Hi all.
This is my first post on this forum.
We have owned Range rovers for possibly 35 + years now, from a 3.5 Manual Carb Classic through 3.9 Injection, P38, full fat 4.4 Petrol (L322 for 14 years)

The fatty had come to the end of its life and we purchased a 2005 RRS 4.2 Supercharged two weeks ago from a trader in Swindon. We couldnt get an AA/RAC inspection as the car was over 10 years old, although the MOT is valid until October this year.

The brakes on the car were spongy to say the least, so the trader agreed to get the brakes sorted, plus refurbish the alloys for us.
The car was delivered to us 5 or 6 days later and looked to be OK.
I drove it to work the following day (its ostensibly my wifes car as we have dogs etc) and I noticed a vibration under braking, but the engine and gearbox were great, loads of power!

Anyway, last week we had it looked over by our local mechanic who has serviced our cars for years now, and he found a host of issues with it, such as:

Active Roll bar unit very badly corroded (which I understand is a body-off job to fix)
All brake lines corrode
The brake line that was fixed is leaking
Warped front discs (Brembo 4 pot)
Both diffs leaking oil
Transmission fluid black
Prop Shaft centre bearing worn & loose
Suspension bushes worn
3 Tyres worn
162K miles

Apart from that it is a nice looking car!

It has:
Black bodywork plus black interior trim panels
Cream Leather
Harmon-Kardon Logic 7 system
Active Cruise Control (radar which works)
Headrest entertainment system (dvd unit in upper glove box)
Two keys
20" Alloys
and loads more!


We have taken advice from Citizens Advice and sent a letter to the guy to reject the car and ask for a full refund and he has come back with not a particularly nice response.

My purpose for this posting is as follows:

We paid £4995 for the car(plus £30 he charged us for petrol to deliver it!) and have found potentially another full fat S/C as we have a full dog cage which wont fit the Sport (and my wife wants another fatty!).

I suspect that this guy is not going to refund the car easily (his parting shot was 'see you in court'!), so i'm just testing the water here to see if there is anyone in the L320 Sport world that would want it for around the £3K mark to use as a donor car / potentially repair.

My wife is not happy driving it as it is with the faults (we are getting the leaking brake pipe fixed today), but it hasnt been a pleasant experience as we are both in out mid / late 60's.

I can post some pictures of it if anyone interested.
Devizes, Wiltshire area

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How did you pay for the vehicle? For example, did you pay the deposit using a credit card?

Did the trader offer any kind of warranty? Are there any terms & conditions related to the sale? 2021 P400e Autobiography

We paid by debit card and there is a 30 day warranty on it, however, we have just heard from the Garage that is doing the repair to the brakes that they have found another brake line that is leaking and dripping brake fluid onto the exhaust.
This line requires the exhaust to be taken off to fix which we are not prepared to do, so the garage has had to put a Do not Drive flag on it due to the fire risk.

I cannot see the trader giving us a refund either if his whatsapp response is anything to go by!!

Hence I think we are going to just have to dispose of it and take the financial hit as my wife needs a car.

It's up to you, but I wouldn't want to accept the loss in this way. I'd also consider that this trader might also sell unsafe cars to other people and potentially put lives/liberty/health at risk. "I'll see you in court" isn't an adequate defence against statutory consumer rights.

I'd advise having a chat with the Motor Ombudsman.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/

And see what your options are.

It states:

Your consumer rights

You can exercise your legal rights, but you will need to contact the seller (a franchise dealer or independent retailer) who sold you the used car. If you discover your vehicle is of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose, or not as described, within the first 30 days, you can raise this with the seller and ask for your money back. You will be entitled to a full refund.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/knowledg...ar-problem 2021 P400e Autobiography

It is my understanding that, in law, the seller is liable for up to 6 months for any faults present at the time of sale. You must allow him one attempt to rectify the problems after which, if unsucessful, you are entitled to reject the car and receive a full refund.

NB I am not a lawyer, but this is what I have read in the Telegraph motoring columns.

Hi,

It was in at the local workshop yesterday (Tuesday) to at least have the 'replaced' brake pipe fixed, however when the mechanic started to look more closely at it, the main brake lines to the rear (which I believe run above the exhaust) are leaking and are dropping brake fluid onto the exhaust, which, he said, could be a potential fire risk.

To do this it needs the exhaust system to be dropped and as we are not willing to spend any more money on it have been advised by the workshop not to under any circumstances drive the car.

I had a whatsapp message from the trader yesterday morning after he had received our first letter (from the initial Consumer Advice template requesting a refund due to the goods not being of acceptable quality or as described (mileage 12,000 out and no service history) which was full of abuse aimed at my wife, finishing off with 'I'll see you in court'!

So a letter has gone off today requesting a full refund in 7 days or we will start court action against him to recover the cost!

My wife (we are both in our late 60's) now has to walk 4 times a day back and to from the yard she rents in the village to tend to her retired ex-racehorse and 34 year old Dartmoor pony, with a Range Rover Sport sat on the driveway!

