Thinking of moving on from LR4...

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portlandlife

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Blake - Do you think you did anything to maintain that timing chain and timing chain tensioner? I'm curious especially given your 233k successful miles. Religious oil changes? Did you do engine flushes? Do you warm up your car at all before starting to drive? I'm a new Rover HSE 5.0 owner and the timing chain is the only thing that keeps up at night with my Rover. It's not a daily driver for me and I do love it.
 

94speedster

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Thanks for the info on the timing tensioners. Tensioner failure is not the black/white issue it first appears to be. Some very high mileage vehicles on originals when the general wisdom is ALL 2010-2012 tensioners fail early...

Happy trails with whatever you end up with.
I am a car guy and have spent thousands of hours on chat boards over the last 25+ years.... I've learned that most of the *alarmists* are absolutely correct that there is an issue to explore, but more often than not the issue is an exception and not the general rule... Check out "oil threads" on any forum, and it ends up being unintelligible as to what you should do! All in, this has been a great car - but has had some quirks. But no quirks that would prevent me from sticking with the brand. I think that I will always love these vehicles.
 

94speedster

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Blake - Do you think you did anything to maintain that timing chain and timing chain tensioner? I'm curious especially given your 233k successful miles. Religious oil changes? Did you do engine flushes? Do you warm up your car at all before starting to drive? I'm a new Rover HSE 5.0 owner and the timing chain is the only thing that keeps up at night with my Rover. It's not a daily driver for me and I do love it.
I just do routine (by the book) maintenance, earlier in its life with a dealer and then eventually a trusted independent. After start-up, I let the car the car find idle (10-20 seconds?) before putting it in gear - but that is just superstition on my part. I recommend not worrying too much about the risk! Personally, I have owned a lot of cars over the past 25+ years that the message boards have said "have issues". I have yet to have any of those *catastrophic* issues across 12+ cars (mostly Rovers, BMWs & Porsches). Enjoy your HSE!
 

johnnwalters

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Blake, I had 238,000 miles on mine which was a 2010 LR4 HSE LUX. I had to give it up when I had the beginning of a head gasket issue and I knew that the cost to fix it at the "stealership" would be close to $20K. With the value of the vehicle at close to what CarMax is offering you, I couldn't justify the expense to make that repair any any future repairs to come. Good luck with your decision.
 

PaulLR3

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That SCV8 Defender does sound amazing! I can't wait to drive it!
Just keep in mind the V8 Defender is primarily an on-road vehicle. 22" wheels, no roof rails and reduced weight load capacity. Test drive a P400 too, it's quicker than an LR4 V8, has a subtle growl and gets 22 mpg highway.
 

doc5339

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Get the L663 Defender and don't look back. I was looking for a 2012+ V8 HD (almost impossible to find) and remembered the timing chain/tensioners/crossover pipe/water pump etc. from my FFRR 5.0 L322.

Owning a Land Rover with the factory warranty is definitely the way to go. I would be looking at the SCV8 Defender as well, but could not rationalize changing the braking system so I could fit 18" wheels.
 

AdventureTim

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Owning a Land Rover with the factory warranty is definitely the way to go.
+1 to that. I have the factory extended warranty on my '15 LR4 that expires in the middle of next year, and I haven't figured out where to go from there. I've had a number of "minor" issues come up on my LR4 that Land Rover have spent thousands fixing at their cost -- I shudder at the thought of shouldering that cost myself.

The New Defender is currently at the top of my list but the reduced rear loadspace capacity and opening is a big issue for me -- my drawers and fridge slide only just squeeze into the width of the LR4. I looked at the LC200 but the design and interior is extremely disappointing coming from the LR -- it feels like a 15 year old car.
 

PaulLR3

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+1 to that. I have the factory extended warranty on my '15 LR4 that expires in the middle of next year, and I haven't figured out where to go from there. I've had a number of "minor" issues come up on my LR4 that Land Rover have spent thousands fixing at their cost -- I shudder at the thought of shouldering that cost myself.

The New Defender is currently at the top of my list but the reduced rear loadspace capacity and opening is a big issue for me -- my drawers and fridge slide only just squeeze into the width of the LR4. I looked at the LC200 but the design and interior is extremely disappointing coming from the LR -- it feels like a 15 year old car.

+2 to that. I just added up my LR4 repair receipts from when the CPO warranty expired at 100K miles to the current 132,000 miles...$20,100 total. Average repair was around $2500 with the biggest event around $4000. (leaking valve cover gasket and timing chain cover that killed the alternator then the battery. Added new crossover pipe to that repair as well)

New Defender 110 has more front and rear leg room than an LR4 but the load space is small. I am already thinking I will order a 130 when it becomes available.
 
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94speedster

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Thanks so much for the great thoughts guys, and my apologies for taking so long to respond...

I ended up buying a 2018 Range Rover Sport Td6 (certified) and turned in the LR4 to a local Carmax for $3,800 cash. Definitely miss the LR4 already - such a workhorse, and a true member of our family!

I've already put 2.5k miles on the RRS. On one 1,000 mile trip continuous driving trip (yesterday actually), I averaged 28.4 mpg at 78mph. The diesel is perfect, and meets my needs of a DD/toy puller. I get my adrenaline fix from my track-ready GT3s (one PDK and one manual), so no need for anything crazy with the street SUV.

Of note, USED CAR PRICES are insane right now for mid to high end cars! I'd say that most of the Rovers are $10K above fair market value, and it has been that way since April (tax refunds?). I wanted to buy another RR Td6, but that would have put me about $10-15k above my budget...

Enjoy your LR4. It's my favorite Rover of all time. Wish the Disco 5 wasn't such a departure from the "spartan" roots.

-B
 

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