LR4 as a College Car.

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Zinhead

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I am an original owner of a 2011 LR4 with 120,000 miles. I have kept up with the maintenance religiously, with oil changes every 5,000 miles, and regular fluid changes on the transmission, transfer case and differentials. I had the timing chain, tensioners and cooling system redone at 105,000 miles, and the vehicle is in good shape mechanically. Overall, it has been very reliable, with the only non-maintenance repairs being two dead alternators, a frozen electric parking brake and worn front a-arm bushings. It doesn't burn oil or consume any fluids.

It has been a third car for a couple of year now, and we have kept it around for one of my kids to take to college. The first two didn’t need a car, and the last one is leaving in a month, but she will be more than 2,000 miles away on another coast. At college, it would not be a daily driver, but would be used a couple of times month for grocery shopping or when the parents visit so they don’t have to rent a car.

My question to the board is would you trust an older LR4 to a college aged kid with minimal mechanical skills? If the car was a couple hours away, I would not have an issue, but the 2,000 mile distance is giving me some grief.
 

jlach993

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As with any car, a “non car head” college kid would most likely be in some weird predicament that requires your attention, money, and/or travel to retrieve such vehicle if it is inoperable. It’s a 105k 2011 (same as mine)….may be solid as gold or a diamond in the rough. Who knows?

A college kid that is a “car head” would investigate any problems, source cheap availability for parts if needed, and/or perform repairs needed either by themselves or a decent priced shop which was religiously vetted by themselves.

You need to ask yourself what type of a “car” person your kid is haha. If it’s the first i’d just be prepared, because the LR4 ain’t a jump in and drive vehicle ALL THE TIME. It does require some extra due diligence in regards to hear, see, touch, smell, and maybe taste if you swallow some coolant or oil? If your kid knows his/her way around cars, they should be fine and seek enjoyment out of that LR4. I had issues during my college years with my 2011 LR4 ranging from a stuck gear shifter linkage that threw the tranny into a permanent NEUTRAL on the George Washington Bridge AT 7:30 pm traffic, and to the vehicle not starting due to an electrical issue caused by exposed wires that rusted in the truck…LONG story. ANYWAYS that’s on top of coolant pipes exploding on me doing 80mph on the FDR drive and total vehicle power failure on the southern state parkway due to a faulty alternator. I survived all of those incidents due to being a car person and keeping into the loop of things in regards to the LR4 and their quirks & features. I also graduated with my BS in Finance and later completed my MBA…..again, what kind of kid do you have?
 
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ktm525

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Why not? Built like a tank and not worth a whole lot. Make sure it has a fresh battery and good to go.
 

ftillier

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Yep, fresh battery was the thing that jumped to mind if it's going to sit parked for a while. Other than that, it might be worth sending an iid tool with it so you can help diagnose things, and I'd line up a reputable Indy shop in case repairs are needed.
 

Aboshi

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I agree with @jlach993
As long as your kid can spot problems as they come up, and either fix them by themselves, or get a decent priced shop that know what they are doing they will be fine. BUT I can tell you right now if they are coming up to the NE salt belt that they will have to really keep on top of issues as they pop up, and the issues will start within a year of being up here. I have had in the last 10 years 2 LR3’s, 3 2010-2013 full size range rovers, 2 2010 LR4’s and currently down to only 1 2010 LR4. I picked up this last LR4 4 years ago with 115k on it and within 2 years in NY back left brake line rotted through losing all braking power (this happened on every LR I owned up here) then the air blocks went, after a few months both front air shocks. Then the battery and alternator went, About a year later both rear air shocks. Then the serpentine went when my wife was driving. Now the fan clutch is starting to make noise, and the kicker was this past winter the solid lines for the rear heater rotted and was leaking antifreeze (fix take down spare tire, cut the rotted line and replace with rubber hose) oh and the latest saga at the beginning of August (TPMS fault) checked all tires turns out the spare tire is rotted through in multiple spots… and for the very last trick the NE loves to pull is frame rotting away. My frame was immaculate and undercoated, 4 years later I have rust flaking off from all of the control arms, spare tire area and other nooks and crannies (should really have it under coated every 2 years so totally my fault) but non the less can still happen fast up here. So in the end moral of the story is make SURE your kid is somewhat educated on what can possibly go wrong with these trucks and jump on the issues immediately and they will be totally fine.
Good luck and I hope they enjoy the collage experience
 

mm3846

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The salt kills everything here. My truck came from Colorado and it gets sprayed with fluidfilm twice a year. Once before winter, once before summer for beach season. It's my first rust-free car and I plan on keeping it that way.
 

ktm525

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o
I agree with @jlach993
As long as your kid can spot problems as they come up, and either fix them by themselves, or get a decent priced shop that know what they are doing they will be fine. BUT I can tell you right now if they are coming up to the NE salt belt that they will have to really keep on top of issues as they pop up, and the issues will start within a year of being up here. I have had in the last 10 years 2 LR3’s, 3 2010-2013 full size range rovers, 2 2010 LR4’s and currently down to only 1 2010 LR4. I picked up this last LR4 4 years ago with 115k on it and within 2 years in NY back left brake line rotted through losing all braking power (this happened on every LR I owned up here) then the air blocks went, after a few months both front air shocks. Then the battery and alternator went, About a year later both rear air shocks. Then the serpentine went when my wife was driving. Now the fan clutch is starting to make noise, and the kicker was this past winter the solid lines for the rear heater rotted and was leaking antifreeze (fix take down spare tire, cut the rotted line and replace with rubber hose) oh and the latest saga at the beginning of August (TPMS fault) checked all tires turns out the spare tire is rotted through in multiple spots… and for the very last trick the NE loves to pull is frame rotting away. My frame was immaculate and undercoated, 4 years later I have rust flaking off from all of the control arms, spare tire area and other nooks and crannies (should really have it under coated every 2 years so totally my fault) but non the less can still happen fast up here. So in the end moral of the story is make SURE your kid is somewhat educated on what can possibly go wrong with these trucks and jump on the issues immediately and they will be totally fine.
Good luck and I hope they enjoy the collage experience

Another happy Land Rover customer experience ...
 

Zinhead

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Thanks for the responses. The kids are smart and responsible, but definitely are not car people. One of the reasons it has been so reliable is that I can spot problems before they get serious, but can't do that from a half continent away. They can't, and have no inclination to learn.
 

ftillier

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For the infrequent use, it might just be more cost effective to call a taxi or Uber for grocery shopping, and rent a car when you go visit.
 

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