Hi all,

To cut a long story short, I'm getting rid of my 2015 leased Mercedes C250 after having a spinal op and I need to get something with a much higher seating position. The C250 is a beautiful, fast car but the driving position is bad news for me. I've been advised by my surgeon to not sit in a saloon for another year at least.

I've got about 17k to play with, and although I've been searching for hours at different options, I always end up back at the range rover sport. I do a lot of business miles (18,000 a year), but as I can claim for most of it the fuel cost isn't really much of an issue. All luxury SUVs in my price range are crap on fuel in comparison to the merc (60+mpg) so I'm not going to fuss over an extra 5-6 mpg from something like a Touareg. The RRS interior is way too gorgeous to ignore, so much so that I'm OK with it being so sluggish, I'm usually only interested in sub 8 second vehicles.

I've got two RRS's nearby that I want to check out this weekend. One is a 2008 TD 2.7 HSE with 89,000 on the clock and has been serviced by the dealer, cambelt just changed, 7 service stamps, new discs and pads all round. This one is £17,500. Black with tan leather, and light wood inside. My all time favourite combo.

The other is a 2007 TD 2.7 HSE with 73,500 on the clock, but unfortunately the dealer hasn't stated any service history - so until I get hold of them tomorrow I'll assume it's poor. This one is £16,000.

I'm more tempted by the first with 89,000, as it's just had a lot of work done and it's about 4 miles away from me. Seems to have a decent history. I go past the dealer during my commute, and having them nearby could be really useful (if these cars are as unreliable as some say).

Does anyone have any tips that could help me decide? I have seen a lot of posts about things that were replaced in different models by LR, but I don't know much about the engine codes used in RRS's so I'm a tad lost. I'm OK with checking service history, cambelt etc, but it's the specific stuff I don't know

Cheers all. I'm really hoping one of these will be a good find, as the RRS is an itch I've wanted to scratch for a while.

Welcome to the RRS family Tom. Your favourite car has a non-standard interior so be careful when checking the rest out. Tan was not an option until 2010MY/ the facelift models. LR offered Alpaca, Ebony or Aspen as standard, Alpaca , Ebony or Ivory as "Premium" upgrade and Ivory or Ebony perforated leather "Sports" seats on Supercharged models from 2005 until 2010. If it has lots of "Bentley" Quilt and a body kit then it may be an Overfinch or Kahn modified car which could well have a modified ECU map too. Good luck with your searches. If you would like any scanned copies of the sales brochures I have them all from launch, along with the price lists and accessory lists. 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

Hi Tim. Thanks for replying. The car isn't tan interior, it's actually black. My mistake, I've been looking at far too many of them!

I'm going to look at it this morning, I'll take the buyers guide with me.

I've got 2 other options to look at. A freelander 2 fairly local, which looks nice inside but not quite the luxury of an RRS, or an Infiniti EX also down the road. The Infiniti is crap on fuel like the RRS, has hardly any miles on the clock but isn't the nicest inside to be honest. My heart wants to go with the RRS, I'll probably end up remapping it. My only mental struggle at the moment is I HAVE to keep this car for 4 years, and I think the other options would be less painful in the long run. However I could be lucky and have no problems at all!

Anyone got a 2012 freelander 2 who can chime in with anything useful? In the mean time I'm off to see the RRS and give it a test drive.

Rather than remapping an older RRS why not look for a Supercharged Petrol? Fuel consumption will be horrendous on a 4.2 but if you can stretch to a 2010MY there is a 5.0ltr V8 S/C that gets nearer to 20mpg! Thing is the price is usually lower for the same age car and the handling/ performance is really quite good for a nearly 3t tonnes SUV as they have a Dynamic Handling Pack as standard. What you save on price goes toward the fuel.............

Freely2 is a great car that was always known as a mini Range Rover. Ride is soft and they can be a bit rolly in spirited driving, they are well finished and comfortable, go for the HSE or HSE Lux versions if you want lots of mini limo toys.Fuel consumption isn't too bad either - in the 30's, don't forget that they are permanent 4WD with a Viscous coupling to shift the drive between back and front (normally 95% front with 5% to the back, but variable anywhere between due to the VC) with no low ratio gearbox which helps fuel economy 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

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on Sat Apr 02 2016 9:55am. Edited 1 time in total

Here are some pictures of it

You forgot the link!

