Can't comment on the L405 but their L322 prices seem exceptionally high. John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
GAP iiD BT
2003 Discovery TD5 Auto, Nanocom Evolution - gone to a new home!
MasseyFerguson 152 - No electronics!! - Sold

Yes I have seen those, and James seemed v honest about those too. As you say, he is a nice guy to deal with. The cars with the fsh were either, not Westminster/Vogue SE, or the colour combo was not what I am looking for, ideally. Or more than I want to pay. He has a nice silver Westy I was interested in at £18950, but turned out it had been owner-serviced. Lovely looking car, and had it had a lighter colour interior it would have been close to the "ideal".

I hear you about full service before delivery, I've seen some shockers. I tend to buy a car and have it put in for a major service and additional items esp on a 4x4 - like all fluids (inc 4x4 drive systems and G/B service) for peace of mind.

Dont be too hung up on FSH. In my (and many others') experience, it's not worth the paper it's written on, as many taken to MD have not been done properly, charged for things they didn't do etc. If someone is prepared to go to the trouble of self-servicing, it shows they care enough to probably do it properly and not necessarily due to being tight.

Thanks for your reply Dolphinboy, I guess this is one of those moments where "opinions may vary". For many years I would only buy a car with main dealer fsh. I'm well aware of the idea of Indy's doing a better service than main dealers and slowly over the years that changed my opinion a little. So that now with this next purchase, for the first time ever in my life, I'm not not looking for a car with a full main dealer sh. But it has to be main dealer and indy specialist otherwise I would not buy the car no matter what anyone said, absolutely not. Especially not with something like a L322.

I actually believed that the common wisdom when buying a L322 was that a FSH should be top of the list and that to buy without one would be increasing the risk too much. I may be wrong.

I couldn't care less about full service history for a common car like a L322. When buying a cheapish secondhand 9-11 year old car the first thing to do is bring it back into a known state to my own quality standards. When I bought my 5.0SC unseen, untested sure I took a risk; but ultimately it is just a car they all do the same thing There was clear evidence it has been maintained, so for now I limited it to just a gearbox and supercharger service.

Anyway back to Vogue Centre, they run a business so I guess they know what they are doing. But blimey those prices are something else. I bought my 5.0SC for half that from a dealer last February....I'd never pay any of their prices for an old car like the L322.

Old age has little to do with my opinion on whether a fsh is required, in fact the older the machine, the more important proper maintenance is for proper operation as the machine gets older.

Or to put it another way, a RR is a complex machine that requires proper maintenance. To ensure proper maintenance usually requires specialised knowledge. Knowledge is gained through experience. So for me, someone who works on LR day in day out is probably the best person to understand that machine and maintain it.
Buying a complex machine that has not been properly looked after is asking for problems. This is a fact of life for mechanical things.
An oil and filter change does not constitute proper maintenance on a LR.

Sure, wear and tear items are going to need replacing, but experience and knowledge can help prevent more serious issues arising. Ignorance of the tell-tale signs, or lack of knowledge means that small problems that do not show symptoms grow into bigger problems. If someone has pockets so deep this does not matter, then they can just buy any wreck and keep throwing money at it until it is A1. Great, it it a good thing to bring back something from the brink.I did it with an old yacht and was very pleased, but I largely knew what I was getting into. With RR I do not necessarily know what i am getting into, and hence, FSH please.

For me, I would rather reduce my risk, by buying something that has evidence of proper maintenance. It has worked for me over 30 years of buying cars and boats.

That sums up my approach to this.

I'll second the same comments. I recently helped my brother find a "decent" L322. We found one with good history but most importantly a huge wedge of invoices and receipts as proof of work e.g. oil cooler done. It needs one or 2 things doing (silicone intake hoses) but they are pence. Buy on condition/proven history and not a few stamps from a main stealer... 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
New Defender D300 90 on order so "Rory" will be going to a new home....!
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
My preferred specialist: www.glenrands.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------

Tell you what then. My 3.6 tdv8 VSE is GOLD

DrRob wrote:

I'll second the same comments. I recently helped my brother find a "decent" L322. We found one with good history but most importantly a huge wedge of invoices and receipts as proof of work e.g. oil cooler done. It needs one or 2 things doing (silicone intake hoses) but they are pence. Buy on condition/proven history and not a few stamps from a main stealer...

It's clear reading through the comments that we all buy our cars differently. That doesn't make any of us right or wrong as realistically, we should buy what we feel comfortable with. Some are more than happy to take a gamble on a car if the price is right whereas others would never dream of doing this. I think the OP has a standard that he wants to see in a vehicle before he parts with his money and that is his choice as that's what he feels comfortable with. There will be the right car out there and it may take a little longer to find but I for one would like to wish him good luck in his search. 2011 TDV8 Vogue SE

SausageCreature wrote:

Old age has little to do with my opinion on whether a fsh is required, in fact the older the machine, the more important proper maintenance is for proper operation as the machine gets older.

Or to put it another way, a RR is a complex machine that requires proper maintenance. To ensure proper maintenance usually requires specialised knowledge. Knowledge is gained through experience. So for me, someone who works on LR day in day out is probably the best person to understand that machine and maintain it.
Buying a complex machine that has not been properly looked after is asking for problems. This is a fact of life for mechanical things.
An oil and filter change does not constitute proper maintenance on a LR.

Sure, wear and tear items are going to need replacing, but experience and knowledge can help prevent more serious issues arising. Ignorance of the tell-tale signs, or lack of knowledge means that small problems that do not show symptoms grow into bigger problems. If someone has pockets so deep this does not matter, then they can just buy any wreck and keep throwing money at it until it is A1. Great, it it a good thing to bring back something from the brink.I did it with an old yacht and was very pleased, but I largely knew what I was getting into. With RR I do not necessarily know what i am getting into, and hence, FSH please.

For me, I would rather reduce my risk, by buying something that has evidence of proper maintenance. It has worked for me over 30 years of buying cars and boats.

That sums up my approach to this.

^^ Oh my. I have never heard anything like it. Of course it is complex.

Here is a definition of a simple machine:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_machine

Hmm ok then 🤣 against such a definition I agree with you. But compared to any other car or definition it is just a car. The Range Rover really in its serviceable parts is no different in what the parts do than anything else.

But what about those prices from the vogue centre hey

Just remember, get your fatty serviced at the main dealer and you have a choice of services from just an oil and filter change to the full service as directed by JLR...

Ask the dealer to just do the oil and filter EVERY TIME and they are more than happy to do it and will stamp up the service book so it looks like it has had all the servicing it needs when, in fact, it's just had oil and filter changes... Pete

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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-