Hi, thought I would share my experience.

I looked at 4 2 at the same dealer this was good to be able to see two at the same time and compare and contrast.

I was initially smitten with a 2013 plate hse sdv6 with the stop start function but i'm glad I went to look at more.

turned out it was a bit of a dog compared with the one I ended up with a 2012 hse sdv6 if the dealer had been a decent salesman I would have bought it and missed out.

My advice is write down your must haves and check it when you are there looking at the car its easy to get caught up in the moment even better idea is create your own little table and mark off important stuff for each car you check that can take some emotion out of it. I'm pleased with my new car but I am missing a few features that I really wanted that I just forgot to even check

on that test drive find a straight bit of road and boot them all you will be amazed at the difference in power and pull from a well maintained one even with higher mileage than one that's been neglected. in a previous life I walked away from 3 freelander 2's with low mileage but poor service history and bought one with much higher millage but the difference in performance was really black and white.

Ed

Last edited by edtzxr on Wed Mar 22 2017 11:31am. Edited 1 time in total

I too looked at 4. I was a bit nerdy and before I visited each dealer wrote up a little spreadsheet about what features/options I wanted, mileage, service history etc as a reminder and also scored each one accordingly. so i had something to compare.

The 1st was a local trader's 2012 SDV6 Red Edition in great condition with a lowish mileage. Nice. Drove well.

The 2nd was a 2013 black edition SDV6 (i think) with very low miles but had not been treated well. lots of internal and external scuffs and scrapes which the trader said they put right but I was put off because it was obviously an unloved car. Thought the split screen TV was great though.

The 3rd was at a distant Alfa main dealer. Another 2012 but an HSE 3.0SDV6 Great looking car, average mileage, full history etc, 1st one with side steps fitted. Didn't get to test it as we couldn't get close to the price I wanted for mine in part exchange. In fact the sales manager told me "if you get offered what you're asking for, snatch it with both hands".

4th one was a trader with a 2012 Autobiography 3.0SDV6 with a little higher mileage than I'd have preferred but in beautiful condition, service history (last 2 services from an unknown (to me) Indy). Loved the 2 tone interior and the extra features like the timed/remote heating, big square twin exhausts, but no split screen TV and he offered me what I wanted in part exchange so it was a done deal. 6 months warranty included.

So far I've done 1500+ miles and am enjoying it. no issues, except learning some LR quirks and a little disappointed by some of the, admittedly detailed, design flaws (rear interior courtesy lights that can't be set to come on with opening doors, dodgy satnav and voice control, inaccurate mpg trip, no mute button, etc). The little bit of off roading I've done confirms it's abilities.

I had my local main dealer do their free but comprehensive health check which came up clean and has boosted my confidence that I made the right decision.

Good luck to anyone going through the same process!

Test drove my second this weekend. I was pretty certain I wasn't going to buy before I went as the reviews of the dealer were terrible and it was about £3k over priced. But, it was close by and presented an opportunity to get behind the wheel of another diesel.

To be fair, they let me check the car over on my own for about 20mins or so. There were things that looked odd and stood out. The inside of the wheel arches were brand new. The car didn't seem in great condition. Plenty of paint chips on the outside, wheel lips missing on 3 wheels and big scuff down the rear offside bumper. Gave it a gander underneath for off road damage but seemed OK. Inside there was plenty of scuffing etc in the rear, so suggests a vehicle used by a young family (to me).

To be fair, it didn't drive to badly. Gave the car the full hard lock right and left and a drive line shunt test. Passed both ok. Ditto the air con. Hot and cold. Swerved the heated seat test as I knew I wasn't going to buy it. And it was hot enough.

In summary, it was good to go out armed with some things to look for and test and actually do it. As a poster elsewhere has put, I think a check list is a must. I've broken mine into 3 separate spread sheets. Exterior, interior and paperwork. As he put, it's 'geeky' but it helps make sure you don't get 'lost in the moment' as it were.

I've seen another(diesel) come onto the radar, and my preferred 5L has turned up as well, but 2k outside the budget. I'll be calling the 5L chap to see if he's got any movement on price. If so, I'll jump in the car and have a good look. If not, it's another diesel test drive on a car that on the surface looks good value.

I'll update next week...