Freelander2 - our sister forum www.freel2.com deals with them! 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

Oh dear, I attached them as images. Guess it didn't work! My limit is really 17,500 and I'm not really willing to go below 28-30mpg on motorway trips, so I think the petrol will be too thirsty for me. I haven't looked much into remaps but I saw AMD do them, and after they did an excellent remap on my old cupra r I'd consider them. Cheers.

Here's the ad - http://www.cornemotors.co.uk/land-rover-ra...58vff.html

It looks good BUT................ Wheels look very new so check that they are OEM LR items and not replicas, that design is popular and was a standard LR wheel but is much copied. The weight of RRS1 can destroy replicas that are not up to the loading. If genuine LR wheels there will be a Land Rover oval logo cast into the inside of them along with a number. If those are the wheels the car came with originally it also suggests it might have the Dynamic Response pack (it was optional on HSE) fitted which gives improved handling on and off-road. To tell, open the bonnet and look for an additional hydraulic fluid filler cap - the system is electro-hydraulic. It will also mean that although a 2008 car it will have the uprated steering rack required for 20" wheels as originally LR had 2 types of steering rack, one for cars with 18/19" wheels and an uprated one for cars with 20" wheels, after 2008 all cars were built with the uprated rack.

If you are taking it for a test drive get them to stop somewhere, put the transmission into neutral, open the driver's window and then select Low Range.................. You should hear a slight whirring noise as it changes from High to Low ranges and there will be a light come on on the dash. If it doesn't go into Low range it isn't a huge problem, it just means that the previous owner didn't follow the owner's manual recommendations to engage it and it has seized up............. Even if you never intend to go off-road / use the Low range it will be a negotiating point to reduce the price. It should be operated every month. BTW don't drive on the pave road in low range as you will get transmission wind up, reselect High range and again it should engage smoothly and quietly and the light on the dash should go out. Cure for a seized transfer is a bit of operating and some TLC, maybe a big hammer. 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

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on Sat Apr 02 2016 10:34am. Edited 1 time in total

Thanks Tim, useful tip! If they're real wheels it looks like a reasonable find as they have just done a lot of work on it.

I've just added a bit about the transfer casing shifter you should look at too 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

Cheers Tim,

The low range test was fine. The wheels are original, they've just been refurbed. The lower arms are being done as well this week, so overall it looks pretty good.

I drove it around a bit, it pulls away much quicker than I expected. Incredibly comfortable as well, the roads round here are dreadful and it just floated over the bumps. Seating position is perfect for my back and leg nerves too.

It's got a couple of worn areas inside, like the door handle, but I can replace those bits and bobs over time if they bother me.

Sounds like you might have found one of the better used ones then. They do tend to smother pot holes! The bigger brother Range Rover is even better at it!
Did the suspension go up and down through it's full range OK and without any strange noises or without the car getting a bit lop sided? They are signs that either a height sensor is failing/ or failed or that the air system needs looking at.

If you decide to go for it then well worth investing in an aftermarket warranty, plenty of info on the forum but IIRC Warranty Wise one is pretty highly regarded and worth having as usually used car dealer warranty is supposed to last 3 months but they always find a way not to pay up once you have left the forecourt with your shiny "new to you" car! Also if going for it check that you have two key bobs and that if you take the cover off the centre section of the rear bumper and find any pre-wired towing electric sockets that the removable tow hook is also present - there has just been a factory recall on the removable tow hook system so a main dealer should sort that out for free if you take it in. You can tell if the car has factory fitted removable towing kit by looking under the rear valance and if there is a red plastic filler on the slot for the removable tow bar then the car had a factory tow system. 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

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on Sat Apr 02 2016 12:59pm. Edited 1 time in total

Hi Tim,

The suspension went up and down just fine, and all the 4x4 systems selected OK with no warnings. I've been offered a 2 year unlimited warranty which the chap says will cover parts and labour up to £2,000 per claim, and you can claim up to the value of the car across the 2 year period.

There's an independent LD approved workshop down the road from me who is the best man for the job, apparently.

I'm torn. A fantastic car to drive and sit in (and I've had many nice cars), decent grunt, but the usual horror stories are still making me rethink. I'm not even bothered about going to view the Infiniti anymore as I don't think it'll match the RRS and the economy is just as bad. My gut feeling is I'll go for it. The other RRS down the road has no service history, so I'm not even going to view it.