[rahee006]

Hi guys
i am new here and i am on the verge of buying an L322 prefacelift. i dont mind the look, i dont mind the BMW m62 engine either. i own 3 Bmw's and i do work on them on my own to get them road worthy at times. Just wanted to get some feedback on this vehicle. it has 122k miles on the clock, i found lower mile vehicles for the same price but this color is the one i want.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/ctd/4730205200.html

 

[Weston.Brown]

Looks good to me but since it's a dealer, I'm automatically a but leery. This could mean it was repossessed, or stolen.. OR maybe just a good deal. Check out the carfax and throughly inspect the engine area, looking for signs of fluid/oil leaks go on a test drive including highway speeds, notice how it shifts, see how it sounds on start up. Ask for service records and don't be afraid to negotiate a bit - seems to be a good deal with my limited insight here. Noticed the upgraded wheels too (2010 maybe??). If you're serious, find a good indy mechanic and pay for a through inspection.. Maybe not necessary since you're already lent to DIY. Just my $.02.

 

[rahee006]

thank you, i know i shudnt go by kbb value but it shows somewhere between 9 and 11k and i thought so, once i check the car out i'l take a mechanic and get this checked thru but 122k on a range rover sounds a bit scary to me, but that cud also mean all the major errors have been taken care of?

 

[bobst2003]

Unless you can work on them yourself, or they can show maintenance records... Let it go, 2003-2005 have all kinds of Electrical Gremlins, most are easy to get rid of if you have the software and patience. I have a 2003 with 79,000 miles and I'm always fixing something. Good Luck and become a member of this site, you will need it.. :shock: You have been Warned...

 

[Weston.Brown]

I have an 04 with 140k mi and it's been good. Wouldn't reccomend for a non-DIY'er

 

[Gorf]

05 owner here. Pass on this vehicle. The 02-05's have issues, but the 05 particularly has some oddities that make it sort of a ******* child. Dont get me wrong I do love mine, but I probably would have looked harder for an '06 which is nearly identical but has the Jag motor and 6 speed tranny.

Speaking of tranny - if you do decide to act on this vehicle you absolutely MUST find out if it's had transmission work done on it. Lots of us on here have had the dreaded ZF tranny failures in this generation (5-speed's). Mine was a $6K rebuild. If it hasn't, be wary. Again, I would look for an 06.

 

[diff]

agree to all of the above. our 04 needs numerous bits and tranny is suspect. we paid 9 cdn with 168000 kms, thought it was 178xxx but the pixels are poor. in nice condition but your ad appears to look cleaner. so if its had a rad, water pump and an air spring or 2 it seems to be an ok price but no particular bargain as we need to spend a couple of thousand for 1st step tranny service trans cooler, tensioners for both belts, drivers door lock etc. but we have been able to drive 20,000 kms with all this going on. she is an interesting complex vehicle but at least RSW solutions has some kit that will aid problem solving and resolve many of the electrical issues . Drive over some poor road to see how you like the banging sounds that come from the suspension bushings. Steering can be odd on some occasions. Its surprising that after the p38 the brakes feel a lot more like any north american power braked vehicle due to the vacuum assist. Something that the P did not suffer from. Other than repairs it might need you should still be able to recover a fair portion of the outlay after one year. It may not be pleasant but should be a fair bit less than one year of lease payments on a new vehicle and the down payment and i am not talking about numbers for a new range. looking forward to see what camp you land in.

 

[03rangiemark]

Your best isoprene of info would be from scouring the 10 years worth of posts that have collected on this forum related to the '05, instead of asking for fresh "off-the-top-of-my-head" info that can be thrown on to your question in a day or two.

As said, since you know how to turn a wrench on a BMW, many issues may be familiar to you, Andnothing you can't handle.

Of course the specific RR that you're looking at can be better or worse than average, so you know what good the statistical average is for your decision.
Keep in mind that statistically, the average human has one testical and one breast. The Statistical average is useless in that case, and probably yours too.

 

[brad s1]

You want an 06+, 07+ has a nice interior update... If you have to get an 03-05 for whatever reason I'd be less concerned with the actual mileage and more focused on the service records. There are a slue of things that should have been serviced on it by this point, if all the bases haven't be covered pass.

 

[rahee006]

You want an 06+, 07+ has a nice interior update... If you have to get an 03-05 for whatever reason I'd be less concerned with the actual mileage and more focused on the service records. There are a slue of things that should have been serviced on it by this point, if all the bases haven't be covered pass.

I will check on all the service records if available tomorrow, if all the faulty parts have been replaced i will definitely make him an offer and see what he says, but if i may ask, how do dealers make a profit on these cars? i am sure its not a flip. they know how high maintenance these vehicles are I own a 1988 BMW 735i * 5spd, a 2000 BMW 750iL. I want to buy the range rover so my dad can occasionally drive it, i dont mind the maintainance but i want to drive it at least 10000miles before things pop up. i will definetly let everyone here know once i go and see the RR. Thanks!