Goffy wrote:

It is my understanding that, in law, the seller is liable for up to 6 months for any faults present at the time of sale. You must allow him one attempt to rectify the problems after which, if unsucessful, you are entitled to reject the car and receive a full refund.

NB I am not a lawyer, but this is what I have read in the Telegraph motoring columns.

Update.

As we have now gone ahead with the purchase of a full fat Range Rover 4.2 S/C following a contact from the Fullfatrr forum, we were intending to go ahead with pursuing a claim against the trader for a refund, but following a conversation my wife had yesterday with a court helpline, if we did go ahead it could take months before it went in front of a judge and theres still no guarentee that we would get a full refund.

So we have decided to SORN the vehicle to recover our VED and put the car up for sale, obviously with full disclosure on the issues with the brakes and active anti-roll bar.

I will be posting an advert here with photographs of the car as the bodywork is very good and the interior and engine are great, in fact it looks a stunning car with a huge build sheet (pdf available)

As we do not have the space on the drive, or the facilities, experience or time to dismantle it (we are both in our late 60's, I have prostate cancer and my wife has heart problems!) we just want to dispose of the car and try to recover at least 50% of the purchase price of £5000.

Because of the issue with the brakes it would have to be trailered away as we would not feel comfortable with anyone driving it away

If anyone on here is interested I can be contacted on:
email: paultyrer6@gmail.com
Mob: 07393 368012

As I said, I will be posting some photographs on here later and will also place an advert.

Deleted

Last edited by PaulTyrer on Tue Jun 18 2024 11:59am. Edited 1 time in total

It’s a real shame this didn’t work out for you. Really pity to see nice folks like yourselves fall prey to unscrupulous dealers knowingly selling unsafe cars. 2021 P400e Autobiography

***UPDATE***

Finally got the Sport back on Saturday after 6 weeks being away. The brake lines that were corroded have been replaced as has the propshaft (new), plus a new battery as the old one was shot!

I picked it up from the workshop at Swindon on Saturday and have driven it over the weekend, probably putting about 150 miles or so on it and it drives very nicely (and quick! Its like the Enterprise going into warp drive!)

Anyway, as my wife has the 4.2 S/C full fatty (which she loves) and I have a VW Beetle Cabriolet (which I love!) we have decided to part ways with the RR Sport (also I do 100 miles a day travelling to work and have to pay my own expenses, and 19 mpg is hurting a bit).

Engine pulls well, no noises from the supercharger (apart from the howl!) and gearbox changes very smoothly. I've had a play with the terrain response and all appears well, gearbox Sport mode / manual also works well.

We know that we are not going to be able to recover our initial outlay of £5000 on the car, so if there is anyone on here looking for a 2006 4.2 Supercharged Sport if we can get around £2500 to £3000 for it we would be happy.

There are some issues as below:

There is a shake on light braking - slight disc warp? Harder braking and the shake disappears
Tyres will need to be replaced soon
Some corrosion on active anti-roll bar .

On the plus side the bodywork is in excellent condition. Black paintwork
Privacy Glass
Parchment Leather with Piano Black trim
Active Cruise Control
Harmon Kardon Logic 7 sound system
Rear entertainment system (not sure if it works as haven't used it!)
Two keys
Terrain Response System

MOT due 1st October 2024










If anyone on here is interested I can be contacted on:

Email: paultyrer6@gmail.com

Mob: 07393 368012

Sorry to see you’ve had such a shocking experience! I recently sold a disco 3 and an injector failed the next day. I have sorted the cost of this which was 500 quid and the car only sold for. 3600! It still smokes slightly on first start of the day so I may end up having it back and refunding the chap. Not fair to leave the buyer with a bill or a car he’s not happy with. Love the supercharged sports but I’m sad to say you may really struggle to recoup anywhere near what you are asking. They are a niche car with a real thirst for petrol and repairs. Nothing has been made since that has the same sensation when driven though. I wish you every success with the sale.

Thanks,
We really just want to get rid of the car, whether it goes to someone who wants it for parts or to spend time on it to get the issues fixed as I just dont have the space, facilities or time to work on it.

We managed to get a 4.2 S/C Full Fat from a guy local to us (found on the fullfatrr forum, which is a brilliant car in Cairns Blue, so this one just has to go.

I'm loath to use the We Buy Any Car / Carwow sites, and really dont want to scrap it as it is has a brilliant spec, as far as I can see all the electronics work and there are no rips or tears in the upholstery, in fact I dont think the rear seats have been sat on!

We are open to offers as it needs to go.

Mine sold on eBay for £4,800. 2005 with 100,000 miles. A couple of niggles where ch I pointed out in the listing.

Advertise it well, do a descriptive walk round of body, engine, electrics etc etc and the buyer then knows what they’re getting.

A proper description gives people comfort when buying.

Good luck !

Update.

Its going to be taken to Westbury Car Auctions tomorrow, Saturday 29th June with a reserve price of £1600 so if anyone is interested .......

https://www.westburycarauctions.com/