I know this may upset a few on here but... in just under the last year I've had my car (3.0 TDV6), and after I've paid for a new inlet manifold repair, new throttle body and fresh service, I would have spent around £3k on it and have only done 6k miles in it.

I bought it as a one previous owner with full main dealer history and the car is in excellent condition both inside and out so on paper, things looked good.
After having x4 other Land Rover/Rovers in the past, I was under no illusion about the reliabilty and high service and repair costs so knew it was a bit of gamble buying any JLR car.

75% of me is thinking that with the high insurance costs, horrid depreciation, theft, lack of spare parts and long waits for parts, I'm now wondering whether I should just bite the bullet and sell the car once its been fixed and having had a full service and fresh MOT as again, on paper, It would be the best time to sell with all the work and service just been done for any potential buyer.

The other 25% of me is thinking that now this work has been done, I should just keep it as x2 common (but pricey) issues are now fixed, its freshly serviced and a fresh MOT which should (hopefully!) rule out any other immediate issues.

The big kicker for me though is the crankshaft issue as these seem to implode at almost any mileage and at any speed with no warning and if this happens, It just wouldn't be worth me fixing it due to the cost am I'm stuck wondering what to do with a car with a wrecked engine that can't be moved.

I read various things on owner groups with people saying "I drove several hundred miles in a day without any warning lights or issues" like its something unusual when it shouldn't be or "I was taking it easy at 70mph on the motorway when the crankshaft went" etc etc.

I know you always hear the worst on forums and FB groups but these crankshaft failures aren't exactly rare and now really torn on whether to keep it or sell it now.
I do get through cars quite quickly and often get itchy feet after a year so that probably doesn't help

I just don't think ownership of a car should be this stressfull everytime I do a decent run in it and keeping my fingers crossed hoping nothing comes up on the dash or the crankshaft fails.

What do you guys think?

Personally I would enjoy the car… I have now run four L494’s since 2014 and travelled over 150,000 miles in them.. none of them ever broke down as such and the only failure I had was a window regulator on one of them..
Usual servicing issues but in all,my only real major expenses were for tyres and fuel…

Stunning car ..

My other concern would be that this is the worse possible time to sell it.. prices are in total freefall at present with no dealer wanting another financial noose around their neck with it on their stock list.. if you want to upset yourself do a valuation on we buy any car… then keep the car and enjoy it for what it is…

From my own experience once a car has has a few problems I loose faith in it and every journey becomes a concern rather than a pleasure. So i would get ride of it although the comments about prices at the present are very relevant. To offset that issue perhaps the car you replace it with will have also taken a similar big hit. Even RR are now offering finance contributions and reduced APR finance on diesel Sports. Tim
RRS sold and replaced with a Skoda Kodiaq after appalling RR Dealer experience and LR inability to supply new cars in any sort of reasonable time frame..

I totally get the low prices at the moment but will they ever go up again - or still continue to fall?
I just can't see them going up again and we may not have hit the bottom yet.

Despite it having a clean bill of health on paper, I shouldn't have to wory about taking the family out for more than a 45 min drive whilst all the time thinking I hope it makes it there and back or listening out for any strange noises.

Most cars have issues I know, but as you say, my confidence is pretty much gone now which is a sad thing as I really want to enjoy it and is still a great looking looking car.

When I bought it I was really looking forward to it in the Winter and with all the recent flooding, standing water with some main roads closed meaning I had to go down some terrible mud laden narrow roads and on verges etc, it should have been in its element there. Instead, it was parked up broken waiting on parts for a repair. Maybe that put the icing on the cake?

I was in the same mind as you back in 2019 , I had a 2016 D4 bought in 2017 with 7500 miles on , when it was 3 yrs old and out of manufactures warranty I got myself wound up with the Crankshaft issue over on the D3/4 site .

Decided to sell it with 24000 mls on it and regretted that decision ever since , it was such a pleasure to drive and an excellent all round load carrier .
We saw it for sale last year on Autotrader with 48000 mls on and I was sorely tempted to travel down south for it but Mrs Lurcher objected .

Anyway in September 2023 we saw a 2016 RRS HSE in excellent unmarked condition which we bought , same engine but I am much more relaxed and calm about the car and am going to enjoy the experience even taking in to account the depreciation .

Good luck in whatever decision you come to 👍 2016 RRS HSE Firenze Red

I had never even heard about the crankshaft thing until I stumbled across this site a few years ago while looking for a problem to cure on my car. It led me into getting a Warranty Direct aftermarket warranty for my car, purely for piece of mind. The crank shaft has never snapped on my car. They have paid out on a few warranty repairs and they have paid out more than I have paid in renewal prices so all good as far as I’m concerned. I’ve had this car for 7 years now and have no plans to replace it. There is nothing good enough to replace it with without adding another £40k to the budget.My insurance doubled to over £800 and I won’t even tell you how much WBAC think it’s worth now as it’s insulting to me but I’m still keeping it. I also own a 2013 twin turbo BMW Z4 and WBAC also gave me an insulting valuation for that too so it’s not just RRS that’s dropping in value, it’s all vehicles. All cars have problems no matter what the manufacturer is.

If I could find something better, I’d change. Nothing comes close though.

Had the same thoughts as the OP.
Mines a 2014 3.0tdv6 with 138,000 on the clock!

It drives briliantly , had all LR services and never missed an interval. Had all major work done and I have warranty until July.

2nd hand car market has totally dropped, everything is in free fall - saw a new defender the other day for under £50k 3 years old - 18 months ago it would have been nearly £80k.

Im going to keep mine for a bit and just enjoy , looks a stunning car has got every bit of kit on possible, people even say is it a 2019+ due to the condition of the interior and exterior.

Even if the worse happens and the engine goes Ive seen engine swaps at under £4k now.

The only thing Id possibly swap/sell it for would be a very nice Defender 110 XS, the old school version as I miss my defender 90 300tdi.

Mattcee wrote:

What do you guys think?

Clearly you did not pay much for it ....
I think they are cheap motoring ...take my daughters all electric Audi ..£88000 + insurance and then it wont even go from rugby to calais on a charge .

Count your blessings and learn how to use spanners.....you can buy a lot for £3k Always listen to old people or when they die you will live on in ignorance.
The avatar is a picture of the man with a big cock.
Learned to 4x4 on 100 mile beach and Frazer Island QLD
Dont spend money on old cars you will never get it back

Not everyone has the time/inclination to spend their weekends under their vehicles fixing stuff. I did it back in the day with my first couple of cars but these days I'd rather spend my time doing other things.

They can be cheap motoring if one is prepared to bodge stuff, use incorrect fluids and components, etc., and that's fine if one buys a £3k end-of-life example. For those that buy something for £25k (and some for much more) and want to keep it running properly and reliably for several years to come, there is little choice but to do things properly and that means money has to be spent. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Pistnbroke wrote:

Clearly you did not pay much for it ....
I think they are cheap motoring ...take my daughters all electric Audi ..£88000 + insurance and then it wont even go from rugby to calais on a charge .

Count your blessings and learn how to use spanners.....you can buy a lot for £3k

I've now had an L322, L320 and two L494s and have never had any issue that has left me stranded. The only major issue in all these cars I can remember was an air suspension bag on the L322. I'm very mechanically sympathetic with my cars which may have helped.

If you're really worried about the crankshaft issue then swap it for a V8 model like I did - diesel or petrol - and enjoy the last few years of burbling around the country before we're all forced into electric wagons... 2014 L494 V8 s/c Autobiography Dynamic