Hi guys,

As per the subject, I've decided to take the plunge and buy my first ever RRS.

Looking for Some advice on what to look out for etc, I will have £16k to spend or perhaps £17.5k if I trade in my other halfs motor so open to private Vs trade.

I will only consider Diesel and Automatic so looking to You guys for Some support and guidance on what to look for and perhaps some places to look at.

I live in Essex but do travel north quite a bit so open to options.

Over to you

You will get a decent 2007/2008 TDV8 under 70k miles for that sort of money. Make sure its got a full LR dealer history. Current - 2020 Range Rover Sport P400e
Gone - 2014 Range Rover Sport HSE SDV6
Gone - 2017 Audi A8 Sport
Gone - 2007 Range Rover Sport HSE TDV8 - Great car.

M4RK

Before you do anything, spend some time on here and do some good searching. It will help you. If you did some research you would know that there is no such thing as a manual RRS. You must gain some knowledge before you buy or you will be a salesman's dream and could get stuck with a bad one.

Have some money up your sleeve for repairs, you will need it as wear and tear items need to be replaced. When they are good, RRSs are brilliant, when they are not, they came easily cost you a couple of grand in one hit.

sterling01 wrote:

You will get a decent 2007/2008 TDV8 under 70k miles for that sort of money. Make sure its got a full LR dealer history.

Hi BKHK,

Thanks for replying. It's exactly the reason I've joined the forum, best way to learn and gain help in avoiding buying wrong.

As above, ideally looking for a 2008 with no more than 80k on the clock.

Hoping people can guide me and offer valuable advice on what to look for, i.e full LR service history, new belts, etc.

I don't want to buy something at top end of budget then find I need to spend 1-2k on sorting out issues.

Cheers

BKHK wrote:

M4RK

Before you do anything, spend some time on here and do some good searching. It will help you. If you did some research you would know that there is no such thing as a manual RRS. You must gain some knowledge before you buy or you will be a salesman's dream and could get stuck with a bad one.

Have some money up your sleeve for repairs, you will need it as wear and tear items need to be replaced. When they are good, RRSs are brilliant, when they are not, they came easily cost you a couple of grand in one hit.

Don't trade in the other half's motor - a spare car is essential if you own an RRS. 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

Hi Paddi,

A friend of mine had a RRS (96) some time ago and he has said pretty much the same as you as his was forever letting him down although, he did buy it knowing there was no service history etc.

Is the reliably that bad in general or dependant on service history?

Cheers

Who was your friend - Doctor Who? The earliest Range Rover Sports are 2005.

I may be lucky but my RRS has yet to let me down on the road - had the usual issues with antiroll bar bushes, differential and suspension compressor and air leaks though.

Independents generally don't have loan cars and even Land Rover franchises often can't/won't supply a loan car but will happily charge to rent you one (watch out for this as you probably aren't insured).

I do a lot of my own maintenance and even then it is handy to have a spare car or two to use for work and fetch parts.

There is nothing so miserable as lying under a car in the cold, dark and rain late on a Sunday night trying to fix it so you can go to work on Monday morning.

As you mentioned the TDV8 as being of interest you have probably heard the stories about the turbocharger failure that occurs without warning and causes catastrophic engine failure with a consequent £10k plus bill.

So far as we can establish this type of failure is the automotive equivalent of a stroke.

Sludge builds up in the engine oil (silent ischaemia) and eventually blocks the oil pipes that scavenge the oil away from the turbos. Meanwhile, oil is still being pumped into the turbos via the oil feed pipes. Having nowhere else to go the oil under pressure forces its way past and blows the turbo oil seals hence finding its way into the compressor side of the turbo from where it is ingested into the engine via the inlet valves, fills up the cylinders and hello hydraulic lock, bent or broken con rods, smashed pistons and a trashed engine.

There are other failure modes but this is the worst one.

Personally I think a lot of the cause has to do with a ridiculously too long oil change interval recommended by Land Rover. They say 15,000 miles but that is far far too long and should be no more than 7,000.

Again a personal opinion but another cause is sloppy garage practice when changing the oil. Not warning up the engine properly before draining, only removing one sump plug (ignoring the one that drains the turbo oil feeds). Worse still, only sucking out oil through the dipstick hole and not draining it at all. Not using the correct specification of oil, not using a OE filter, not fitting the filter properly.

Another favourite is charging you for chucking in a can of so -called 'oil flush' before changing the oil and telling you it helps to clean out the engine. This is complete rubbish and you won't find a qualified automotive engineer who supports the practice. It may make matters worse by mobilising sludge that is happily residing in the sump and sending it round the engine. This junk is just a strong detergent and even after draining there will be some residual detergent to reduce the lubricating properties of the new oil. It has its supporters but then so do homeopathy and burning witches.

There is no guarantee that even if you avoid all the above all will always be well but frequent oil changes carried out correctly ought to help reduce the chances of the big bang. 2008 MY Java Black TDV8 HSE

So basically, buy a Prius

I really appreciate the info, I'm off out tomorrow to have a look at a 2008 in Potters Bar, so lots of questions and scrutiny of the service history and MOT's.

This will be the first I have test driven therefore are there any tell tale signs to look out or listen for that may indicate potential problems later down the line?

Cheers

P.S my mate looks like doctor who but that's about it, a typo on my behalf, I was supposed to type 06 lol

Another question for you guys.

After looking at a 2008 RRS yesterday I wasn't impressed with the service history, different garage stamps which all seemed to align with the mileage but NO receipts to support the service history.

I am going to look at a 2007 later today which has FDSH and lots of receipts for works completed and any upgrades, it also has lower mileage than the 08 so!!!!!!

Both are being sold at same price therefore are there any differences other than the age between a 07 & 08?

Thanks

And another.

When looking at tyres on the vehicles, are there any to avoid, cheap makes etc as that might indicate the vehicle has perhaps not been best maintained??

I don't think there was any difference between 07 and 08. 09 had the body coloured tailgate finisher at the bottom, a new light interior trim colour and a change to all matching carpet colour. But, I would haggle hard anyway if I were you.

Not living in the UK for the last 22 years, I can't comment on tyre brands but apparently there are cheap Chinese brands which show someone has skimped on the maintenance costs. My 08 came with Dunlop and my 09 with Michelin (different wheel sizes) if I remember. I did 20k miles on the Michelins and they showed hardly any wear which was amazing for such a big heavy car and I don't drive like a Nanna

If you can, drive it over cobbles or a badly maintained road with pot-holes. From that you can tell if the suspension is knocking, which could be a number of things but usually end up with bill£.

You will get this with such a heavy car over time but could be used for bargaining or getting it fixed before purchase, so might as well.