I have been left with a bit of a dilemma. With great regret my dad passed away on Friday night, which understandably has left a massive hole in our lives. He had a 2005 2.7 sport, and my mom wants me to have it as that's what my dad wanted. I currently have a 2003 discovery 2, and have had it for 8 years. Believe it or not for a land rover it is extremely reliable and currently has 134000 miles on it. It is now showing its age bodily though. The sport is in amazing condition and now has 93000 miles on it, and in the 4 years has covered only 1000 miles a year. It has had cam belts in 2015, new uprated compressor, front bushes, rear disks, pads and hand brake shoes, alternator, battery and rear door lock. If I have it it would immediately go for a gearbox mega flush and a new screen as it does need one and I think the passenger side blend motor has gone, but I can do this myself.
My question is how reliable are these as it really hasn't done many miles while with my dad, I would like it but don't really want to be hit with one bill after another, especially when my d2 is so reliable. I cant afford to keep both, and the fact that the sport was my dads can cloud my judgement at the moment. I personally cover around 4000 miles a year and I suppose really I am looking for some reassurance that its not going to bankrupt me.
Sorry for the waffling, a little bit torn on what to do just need to know how reliable they are in the real world, as in forums you only hear when they have problems, not when they don't.

Go for it - belts are done and I am sure it will serve you well. 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

Hi Squizzel, firstly I'm very sorry for your loss. It's early days but things will look brighter in time I'm sure. As to your question, I'm on my second Sport, both being TDV8's so the engine is different but the running gear is broadly similar. Mine have been reliable over 100k miles of ownership with only issues being an alternator, battery, rear ARC bar and usual brake discs. You are right in that we hear more about failures than successes on the forum but that's only natural. I would suspect you will be okay if it has been maintained but expect the usual brake discs and battery (not overly dear) but the alternator is a bit dear especially the hours needed to change (although the 2.7 is less hours than TDV8). Electrics can play up and send weird messages to the dash but very often its just a brake bulb or brake light switch in the footwell that has packed up and cheap to replace. You could consider a warranty but watch the small print and I wonder if there are companies who will give realistically useful cover given the age and mileage - don't pay upwards of £600 per annum for a policy which gives limited cover - keep that money in the bank for a rainy day. Let us know what you chose to do

Sorry for you loss

My TDV6 is now at 135k miles & I've had it for nearly 5 years/40k miles so got mine roughly the same mileage as your Dad's now. Followed the service schedule and in addition to that I've had the compressor done around 95k miles (yours is done) then front/rear ARCs and suspension arms. I did front/rear discs and had both rear callipers replaced. Only "breakdown" has been rear brake pipes corroded/burst and I've just replaced the battery as I was fed up of jump starting it every now & then.

I would say, all in all, a pretty reliable car for the mileage and abuse I've given it (towing, dump runs, dog, house moves, long hard drives)

Thanks for the responses,
This one is an HSE with the dvd players in the headrests and tinted windows ect but it hasn't got the Arc system. I found this out when I got the new alternator and bought the one for the ACE system and had to take it back and swap it. We had already replaced the battery when the alternator went and it took the battery out with it, but the battery was replaced under warranty and still has 3 years left on it. The gearbox flush is a must I think, its the stories about turbos and spun bearings that are a bit scary, but the TD5 has a habit of cracking cylinder heads and the oil pump bolts dropping out, so about the same risk I guess. I am pretty handy with the spanners and the d2 hasn't seen a garage in the 8 years I have had it, these things seem a little more complicated though. We do have a hawkeye diagnostic tool for it though.
I have a few weeks to make a decision.
Thanks for responding.

