Thread: NO, I KNOW IT AIN'T SENSIBLE

Hello from Brisbane.

My late Dad was still driving our Land Rover on the farm at 90.

It didn't kill him, the cheap whiskey probably did..............

Cheers,

I'm not your age, but my father is. We upgraded his rangie to a fairly tidy '92 model classic last year. Benefits as I see it - he's had one since the very early 70's and enjoys driving it, can do some of the work himself although doesn't do that much anymore, they are comfortable and relatively safe to drive, great visibility, can take it when going away if required ie Fraser Island/long drives, good aircon, smooth engine/gearbox, not truck like. Its easier to assist someone getting into/out of the Rangie than a low/standard height vehicle - less strain on your back. Can get front and rear bars for that added bit of protection if you happen to bump into something without causing too much damage to the car. Easier to spot carparks at the shopping centres. Lots of spare parts are available if you know where to look.

The rangie has already depreciated in value. You will probably get better money selling the Mazda now than in 18months.

Regardless of how many km's you drive its about whether you enjoy what you are driving.

Alternatively if you can afford to - keep both.

You're 80 - do whatever you want!

Originally Posted by GuyG

I'm not your age, but my father is. We upgraded his rangie to a fairly tidy '92 model classic last year. Benefits as I see it - he's had one since the very early 70's and enjoys driving it, can do some of the work himself although doesn't do that much anymore, they are comfortable and relatively safe to drive, great visibility, can take it when going away if required ie Fraser Island/long drives, good aircon, smooth engine/gearbox, not truck like. Its easier to assist someone getting into/out of the Rangie than a low/standard height vehicle - less strain on your back. Can get front and rear bars for that added bit of protection if you happen to bump into something without causing too much damage to the car. Easier to spot carparks at the shopping centres. Lots of spare parts are available if you know where to look.

The rangie has already depreciated in value. You will probably get better money selling the Mazda now than in 18months.

Regardless of how many km's you drive its about whether you enjoy what you are driving.

Alternatively if you can afford to - keep both.

Thanks for that GuyG - appreciated.

Actually, I don't think the Captain Morgan rum did me a helluva lot of good over the years - then again, maybe it was the campfire Tawny Port - thanks - lennardj

All very true Jon - thanks.

Originally Posted by tony66_au

The answer to your question lennardj is simple, Range Rover Versus Mazda 3 will always result in Rangie 1/Mazda 0.

Keep the Rangie mate,

Firstly you have better air quality up high and you can see much more in the way of Pedestrians, Cars and other annoying stuff you might want to run over which at 80 ish would be a fair bit based on what id like to run over at 47.

The comfort too is pretty amazing and there is something about the seats in an RRC that defies time and gravity compared to small Jap cars that have seats that seem to be made for little blokes with planks for bums.

Reliability?
Fine, I don't think they are any more or less reliable than any other 20 year old 4wd and being an old bloke I reckon you'd have a bit of mechanical sympathy and could spot when something needed fettling and arrange to have it fettled.

Environmental concerns or How "Green" is my Cactus?

They are not light on Petrol and they like a drink but I cant see any Aussie worth knowing that doesn't like a drink so we can excuse the Pomgolian Rangie for its drinking habit so long as its Petrol and not Warm beer which is just unAustralian.

They leak oil sometimes which is returning the stuff to nature which has to be good thing and even better dirty oil has added Carbon so you are returning even better carbonised oil to Mother Earth which places LandRovers on a more Eco Friendly scale than a Prius or Hybrid Camry in my book.

Finally its about what you want,
if you want it? Have it!
I reckon that later in a good innings you need to indulge yourself and driving what you want to drive is a small thing considering you are still driving.

Cheers,
Tony

Great stuff Tony 66 - really do appreciate all your comments - and the way they're written - long time since I "fettled" but what the hell..........lennardj

Originally Posted by frantic

As the nike ad says:" Just do it".
You have a lot of specialist LR people in vic who could set the car up for you. Get the engine and transmision done and some nice springs along with some wider but not taller tyres that will be reliable like yokohama geolanders, to give a bit more grip on the tar and enjoy the driving.
With the low milage you do there is no point in LPG just enjoy the v8 sound, maybe get a more free flowing exhaust for a bit more sound.

Hi Frantic - it's not "speed" I need just a degree of old fashioned reliability - although the "noise" would be welcome these days......cheers.......Lennardj