oneandtwo Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I am looking at purchasing a l322 on behalf of my parents. Someone I know has a 2004 4.4 v8 vogue with 70,000 miles and will let me have it for £3000 as it has been standing for some months and has a dent in the upper tailgate. Should I be wary of potential faults? I know nothing about l322s The oil level seemed very high on the dipstick, could this be as simple as overfilling it or something worse? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich broom Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Bloomin lovely car. Had a customer with one. Did a fair bit of work on it. Normal wear and tear stuff. Bits aren't overly expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 id have that.. but i wouldnt give more than 2.5k for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Engine seems to have a misfire on right hand bank, definite chuffing noise from right hand exhaust and engine fault light comes on. Air suspension inactive fault and cracked heated screen, I've walked away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 yeah, good call..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 That's about all the most expensive bits. At least £1000 a problem I would expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 It may be the leaking exhaust is throwing the lambda readings out of whack, therefore the engine light. Lambda sensors are £59 for Lucas ones and there are two pairs. My exhaust was cracked at the front on both sides, sorted with the welder. If it was the head gasket, and it's the BMW petrol engine, apparently it's quite an involved job, and you need special tools for the vanos system.. Windscreen is £500-ish. Air suspension may be height sensor, or leaking bag which has burnt the compressor out.. It may need new air springs all round (another £500) plus a compressor.. Mine hasn't had any other faults. . So, yes, it could be an easy number of fixes, or the doomsday scenarios might add up to be a wad of cash.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Agree with Fatboy. Lamda sensors are common (as are cam position sensors), both of those are easy fixes. Head Gasket a massive job, not least because the head bolts have a tendency to strip the heads in the Ali block and need to be helicoiled. Air suspension almost always worn compressors on L322's (£300 for Genuine Wabco), but only a 20 minute job Change the windscreen on your excess for £75 once insured!! You really need access to diagnostics to evaluate it/clear codes when you have fixed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 5f i had a few quid spare id be tempted to offer 1500 for it.... worth a punt at that. i have a dealer level autocom diagnostic system sat on my cupboard, i see your in cornwall, id be happy to read the codes on it if you want to take another look at it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 A heated windscreen for my classic was like £700 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Air suspension inactive is a fairly common symptom of a flat battery. The dash tends to light up like a Christmas tree if the battery is not working perfectly. Well worth having a read through the wiki on fullfatrr.com (mods I hope you don't mind linking to the other forum) but they do have some guys there that have very good knowledge of the L322. I've had my 3.6TDV8 for just over a year now and it hasn't been without fault but it is a fantastic vehicle. I've had the lift pump in the tank go (engine died @ 60 on the Hogs Back), an O-ring burst on the power steering pump (boy that thing squirted oil everywhere!) and the alternator packed up (did that myself and was a female dog of a job to get done) but saved myself a wad of cash doing it myself. And actually just had the bluetooth module die which "took down" the entire nav / sound system which has literally just been fixed with a BIC biro and some electricians tape (needed to loop back the plastic fibre optic). But - it's more fuel efficient than the 110 was, pulls like a train, doesn't notice several tonnes behind it and is more comfortable than some living rooms I've been in. The sound system is very very good (certainly compared to a Defender) and off-road is pretty unstoppable assuming it's not narrow and it does tend to struggle a bit on greasy fields but can't be good at everything. I'm not regretting the change in the slightest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 When rummaging through paperwork there was work done at main dealer in 2009 - "customer reports engine sounding very rough" then £1000 worth of replacement cats and labour. The engine sounds okay under the bonnet - the rhythmic chuffing is from the right hand tailpipe - it is noticeable with the windows up and loud with them down. I would hope at 69k it wasn't mechanical. The battery was totally flat - it's been standing for 9 months I believe, wouldn't even light up the dashboard, charged it overnight and vehicle came back to life. Air suspension inactive and sat at normal height - I was guessing compressor. Each of the problems in isolation I could work with but my feeling is there's too many of them for anywhere near the £3.5k - also no MOT, GPS aerial has been damaged by low branch from the look of it, needs two rear tyres, discs all round, the key fob appears inactive - I've been opening it with the key in the door. I do still have the keys for it and was going to make a very low offer (1k) when I give them back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 For the air suspension, turn the steering from lock to lock, that might activate it. Discs are a breeze to fit.. Key fob may just need a battery.. I'd focus on the source of the chuffing myself..that might be a tricky / expensive problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Put it this way - for £1k if you can't get to the bottom of the problems you could break it up and sell it for spares to recover your expenses. Annoyingly it's got a dent in the upper tailgate otherwise I'd call dibs on that! Some (insert word here) reversed into mine when I had a bike on the back and had popped into the bank, pushed the handlebar into the upper tailgate and drove off. I think that's the motor that has a water cooled alternator which alone cost close to £1k through a main dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 They're not sounding very cheap! Sounds like a whole host of non essential niggles that can take the whole car down. Thanks for the heads up, I'll continue to avoid them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Pop over to Surrey and have a drive of mine. You'll probably change your mind... In all honesty yes little things can bring down the car but I haven't really spent any more on keeping it running than I have with any of my Defenders / Series in the past. General maintenance is simpler (it's been designed that way) but the odd job such as the alternator is a pig. But I did buy it as a used car with 100k on the clock, over the last year I've gotten to know it better and better and little niggles are being sorted out which was exactly the same as when I had the 110. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I'm the same as Ed. I've had mine for a few years now. The gearbox is sensitive to overheating and the radiator isn't the best for helping keep it cool, thus I've put a couple of rads on mine, and a water cooled alt (£500-ish?) - easy to fit, you become an expert at getting fans off, radiator out etc. mine is now close to 160k miles. Great piece of kit: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Looks good value against a D2 or P38 if you can do spanner work yourself. It's a hell of a lot of car. Will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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