Well you don't get these much on car forums so I thought I'd make one.
I've had my latest sport for nearly 12 months and not had any real problems, the only problem I had was a front wheel bearing, £160, still even on same tyres and brakes.
Also the other day found out cambelt was done on last service, so I'll save a few quid on the upcoming service too!
Its been a pleasure to drive, always starts even after its been standing for a few days and has been reliable.

Now if it breaks down tomorrow I'm blaming you fvckers!

If you get a good one they do seem to be boringly reliable. There are some real lemons out there too which does sully the reputation somewhat. The later ones do seem to be better in this regard than the earlier ones too - LR seemed to learn as they went along and this improved the product.

I still believe that a lot of it comes down to the quality guy wielding the spanners. When mine was serviced by a LR dealership, things used to go wrong with amazing regularity. Since moving to an indie, it has been much better. Not perfect, sadly, but much of the stuff is just wear related: mine's coming up to 10 year old and has 155,000 on the clock so that's fair enough.

Having said that, I'm facing a bit of a bill as I've got a weeping rear ARB and a whistle under acceleration. I think the body might be coming off this year...  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Collected my RRS a year ago yesterday.

In the last twelve months it has gone from 55000 to 64500 miles and has had...

EAS Compressor (changed to an AMK) paid for by the seller (Evans Halshaw)
O/S rear brake calliper, again, paid for by the seller within the first 3 months
Front ARB bushes
Yuasa Battery
Brake light switch
Upper tailgate switch
Power steering pipe
Alternator
Door seal

'A' Service and a gearbox flush, fixed towbar
Mostly all carried out by Venture 4x4 of Shipston on Stour who are an excellent Indy.
All standard stuff to be expected for a RRS of this age.

By far, the best thing I've purchased for the car is a IID BT tool, great piece of kit.

I'm on my 3rd RRS since launch in 2005, I have had other Land Rovers between them as well so they aren't consecutively run. None has gone wrong ever, never been left stranded at the road side other than when I managed to destroy 2 nearside tyres on the TDv8 when I had to pull into the verge to avoid being hit by a lunatic motorcyclist who misjudged the gap for performing an overtake. I have had a couple of small niggles that were looked at by the dealership soon after delivery as they were trim items that were rattling. By far the worst Land Rover I have owned for reliability was the 2014 Evoque I had, it was also the shortest time I have owned any Land Rover - 12 months, I could not get shot of it fast enough. The most reliable? It has to be my 1996 Defender Tdi 300 - it refuses to go wrong, costs very little to run and service and gets used purely as an offroad toy so gets absolutely hammered. It had a new galvanised chassis in 2011 that cost £1100 all done because the original dissolved in a rusty heap, but mechanically at 89000 miles and 22 years old it is still on it's original turbo, clutch, brake discs and running gear. I managed to bash the transfer case and holed it offroad so it also has a new transfer gearbox.
I'm now driving my 11th Land Rover product and would have another were it not for the totally unrealistic prices now being charged and the awful attitude of LR towards customers many of whom are similar to me - very loyal customers - when things go wrong with new cars. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

My D3 needed only a set of wishbones for its MOT last year. Not bad after I put 85k hard miles on them

And a set of front discs and pads just last week (only 11 months after I thought they may need done for it's previous MOT )

Left parked in Edinburgh airport for 8 days, with the IID tool plugged in, started first turn of the key

It's so reliable, it's almost dull

Seems the Land Rover reliability isn't as bad as people like to make out, suppose its hard to shake the stigma.

Still get people trying to warn me now, my response is
"Have you ever owned a Land Rover" They're response is 9/10
"No"

I bought my first brand new Land Rover (a D1) in 1992 and since then I've bought new:
[/list]another D1 in 1996
A FFRR P34 in 2000
A FFRR in 2005
A RRS in 2011
A RRS in 2017[list=]

My wife also bought two Freelanders in that time.

Not one of them ever had to be recovered and none had major issues. So, are they as bad as made out, or have I just been lucky and is that luck about to run out?

Robert

Personally, I don't give a hoot as to how many times it breaks down or has "issues" as I just get them fixed and get on with enjoying what has to be the best and most practical car I have ever owned. 140k+ miles of which I've done 50k and no intention of getting rid & if it costs a couple of quid more to fix, then so what.

That said, its had a few things done, such as ACE front/rear, ARB buses, arms, compressor, battery (after 10 years!), couple of electrical gremlins, discs etc but its been serviced according to schedule, gearbox flush, EGR blanked & so on. I give my RRS a tough life, so it deserves a certain amount in return and it just gets on with it.

HemoRRS wrote:

Seems the Land Rover reliability isn't as bad as people like to make out, suppose its hard to shake the stigma.

Still get people trying to warn me now, my response is
"Have you ever owned a Land Rover" They're response is 9/10
"No"

My favourite is when people tell me they're a footballer's car and they're no good off road. I ask them if they've driven one off road. Every time the answer is "no". Of course, I knew that already because anyone who had driven one off road would know the truth.