Maintenance is the key to most things vehicle reliability wise and Range Rovers are no different to a point.
You can spend a lifetime worrying about things that may never happen.
I had the same dilemma when I bought my Defender TD5, I was made aware of the heads cracking, manifolds wharping, oil in the looms, DMF breaking down but in 9 years of ownership it was only the DMF that let me down. At least with your dilemma you know the immediate history of the vehicle Series 3 gone
90 gone
Freelander v6 gone ( thirsty pig )
Defender gone
Ktm 1290 SA (gone)
BMW 1200 GSA

Can't you park your D2 up somewhere with no insurance/tax

No I have no space for the d2 unfortunately, as I would love to keep it. i'me not new to land rovers, just the newer ones don't seem so diy friendly. The last 3 cars I have owned are range rover classic 3.9 v8, p38 4.6 v8 (that nearly cleaned me out), and the d2 TD5. I have always done all the work on them and although the sport has only done 1000 miles a year I have serviced it once a year including fuel filter. I fitted the alternator and the rear passenger door lock actuator, and done a driveshaft gator passenger front. I can do the blend motor (it can't be any worse than the p38) but the rest will have to be done in a specialist. I just don't want a re run of the p38, fix one thing another 3 went wrong, I had 3 engine rebuilds in that, but as I said earlier these don't seem so diy friendly.

You have my sympathy, but cars and emotions don't mix.

I'd suggest you sell it and keep your own car and let the cash be a buffer for future running costs.

If you keep the RRS you'll find yourself 'emotionally locked' to it and should it need repairs it will be harder to stop! As age increases reliability decreases. The 2.7 ain't the best engine around and spare parts are rare (i.e. expensive).

Thanks for all the replies, and condolancies it is really appreciated.
I have come to a decision after long talks with swmbo and my mom. I am going to keep the sport and sell my D2, but if the sport starts to become a problem and cost a lot to keep fixing it will have to go. I had a 4.6p38 surely the sports cant have as many gremlins as that did, I used to fix one problem and another 3 would go wrong. I also had the engine rebuilt twice, loved the car but could never own another one.
First job for this one is a gearbox flush, anyone know if Alltrack 4x4 is any good near Malvern.
Thanks for all you input.

AllTrack have a very good reputation so do these guys but not sure if they have a flush machine
http://www.ultimate4x4specialists.co.uk Visitor from fullfatrr.com
* GONE. 2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Now being piloted by RRSTDV8
* GONE: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* Current. 1974 Lightweight 2.25L petrol. Old skool
* GONE. Freelander GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* GONE. Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

Hi DrRob I don't think they do. They are very good and reasonable priced as we have had work done with them before. In fact they did the cam belts on the sport for my dad. Although they may have got a flush machine since I last spoke to them, a phone call isn't going to hurt as they are a lot closer to me.

Look at it with some cold logic.

First, wait a few weeks before you do anything till you have come to terms with your loss. There is no panic just yet and you have more important stuff to deal with.

But your Dad's car is a bit newer, has had stuff done, it may well go OK. Mine is a similar age and when I first got it it was one bill after another for a couple of months. It seemed to break every week. But the last two years or so have been reasonably trouble free to be fair. Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

Spiffing wheel centre caps available

I'me not changing things over just yet, I have to sell mine yet and I wont do that until after everything has settled, so I am looking at the end of March really to put mine up for sale. I have used the sport to keep it running ok, my dad broke his hip 3 years ago and never drove again, so the 900 miles a year was done by me. I do around 5000 miles a year total. Anything that needed doing even regular servicing was done even though it only did the low miles. when he had it, the jobs that had to be done were, front suspension bushes, new uprated compressor, and tailgate lock. That was September 2012, since then I have fitted rear passenger door lock, Clock spring, Alternator, aircon regas, and a full set of tyres. In a garage it had the cam belts done new disks and pads and EPB shoes, Other than that its been serviced regular (including fuel filter). Jobs to do are Gearbox flush, passenger blend motor, and a new screen. I have a hawk eye diagnostics tool, I have a fault mate for the D2, but its locked to the chassis number of the disco, I have been in touch with black box but to change it over is quite expensive, in fact its cheaper to buy the new hawk eye that fits all the land rover models. It will be ok for what I need.
So I think in all I should be ok with it I don't do high milage and am capable with the spanners, and its had the major jobs done.

My Disco 2 sold today, so I will be changing everything over tomorrow. The sport has been standing now since the middle of January. I had it running a week ago and the battery was low, so it threw up loads of faults but its just down to low power. We have a couple of hospital appointments over the next couple of weeks then its getting booked in for a gearbox mega flush. We just have to see how we get on with it now..