Hi all,
I haven't bought yet, so I hope to get some knowledge about what I am buying ...

I am after a 2005-2008 RRS 4.2 Supercharged V8 petrol.

I hear from people that these are unreliable / so complicated that I should have enough money so repairs i/e transmission, electrics - The same as any car with high mileage I expect, but I think I need some re-assurance. I don't have a lot of dough, so only spending £10K-£14K which leave me nervous if I get a £2K gearbox failure.

And I am trying to understand little differences in the models, why are some £505 tax and others £290 tax. Looking at the spec, they seem similar output (385BHP).

Thank you so much for your time and discussion.

John

Hi john,
The tax is easy- the law changed around mar 06 so ones older than that still get the cheaper tax. They can go wrong so it's worth having a warranty or a few quid put aside- unless you're very capable with a spanner.

There are still plenty around with full service history and looked after they can take huge miles. It's all in how much previous owners have been prepared to spend on miantenance, these are complex and luxurious cars they will never be budget cars to look after and the complex systems do go wrong/ wear out. Your biggest concern with a 4.2 S/C is the cost of fuelling it, start to drive it fast and you won't see a lot more then 12mpg and often a lot worse, especially if you drive it with the gearbox in Sport setting, which locks out 6th gear. No Land Rover product is ever cheap to maintain or run and the Mk1 Sport is a very heavy car so suspension, antiroll and brake components lead a tough life 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Citizen55 wrote:

I don't have a lot of dough, so only spending £10K-£14K which leave me nervous if I get a £2K gearbox failure.

I disagree; they're not badly designed at all. The problem is that they have obviously been subjected to cost cutting after they were designed. Hence suspension bushes made of cheese, electronics that fail at random, gearboxes that are "sealed for life" even though the 'box manufacturer recommends otherwise. The underlying ideas are first rate. HDC, for example, was a LR invention that is now used by all premium SUVs. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Citizen55 wrote:

Hi all,
I haven't bought yet, so I hope to get some knowledge about what I am buying ...

I am after a 2005-2008 RRS 4.2 Supercharged V8 petrol.

I hear from people that these are unreliable / so complicated that I should have enough money so repairs i/e transmission, electrics - The same as any car with high mileage I expect, but I think I need some re-assurance. I don't have a lot of dough, so only spending £10K-£14K which leave me nervous if I get a £2K gearbox failure.

And I am trying to understand little differences in the models, why are some £505 tax and others £290 tax. Looking at the spec, they seem similar output (385BHP).

Thank you so much for your time and discussion.

John

Hi mate,

I like you was in exactly the same position last year wanting a first edition 4.2 SC. I looked and read pretty much every single post on here and other sites and scared myself senseless with the issues. Remember we come on here to vent about what goes wrong and not what is working fine.
I purchased my 2005 4.2 in June this year and have had a few gremlins, but i consider myself car savvy, and although mine had a few owners it also only had 58000 miles and a fairly good extensive history, so i took the plunge.

During the 6 months ownership i have replaced the compressor (shock) and 4 new tyres . Had a service and spent a fortune on fuel

Do i regret it? Absolutely not, it is an amazing car and i defy anyone to find a better 10 year old car for comfort and style and pose value.

Just go for it and of course keep a few quid spare, I have no warranty but am willing to cough up as or when it needs something doing, if funds are too tight to make you worry then maybe she isn't the right Marque for you.

Message me if i can assist in any other way

Why do so many owners talk down and put our cars down - really no more or less reliable no more complex than similar upmarket cars.

Listening to the nannies it is a wonder any new prospective ever buys a RRS.

The majority of owners like me have no major issues and enjoy reliable motoring. In 5 years of ownership I have only had servicing and service items to deal with.

Garry 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

JFDI.......! And have a wad put aside just in case  Visitor from fullfatrr.com
* GONE. 2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Now being piloted by RRSTDV8
* GONE: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* Current. 1974 Lightweight 2.25L petrol. Old skool
* GONE. Freelander GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* GONE. Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

Gary, you have to admit you've probably been luckier than most. I don't think people are talking the car down, even the unluckiest on here still love the car. New buyers Certainly need to be aware of the potential pitfalls so they can be prepared for them.

Garry may be more lucky than many, but he's still far from alone. There are plenty of people who don't have any major issues, it's just that, by definition, we don't hear from them as much. Certainly, on Disco3 there are various threads with praise for reliability.

As RRSTDV8 says, most/all of the issues are down to cost cutting, and the design itself is excellent. Furthermore, many issues suffered are fairly common to premium and/or large vehicles in general.

The main thing is that they are rarely cheap to maintain. You can have a reliable but still expensive one, or you can scrimp on maintainence, be left in the soup and end up shelling out even more. This is the main thing to be aware of. When stuff needs doing, it needs doing now (or even before).

Awareness is also a major factor - spotting problems early and getting the best advice on resolutions is where these forums come in. Without them, many owners come out worse because they and/or their garage are in the dark (for example, an unknowledgeable garage might think/claim that a transmission refurb is needed for £2000+ when a £11 brake switch is the real culprit).

Good luck.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

I had a D3 for 4 years, had to replace the turbo and had a wiring issue with the handbrake poor repair been done by a previous owner and that's it.
Had the sport over 2 years and no problems apart from a knackered battery a year ago there just as good or bad as any other brand, one thing though when you drive around I bet you see at least 4 times as many D3's RRS's on the road as other brands so it will always seem like they have a lot more problems, but they don't there's just more of them !
They also look and drive a lot better than anything else on the road, but that just my own opinion  2008 G4 RRSport TDV8 current
2009 TDCi 90 current
2018 Discovery 5 HSE lux current
1994 Dakar current

I agree that you seldom hear from those who have no problems. My two TDV8's have been relatively faultless apart from one battery melt down and a separate alternator failure. That's in a total of 100,000 miles. So as others have said, get one with a service history, try to speak to the previous owner and get a warranty & enjoy it!

Bladeboy wrote:

Hi john,
The tax is easy- the law changed around mar 06 so ones older than that still get the cheaper tax. They can go wrong so it's worth having a warranty or a few quid put aside- unless you're very capable with a spanner.

It was 25/03/06, because my car was registered on 23/03/2006 so missed the higher tax by two days

garrycol wrote:

Why do so many owners talk down and put our cars down - really no more or less reliable no more complex than similar upmarket cars.

Generally though, the failures though, are down to a poor quality part. The EGRs are (Valeo) but they can be blanked. The brake switch is (Ford) but it's a minimal cost to change periodically. The AMK suspension compressors have proved to be much, much better than the Hitachi ones. Bushes will wear quickly because it's a heavy vehicle - just about as heavy as they come in fact. Some muppet screwing up with the paint in the front diff was unfortunate...

The TDV6 turbo isn't a body off job, but still, it's not easy to make everything accessible. The brake bulb issue is a feature of the 12V braking system and other vehicles aren't immune either (it's a problem of the past now anyway as just about all new cars have LEDs).

90% of failures are due to accountants cost cutting, not the designers.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver