Hi, have been a visitor to this forum for a while and have now finally decided to take the plunge and post a message! I am thinking about purchasing a RRS TDV8 although to be very honest it is actually for my wife! We were looking at the Audi Q7 but then went on a LR test drive day - we drove the Discovery, RRS TDV6 and the RRS TDV8 and not surprisingly my wife said she preferred the TDV8! Audi let us have a Q7 for the weekend, LR dealer at the test day said we could only have the TDV8 for a maximum of 1 hour (at another time after the test day) and only if we agreed to buy it before the test drive! So my questions are: Would you buy the RRS after such a short test drive - or try and find a dealer who is prepared to allow us a decent length test drive? Is the attitude of this dealer standard with LR?! Once we get over that question, the next is shall we buy new or used? In the current financial climate are there deals to be had? Many thanks for any assitance.

SPJ - welcome. You're right praise the Audi dealer for letting you have a 24hr test drive, this is something LR dealers should offer and as far as I know very very few do. The TDV8 is a great car, you have no doubt read owners reviews here and these are unbiased. I would buy a 2nd hand car about 6-9 months old, the market for cars at the moment is depressed and I feel bargains on used cars are available. 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


DO NOT CLICK HERE!

Welcome, spj!

I bought my RRS after only an hour or so at the wheel of another dealer's demo and ended up with a year's problem free motoring out of it. Given that if you cut me open you'd find the BMW logo running through me, it's one of the best cars I've ever owned.

There are definitely bargains to be had out there due to the current climate. Have a chat with forum sponsors, kam100 and James@ Charles Hurst Land Rover (both details in the sponsors page). 

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
2009 'Tech-Head Of The Year' Award - Runner Up

Like it here? Then Donate to RRSPORT!!

Very Annoyed wrote:

SPJ - welcome. You're right praise the Audi dealer for letting you have a 24hr test drive, this is something LR dealers should offer and as far as I know very very few do. The TDV8 is a great car, you have no doubt read owners reviews here and these are unbiased. I would buy a 2nd hand car about 6-9 months old, the market for cars at the moment is depressed and I feel bargains on used cars are available.

Go for the TDV8, I just did and I can not complain, its 8 month old and feels fresh out the showroom in everyway...(well it did till the dog and this shi**y weather kicked in)!

40K will get you everything you need in your TDV8, just less than a year old, side steps and privacy (possibly Hybrid TV if your fortunate enough).

Good luck in your search forget the AUDI.

The TDV8 is just an AMAZING car . The only thing that would make it perfect would be if it didnt sound like a diesel at idle .

Out of curiosity, how easy was it to get a 24 hour test drive out of audi?

If you have tried your local dealer in Kendal try the other one over near Coniston. Gone - 2008 TDV8, Stornoway Grey, ebony, zabrano trim, TV, Tasmods, mudflaps.

Last edited by rrsjo on Tue Jun 03 2008 7:01pm. Edited 1 time in total

Thanks to everyone who has already replied, in answer to the various points (before I forget to answer them!), Audi were fantastic - allowed us a good couple of hours for the first test drive. When we mentioned the space for our two large gundogs was of importance (the dogs were waiting in our other car in the Audi dealers car park) they said to take the Q7 out again with the dogs in it! Not one other dealer (and we have driven most of the RRS competitors) have ever offered this! Audi themselves then offered the weekend test drive as they said it is a lot of money to spend without being totally sure! Its a little sad that the most helpful dealers are unlikely to get the deal as although the Q7 had the most space for the dogs, my wife actually found it too big to drive and particularly lacked visibility compared to the RRS - it helps that the wife can see where she is driving!! We were thinking of trying Coniston LR but wasn't sure if it was RRS territory! Thanks for the new v used info I will get in touch with the site sponsors as you suggest.

LR dont seem to be hit by high stocks at the minute unlike AUDI - there are some massive savings to be had on most 4x4's (AUDI, Merc, VW etc) - LR are just an exception because the overseas demand is so high and they seemingly underproduce

spj wrote:

We were thinking of trying Coniston LR but wasn't sure if it was RRS territory!

I would say depend how long your going to keep the car mate.
Like VA Says, two ways, swap and change or keep long term. Think the day for chopping in/out of the rrs in a short time frame and not losing too much cash has long gone, but used ones are really beggining to look like bargains.

Saying that though, if you do opt to buy a new RRS, it will perform immediately better then any of the competitor vehicles, such as a Merc ML, Audi Q7, Merc GL or any other 4x4 you can think of. So it depends on how much your willing to 'spend' on the car over a year period/how long you are going to keep it. I am a swapper and changer and im the first to admitt that i play the residual game, but its not possible in todays market place to get in/out of brand new cars without losing a whack, so im playing the long ball game myself, and bought a 7 series which had lost a chunk in a very short space of time.

If you need any market information/future residuals to help make up your mind, i'd be happy to assist, whether your buying for cash/looking for finance on it, also advisable to take out full invoice gap insurance on your purchase, and not pay silly dealer rates for it, we can sort this out as a stand alone product for you after you've purchased if you would like to get it in place.

We have access to bank CAP guide valuations, which all the major finance houses work off, so you can get a good idea of whats likely to retain value the best and worst over the course of your desired ownership term. Percentage wise the rrs is still performing better then others as i've stated, but i would personally buy a used TDV8 and keep it a couple of years, but we have other outside factors to consider now as the government poses more threat to 4x4 ownership then ever before with the rising rates/fees, so its a tricky market place right now.

My email is: kam@mhasnain.co.uk

I had a ten minute test drive in the Sport Supercharged when it came out. I had made up my mind after about 400 yards up the road, as soon as I heard the V8 whine of the supercharger, I was hooked.

I bought brand new and now regret that move, simply cos I was the one who took the big hit on the car. I had it for 18 months, did about 32K in it and the value dropped £20K. Ouch.

I would go with Kam's advice, buy 2nd hand, let someone else take the initial hit. Buy wiser! That's what I am hopefully going to be doing next (watch this space)

Adam L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

RRUK are you coming back to the RRS? 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


DO NOT CLICK HERE!

You'll see.....very soon...if not already L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

We were offered only about 10 - 20 mins accompanied test drive, but that was the same as BMW and Merc.

Although RRS lacked the poke of the other two, it only really took that 10 min drive to decide.

Like buying a house, I believe you just know when it feels right.  Runner up - 2009 Best Avatar Award
Joint runner up - 2009 Outstanding Contribution Award
WINNER - 2008 ‘Best Thread’ Award – Beautiful Women Of The World
Runner Up - 2008 Comedian Of The Year Award
Runner Up - 2008’s Funniest Incident

06 RRS TDV6 HSE, Java/Ebony, PTI, Running Boards, Privacy, S/C Grille/Vents, Stormers, Tasmods - GONE - (