Hi,

Firstly I am sorry if this has been done a million times but I couldn’t see anything specifically after looking through the posts for a while. Also sorry if this is in the wrong place.

So I am very much angling for a RRS and have been going round in circles looking at all the different models and keep finding X wrong with them.

My budget is approx £15k but being a Yorkshire man would love to spend less than that but I could, if on the right vehicle, stretch to £20k if needed.
This makes me believe a 2012 or possibly some 2013 models would be within reason; often with about 70-80k miles on them, HOWEVER - everyone keeps telling me I’ll have to keep getting the car repaired and RRS at that age are simply unreliable and need repairs ??? I was wondering exactly how true this is? I keep reading the same online but it’s never actually from any owners?

Also are many of these faults and issues from a lack of servicing etc!?

I’ve seen air suspension and some sort of valve are common???
Thanks

Any help or guidance from people who have had or haven’t had anything go wrong would be greatly appreciated.

First question: what is your intended use of the vehicle? Local driving, long distance runs, off-roading?

Two things help with reliability of these vehicles:
1. Using them. They don't like short journeys. If you're going to buy one to drive 5 miles each way to work/drop the kids at school, forget it and buy something else. Save yourself the annoyance.
2, Getting them looked after by a decent indie LR garage (not a main dealer and certainly not a standard garage or even a "4x4 garage"). They need someone that a. cares, and b. knows what they're doing - which rules out LR main dealers.

The RRS suffers, as you've found out, from an army of people that have never owned one or driven one telling everyone that will listen that they are unreliable on road and rubbish off road. Neither is true, if the person that owns it knows what they're doing.

The thing to remember is that your budget needs to be able to handle a big bill out of the blue. They aren't inherently unreliable, but when they do play up, it's often a four-figure bill. If you can't do that, you're buying the wrong vehicle.

Common issues are suspension bushes - the RRS is 2.5 tonnes and can travel at a decent rate down a road. Bushes take a pounding and are best considered consumable items. 3.0TDV6/SDV6 has a reputation for snapping cranks. It happens but it's not hugely common. The cross over pipe corrodes (connects the two exhaust sides together and runs across the back of the engine). Inlet manifolds can crack. EGRs can stick/fail. Anti roll bars can leak. RRS doesn't like a poorly battery - it'll throw up errors for fun if the battery is struggling - a simple battery charge will suddenly make it happy. It's one reason they don't like short journeys - the battery gets low. The DPF can get full quickly - again a short journey issue.

The old TDV8 has done c.200k miles (I sold it at 175k) and my SDV6 has done 121k miles. Both have had issues but only one left me at the side of the road and that was a blown turbo on the TDV8. Not bad in a combined use by me of getting on for 200k miles (both were bought second hand). The TDV8 was unhappy doing short journeys, never missed a beat when I was doing 30k a year in it. The SDV6 currently does 100-150 miles each trip with a leg being at least 30 minutes, so no short journeys.

They are great in town, great on the open road, great on motorways, and they are excellent off road - as with all vehicles, tyres are the limit off road. But an RRS will go places you wouldn't consider, and often do it with utmost ease.

(Just checked the MOT on my old TDV8 and it recently passed with 204k miles on it. Only some minor advisories noted but doesn't appear to be major from the MOT website. So still going strong.) 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

I bought my TDV8 almost 2 years ago knew nothing about them until I found this forum , mine is a 2007 with low ownership & a very comprehensive service history it had its MOT yesterday & sailed through with no advisories the tester commented on what a good example it is, also had a full service all oils & filters + a new turbo boost pipe & aircon regas , I am fortunate to have a great indi for repairs/ services the total cost was £616 which I think is very reasonable for one of these. I have to admit that I am very glad I never purchased the V6 after reading about the crank issues, I have had over 40 vehicles to date but the RRS is the most comfortable & makes me smile every time I drive it.

You also need to remember a 2011 is a 10 year old car and some things will be wearing out and start failing just due to wear and tear, so make sure you have some cash aside for maintenance and failures Joined the X5 45e club
1994 Defender 90 300 tdi

Thank you all for your responses.

I hadn’t considered the short vs long journey consideration.

I’d do weekly/bi-weekly long journeys taking the family away for weekend breaks but Monday - Friday would certainly but use on quick trip to school and then 5miles or so to work.
Certainly wouldn’t be off-roading as an activity - perhaps a little to find a campsite etc.

Thanks for info and the noting of typical occurrences.

Bit of a stupid question perhaps as I guess each car is different and guess also comes down to luck - typically do you think when stuff starts to go on them it’s one thing after the other or could it be a bit of a one off, then a year or 2 passes and perhaps then it’s something else?

Also - for a 2012 and a 2013 3.0 diesel - will they all be the same engine? If so which one is it, which make (Jag, RR or other?) and are those chain or belt timed? Read conflicting info from people who write stuff and don’t actually know!? Definitely feel confident in you guys as a source!

Kindest regards & thanks

Here's my two pence worth.

I paid about the same money for mine over 6 years ago. It had done about 80K miles when I bought it, it's now done 150K. I was also slightly worried about the reputation, but I have to say that it has been very reliable, and an absolute pleasure to own. So much so, that I can't find anything else I like as much, except maybe a newer one.

That doesn't mean I haven't had to spend money on it though. But it's just been all the usual service items that any car doing miles will need, (tyre, brakes, suspension bushes, belts etc).
As always when you get a new (to you) car, there is a certain amount of fixing what the previous owner hasn't, so budget accordingly.
Also I'm a big believer in frequent oil changes using the best stuff. (I never skimp on this). I've looked at some of the engine failures that are reported (I'm an engineer by profession), and a good number can be attributed to poor servicing regimes ie either poor quality oil, or not frequently enough, so take your time, and get one from someone who looks like they have looked after it.

One thing that rarely gets mentioned with Land Rover products is the huge availability of parts, knowledge and quality specialists in the UK. It's immense, and plays a huge part in being able to run one without getting stuffed with dealer prices all the time. And if you are reasonably handy with some spanners, then you are amongst friends!

apologies for jumping on your post..

If you are still looking for one... and again apologies if this isnt allowed but its just a heads up - avoid a garage called MMC Specialist Cars Limited in Thornaby.

i wont go into the full details but they sold me a RRS which developed faults within the first week... and they are refusing to fix it even though it came with warranty & aftersales care is horrendous.. legal action is being taken so fingers crossed ill get sorted.

Hi there,
I’m in Dewsbury and have just bought a 2010 3.6 HSE V8, 94k miles, hopefully get it on Friday. Whilst it’s a little older then you are looking at, it was also below the budget.
I’ve previously owned a Disco 2, pre facelift, which I ran for 10 years, I forgave it things that I never did other cars.
Can’t comment on the reliability of RRS, but happy to update as I go along to give to a full picture, or once I get it to meet up so you can have a look at it.