Hi all, I'm Matt, and I'm new here, having previously had a few other LR products... Freelander, P38 RR, Disco 300tdi x2 and a disco TD5...

So I've currently got a 2013 BMW 116d and a 1998 disco 300tdi, however having recently had a go in my mother in law's 3.6tdv8 L322 and one of those 4.4 (is that the size?) TDV8 L405's at a land rover experience centre, I've decided I'd like to own a FFRR as a main car and just get something cheap with warranty as a secondary, such as a Kia picanto or a Suzuki Alto

Anyway, I think I'll be looking to purchase around March/April time. Do the costs really fluctuate very much in the winter and summer? I've always bought our discos in the summer and struggled to sell our p38 last summer for almost half what I paid for it in the winter. Is this the case with the L322 also?

I think I'm going to have a budget of around £6500 for the RR, am I likely to get anything decent for this money? I do a fair few miles, working as an IT technician spanning 4 counties, and we like to drive to Spain once per year, so I think it's going to have to be an oil burner. I assume the TDV8 will be WAY out of my price range but I was just wondering if a TD6 is likely to be affordable in the spring, without having to go for one with moon miles on?

Also what are common things to look out for as issues when buying? Is the list as extensive as the P38?
Thanks in advance for any opinions

Hi Matt,

Doubt you'll get a roadworthy 3.6 or 4.4 diesel for £6.5k.

Not sure if you've seen the forum for sale & wanted section but as an example, at the end of September this advert was for an 86k miles TD6 that has since sold and the advert says it was up for approx £11k:
http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic27673.html

There are buying guides (issues to look out for) on the forum Wiki (top right of your screen)... and a wealth of TD6 and other knowledge on the forum.

You'll probably get a good guide price off forum members/ sponsors if you post details of a prospective car. Otherwise though, these DIY pricing threads should help to guide you as to whether or not a prospective purchase is realistically priced:
http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic18536....tion+guide

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic27202....ation+ford



Last edited by pld118 on 14th Oct 2014 10:15pm. Edited 2 times in total

Thanks for the reply. I think it's the 3.0 diesel I'll be looking for as opposed to the newer variants. I'll take a look at the wiki, thanks

matt, you will get a TD6 or 4.4 Petrol for that level and some good ones are available, however do consult the forum re its viability if you are unsure, you may not like the answers but they are from very informed owners (in the main)

I had a nosey through what's been for sale on this forum over the past few months and these 3 were in or around your budget.

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic26075-15.html

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic24977.html

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic24315.html

I've got a feeling that the last one on the list might even still be for sale - struck me as good value, but you'll have to go to France to get it.

One thing you will find, is that there is loads of good advice on here.

If you do a lot of miles in the 116 then doing them in the FF is not going to be cheap. I'd budget your running costs being double or triple at least if you work on a avg MPG in the FF of being around 24-26mpg.

Yes its good for lugging even 8u bits of rack kit around but it aint cheap! I'd just go in with eyes wide open as your 116 must be doing around 50mpg i'd reckon. FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

You're looking at the cheaper end of the market. No problem with that. But the car you get wont be perfect. If you're handy and can do some work yourself, you'll save some money. At that age and $, have you thought of the BMW petrol with LPG?

Kingpleb you're spot on, I do get around 50 to the gallon and have budgeted for fuel and tyres etc to be around double the cost

Regarding the BMW petrol V8 on LPG, I heard it's a complicated engine already, I like to do as much work as possible on my own cars, and I know nothing about LPG. Is it likely to bite me in the bum?!

Reliability wise as long as it's been serviced well it should last as long as the td6 if not longer due to the cleaner burning nature of lpg. Although if check the plugs that are in it are of a colder running grade to help get the best from it.

Budget to change all the fluids, gearbox and diffs/centre box and coolant as coolant is 3-5yeaes iirc so if its had lpg a while will need doing. Also brake fluid is often been in there a good while and use fully synth ending oil  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Hi Matt
Just see that my car is linked in this thread, I 'm confident that she would do the job, and all the fluids etc have been done, she obviously has been well taken care off by previous forummembers, still I would not advice you to buy a petrol car for that kind of mileage if you're on a budget. Next to that i feel that you must be aware of the fact that high mileage cars can be costly, however well they are maintained. There is always something that can go wrong.

Hi Matt

I bought a 52 plate TD6 Vogue with 120K on the clock for $7000 last month. There are a few things needing done but to be honest it's mostly cosmetic. Parts are readily available and if you're prepared to do the work yourself then you'll save a fortune. Running costs are no worse than any other Land Rover I've owned.

cheers 2017 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography
2016 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography - GONE
2013 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography - GONE
2010 3.6 TDV8 - GONE
2008 3.6 TDV8 - GONE
2002 3.0 TD6 - GONE
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 S - GONE
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 - GONE
2003 Discovery 2 TD5 - GONE
1999 Discovery 300 TDI - GONE
1998 Range Rover DSE - GONE
1997 Discovery 300 TDI - GONE

Sorry to dampen your desire to own a FF, but if I was traveling between 4 counties and using it for work with a budget of £6500 in all honesty I wouldn't buy a FF. Not sure what I would buy, but I can't feeling that where you are now is a good ish choice as any. And yep I have a FF and don't like bm's .any of them.
Quite sure some will disagree but there you go.

Thanks all for your messages.

What is considered to be "high mileage" in the FF world? I tend to work on 10k per year as an average when looking at cars, but my current 98 Disco 300tdi is on 220k and seems to be still going strong and my old P38 was a similar story at 192k when I sold it. Can similar mileage be achieved realistically in an L322? I wouldn't want to buy one at this mileage for a main car, but at the same time I don't think mileage bothers me as much as it does for some...

Regards to running costs, my current 1 series is on contract hire and I've got the discovery as a second car. The 1 series will be going back in April at which point my employer wants to give roughly £2200 per year (roughly the cost of the contract hire per year) as a car allowance which I can do with as I please. I can elect to receive this as a lump sum to cover the next 3 years or have it monthly should I wish to get a personal contract hire. On top of this I'd be able to claim 45p per mile as a mileage allowance in line with HMRC, and I estimate that I do 10k per year business mileage, with another 6-7k personally.

I've worked out that I'd get £4.5k per year for my mileage from my employer, and I reckon if I got 25mpg (is this likely?) combined in a TD6 that'd leave me with about £2100 per year towards maintenance, repairs, insurance, tax etc and the rest would come out of my own pocket. I'd also have access to a company owned cheapy pool car (such as Kia picanto, Suzuki swift etc) which I could use in the event of the FF being out of action, giving me time to repair it myself rather than take it to a garage.

Potentially I could add some of my own money to buy a newer FF but I think I'd prefer to keep some money back to use for repairs and such.

I think it should all work out ok, however I agree if I was using my own 6.5k plus running the car out of my own pocket entirely, I wouldn't be considering a FF for my mileage either.

I see 122 k miles as High mileage (which my 02 has done). I know, from previous discussions on here, others do not. The advantage of an older car at 6k£ is, that you wont lose much on depreciation.
Whatever we all bring up, there is only one thing that counts, if you want to, just do it, life is to short to seriously worry about a car. good luck with the search

To be honest mileage isn't that bad as long as it's been looked after in its life. Yes suspension will be a bit more worn but the rubbers are getting old anyway.


To be honest the biggest problem in your plan is counting on that money coming in. I wouldn't do it unless you had the money to lose as what happens if you lose your job or move onto another one?

I would consider the FF as a second car or weekend car. Then get a dirt cheap hack for the work stuff. Something that if it breaks down and costs a few quid to fix you can stick on eBay and use the FF until you get the next one, keeping the miles on the FF down and saving you a packet

I Call it bangernomics and if your company pays the 45p/mile limit your well in 😄 FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.