Having now written it, this is longer than I anticipated so grab yourself a comfortable chair... and read on!

As I'm planning to do (a lot) more miles than when I acquired my L322 in December 2018, I've just bought an ML420CDI for my sins (apologies to the purists, but it was just too good to pass up), so my RR is looking for a new home.

Whilst photo's will follow, it's now done 122,000 miles and during my 4,000 or so mile ownership it's had a oil & filters including an active charcoal cabin filter, new air con condenser & low pressure pipe (the latter was actually the problem and it now has icy cold air con), a replacement amp/radio combo from Baris with the latest bluetooth phone upgrades and audio streaming capabilities, a second key from Dan @ Duckworths, a brand new Varta battery with 5-year warranty and I fitted a Delphi upper control arm and lower ball joint to the front offside as soon as I bought it despite it just having gone through the MOT with no mention of this after an initial fail for the other ball joint on the same side! I also had two replacement Pirelli Scorpion tyres fitted to the rear so it retains matching tyres all-round with lots of tread depth everywhere. I also upgraded the nav unite to the later BMW DVD based system and bought a genuine 2019 nav disk - Baris also installed the correct splash screen for me so it still says Land Rover rather than BMW!

I also sourced, cleaned up and fitted a second hand genuine Land-Rover tow bar / dedicated electrics / relay combo this spring - it had never had one fitted previously and I've probably towed various smart cars around 1,000 miles using an a-frame since then.

Although I'm the 5th keeper, before me it was registered to R Hunt 4x4 near Salisbury, who apparently had to register it in their name when they'd taken it in part exchange from its previous long-term keeper in order to dispose of it via webuyanycar.com! I spoke with them prior to buying it and they said it had recently had an air compressor and that is backed up by how quickly the air suspension goes up and down. That they thought it was a good example is irrelevant to any perspective purchaser, but at least it gave me some confidence that I wasn't buying a total lemon. It's also had a front suspension airbag /strut on one side at some point in the not too distant past. It also had a replacement rear n/s window regulator and rear wash-wipe fitted at the time that I bought it.

I find the Government MOT website https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ is usually a good indicator of basic condition and checking against the registration will show the typical brake pipe and suspension bush issues in the history for BN04EPK as well as a windscreen that still bares the scars of a previous life and the usual rocker cover oils leaks for which I have bought new gaskets and washers, but not got around to fitting. There's mention quite a few years ago of rear sill corrosion - I can only think that this refers to the usual lower arch issues that all these cars seem to suffer from where there's no real protection from stone chips and both rear arches will need addressing in the door shut at some points will a section where the bumper meets the wing on the rear o/s. This has been previously painted / covered up even and started to come through although I know from when I fitted the tow bar that the metal behind it is still good. The upper tailgate also has signs of a previous repair coming through again on the off-side.

The interior has signs of scuffing to the drivers seat base where folks have got in although the plastic seat base is still intact (probably been replaced in its life at some point), and there are no rips or tears anywhere. It would definitely colour back in and indeed this was done when I bought it however the seller clearly used shoe polish as it reappeared within a month or so. Let's just say that the car was better than the seller - I didn't have much confidence that he would actually do the job properly when he offered to as part of the sale and he didn't let me down. Everything works as it should, nothing is broken or missing and the upgraded stereo sounds great (it has the twin subs in the boot side). The head-lining however has done its very best to separate from its foam covered base and is currently held on at the rear by clothes pegs! I will improve this before sale, but it is never going to be perfect. We are non-smokers and the car hasn't obviously been smoked in - to us there's nothing worse than the smell of stale tobacco in a car!

The rear load cover is complete and in pretty good shape - one of the side pegs was missing so I improvised with a drill bit shank and you'd never spot it if I hadn't told you; it last prevent the shelf from bouncing as you drive along. The boot load space and side panels is also in good condition - I don't think this car has had the hardest of lives.

Bad bits:

I've mentioned the rocker cover oils leaks and rust; it also has an occasional vanos rattle on start up that some folks wouldn't even notice, but it's definitely present (as is characteristic of this engine), if not in any way an issue and it still pulls like a train and revs cleanly round to the limiter.

There is a line of damaged / missing pixels on the sat nav screen, but I have a brand new screen sat in a box at the side of my desk that can go with the car and the pixels on the instrument cluster are not perfect - another common problem with these that I just haven't got around to.

And whilst I have also bought a pair or genuine new heated washer jets for the screen (they break at the base where the hose attaches), but not fitted them yet, so the screen wash isn't perfect. I will probably fit them.

Summary:

It's not perfect, but I don't think any are at this age. I (genuinely) look after my cars and always do anything that they need - I actually enjoy working on them! It's better than lots that I have seen and still a great place to sit - there's room for improvement or you could just put in some fuel and enjoy that FF V8 experience. The BMW V8 just sounds fabulous in these cars and it never ceases to amaze me just how quickly this thing can shift for such a huge lump!

It's hard to price as there's some utter crap out there and this is much better than that. At £4k I'm taking a hit on what I've spent, but it's negotiable and I'd like to avoid going down the eBay route and having to deal with the endless arseholes out there (in and amongst the genuine folks), if at all possible.

If it helps to make it attractive to a forum member, for the right price I will also include my GAP IID bluetooth diagnostic unit that is already registered to the vin and the detachable towball / carrier setup - this is the genuine Westfalia item and was bought new earlier in the year and is never left attached when not in use so is in great condition.

Thanks for reading - that took far longer to write than I intended, but hopefully reflects an accurate representation of BN04EPK. Any questions - give me a call on 07894 061687. 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 V8

Last edited by Ian Donkin on 31st Aug 2019 1:00pm. Edited 1 time in total

On the basis that my Disco 4 blew up today, could I ask you to upload a few pics please?

Thanks

Hi Philip - I intended to get them up this afternoon, but the family took priority so it will be tomorrow morning and fresh daylight before any images appear.

Sorry to read about the D4! 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 V8

I know its a nightmare. Approx £10 for an engine

Hence looking for a car-the D4 was our only car so I need another to get to work.

I did buy a FF V8 in March, and it was a just a disaster. Wallowed like a boat, knocks and bangs all the time, horrible.

Does your drive smoothly? Any knocks or bangs?

And the killer question....would you be confident in doing long journeys in it?

I just cannot afford to have another car with a raft of niggles/issues!

Cheers

Morning Philip - did your D4 snap the crank by any chance? That's an all too common problem and is why I've gone down the ML route for a long distance tow car - that and the fact that the 4.0l v8 diesel that MB did at the time is awesome!

My Wife once put petrol in a D4 that we owned at the time and drove it a couple of miles... it was only when it wouldn't restart that she realised her mistake... as it was still under LR Warranty we had to follow LR guidelines as to remedial work - £5k+ just for that, thankfully covered by our insurers!

But to answer your question, I've done a couple of 500+ mile journeys in the L322 without issues and it's only the potential fuel costs involved with some planned trips to southern Italy (2,500 mile round-trips), that has persuaded me that something with better economy might be prudent.

The gearbox / drivetrain is great and my Wife reminded me yesterday that it's a much smoother place to be that the ML (as our ML is coil-sprung).

Those pictures are coming! 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 V8

Ignore !!