Opinions on a 2004 Range Rover ?

1) If they can spring for a late 2005/2006 facelift its a big improvement especially for electrics. 2004 should be alright if not though, 2002-2003 ones I wouldn't touch due to teething problems the design had.

2) these cars are not cheap to keep, they do need the work to be put in. You mention air shocks, normally an airbag leaks, the driver keeps driving and the compressor wears out, now you used to have to buy a whole new compressor (4-500 second hand) , you can now get a renewal kit that puts a new piston ring in for about 20 quid on ebay, this will have the compressor going again. The airbags should really be changed as soon as they leak though. Aside from the air springs its just level sensors that go, those are 45 quid a pop and changed in 15 mins if you're handy with tools.

3) Rust , oh rust. The tailgates rust, just part of the design , may need to be changed , may have already been changed.

Aside from those issues, when it works its the greatest car you could ever own, super comfy, endlessly capable , very ahead of its time.

dooroy wrote: »

Thanks for your reply Eric - just the kind of info I was hoping for
I remember when I had the Discovery that the compressor was very expensive and at the time no parts were available.
I also remember that the Range Rovers back then also suffered from failed airbags leading to compressor burnout as you say - and there were no spare parts available for repairing them either. So good to know that repairs are now possible as the suspension is very effective and putting in coils all round seemed a pity.
I liked the Td5 and the only reason I went back to a car was the cost of road tax. This RR is crew cabbed so tax is only 333 euro.

Im driving a 2010 Model RR at the moment (bought jan 16) and despite some bills , I still love it, they're an amazing machine. When I go to change i'll probably go for a 2012 one of the same, theres really nothing else like it.

The crew cab scenario certainly helps for tax and insurance cost.

also these are the people doing the refurb kit for the compressor, handy to keep the link around for your mate : http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Range-Rover-L322-Air-Suspension-Compressor-Pump-Piston-Ring-Seal-Refurb-kit-/222239901210?hash=item33be87c61a:g:IncAAOSw8cNUSUqQ

dooroy wrote: »

'theres really nothing else like it'
Absolutely , and I can understand why this guy (my brother actually) is hell bent on getting one. He goes off road quite a bit in the course of his work and he found the Discovery 1 very capable in this regard . But now he would like to treat himself to a RR - and hard to blame him. I do practically all of my own repairs and this was why he asked me to check it out with him.But I was anxious to get some info on them - and the fact that repair kits like the link you posted are available is a great help. They would seem to have more in common with the Discovery 2 Td5 than I thought.
Thanks again for your help.

if you have TD5 experience and are handy with the tools (as its obvious you are) then he'll owe you a few beers to do some work for him but they're very easy to work on (will be similar to your disco in that regard) Engine Parts are cheap enough as most of it is from the BMW spares bin shared with their X5 , fullfatrr.com is a great resource for these and has some very knowledgable mechanics on it.

goochy wrote: »

Eric , interested how you say it was ahead of time, in what way ?

op is it a Vogue ? didn't like the L322 when it came out on small wheels - the bigger wheels really lift it - also love the facelift look from about 2010 on - but assume its mad money ?

Well even when introduced in 2002 it was packing a lot of options, especially for a 4x4 that you are only getting on brand new japanese 4x4s now.

Moreso the 2010MY , with surround cameras , radar cruise, an all LCD cluster, blind spot assist, features that are only starting to become 'wow' selling points for a lot of passenger cars now.