Hi,

Im looking to purchase my second range rover after een badly stung with the one i owned several years ago which was an 07 tdv6 that cracked an exhaust valve, so ownership was short lived on that one.
however im trying not to let it put me off, ive got one in mind that ive seen and will be going to view but im viewing others in the mean time. I drove one yesterday and was rather disappointed i know its a big car but it seemed very "swaying" and "loose" in the corners there was also a wobble in the steering possibly wheel balancing but ive read it could be the rack bushes and that pre 07 vehicles dont like 20" and greater wheels. there was also a bit of black smoke under acceleration just off the mark i know this is sometimes common in mapped diesels (this apparently wasnt) but my recent mercedes c220 never say any smoke whatsoever.
had a look for a buyers guide but the one that keeps popping up doesnt seem to be working.
Any help or advice guys would be much appreciated.]
Cheers!

update: looked at another today which was much better, it still felt like it drove with a bit of a "wallow" but im thinking this is maybe from coming from a coupe with sports suspension to a 4x4 with air supsension and it weighs a lot more steering felt a lot tighter on this one and the lower front arms had been done very recently. only negative was it again smelt a little rich almost how an old diesel smells is this normal?
cheers.

Here's some advice - buy my '08 2.7 TDV6 HSE

http://www.rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic49994.html 2008 RRS HSE Stornoway Grey

Speaking from my own relatively limited experience, I bought a 2005 2.7TDV a year and a half ago. It was an import as I needed a LHD for when I moved to Portugal (March this year). It had around 55k on the clock and 20" wheels. I had it remapped almost straight away.

I've had no problems whatsoever. It had a major service in March which cost me around 4k at an independent 4x4 specialist. It's now done 85k and is serving me extremely well. I too get a little black smoke when putting foot down but I know for sure all hoses and emissions are ok. It's just passed an extremely rigorous Portuguese 'MOT' as part of the matriculation process here and all was well. The best car I have ever owned - and that includes brand new ones. Barrie.
2017-Jan 2024: 2005 RRS 2.7TDV6. Best car I ever had - until now!
Current: 2018 Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2

4k for a major service seems a lot, did you have extra work done ?

Yes - just about everything to the point where I had 4 pages of A4 detailing what was done. West 4x4 in Hampshire did it and they did a great job. As I was exporting the car to Portugal I wanted to be certain that it wasn't going to let me down, either on the drive there or for the foreseeable future as it was/is my intention to keep the car for as long as I can. That was in March - and as mentioned above, no problems whatsoever so far. For a car that's now 13 and half years old I couldn't be more pleased. Barrie.
2017-Jan 2024: 2005 RRS 2.7TDV6. Best car I ever had - until now!
Current: 2018 Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2