....... being the FF forum too.

I was contemplating selling my 06 Sport and getting a new shape Sport. Then the topic cropped up about the dodgy 3 litre crankshafts and I thought better of that idea. Especially after an exchange on Twitter with LR. Dropping £35k+ on a car that might rack up a £20k bill any moment held little appeal.

I wondered what else I might buy (and a bonus if it spent less time in the garage than an LR vehicle) and investigated the Audi Q7, various big Jeepy things of various brands and Bentleys. None held the appeal of an RR. I decided what I really wanted was a full fat L405, but the £45k used entry level seems a lotta wonga. So I wondered what a late model L322 FF might be like since they are about half the money of an L405. But it would need to be proper spec, black and probably the best model I could find.

Then a chap posted one here for sale that looked a likely candidate. As is often the way, I expected him to be at the other end of the country, but no, he was about four miles away.

So to cut a long story short, after much friendly haggling and poker faces, I acquired an unabused FF 4.4TDV8 Autobiography Black with 50 odd k miles. Spec is off the scale and it is a lovely example.

It had some large Overfinch wheels on that were not to my taste, so I quickly rectified that with some nice L405 wheels. A chap from Gumtree drove off tonight smiling with the old wheels, so the cost of wheel upgrade cost me about £300 net. It lacked sidesteps so I got some deployable ones that are going on in a week or so. So here we are up to now.



I must say, what a nice thing the Full Fat is. Similar to the untrained eye perhaps, but a totally different animal to the Sport. At over £10k less than a new shape Sport, they represent pretty decent value. And with the 4.4 V8 it goes like a rocket!

So after parting with a large bundle of hard-earned notes, I thought I'll perhaps pass the Sport along and get a few quid back in the coffers. But my wife then decided that she rather likes our Sport, and in the absence of the white three door Evoke she would really like, she'll hang on to the Sport, thanks very much.

So I now get to flog her Chrysler 300C which we bought new in 05, which last time I looked had gone down in value from almost £30k it cost in 05 down to about 87p.

On the upside, we are now a two Range Rover family, so we now have the joy of our small fleet spending twice as long in the local garages (since 05 our Chrysler has only needed MOT, tyres, some bushes, brake pads and an alternator).

I have an old Mercedes Sprinter van if both end up in dock together.

But behold, I'll be that smiling bloke in the V8 Range Rover whose kids are watching telly with their new bluetooth headphones in the back. I pray we dont spend too much time on the hard shoulder. Handy to have a telly while you are waiting for the AA when you break down though...... Cash in the Attic anyone? Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

Spiffing wheel centre caps available

I went from a TDv8 RRS HSE to a 3.6TDv8 FFRR Vogue............... it wasn’t a good move as the 3.6 FFRR didn’t have the handling or the brakes of the Sport but the interior was a world of difference better. I was invited to the launch of the 4.4TDv8 and drove an Autobiography for a whole day on and offroad and it was a much much better car than the 3.6 version. The literature showed that the 4.4 has the Brembos (unbranded IIRC) and Dynamic Pack of the RRS and it was sooooo much better than the 3.6 TDv8 FFRR but also a whole lot more expensive. 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

My Sport as an 06 model still has the Fisher Price dashboard with the green back screen and the "Austin Montego" clunky letters. I think in 06 it was probably old hat. That said, it has been a very decent car since we fixed the usual stuff that breaks on them. We've been to France, Belgium, Holland and all over the place in it and it breaks very seldom nowadays. Why my wife wanted to keep it she says (Real reason: slim long blonde milfy women still look pretty hot on the school run in an aged RRS).

I agree with you on the interior, Tim. The cars are 4 years apart and the difference is like night and day. I sent a pal of mine who has a L405 SVR some pics and he said, "Bloody hell, that looks just like mine inside, how much was it?" It was less than a quarter of his with only fifty odd thousand miles over 7 years. Not bad value in my book.

I'll get an L405 in two or three years when they have come down. Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

Spiffing wheel centre caps available

Hi and good purchase

I thought our next car was going to be FFRR 4.4 TdV8, had halve a day in one a few years back and its stayed on my "one day" list
Tried a newer 3.0 FFRR and not for me, so looked again for a 4.4 but went for another RRS in the end

If the "Landrover washing hands of Crank Shaft Breaks" is still ongoing when this one is out of warranty then who knows maybe we will look for an older 4.4 instead

They do ride well

 Porsche Cayenne 2022
gone Porsche Cayenne 2020
gone Corris Grey HSE Dynamic 2016
gone Ipanema HSE lux 2010
gone Rimini HSE 2005
!!