Hi and Happy New Year to everyone!

After owning two previous Range Rover's and, (most recently), a 2010 Range Rover Sport TDV8 Autobiography I am now hankering after yet another Range Rover Sport and would appreciate a little advice from the learned membership of this particular forum.

Having endured the 'pain' of becoming the owner of several Land Rover vehicles, previously, one would expect me to abide, strictly, with the saying 'once bitten, twice shy' but, (as I suspect most members of this forum will fully understand), there is still no other vehicle that can match the 'characteristics' of the Range Rover, (road presence, stance, visibility, 4x4 ability, technology, etc), and my previous RRS was always my first choice, (when travelling any distance), as opposed to my Jaguar 3.0 XFS Sportbrake Portfolio.

I am now looking for yet another RRS and was, originally, going to try and find an 'acceptable', (pre 2013 MY), Autobiography, (with the 3.5 TDV8 engine), as there are plenty out there and the prices are very reasonable and I have even looked at a few 5 litre Supercharged versions too!

As always, once you start looking, you note that there are better models at the top end of one's selected price range . . .

And then you note that for a little additional expenditure you can get a later, updated, model with the later SDV8 4.4 engine which is coupled to the 8 speed auto box . . .

I have now reached that plateau where I am looking at MY2014, (and onwards), RRS SDV8 4.4 Autobiography's with recorded mileages around the 100k mile mark and I am now wondering how well these engines fair once they have reached the 100k mark?

Apologies for asking the age old 'how long is a piece of string' question as the life expectancy of an engine is dependant upon so many factors, (mileage, service intervals, engine oil quality, mechanical sympathy and the list goes on . . .), but I am sure that many of you have purchased similar models with similar mileages?

I suspect that Turbo's will be the main area of concern at these mileages - especially so if there is no evidence that the Turbo's have been serviced and/or replaced previously as the other ancillary items, (water pump, alternator, etc), are expected to fail around this mileage, (if not beforehand)?

As a 'glutton for punishment' I am still willing to dip my toe in the water, once again, but it would be nice to be able to attain a few miles of, (relatively), trouble free miles before I have to start facing any major issues, (and/or spend the majority of time under the vehicle as opposed to inside the vehicle)!

I have found that my multi vehicle ICarsoft OBD Diagnostic Scanner paid for itself, (several times over), when diagnosing previous RR and RRS issues, (such as the infamous 'three amigos' cascading limp mode issues), but it would be nice to not have to start using it from day one of RRS ownership!!

Obviously I realise that the ICarsoft is only a reader and cannot program the programmable functions, (other than battery replacement and a few other odd functions of course), the battery replacement being useful for the Jaguar models that suffer from the non existent stop start functionality - that many owners turn off anyway!

I note that many 'dealers' provide warranty's with advertised RRS's but I remain wary of the fact that many warranty's will not pay out for many issues, (including Turbo failure), and I wondered if other members have had any recent warranty 'experiences' - both good and bad?

Please excuse my somewhat lengthy tone but any related comments and suggestions would be very gratefully received and would serve to either continue with my planned gamble or to think twice before embarking upon a possible 4th adventure with this particular marque!

Many thanks to you all for taking the time to endure this particular post!

Martin.

Hi , there certainly is something about Range Rovers. I’m on my 2nd. First was a 2012 AB and my current is 2015 AB , both 3L and both been great cars. The one I have now, I have had for 8 years so that’s a great advert for them. I have an aftermarket warranty with Warranty Direct and have had a few claims now and to be fair they have always payed out. I pay around £1k a year for the warranty so I would try these if you are wanting a warranty on your new car when you source one.

Johnrrs,

Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

There is little doubt, in my mind, that there is no other vehicle, (located within the 4x4 SUV class), that compares with either the RR or the RRS and that is why we all find ourselves on forums like this one!

It is good to hear that you have had a good experience with your warranty provider so that restores a little faith into the field of warranties and I think that your annual premium is definitely money well spent as it provides you with that safety net and piece of mind.

As per my post I was, originally, looking at the earlier RRS model but I then found a couple of later L494 3 litre AB's and took a closer look and, once I had taken one around the block, I raised my sights slightly and would have been more than happy with one - unfortunately the two that i looked at looked a little 'tired' and so I continued my search!

I have a specific vehicle in my sights, currently, so I will see how that progresses!

Regards,

Martin.

I am the same i have had a few discovery's and my last range rover was a 4.2 supercharged which i loved.Currently driving a Q5 which is ok and never really needs much work but i too am looking at a 2014 RRs 2.0 Hse which there are a few around and from what i understand are about £400 to tax As you say the land rover bug never goes away lol

Had my 2015 (2016 build spec) autobiography sdv8 for just over 5 tears now, they are great cars with a few niggles, the only expensive cost i have had was an oil cooler replacement, serviced every12 months. oddly enough drove from Essex to Lincolnshire last weekend to stay at bainland lodges, 3 hour drive was effortless. i am looking to change it but to a 2018-2019 model sdv8 if i find a nice one but they seem to have more miles than my one

Geoffsnook, Teldec,

I have now 'owned' my 2014 RRS Autobiography for the past two weeks and, (whilst not wishing to tempt fate), so far so good.

There is definitely something about these vehicles that gets under your skin - despite the occasional horror story that you come across!

I still remember, distinctly, the time when my second FFRR TDV8 3.5 started messing me about, (the cascading dash of many errors - the 'three amigo's' I believe it is called), and my heart sank as the car continually went into limp mode after travelling just a few feet!

I then perused many forums and did lots of research, (poor batteries are renowned to cause multiple, (and totally unrelated), errors but I had changed mine - because of another bizarre problem where the battery would drain, (if you locked the car), but the battery would last for a week if I left the vehicle unlocked!!

After reading the codes on my FFRR TDV8 3.5 I noted errors relating to the fuel rail pressure and, cutting a long story short, the 'limp' problem was caused by a partially blocked fuel filter!!!!!!

Once changed the multitude of errors never graced my dashboard again!

So far, on my latest SDV8 4.4, I have had to replace the 10A fuse for the two 12v sockets between the seats and replace the original HID headlight bulbs for the LED equivalents.

She is currently returning 32mpg and that is on short journeys with lots of stopping and starting!

I am currently in the market for a towbar and I note that there are several 'electric' towbar on Ebay but, (as I am unsure about the fitting points), I had better not get carried away before I have some facts in front of me!

It is a joy to drive and very comfortable regardless of what the weather is doing outside!

I believe I have done more miles, in the dark - than in the light, and I am so pleased that I can now see where I am going!!

It is a bug you cant control but cant believe due to land rovers poor attempt at security how much these motors have dropped in price over the last few months really bought them in to my price range

Yes it is hard to believe that, in this day and age, that a major manufacturer can get vehicle security so wrong but, (as you say), every cloud has a silver lining!

Fortunately my RRS has the Ghost Alarm Immobiliser fitted so that is another level of protection.

If you don't mind was that already fitted or have you had it fitted yourself have heard some horror stories about wiring issues but pretty sure is jlr just blaming anyone but themselves lol
Also what would be the subscription cost have seen one car that it is already installed and nice to be informed before i go and take a look
Cheers