Hi All,

New user here, and I'm sure this must have been asked a million times before, but I couldn't quite find an answer.

I've owned a couple of F-Types in the past, so I'm familiar with JLR stuff and to some degree the cost of ownership.
I'm looking to buy a L494 RRS. It's at the very low end of the price bracket and so has done a decent amount of miles (115k). The general condition of the car is excellent so it appears to have been well looked after, though it might be missing the history of having a cambelt change and possibly it's most recent service.

Does anyone have any experience of the 3L diesel at these kind of mileages?
Are they really as bad as everyone says they are? Will it explode into tiny bits the day I get it home, or is it just the internet rumour mill?

I guess what I'm asking is, would I be stupid to even consider one at this mileage? It's up for around the £15k mark.

Matt

L494 SDV6 dynamic MY2014, just under 275K, it's had inlet manifolds and an alternator. Normal wear and tear items, probably 6 sets of discs all round and 12 sets of pads. Rear AC pipes went about 2 years ago, but that's an age related thing rather than mileage.

I've owned it from new and it's been a daily up and down from the Midlands to London until a couple of years ago when I gave it to the Mrs as I bought an L405 SDV8, 150k on that and it spun it's big ends.

The engine does have a reputation for snapping the crank but it's realistically not as common as internet forums make it appear. Yes, it happens, but when one considers the number of V6 diesels that LR have sold over the years, it's really not that common an issue. The majority of L494 are V6 diesels and LR were selling 50k a year of them, and plenty more in the L320 before that (not forgetting the Discos and FFRR that also had the same engine). So you can see that the numbers are in your favour in terms of crank issues.

At 115k, unless I was 100% sure the belts had been done, I'd be getting them done straight away. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, from what I can tell the rumours are probably a bit overblown regarding the crank snapping.
Well, I hope they are as I've just put a deposit on one!

I've budgeted for the the belts to be replaced at a local specialist, and I'll be getting the engine oil changed each year regardless of mileage anyway.
The general condition of the car is excellent, so I'd be somewhat surprised if it really did miss the cambelt change, but 'belt' and braces, I'll get it done regardless.

Matt

Oil change is annual anyway. Service intervals are mileage OR time, whichever is first. Far too many LRs out there with so-called "FLRSH" but are actually short of services.

X miles or 12 months, whichever is sooner. That's the system. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Timing belt should have been done at 7 years. Have you checked the online service history for it?

Lot of car for £15K. 115K miles isn’t a lot in my book

I'd agree on the crank - does it have a towbar? This engine is worse in LR than other products and that's almost certainly due to weight and stress - such as towing - so if the car hasn't towed, points towards better chances. Then as with all such things - maintenance is king so check for a thorough service history. These engines don't like skipped oil changes.

I had the V6 in my Jag. Just traded it in for my new L494 after 11 years and 127k of of trouble free motoring. Trouble free until the aircon compressor needed attention and the manifolds went. Well worth repairing if I intended to keep the car but I'd already decided the first big bill and I was moving her on. Still a fabulous and incredibly reliable engine up to that point.