Hi

I am thinking of purchasing a used RRS that is registered before 23rd March 2006 for the lower tax reason and that this is the one within my budget.

I just wanted to see if anyone could give me a few extra tips for common faults and things to look out for on a rrs, apart from the obvious when purchasing a used car????

Any info will be a great help.

Many Thanks

I forgot to say it is a TDV6 2.7. Nit sure if i should consider a TDV8????

Sorry, but to be brutally honest, if you are on a short budget then the RRS is not for you. If you buy a Sport then you need to be able to chuck serious cash at it at short notice. Why? Because it's a complicated design built by low skilled half wits in Brum.

These things go wrong and they do so on a biblical scale.... 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Thanks for that, but i am used to things going wrong as my jaguar xj has started doing that too. Jus thought i wold try and get a heads up before i purchase a lemon of a vehicle.

Soooo do you have any useful tips for my first purchase then????

The 2.7 requires a belt change at 105k miles or 7 years (whichever is sooner).

Suspension bushes will require changing at some point. When is a matter of luck it seems. ARB are most common.

Any battery or alternator fault will throw up a plethora of faults, as will blown brake bulbs. Search the forum for advice.

The gearbox was originally described as sealed for life. Experience suggests otherwise. Look at replacing the transmission oil at about 5 years/ 70k miles. Likewise the differentials. Early diffs suffered with a failure of the internal paint. It would flake off and contaminate the oil. The fix was to replace the diffs I believe. Any early RRS should be checked for this.

The RRS was not designed to run 22inch alloys. If the RRS you look at has big wheels (>19 inch) check that the steering rack has been replaced with the later damped rack.

Early RRS potentially hold the most faults and thus, potentially, are the most expensive to fix. As I said, RRS ownership is not cheap; that's not me being snobbish, that's me being realistic. If you need to buy the oldest RRS in order to save money then you're probably considering the wrong vehicle.

Correct batteries are £150+, new spec ones are £200++. Alternators are £300++. Belts are £500++. New front diff is £several hundred. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Hi RRSTSV8

Thank you for that advice. That has been a huge help thank you, i appreciate tour honesty.

I am not sure in how to check for some od these problwms that you have suggested soo i will check on the forum to see how i can check for these faults, unless you can provide any further assistance.

I see you are from the same area as me. We may bump into one another is thw future.

Any other information you can peocide would be fantastic.

Thank you for your help soo far.

Check that the air suspension functions correctly as that can be a common fault and costly to identify/fix. EGR valves are also an issue, but if you are looking at 2005/6 models they are very easy and cheap to blank. Might be worth asking if the seller minds having a diagnostic check done just to confirm there are no underlying issues before you purchase it. The spare wheels also often get stolen so worth checking that! Other than that, good luck, you will love it! Unfortunately mine will be up for sale shortly

Also, worth holding out for one with decent service history, and ideally receipts for bushes being changed. In my opinion, high mileage isn't so much of an issue as long as it's been properly maintained and looked after.

RRSTDV8 wrote:

These things go wrong and they do so on a biblical scale....

He's not exaggerating either.... we're talking parting of the sea stuff

Main points to look out for.

Symptom: Sluggishness of the mark... coupled with black soot
Possible Causes (cheapest to most expensive):
a: Split intercooler hose (£60
b: EGR failure (£500 to replace (each, there are 2) or block off (pre 2007 cars only) £15 kit and your own labour
c: Turbo blown ££££

Symptom: HTC error on dash
a: blown brake bulb £0.60p
b: Tracking out (causes same error) £190 at dealer... £60 independent
c: suspension leak £labour to find the leak
d: Compressor duff (£700 RRS gone
Audi SQ5...Gone Audi Q7 S-Line 240 3.0TDI Gone
Audi A6 Allroad Sport 270 3.0TDI

sellick wrote:

Also, worth holding out for one with decent service history, and ideally receipts for bushes being changed. In my opinion, high mileage isn't so much of an issue as long as it's been properly maintained and looked after.

RRSTDV8 wrote:

Why? Because it's a complicated design built by low skilled half wits in Brum .

What a ! the list off problems & failures are mostly components not because some half wits have fitted them incorrectly.
Yours truly - Dummy Brummie 16MY Estoril Blue SVR.............
17MY Autobiography Dynamic - Corris Grey - WOW.
14MY Autobiography Dynamic - SDV6 - Fuji White
12MY Autobiography - SDV6 - Santorini Black - Dual View - Rear Entertainment - Sunroof.
12MY Autobiography - SDV6 - Orkney Grey - awesome ;(
2005 Java Black - 4.2 V8 Supercharged First Edition- will never be forgotten ;(

If you read all the story's on here I doubt you will buy one.

Remember not every land rover owner comes on this forum so there will/maybe some out there having little trouble.

How can you blame the guys that build them
They only assemble the bits together. Doesn't make sense in the slightest

Yes it's not the guys that build them, it's just a very expensive, complex machine to run. I spent £1k+/yr just in servicing mine when my local indie looked after it.

This year, I've spent 6 weeks with it off the road in my garage, doing a 'mega' service, brakes, suspension compressor, all the oils, coolant etc. The bill for parts alone was £2k and that's doing it myself, and I know what I'm doing.

Now found centre bearing on propshaft gone, and fitting a new one tomorrow

Yes, they are NOT cheap cars to run, even when everything is going fine with them.

But...I love it, and would have nothing else. Every time I climb in, I feel it's the best car I've ever had. Oh, and mine's an early March 2006 SE. Nice cheap road tax! 2006 TDV6 SE, Zermatt Silver