auto kaput - what options

[pibby]

hi all,

writing on behalf of a relative of mine who has a 2003 rangie with the 4.4 petrol. he has never had a land rover product before and vouches he never will again. loves the car, the way it drives etc but doesn't want to risk being caught out again with it breaking down. it has from memory 180k on the clock.

a couple of weeks back was on way back from nth nsw towing caravan weighing around 2.8t. was a few hours away from his home in vic when gearbox would not shift down automagically so had to start using the manual gear selection. car was still driving ok except for this. then got a loud bang and pulled over to side of road and that was it.

car got towed to local ford? dealer who didn't want to know. so racv? ended up towing it to his home. has been looked at by someone local who services these cars and they mention that some solenoid caused the problem. anyway, now making metal on metal noises so probably shot.

he is going to look at a new vehicle now which has a powertrain and new car warranty - but budget does not go to new discos/landcruisers etc. so he has to work out what to do with the vehicle. he was offered by someone local to buy it as is for $18k. he would prefer to sell it as a going vehicle, would certainly make the numbers stack up better for getting the new vehicle. has also had a price to rebuild it for $5k and then some other prices around $7k. i thought the $5k sounded reasonable as it was drive in/drive out (well, except for the drive in bit).

i offered to ask on his behalf what options people could think of :
eg is it likely to need a full rebuild or it really does sound dead as it has happened to a few before
eg is it possible to source 2nd hand boxes for these and from where

i mentioned i am aware of manuel automatics who specialise in ZF's to rebuild it in melbourne but he is in the far east of vic so would have to get his car there. i was going to call them to find out what a rebuild would cost.

so am hoping some on here might have some wisdom they could offer up. (it's too late for the brand in his eyes though, loves the car but couldn't afford to go to wa towing his caravan and have something happen again and local mechanics or road side service unable to help)

anyways,

look forward to any thoughts,

thanks,

brett.

[Laurie]

Brett
Sorry to hear about your relatives gearbox problems; I would not like to make an assumption on causes or fixes. I would point out to them that ZF boxes are in Oz Fords, Jaguar, BMW,MB,LR and other brands.
I would think they would get a bigger shock when they saw the problems the newer Toyo autos are having. The heavy duty rebuild of the 4 spd non-computer variant is $7900.
There are some excellant auto rebuilders in Melb eg A&B, that offer beefed up models for towing. If he likes the car, MAYBE this might be worth some consideration.

[pibby]

hi laurie,

agree, am sorry too about my relo's experience. they've already spent near $15k getting the car right and now have to do the box. it's a tough one.

they just want the peace of mind with a new car under warranty and prefer mechanics who are able to fix their car where ever they may have a problem rather than have to get it towed home as local mechanics won't look at it. (especially as they will be towing a caravan when travelling)

spoke to A&B today and worst case scenario for full rebuild was $6.5k drive in drive out. given the expense of the vehicle they are in, that's not too bad i thought allowing for the good rep of A&B. they also advised if towing 2.5t they highly recommend an oversize cooler for transmission oil. i've got one on my disco with a 4.6 and never had any heating probs towing 2.5 to 3t.

spoke to my relo this evening and he is tending towards taking the $18k offer (if it is genuine) and walk away from it. it's a shame, but like the other 'newly ageing' land rover products you need to be involved with the vehicle in doing what you can fixing things and sourcing parts otherwise you just end up paying top price.

brett.

[PAT303]

Buy a box out of the states,do a search as they are cheaper.Seriously I can't for the life of me see how someone can spend so much on a vehicle,there isn't enough on them to spend that much on. Pat

[Homestar]

Hi, what condition is the rest of the vehicle in? If everything else is ok on it, and it has the right options, I may be interested in it if it is going on the market....

Any chance of some pics & specs? For the right vehicle, I would beat the $18K he has been offered...

New Trannie, and an LPG conversion, and it would be a good vehicle at a reasonable price.

[pibby]

hi bacicat2000,

my relative rang me last night to inform he had sold the car for $18k. he's going in for an op early next week so just wanted it out of the way. would have been a good buy with it being probably $3-5k under market price when auto was fixed.

by the time the auto was reco'd and gas put on your almost up to the price of this diesel one on carsales :

2002 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER SE L322 03MY Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=11131071&__Qpb=1&Cr=0&__Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32 |1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&keywords=&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%204294965541%2042949 65478%20937&SearchAction=N&silo=1011&seot=1&tsrc=allcarhome&__Nne=15&trecs=20&__sid=12AFD925FAF0)

i was reading in LRO an article on the kit to put the tdv6 into a p38 which will include templates for all cut and shut and will allow all electronics to remain standard. they're quoting approx 6k pound for a motor from a wreck and the kit to do the job excluding labour which they estimate at two weeks.

but then again - running a V8 on lpg in melb is cheaper than any of these diesels to run and a lot more fun to drive too.

0-100 times :
3.0 diesel 13.6 secs
4.4 petrol 9.2 secs

brett.

[Homestar]

Thanks Brett, I had missed that one on carsales, as I was starting my searches at 30K. I'll go and have a look at that one...

Diesel v V8 - the only reason I'm going the diesel is for fuel economy, if I find a V8 at the right price, or one on gas, it will go high on my list. The diesel is a great car to drive, but my one and only drive of a V8 left a big smile on my face...:)

Cheera - Gav

[33chinacars]

That looks like it could be O'k. Price is certnally right. Wont last long at that. Good luck Gav

Gary

[Homestar]

That looks like it could be O'k. Price is certnally right. Wont last long at that. Good luck Gav

Gary

Cheers mate, I have sent off an enquiry - will see how we go.

[101RRS]

Sorry to hear about the issues and no one wants to have to pay to fix these things but lets put things into a little perspective - 8 year old car with 180,000km, towing 2.7t - it ain't a new car - such issues are not to be unexpected.

Is it a Rangie issue - not really - any model vehicle in similar circumstances may or may not have major issues at some time.

His current car is a known quantity - the gearbox is common to a lot of vehicles. I would get his fixed and use it.

If he buys something else - can he be sure it will be up to the task - what else can reliably tow 2.7t and be in his price range?

Garry