Hi All

Been a member for some time and have some RR experience with a 4.6 V8 P38 we bought for a house renovation as we figured it would be cheaper to use that going to the local tip with rubbish than it would for several skips. Turned out to be a wonderful car and the best £1500 I've ever spent on a car. 117000+ miles and still going strong passing last couple of MOT's without any work!

Anyway that RR experience has got me tempted to change my 5.0 V8 Jag XF for and L322 and I'm looking at quite a nice 2011 S/C tomorrow. Been using the site for a bit of research and have some questions I can't yet find answers to.

1. The dreaded timing chain issue seems to come up as the biggest issue with the 5.0 S/C. If the dealer doesn't know if this has been fixed or not is there any way I can find out?

2. Do any of the L322's have keyless entry/exit? On my Jag of the same year its quite common. If you have the key on your pocket you just pull on the door handle and the car unlocks. To lock there is a button on the door handle. I don't see the button on the door handles of the L322's pictures and its not generally mentioned in the specs online.

Thanks,
Chris

1. Don't know anything about the timing chain issue and my head is well deep in sand on that.

2. My 2012 AB doesn't have keyless entry so it was at best an option by then, but then they did keep changing the specs... Mike - MPx

2017 5.0 V8 Supercharged SVAutobigraphy Dynamic SVO Palette Grey (2021-...)
2012 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autoboigraphy Orkney Grey (2017-2021)
2007 4.2 V8 Supercharged Vogue SE Tonga Green (2012-2017)
2002 4.4 V8 Vogue Bonnatti Grey (2008-2012)

Thanks MPx, from my investigations it looking like the keyless entry isn't something the L322 has which is a shame but not a deal breaker. Its quite handy and I'm surprised that as a luxury car with just about everything else you could think of this would have been standard in 2011 onwards, but I'll cope.

On the timing chain thing I'm also wondering of I'm worrying over nothing and the head in the sand approach might be warranted. I've done a lot of searching but finding it hard to get a concise view on it and wondering if its just internet hysteria and more of a North America issue than a serious /common fault in the UK cars?

Do you mind me asking how long have you had your 5.0 S/C and how many miles has it done?

That is a great car. but buy the extended warranty on any 5.0... It would be almost impossible to lose that bet.

My 2011 had keyless entry but not keyless ignition, which I liked because it was more secure. OffRoadRover.com An American Western Range Rover Off Road Blog

my 12 has keyless go, but not entry.

AFAIK there was never keyless entry on UK FFRR. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

looking back I think you maybe right, it might have had keyless start but not keyless entry. OffRoadRover.com An American Western Range Rover Off Road Blog

chrisnj wrote:

Do you mind me asking how long have you had your 5.0 S/C and how many miles has it done?

So had a test run in this beauty today and very very tempted to swap the Jag for it as it ticks the practical box for carting our golf sticks and dogs around. The dogs go in a tube on that back seat of the Jag which effectively makes it a two seater. Plus the performance of the S/C meets my need for speed. Actually it quite shocked me when I floored it on a clear bit if dual carriage way. I think it responded better than the Jag does and much faster than a beast of the size it is should be expected too, put quite a grin on my face. If I buy this I think my shares in BP look sound!

Only downside is that its too old for a manufacture warranty but the dealer is giving their own 1 year warranty, but after discussing specifics its clear their warranty will not cover the timing chain tensioner issue if that crops up. Rest of the warranty looks pretty good though. Wish I hadn't done my online research now and got spooked by the timing chain issue otherwise I think it would be a no brainer for me but.....

For info its s 2011 5.0 S/C Autobiography with all the toys including reclining and heated / cooler rear seats. Just over 70K miles on clock and has full LR service history. Its from a main dealer and they will give it a full service and MOT for delivery and they are asking £25989 which I think is at the top end but then it is a main dealer and they are offering me 12k for my Jag which I think is very fair. Any views from this esteemed audience?

Chris.

My view is that the price is strong but right for a good car. I have no idea about the value in the Jag - but if you're happy with it then it shouldn't be the finance side that puts you off. Its really a question of "do you feel lucky"? I believe there are more good ones than bad...but there's a few bad cars are out there and they are hard to tell apart! If it was me I'd like to talk to the previous owner and really understand how they used the car and what happened to it while in their care. Good luck with it... Mike - MPx

2017 5.0 V8 Supercharged SVAutobigraphy Dynamic SVO Palette Grey (2021-...)
2012 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autoboigraphy Orkney Grey (2017-2021)
2007 4.2 V8 Supercharged Vogue SE Tonga Green (2012-2017)
2002 4.4 V8 Vogue Bonnatti Grey (2008-2012)

They are beautiful. I love the AB 2011. I think you may just want to check the price of a replacement engine before you pull the trigger (>~20k in parts IIRC) if you can handle it go for it. Also issues with water pumps and oil starvation/failure reported. I can PM you the links if you'd like.

On RangeRovers.net there was at least one guy who swapped out his motor for a 5.0 Coyote out of necessity.

How sure are you that it is an Autobiography? May want to run the ViN through topix owners area to get the build data... OffRoadRover.com An American Western Range Rover Off Road Blog

Push the dealer to do the timing chains if you are worried about them. Maybe you supply parts and they fit them or something like that. You never know. Or offer then a grand less and get them done yourself. It's a buyers market. Or find one with them done. Endless choices.
I went from an XF to a free and love it. Mine was the xf-s 3.0 Portfolio. Great cars but the ffrr does way more. Take your time and get the right deal.  2007 Vogue TDV8 in Zermatt Silver with Charcoal

Well as Tom Cruise says in Risky Business sometimes you got to say WTF!

I pulled the trigger on this one and I'm buying it. In some respects there is too much info online and the more I read the more I had doubts. Not meant as a pop mate but its quite odd when you have people like Cliff saying on one hand he love's the cars then goes to effectively say don't buy them 'cos they'll go wrong and cost you a fortune.

Anyway I'm trusting my instinct on this one. On my inspection it looked a tidy car, drove well and its history checked out on some digging. I'm getting a good deal on the XF and we've negotiated some bits and pieces. I think I'll takes Mike's attitude and do a bit of head in the sand on the timing chain issue but at the same time stash away some cash for repairs just in case.

Can't wait now for delivery I the next week or so and start enjoying wafting around in it and occasionally booting it  ----------- Garage --------------------
2011 Range Rover L322 5.0 S/C Autobiography
2006 BMW 650i V8 Conv
1997 Range Rover P38 4.6 V8 HSE
2014 Harley Davidson Fat Bob
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Range Rover lettering on the bonnet is too low, so maybe had some paint chips done etc in its life.

Love the two tone interior.

Enjoy.

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

Good man Chris - now enjoy it! Mike - MPx

2017 5.0 V8 Supercharged SVAutobigraphy Dynamic SVO Palette Grey (2021-...)
2012 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autoboigraphy Orkney Grey (2017-2021)
2007 4.2 V8 Supercharged Vogue SE Tonga Green (2012-2017)
2002 4.4 V8 Vogue Bonnatti Grey (2008-2012)

mjdronfield wrote:

Range Rover lettering on the bonnet is too low, so maybe had some paint chips done etc in its life.

Love the two tone interior.

Enjoy.

Good spot, hadn't noticed that, will have to check if its just a photo angle or whether it is a bad replacement of the badge next time I look at the car. Attached some more photo's the dealer sent me and think you could be right about the front badges. Also added another shot of the interior. I'm not normally a fan of two tone interiors but this one really works for me.

TBH the condition of the bodywork leads me to believe its had some bodywork restoration as its very unlikely a 7 year old car of this size in the UK with 70k miles would have bodywork as good as this one is. My Jag has a few inevitable carpark dings and blemishes on it and the alloys too. All will need a recon before they sell it on I suspect and I would expect no less from a main dealer selling a car. So I'm quite happy this one I'm buying has had a touchup. Apart from the badge placement issue you have spotted the quality off the paint job looks pretty good to me.

 ----------- Garage --------------------
2011 Range Rover L322 5.0 S/C Autobiography
2006 BMW 650i V8 Conv
1997 Range Rover P38 4.6 V8 HSE
2014 Harley Davidson Fat Bob
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