 

[mylife1903]

no, you shouldnt. Buy a 08-09 4.2L JAG engine. and low milage is very important. I want to buy next time a 2010-2011 5L supercharged or 3.6L Diesel. better buy a Land Cruiser if you dont want too much problems. But if you are a good challenger and patience buy a Range Rover.

 

[brad s1]

I will check on all the service records if available tomorrow, if all the faulty parts have been replaced i will definitely make him an offer and see what he says, but if i may ask, how do dealers make a profit on these cars? i am sure its not a flip. they know how high maintenance these vehicles are I own a 1988 BMW 735i * 5spd, a 2000 BMW 750iL. I want to buy the range rover so my dad can occasionally drive it, i dont mind the maintainance but i want to drive it at least 10000miles before things pop up. i will definetly let everyone here know once i go and see the RR. Thanks!

The wholesale pricing on land rovers is shockingly low... Something like that they'll buy for 2-5k at auction, put $2000 into it, and ask 15k. Plus on the back side you're most likely going to them when something serious happens, then they're making their ridiculous labor rate and gratuitous mark up on the parts.

Buying from a dealer adds a little level of comfort as you've got some recourse if things go bad, but IMO look private party. Find one with all the service records and lowball the crap out of them. You should be able to buy a good 2003-2005 for 5k-8k at this point.

And again, don't look at mileage as a bad thing... I would happily take a 200,000 miles 2004 with all the service records (air suspension replaced/trans reconditioned/electrical gremlins addressed) over a 40,000 miles 2004 that is immaculate. The 20,000 mile 2004 that hasn't seen a lot of maintenance won't last more than 6 months on the road before you're facing potentially 5-10k in repairs.

Honestly... you want a 2006+ you can still find smoking deals, to spend a little more on a 2006+ will save you mega bux compared to the work a 2004 is going to require over the course of a few years.

 

[rahee006]

The wholesale pricing on land rovers is shockingly low... Something like that they'll buy for 2-5k at auction, put $2000 into it, and ask 15k. Plus on the back side you're most likely going to them when something serious happens, then they're making their ridiculous labor rate and gratuitous mark up on the parts.

Buying from a dealer adds a little level of comfort as you've got some recourse if things go bad, but IMO look private party. Find one with all the service records and lowball the crap out of them. You should be able to buy a good 2003-2005 for 5k-8k at this point.



And again, don't look at mileage as a bad thing... I would happily take a 200,000 miles 2004 with all the service records (air suspension replaced/trans reconditioned/electrical gremlins addressed) over a 40,000 miles 2004 that is immaculate. The 20,000 mile 2004 that hasn't seen a lot of maintenance won't last more than 6 months on the road before you're facing potentially 5-10k in repairs.

Honestly... you want a 2006+ you can still find smoking deals, to spend a little more on a 2006+ will save you mega bux compared to the work a 2004 is going to require over the course of a few years.

My budget is under 12K so i will have to look more on a 2006+ model. i dont think i'l get it for sure

 

[rahee006]

My budget is under 12K so i will have to look more on a 2006+ model. i dont think i'l get it for sure

The dealers are asking $10,000 + $2600 on Extended warranty and an initial 30 day warranty included in the price.

All the cooling system was replaced 6 months ago. the car has received a transmission fluid/filter service. brakes, sparkplugs, almost everything.

There is a scrape on the bumper, one Front PDC is missing. and the Low range switch is broken, and the center console plastic is worn out, typical problems i believe. the pictures are below.

 

[diff]

we got ours with 6 mos plus warranty left from po but even tho i took her in there were no codes so they passed on any repairs even tho i had the trans overheat message and 2 occasions where she would not get out of 2nd gear whaler in NYC. imagine 5k rpm on the cross bronx expressway in ny as we raced to the 3pm morgue deadline as we raced to claim my wife's mother since we could not get her ( rr that is) beyond 2nd gear. get an accurate cost on the repairs and go from there. If she has the lux interior I'd be more in favour. Those seats let you recover after a 10 hour drive in 10 minutes or so and my back is toast.

 

[rahee006]

Pictures:

 

[rph74]

Fwiw I bought my 2003 last year coming from 10 years in the BMW world. I owned 2 cars with M62 motors so I thought it would be no problem to buy a RR. Boy was I wrong! Despite finding one with a remanufactured transmission, coil spring conversion, and cooling system maintanence done, that thing still took me to the cleaners. My 01 X5 4.4 was far more reliable than the RR. I spent about $9000 in repairs before giving up on the RR due to the timing chain guides breaking. I had replaced the main timing chain tensioner right after buying the RR, but it obviously didn't help.
Mine might just have been an unlucky experience, but buyer beware. You absolutely should have $3-5k minimum in a repair fund before buying.

One of the more common, expensive problems cropping up on the 03-05 is the steering wheel actuator/lock going bad. Several thousand to fix it if it fails in the locked position. It usually fails unlocked but this potential issue can be big, expensive, and a real headache!