Background: My 2013 LR4 HSE LUX has been diagnosed with a blown head gasket at 89,000 miles. I’ve owned the car for 6 months. It’s my daily driver and one I planned to keep for a VERY long time. Bought for $20,000. I put in another $13,000 (new tires, coil over suspension conversion, trailer brake, new vacuum pump, new battery, transmission/power steering fluid change, new brakes, etc). The truck interior is immaculate. No rust (California owned) and exactly the color combo/packages I wanted. And in the 6 months of ownership, despite a few overheating episodes, my family has fallen in love with the vehicle.
Decision: should I…
1- Have a Land Rover dealer install a brand new or factory reman engine plus a new coolant system for ~$30k installed. This option would have a 2 year parts and labor warranty under any circumstances.
2- Have Tapa (https://text-a-part-auto-jaguar.business.site/?m=true/) install their “Stage 2” engine plus a new coolant system for ~$19,000 installed. This option would have a 1 year limited warranty. The warranty is void if the engine overheats.
3- Try to find a used engine and have my local shop install it for ~$10k all in. No warranty here.
4- Sell the car as a parts donor and move on.
Details: I used to drive an F150 but have always loved the look of the LR4. In my opinion, it strikes the perfect balance between utility and class. It looks just as good in the Cotswolds as it does off-roading in the Mojave. We live in Oregon and often take our vehicles through heavy snow or on gravel trails but I’m not an off-roading hobbyist. Last year I began looking for a 2013 LR4 HSE LUX. I found my car at a used car dealership in CA, was aware it had a new radiator installed 14 months earlier, but a Land Rover dealer did an inspection and said the vehicle was in good shape. Unfortunately, the first time I took the LR4 on a trip longer than 30 minutes, it overheated. I immediately pulled to the side of the road, it was towed to the Atlantic British licensed shop in town and the thermostat was replaced. This fixed the issue for 3 months, but again it overheated. Repeat stop immediately/tow to shop. Air was getting into the coolant system and it needed to be bled again. But it continued to pass a hydrocarbon test, pressure test, and had no coolant leaks. One month later, the 3rd overheat/pull over/tow to the shop. This time, it failed the hydrocarbon test it had passed previously. The Atlantic British licensed shop believes it’s likely the previous owner drove it while overheated, blew the heads, then put a sealant into the coolant system to seal the issue so they could sell the vehicle. Over time, the sealant weakened and finally gave out. New engine becomes my issue.
I have sourced all the pricing for each option, am leaning towards choosing the dealer because I won’t have to worry about going through this again any time soon. Plus it will be like I have a brand new LR4. Am I crazy to consider putting another $30,000 into this vehicle? Please help!!!!
Decision: should I…
1- Have a Land Rover dealer install a brand new or factory reman engine plus a new coolant system for ~$30k installed. This option would have a 2 year parts and labor warranty under any circumstances.
2- Have Tapa (https://text-a-part-auto-jaguar.business.site/?m=true/) install their “Stage 2” engine plus a new coolant system for ~$19,000 installed. This option would have a 1 year limited warranty. The warranty is void if the engine overheats.
3- Try to find a used engine and have my local shop install it for ~$10k all in. No warranty here.
4- Sell the car as a parts donor and move on.
Details: I used to drive an F150 but have always loved the look of the LR4. In my opinion, it strikes the perfect balance between utility and class. It looks just as good in the Cotswolds as it does off-roading in the Mojave. We live in Oregon and often take our vehicles through heavy snow or on gravel trails but I’m not an off-roading hobbyist. Last year I began looking for a 2013 LR4 HSE LUX. I found my car at a used car dealership in CA, was aware it had a new radiator installed 14 months earlier, but a Land Rover dealer did an inspection and said the vehicle was in good shape. Unfortunately, the first time I took the LR4 on a trip longer than 30 minutes, it overheated. I immediately pulled to the side of the road, it was towed to the Atlantic British licensed shop in town and the thermostat was replaced. This fixed the issue for 3 months, but again it overheated. Repeat stop immediately/tow to shop. Air was getting into the coolant system and it needed to be bled again. But it continued to pass a hydrocarbon test, pressure test, and had no coolant leaks. One month later, the 3rd overheat/pull over/tow to the shop. This time, it failed the hydrocarbon test it had passed previously. The Atlantic British licensed shop believes it’s likely the previous owner drove it while overheated, blew the heads, then put a sealant into the coolant system to seal the issue so they could sell the vehicle. Over time, the sealant weakened and finally gave out. New engine becomes my issue.
I have sourced all the pricing for each option, am leaning towards choosing the dealer because I won’t have to worry about going through this again any time soon. Plus it will be like I have a brand new LR4. Am I crazy to consider putting another $30,000 into this vehicle? Please help!!!!
Attachments
Last edited: