RUST is #1.
Firewall, windscreen lower front floorpans under the deadening mat, rear floor, tailgate, window frame, roof, sunroof, basically the whole car, and that's before looking at the chassis.
If it's had a hard life and hasn't been kept clean, under any dried mud, you are bound to find rust.
Basically everyone's said it before regarding mechanicals. I'd add logbooks. You want to see if the vehicle youre buying has a service history of any kind and you may find that receipts for the 'bigger' stuff are there, so you can see if something has been replaced. like an engine, or radiator, or axle assembly etc.
resprays can hide rust. be careful of somethign that looks too clean.
Originality means a lot more, unless you are specifically looking to modify your vehicle.
If that is the case, then you want to see things like lockers, maxidrive / hi-tuff axles drive flanges etc, and a properly sorted setup and as many accessories as you can get.
Or, you can opt for originality and forgo the mod stuff, and do that at your leisure.
Sometimes, the original car is a better proposition, simply because it has better maintenance records and the cosmetics are top shelf, as opposed to somethign that's been worked hard for decades on trails.
ultimately, it's up to you, so the only advice I can really offer is this.
Do your due diligence. Check the REVS records, get an independent specialist to check it over (2nd pair of eyes) BEFORE you buy it - i.e. a pre purchase inspection and use a reputable landrover specialist.
check the logbooks and call the mechanics in the book and ask them if they remember the vehicle. They can usually tell you if a previous owner was a tightarse who wouldn't pay a cent towards maintaining the car properly.
Ultimately the buck rests with you, so as long as you do your due diligence, you will be satisfied with the outcome.
don't buy the first one you see. look at a few others, and if the first one was indeed the best example, then go back to it and make an 'informed' offer.
Oh, and the 'right' price for the vehicle, is the price that neither the seller or the buyer are really satisfied with.
PS: I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot, but if you're paying any more than say 7.5K for a mint RRC late model (not lse) then you're being foolish with your money.
I've been fortunate over the years to find bargains, and my RRC was indded that.
However, you will spend the same amount as the purchase price of the vehicle within the first 12 months if you make a 'poor' buy decision.
Or let's look at it another way. If you bought one for say 5K, the likelihood of spending an additional 5K on it within the first 12 months of ownership is highly likely.
If you bought one for say 8K, you're probably going to spend at least 2K, maybe 3 or 4, depending on 'how' you play with money and cars.
I'm good with cars and seemingly hopeless with money, and no matter how hard I try, the 50% of purchase theory seems to be the minimum spend over the following 12 months, just to get the car to my 'useable standards'.
cheers,
Last edited by Mercguy; 14th February 2016 at 09:23 PM.
Reason: thought of something else
Roads?.. Where we're going, we don't need roads...
MY92 RRC 3.9 Ardennes Green
MY93 RRC LSE 300tdi/R380/LT230 British Racing Green
MY99 D2 V8 Kinversand
what to look out for buying an RRC
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). There out there just have to b patient.
My unit cost $500 but ultimately I don't want to add up numbers
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