Hi,
we've been looking around for the last month or so for a nice early 4.4 v8 L322 with a good spec. Most of the ones we have seen have had something 'wrong' with them - tatty interior, tatty exterior, mega miles or have been 'blinged up'. This is from a mixture of private and trade sellers.

I am currently going via auto trader.. is this the best place to look or would I be better looking somewhere else?

I don't have a lot of knowledge and a limited budget (£9-10k) so was tending to go through traders more so i have some sort of comeback (warranty).

thanks in advance for your help

Rich cheers
Rich

Hello,

Know what you mean.

I found my early '02 on here, but was also looking on AutoTrader, Pistonheads, eBay, etc.

In my experience, many sellers don't know what 'immaculate' is. But you have to keep looking to find that rare well-kept example that's never been abused and has led a kindly life.

A warranty is only as good as the paper it's written on. Often not even worth that, in my opinion. Far better to buy without and allow yourself a contingency fund that you know will pay. Private sales tend to be more honest, but there may be greater risk. Depends on your gut feeling.

The FFRR member I bought mine from felt right from the first few seconds. The FF was clean but not studiously so. I doubted all the previous traders and viewings and it was surprising how few really take the time to prepare their cars properly.

I find that Pistonheads has better quality cars, generally.

All I can say is to be patient and honest with yourself. Don't get carried away and don't fret. The right one will appear eventually. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

I know re warranty - i had to have a new gearbox last xmas in my D2 so I am veryt wary of the horror stories of high mileage L322s... but the 'we have a £500 limit per item' warranty seem to be the favourite - which is no a lot of use when the bill is £2k...

we aren't in a rush but is it a bit depressing when you want something but can't find the one... cheers
Rich

When I bought mine I actually took a look at quite a few that had better bodywork and more looked after interiors but were far more expensive than the marginally tatty but FLSH one I bought. I do 20k miles a year so I know I am going to be the worst factor in it's depreciation and also I know that I'd prefer to have one with lots of options and be a bit tatty (but sortable) than mint and lower spec but higher priced.

The best thing to do is go and drive as many as you can at your budget and decide what you can live with. You may find yourself a bargain on something with a couple of cosmetic issues you can fix yourself. Also I found that the more "cherished" examples didn't drive as well as they hadn't loosened up at all. 
07 Supercharged - Still breaking her in!

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Paging Dr. Gazellio!

Just setup searches on autotrader/pistonheads/ebay.

Decide on your specification - gadgets/colour/age/miles.

Be prepared to travel for the right car.

Wait......

It will come along. You should have bought Cue's - great spec great value. .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Joe90 wrote:

You should have bought Cue's - great spec great value.

We had the same experience, took around 3-4 months to find the right one. Many we looked at just seemed tired somehow. They do come along though.

To add to the places recommended above, I also kept on eye on the Approved Used section of the LR dealer site. There were some that I thought were pretty reasonable considering they were from a dealer, just not the spec I wanted.

Also looked at a couple here...

http://www.brightwells.com/vehicles/default.aspx

One or two not bad at all, and I did really consider one that was going through, but it had black leather and I really wanted light colour. Even if you don't want to bid, you can sign up for the email notifications of ones that don't sell on the day and are then offered for sale afterwards.

Good luck with the hunt  Lloyd Barnes

Current
Crendon 427 Sideoiler Cobra in build... 7 litres of madness!

Gone
2008 TDV8 Vogue - Black with Ivory/Grand Black Lacquer
2008 VW Touareg 3.0Tdi
6.3litre Dax Cobra - 12.34 Second 1/4mile at 114mph

Cheers Lloyd, i think we thought it would be fairly easy... cheers
Rich

Nothing around that budget I am afraid

Gazellio @ Prestige Cars wrote:

Nothing around that budget I am afraid

Is that a realistic budget? or do I need to be lucky to find a nice one at that price (or lower ) cheers
Rich

Depends on your mileage requirements. I would go 11-12 and get a low mileage good'n

it will only do 4-5000 a year, but would prefer a reasonably low mileage one ( after hearing the stories about gearboxes going on them when they have a few miles on them)

I will speak to the OH and see if we can alter our budget.. cheers
Rich

There are quite a few to be honest if you are not fussy on colour or tip top spec. How about this? 4.4 V8 vogue (2002) - 71k miles - Java Black with grey leather - £10,989 so you may get it for £10k. J9 Motors in Surrey

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...ogcode=flp

 Aerodynamics are for those who cannot build engines - Enzo Ferrari

That is a 2002 and its at SAXTONS not J9 Motors ...