There is also the nice bit where people say I'm paid too much because I drive a "Range Rover". These people don't know a Sport from a Full Fat. They also don't know a 10 year old version of either. The fact that they could have one for the same money as their boring family hatchback is always amusing. A colleague drives a fairly new Q5. Never gets comments about the car. Says it all.  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

I too don't give a hoot !!!
I listened to all the scare stories and kept a few £s aside just in case I bought a lemon ,
14 months later I can honestly say it's been an absolute pleasure to own, and puts a smile
On my face every time I drive it (which isn't very often)
So far it's had general wear and tear items which I would have spent on any other car
new rear discs , pads and brake shoes .
New rear brake pad wear sensor .
New front brake pads .
Front n/s ride height sensor showed a fault 3 weeks into ownership , taken apart cleaned
and been fine ever since .
New o/s wheel bearing .
4 New tyres .
Brake light switch.
Brake light bulbs.
A few sleepless nights regarding a thieving git !!! (Dealt with in a previous post).
New amplifier , as somehow the kids left a bottle of water on the floor, and my wife adjusted the
Seat , squashing the bottle and blowing up the amp ? Well that's the story she told me
The rest has been purely cosmetics ... boot liner , rubber boot mat, floor mats carpet and rubber
LED bulbs , wheel protector , sill protectors , clear side repeaters , mud flaps , wheels refurbished etc etc .
So all in all I'm more than happy and would buy another at the drop of a hat and take the scare stories with a pinch of salt.
And if something serious needs fixing I've still got the money I put aside 14 months ago

I've had my V8 since March last year. Bought it without much research and glad I did as if I'd read and taken in all the scare stories that hang around them I'd probably never have bought it. As it is, the car has been a joy to drive even though it has had its issues. My saving grace was a pretty good 15 month warranty which has mitigated most of the costs. The car came with a new battery and new front ARB bushes
The list of work done in the 13 months is:
New NS rear wheel bearing
New OS front wheel bearing
NS EPB repaired after seizing
New front diff
Maintenance work:
Three new tyres - one for a puncture and two for wear
4 wheel tracking (twice)
Service and MOT cost about £450
Other costs have been cosmetic upgrades like LEDs to the interior and trim details.
The warranty is about to run out, but the car is running well at present and with only 66000 on the clock it should be good for at least twice that. I think you have to accept that it could be a money pit but you can't take it with you!
Would I buy another? Absolutely because I couldn't think of a better way to travel the 19000 miles I've just competed. Robin
2008 Range Rover Sport TDV8
Gone:
Jaguar S-Type V8 4.2 Sport
MGZTT 190 2.5

In my 35K miles in mine it has had front and rear ARB bushes, an alternator & battery and a whole new rear ARB assembly.

Mine gets used offroad regularly, including local byways occasionally and all the off-road courses at the Land Rover shows. Its been to the French alps in lots of snow for a few trips and 2 weeks in the Pyrenees offroad and just taken it all in its stride in total comfort so i really cant complain at those few bits.

Also it tows big things exceptionally well and I wouldn't change it for anything else. I don't listen to all scare stories and if i did i would never have brought one. Regular servicing and when mine gets to 40K miles i will flush the gearbox oil in the 8 speed just as preventative maintenance other than that i will just be enjoying it  2003 BMW M5 - 5 Litres of V8 Optimax Slurping Goodness in Carbon Black

2013 SDV6 HSE Black Edition- Orkney Grey with Ebony & Ivory. LR Facelift RAI, Genuine G4 Expedition Rack, 4x Warn SBD-160 Spotlights, Warn 9.5XPS Winch, Mantec Underbody Protection and Sump Guard, Full Easy Lift Suspension Module, LR Light Guards, Light Force HTX230 Hybrid spotlights, 18” Compomotive PD1881 on 265/65/18 BF Goodrich KO2, ARB fridge, TuffTrek awning 😎

One thing is becoming evident from the posts of those that have bought used RRS's is that if you put right the possible neglect of previous owners then you have a great car, the problem I see is persuading people who buy them new just how important it is to use the car as it was designed to be used and to maintain it properly, even if it is expensive. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Oh yes, correct maintenance is key to a happy RRS. That and regular use on trips of reasonable length - not a 5 mile trip twice a week. Mine does some off road work - not as much as Chris's, admittedly - it tows a 2.5 tonne horse trailer with ease, does the daily commute, has been down to Spain and back on holiday. All done easily and comfortably.

Mine appears to have not been well looked after early on - the battery was a Jag battery and totally the wrong size, as one example. Result was a dead battery and alternator in quick succession not long after I bought it. I've done lots to mine - both in warranty and out of my pocket - and it's now on 155k. It's feeling a little tired in places but what do you expect at that mileage? Everything works though. My aim is to get it to 200k if the engine obliges.

When they're being good, they're great. When they're playing up, they make you question your sanity!  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Basically it's just a nice place to sit  In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Frightened away from the Sports due to crank failures
Gone - A couple of RRS, A couple of Disco's. However thinking of another Sport.