Hello All

Been driving a Ford Ranger (leased) and it’s time to change vehicles , new and used market is terrible at the moment and lease market is just as bad.

Was thinking about buying an old high mileage RR sport for around 5k (i only do about 5k miles a yearj until the market settles down again (if it ever does)

Have always loved range rovers but couldnt afford a new , my rational is buy an old one for 5k add 10k miles on over two years if it last that long sell it on and if nothing major happens it will probably cost no more than my current lease payments

Is this a terrible idea ?

Any advice

Cheers
Toby

Is it a terrible idea? Not necessarily.

Is it a potential money-pit of an idea? Oh, yes!

Finding a £5k RRS that has been well looked after all the way through will be tricky - they're expensive things to maintain/fix and so stuff doesn't get done as they get to that sort of price point. Which means there's potential for bills that very quickly end up being the same as the purchase price.

If you're prepared to take your time and not fall for the first one you see (a common failing amongst us all at times) then you could find a hidden gem. But make sure you've got a decent bit of spare change tucked away for bills: you can easily spend a grand on fixing one issue.

You say you don't do many miles - do you do short journeys or do you just do very few trips but each is a decent run? These things do not like being used for lots of short trips, so if that's your proposed use, it may not be the car for you.

Having said that, if you find a hidden gem, you'll love it - they're great vehicles when they're working properly. And looked after, they can be as reliable as anything else, even if they do have a reputation (partly fairly earned) for being unreliable.

Go for an original (not "upgraded" or "pimped" or whatever, no big wheels (20s are the biggest fitted by LR)), etc., with as few owners as possible. Full history is a must - and they should be serviced annually even if hardly driven (it's annually or at a certain mileage interval whichever comes first). So someone that drives 5k miles a year and only services at mileage intervals will have far too few services done. Getting something in original condition/spec means someone that is boring and thus more likely to have done the important stuff when it needed doing (someone like me, in fact ). 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Thanks good advice

I do about 10 miles a day to work and then maybe another 20-30 miles a week on top that

I have been looking at mot history and checking that advisories are sorted , ideally would like something with a new clean MOT and a good service record.

I spend about 4.5k a year on a lease , At 5k if it went horrible wrong it wouldnt be the end of the world and if it lasted 2 years without any major issues would be a bonus , only really see it as stop gap before I get another lease or buy something newer. However don’t really want the hassle of not knowing if I’m going to get somewhere without breaking down

The reality is that a £5k RRS is at the end of its run. It's at a value where many will consider it to be not worth fixing things properly (or even at all). So there is a real risk of buying something that throws up a decent-sized bill fairly soon after purchase.

Remember, these things started out as premium vehicles with an original price to match. A £5k RRS today is the same as a £1k Ford Fiesta, in effect. The difference being that the Fiesta can be fixed just about anywhere and for just a few beer tokens. The RRS really needs to be taken to someone who knows what they're doing with them - lots of normal garages haven't the first idea how to deal with some of the issues or, if they do, don't want the hassle of doing and then explaining to the customer why the bill is so big.

Some things require the body to lifted from the chassis. This isn't the big scary thing that some believe - the vehicle was designed to be taken apart - but most non-LR specialist garages simple won't do it.

End of the day, the worst case is you scrap it and write off £5k. But if you look on the forum you'll find threads where people have ended up chasing an issue and spending money simply because the car has got under their skin - if you fall for the charms of these things, they can do that to you.

I sold my previous RRS for £5k 5 years ago. I had a folder full of history and it had wanted for nothing. It had c.175k miles on it. The local chap that bought it lasted about 18 months and then sold it on. Even though the major oily stuff was all good, it needed things doing to it (suspension arms, dampers, etc.) that made it uneconomic for him. And that's the reality of a £5k RRS. I see it now has a private reg number and is still going. Interesting to see that the recorded mileage went from 204,523 in 2021 to 103,864 in 2022 (according to the MOT checker).

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying don't do it, but do go in with your eyes fully open - these things can eat money even when they are well looked after. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Yep excellent advise

I’ll mull it over and see how brave I’m feeling

Just to add to what RRSTDV8 said, my story is that 7 years ago I spotted my RRS on the forecourt of a Saab (?) dealership. Once round the block and I was hooked. Bought it with 3 years warranty (fortunately). Summary of spend to date:
Maintenance = £3289
Service/Repairs/Replacements = £7657
Faults = £4068
TOTAL = £15014
The warranty covered £2318 of that. Warranty company has now gone bust!
Most of the issues arose in the first 2 years of motoring and it's been much more settled recently.
It needs to go in for a fix to the diesel preheater soon as that's playing up...
Then (for me - TDV8) the road tax is at the top end so I've paid £3985 so far
Carwow or someone tells me its worth about £2500!

I tend to get things fixed even if they're not essential. My argument is that if I'm going pay to have a car like the RRS then even if I am not using them day to day (e.g. raising and lowering of the suspension height), when I need them they should be available to me. This car is my hobby and it pays back by being great to drive and great to look at across the car park.

So, as RRSTDV8 says, be very careful buying one if you can. There must be some good well maintained ones out there (like mine) but the owners, if they've been paying out the cash to keep them going, won't get their money back if they sell, so they just keep them. Robin
2008 Range Rover Sport TDV8
Gone:
Jaguar S-Type V8 4.2 Sport
MGZTT 190 2.5

And just to echo what Eaters and RRSTDV8 have said. Maintenance is key and condition of the car is king over mileage/age. You must budget for this as things will wear out and things will break. All Land Rovers I think are viewed as needy and unreliable but these are ones that have been run on a shoe string budget for someone who wants the look. Once realised, the ownership is relatively quickly changed.

I've got every receipt since purchasing the car 7 years ago, but I don't know the numbers. I feel it's reasonable considering the complexity of the car. Comfort does it for us, and these cars become keepers for a long time, and the indie I use says also says so.

Good luck. 2006 2.7 TDV6 HSE in Cairns Blue.

Last edited by Stevepd on Sat Jul 15 2023 6:39am. Edited 4 times in total

I'd rather a full history (that's a folder not a few stamps in the book) at 100k miles than a 50k miles "low mileage example".

History is everything. To be frank, at £5k, buy from a private seller with a folder full of receipts versus a garage with a book of stamps. Yes, the law gives protection if buying via a garage, but... 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed