Best model/series

[cloudy]

I'm a newby here so i hope you'll forgive me if I'm raking over old coals, but I would love your collective opinion on which model you think were the most durable.
I have a disabled wife (Wheelchair) & she felt much better in an F100 than our present wagon.
I've been considering buying an RR for a while now, & probably will after xmas.

I'm no spring chicken & I've had a string of pommy cars, the last one being a '72 XJ6 that I loved.
It won't be used for off road. I doubt I'll be able to afford anything above a 95 model.
I've known a couple of blokes that have had them & they couldn't speak highly enough about them, but when you look at the price of a Ford Bronco with a heap of K's up & compare the prices, makes me think the car world has gone mad.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[pomonastik]

g'day cloudy
late 80's RR classic would be my pick mate. peanuts to buy, peanuts to maintain. apart from the efi everything else is mechanical, ergo fixable. even efi is cheap to service. avoid later car's air suspension and anti lock brakes.

if you could live with things like the jag's a.e.d. then an RRC will be a doddle. like jag you get undatable design, crashworthiness, creature comforts and you can tow a trailer without b^ggering up your suspension. plenty of room for the g.l.w.'s chariot in the back too.

[dungarover]

As above. The earlier ones with the LT230 are my pick, the Borg-Warner Viscous coupling transfer are okay but can be costly to repair but if you have no intentions of going off-road they're fine.

Also look at the 90-91 3.9's which are a step better and well appointed as well.

The earlier EFI system (pre 3.9) are a bloody PIA and need to be maintained to a degree or they'll be troublesome. They all seem to overfuel on cold startup and flood badly (the 87 Hi-line did as well as the 88 Rangie I have currently) but once warm they run as they should. Hi-Lines are better appointed but I prefer the 'dunga spec' basic model for the lack of frills (and less crap to go wrong such as electric windows and mirrors, etc..).

Don't pay too much, anything over $3K for a late 80's Rangie is too much unless it's mint. Plenty of cheaper ones going around on e-bay but you need to do your homework and most are sold unreg and could cost you a small fortune to get back up to roadworthy state unless you do the work yourself. I paid $850 for my 88 Rangie, spent $600 (power steer box and new front seats, the old one had a busted frame and had to buy a pair from a 91 Vogue so they would match) but still had it on road for less than $1500 before rego. Not bad value IMO.

Anyway, good luck with it.

Trav

[Rangier Rover]

1986 to 1988 Range Rover auto with LT 230 (Center diff lock) The early efi are quite robust and if some one can use a multi meter should not cause much grief.

Cheers Tony

[cloudy]

Taking it a step further, is there a lot of difference (Apart from appearance) between the Land rover (Discovery, Freelander) Forget diesels. Don't like them.

[loanrangie]

Taking it a step further, is there a lot of difference (Apart from appearance) between the Land rover (Discovery, Freelander) Forget diesels. Don't like them.

The 89-99 series 1 discovery is built on a classic rangie chassis and uses pretty much the same mechanicals (although updated), i would look at disco's as well as classic rangies are getting on and will require constant maintainance where as a series 1 disco up to 99 is basically the same vehicle but newer and a little simpler as far as elctronics and features go and you will get a newer car for roughly the same price.

I love the classic rangies but in your situation a newer vehicle may suit you better.

[cloudy]

"series 1 disco up to 99 is basically the same vehicle but newer and a little simpler as far as elctronics and features go and you will get a newer car for roughly the same price.

I love the classic rangies but in your situation a newer vehicle may suit you better."
-------------

That's pretty much the way I'm thinking loanrangie.

I had a look at a '95 Ranger & was blown away by the finish & appointments, but was not encouraged by the comments & experiences some have had here.

It reminded me of what steered me away from an XJS Jag. "Can't beat them when they're going but the sickness is contagious when they're not"

[r.over]

I had a look at a '95 Ranger & was blown away by the finish & appointments, but was not encouraged by the comments & experiences some have had here.

It reminded me of what steered me away from an XJS Jag. "Can't beat them when they're going but the sickness is contagious when they're not"
Up to 1995, even in the top model Vogue SE, there is not a lot that can't be fixed reasonably cheaply. Many have already had the air suspension removed. The EFI hot wire system is pretty reliable. If the ABS packs up you can convert it back to non-ABS at not much cost as long as you do the work yourself.

If you are going to buy any Rangie classic, find one that someone has got rid of because they got sick of spending money on it. That way you are likely to get one with the many wear items replaced.

[pomonastik]

perceived wisdom is that rangies were built UP to their price whereas discos (all points north of the chassis and drivetrain) were built DOWN to their price. they are ALL old now but all the negative things you've read about rangies here are generally about the parts common to both.
to further use the jag analogy, think series 1 vs series 2 XJ's. i know which one i'd rather have........(or rather HAD :cry: , '73 XJ12)
series 2's (contemporaries of the XJ-S) were subject to bloat, cost-cutting and built by a disaffected workforce. it wasn't 'til '83 that the quality started to return.

[cloudy]

This is good information fella's, thanks.

I getting the impression that as an owner of a 95 Fairmont wagon with all the bells & whistles, that I'm not in for any more grief than I'm getting, prolly to an even lesser extent maybe.
The Falcons are notorious for blowing head gaskets & a "bad un" can make your eyes continuously water.
I can't complain about mine though. If the numbers on the odometer didn't read 400K's you'ld believe it was just run in, the way it drives.
But it seems to me that these computer generated problems are an "across the board" thing.
A mate of mine traded his upmarket Mercedes RV on the equally upmarket Honda RV because the bloody drivers side window wouldn't seal.
He been to the dealer 3 times about it. On the 3rd occasion, when he got it back with all the re-assurances that it was fixed, he put it through the automated car wash on the way home because the workshop gave it back to him with hand marks on the bonnet & door.
He arrived back at the dealers managers office looking like a flood victim.

A distinguished successful businessman can look just like a wet grizzly when they're both wounded.

After much grovelling, the manager offered to drive him home.
"That won't work, I think I'll faking kill you, & prolly the both of us on the way"
He now drives a Lexus, & so far so good.

So really, it seems that the RR's more unique problems are with the suspension & ABS mainly. Would that be about right?

[rovercare]

This is good information fella's, thanks.

I getting the impression that as an owner of a 95 Fairmont wagon with all the bells & whistles, that I'm not in for any more grief than I'm getting, prolly to an even lesser extent maybe.
The Falcons are notorious for blowing head gaskets & a "bad un" can make your eyes continuously water.


Pffft, they blow one, usually around 100-150k, then so long as you replace the head bolt, whould never fail again

[midgeekai]

Hi everyone, new to this, couldn't quite work it out so here we are!!! Looking at buying a 1987-88 Range Rover 4.8 litre auto to add to the collection. Don't know too much about the Rangies, I have Land rovers series III x 2, and was just wondering what I should look out for in the Rangie as it has 245000k's on it?

[Hoges]

* Hi how much do you want to/or are willing to spend?
* How able are you with a spanner and multimeter?
* Are you confident of using a laptop to tune /diagnose problems with your vehicle given the right information ?
If you are feeling confident read on!

From mid 99 onwards the LR HSE underwent a significant upgrade. Amongst the changes was the fitting of a new EFI (Bosch Motronic EFI (Ver5.2.1) which was similar to the BMW 7 series) which is supposedly more reliable. The ABS system also changed, also reputedly more reliable than previous models.

(Another good place to ferret info on RR exclusively, if you haven't already, is Range Rovers (http://www.rangerovers.net) )

I would factor into any purchase price a magic little box called a Faultmate (about $1,200) which will enable you plug a laptop into all of the wondrous electronic boxes which control all manner of items on the RR, and quickly diagnose a problem...including resetting the Electronic Air Suspension, EFI/ABS etc. It will quickly pay for itself.

P38s prior 2000 are now in the "high teens/early 20s" re $$$. Budget probably another $5k over 12 months on airsprings/valve block rebuild/shocks/tyres/Faultmate/plugs/leads/new battery etc depending on the state of the vehicle...a thorough inspection is vital.

there's a publication called RAVE (= electronic version of t he LR workshop manual) which contains over 5,000 pages of readily searchable "how to/what to"for all landrovers, including P38s and can be readily downloaded onto your computer. you then find what you want, print out the relevant pages, work from them, get grease and oil smudges all over them and bin them when you're finished !!

There's also a program available from the NET called "Microcat" which is a complete LR parts catalogue and enables you to search any part for its number etc...like they do at a dealership. In fact you enter the V.I.N. for your vehicle and it tells you what parts are/are not applicable! :cool:

My strong advice is to go to Range Rovers (http://www.rangerovers.net) and read/read/study all the stuff under the heading "Common Problems and Fixes" then make a decision.

Be aware, if you become "committed" you will very soon become afflicted with RR syndrome which is a mutation of a more widely known LR syndrome.

Addiction is pretty much permanent, you will inevitably be drawn into the global sufferers support group via the NET, you will learn that British quirkiness of design, at LR , is at least as good as French eccentricity in Peugeot/Citroen :D

Enjoy, but be warned;):twisted:

[big guy]

Could not agree more.

A RRC needs TLC and only certain people get the bug, but once affected, there is no antidote.

Be warned.

[cloudy]

That pretty well covers everything.

Good read. One question. (I'll probably find it when I get a chance) but what year was traction control introduced.
Thanks mate

[Scouse]

One question. (I'll probably find it when I get a chance) but what year was traction control introduced.
Thanks mate1993 from memory, only on the rear wheels though.