the darn thing has left me on the side of the road twice in less than two years! The funny part about it is that when I told the folks at Honda I had a Rover, they said, Rover’s were nothing but over-glorified paper weights…then I told them my LR4 has NEVER left me stranded. But, I could vent about Honda for a while, so back to the topic at hand.

Sounds like you’ve done your homework. As I said before, cut the filter and check for metal, heck, you can even send an oil sample off for analysis and it’ll tell you exactly what’s going on inside that engine block. I used to do it for my aircraft engines because the FAA directed it, but then I started doing it for my trucks as well as it’s a great indicator of internal wear or issues.

I think if the seller is willing to swap the timing gear, and you check the filter or have the oil analyzed, you’ll have a pretty good idea what you’re getting. As with anything though, nothing is a 100% safe bet.

FYI, it might be worth swapping the injectors while you’re in there, it’ll cost a little bit, but I’ve seen some injectors fail after they’re serviced (aka removed and reinstalled). Don’t ask me why they fail, cause I have no idea. It’s just a thought, but not a requirement. I should also tell you I tend to “over-repair”….just in case.
 

ryanjl

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FYI, I bought a brand new 2019 Honda Odyssey and the darn thing has left me on the side of the road twice in less than two years! The funny part about it is that when I told the folks at Honda I had a Rover, they said, Rover’s were nothing but over-glorified paper weights…then I told them my LR4 has NEVER left me stranded. But, I could vent about Honda for a while, so back to the topic at hand.

Two things I have noticed about people who just volunteer their thoughts that Land Rovers are unreliable, especially online:

1. The vast majority of them have never owned a Land Rover, but are merely just parroting others (who have probably not owned a Land Rover themselves);

2. A lot of them are from Toyota owners who seek to justify their exceedingly boring purchases (or, in the case of the LX 570, exceedingly ugly) that they made in the name of "rElIaBiLiTy."

EDIT: This isn't to say that all Toyotas are boring, but they have distinct drawbacks (and problems) that people just gloss over because of perception.
 
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