jamied Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Hi all Having recently moved to a house at the end of a long track in the wild wet west of Scotland I have decided to live my childhood dream and buy a range rover. There is also a more practical reason which is that my other half has had back surgery recently and doest get on well with the bumpy track (the house was her choice btw). I reckon they dont get more comfy than a range rover and it would still be cheaper than tarmacing the whole road only to have the forestry stick lorries tear it up. Not being made of money it has to be an old range rover and a diesel to boot. I have considered LPG but the nearest filling station is about 30 miles away. As Im likely (if she lets me) to use it as a every day car reliability becomes an issue. In my own twisted thought processes I came to the conclusion that it might be better to get a low(ish) mileage pre 1994 model rather than the air suspensioned BMW engined one. Something along the lines of -if they made the same car for 20 plus years they must have nearly got it right in the end. Could anyone confirm or deny that I am not completely barking mad? many of my friends have decided that I must be. Also (apart from the noise) are the non BMW diesels any good? Pedestrian I can deal with but endless blown head gaskets no thanks. Any advice welcome. Thanks Jamie D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 The BMW engines are very good, it´s just the rest of the car can be a let down. However a lovely 300Tdi softdashclassic can´t be sniffed at. Have you cosidered a DiscoII? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrRob Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Having had an Mreg 300Tdi Soft Dash Classic and a K reg factory fit 200Tdi Classic I would recommend the 200Tdi anyday..... All soft dash's seem to rot more (bonnets, sills, rear body cross member). Some say the 200 is a better engine all round than the 300.... The soft dash has a more modern interior but has a lot more electronic gadgetery (ABS, TC). Avoid air suspension soft dash - they were "experimental" and not reliable. Conversion kits to springs are avaialble from Paddocks etc. My current 200Tdi has no TC and no ABS and is very easy to work on...I'm no mechanic (marine biologist!) and I find it easy enough to work on!! I do have some knowledgable mates though! Can't comment on V8 versions other than they require regular oil changes. Tdi - check history for cam belt changes at 60K (or less). 300Tdi - check P gasket (coolant leak on offside of block) and cam belt mod (stops shredding) has been done - you can see why I favour the 200! Hope that helps.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Disco 2s aren't as good on the comfort side for someone that's had back problems.......trust me!!! As for what to buy - try and find the best condition one that you can in your price bracket. It may mean waiting and travelling to look at some, but it will pay off in the end! Make sure you look at the boot floor, sills, footwells, inner wings (front and back), tailgates, A-pillars, B-pillars, C pillars, D-pillars...... They will cause no end of maintenance/MoT issues if they aren't sound. There are good ones out there!! A 300 TDi Softdash would be best! The air suspension is only a problem if it goes wrong. Otherwise, it's luvverly!! Find one with good amount of service history and there's a good chance that it's been cared for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Classic air suspension is fine if it's looked after, but any that haven't been already refurbed will have perished air springs and shot valve block seals by now - all fixable, and not hugely expensive if you're prepared to do it yourself (if you aren't prepared to regularly get your hands dirty, be prepared to make your mechanic a very rich man running any Range Rover...). However, in your case I wouldn't recommend an air sprung classic as the suspension is stiffer than a coil sprung one, which your other half won't thank you for. Payoff is better handling and less compromise between on/off road performance. If you can stretch to a P38a the diesels are a lot more refined than classic diesels, and the air suspension has a vastly better ride. In both cases V8s are much nicer, but thirsty so expensive to run if you aren't on LPG. Unless things have changed recently there aren't enough LPG stations in your neck of the woods to make that practical. I find Discoveries a lot less comfortable than Range Rovers, but it really comes down to how well the seats fit her. My current Discovery was originally bought for my mother because she has a bad back and of all the cars my parents tried she found it most comfortable. Do your homework and make sure you get a decent vehicle and you won't regret it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 And remember a 'Full service history' with lots of stamps, doesn't neccesarily mean it has been looked after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamied Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 Thanks everyone for the comments. Ill try a disco, or at least get the missus to try one and see how it works with her back, but I still like the idea of a range rover . To sum up then: a) Im not totally barking then b ) a good 200 tdi classic would be agricultural in the engine dept but worth considering c ) a very good soft dash would also be worth looking at d) P38 could be good as well. hmm My main concern about getting into the later models (soft dash with air susp and P38s) is that all those electronic gadgets have a nasty tendency to go wrong. ABS would be nice but otherwise I dont really need any of it. I wont be doing serious off roading with it (well ...hmm.. maybe) just some thing that can take edge off farm tracks and mean my wife can get in and out in all weathers (necessary for her job). The main problem for her back is the shock transmitted through the car when it hits a pothole, of which we have plenty. Neither of us cares much about the look of the beast or whether it has CD changers etc - what counts is the basic function and reliability (the last one being the sticky point with RRs I know) We have a budget of about £5-6000 but could go to 8-9 if it was really really worth it. That said money spent on the range rover comes off the money we have to spend on replacing the other car and on what we have to repair the dam thing when it inevitably goes wrong. Im assuming the classic is a bit more agricultural in its mechanics and is therefore cheaper and easier to fix. I think Im going to go for the 200 tdi classic if I can find one in good nick but as I trawl the market place ill see what comes up. More comments welcome Cheers Jamie D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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