Hello all,

Thank you for this amazing forum, I think it covers pretty much everything!

I have wanted a RRS forever and its actually looking like it might be possible now - have a pregnant GF so can justify swapping the two seater for a more family car, lets gloss over the reliability issues on that one...

I have been looking around and my budget (around £28-£30k) seems to buy about a 2017 with approx 60,000 miles.

There appear to be two main options of engine SD4 (although there appear to be very few of these) and SDV6 (the majority). I have read that the SD4 was/is fairly unpopular and probably quite slow in RRS terms? But am I missing something in that the SDV6 has the crank shaft issue (is that prevalent across all years?) and the SD4 may be slower but more reliable?

I live in London and will do mostly town driving with some motorway bursts, is this likely to cause a lot of problems with the diesel engines?

It seems around the 16/66/67 there was a change in infotainment screens and I assume the newer version is better?

I am also thinking it is best to aim for a main dealer at this sort of price, and possibly extend the warranty beyond year one when the chance arises.

Apologies for all the questions and thank you in advance for the help

Thanks

Luke

I’ve driven a few cars with the 2 litre diesels and whilst they are ultimately not far off the mark at the useable top end, it’s how it gets there. The 3 litre is so relaxed and effortless, whilst the 2 litre is a lot more frantic.

There is a problem with the 3 litre and snapping cranks but this is a relatively low number, but get a decent warranty and relax.

Personally I’d go a year older and get a lower mileage, be careful as well with the tax change, I think at the end of April 2017 it changed by a couple of hundred quid a year, Joined the X5 45e club
1994 Defender 90 300 tdi

That makes sense and seems aligned with what else I have read, also the constant straining of that probably doesn't do much good for the engine. Better to have too much power you don't use I would guess.

Are there warranties that will protect against the crank issue?

I have to be careful year wise as it must be ULEZ (Euro 6) due to where I drive (and I do prefer the styling)

You can go right back to a model year 2015, mine has a DPF but not Adblue, they referred to it a as EU5.5? . Before I bought it I checked on the London ULEZ website and it was compliant. The model year 2016 also has adblue and is EU6 so therefore completely ok.

The styling is the facelift, nothing to do with EU

Warranty direct seem to be the company most likely to cover the crankshaft failure, I have arranged to carry on for 3 years after my approved used finishes at just over £2k. That isn’t total warranty but core and suspension (whatever that was called). I thought that was ok for what will be a car at 9 years old and around 100k miles when it finishes Joined the X5 45e club
1994 Defender 90 300 tdi

Thats excellent to know - and certainly widens the options. Is the infotainment (main screen I'm thinking here) much different between 15 and 16, it seems to change design around then - one with buttons on side to one with touchscreen along the bottom?

Good to know about the facelift too, I thought the facelift and it changing over to EU6 coincided with another.

That does seem pretty good, around £50/month for peace of mind seems a bargain in fact!

The infotainment changed at MY 16, around sept 2015.

WD take full payment over the first 10 months (or all up front) regardless of time it’s taken out for. But you can organise up to a year before you need it with only a £25 deposit, that’s what I have done to continue straight on from approved used warranty. Joined the X5 45e club
1994 Defender 90 300 tdi

Thank you - that is good to know, appreciating all the help on this.

If anyone sees anything that might be suitable then do let me know!

What would anyone think to this?

Too high mileage?

https://used.landrover.co.uk/search?_ga=2....ls/3008395

Any feedback would be great

My personal thoughts, a lot will depend how many miles you normally do a year, if it’s well under 10k then maybe it’s ok, for me I went slightly older but less miles, you would maybe get a better spec as well. Joined the X5 45e club
1994 Defender 90 300 tdi

Thank you, the mileage does worry me a bit but thought good to get some feedback

Is HSE not that high on the spec list, what do you think would be the minimum spec? Or what would you miss owning HSE?

HSE is bottom, then HSE Dynamic, Autobigraphy and SVR sits there somewhere.

My two must haves after sitting in the three Specs side by side were glass roof (not necessarily sliding/opening) and heated steering wheel. All three were about the same price, just 4 or 5 months difference in age. Joined the X5 45e club
1994 Defender 90 300 tdi