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You can get a good car for your budget without it needing a huge amount of reconditioning work.
The 4.4 TDV8 engine is a very good, very strong engine. I’d certainly not want it out and being rebuilt unless it needed it. Failure of a well maintained one in an L322 is very very rare. There are examples out there with over 200k on the original engine.
The ZF 8 speed in the L322 is also a very strong gearbox. If there’s no issues with it I’d rather just have it serviced then rebuilt.
Turbo failure on the 3.6 was common but it’s very rare on the 4.4 too.
Things like suspension and brake lines you can gauge by looking at the MOT history. They might not need doing. Front suspension can all be replaced for a couple of hundred quid if you’re happy with the spanners. Rear suspension is a bit more expensive but again, isn’t difficult.
Brake pipes are another item that would be picked up on come MOT time. I would however remove the covers from the NS and inspect the front to rear ones for corrosion as they can corrode in there.
Bodywork wise, buy a good one and then clean it, rustproof it and underseal it properly.
The leather in the autobiography is very soft. The lighter colours do seem to wear more than the darker ones.
To summarise, buying a half decent one and keeping a slush fund to one side is a fantastic way of doing it. Buying it and sending it away straight away for work it doesn’t need isn’t a great way of doing it as you could be introducing faults.
David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
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9th Jan 2024 10:32pm
