Hi

I'm trying to finalise my order but have a couple of queries which my dealer is struggling to answer:

1 - Why are the Autobiography colours a £6,000 extra? I was told that these colours are hand applied (but not told why) and that the paint was "different" and shown an Evoque in Havanna to illustrate the way the mica (?) flakes reflect light differently - but this is only a £550 option on the Evoque. Is this just a premium for having a less common colour or is there a meaningful difference in quality?

2. Will the locking rear diff make any noticeable difference - there is a note next to this on the option list saying it will give "refined traction and cornering stability". Elsewhere on the web this seems to be something that would only provide any benefit during extreme off roading.

3. Why is the extra large screen wash bottle a £30 extra - is there some sort of compromise on space or something? I can't see why anybody would want a smaller one unless there was some sort of advantage and I can't see why this would be a cost option if not.

Any help/advice on the above would be much appreciated.

Thanks

IMHO, and If I were lucky enough to be ordering an L405 I would say:

Don't bother with any paint that is £6k more, will anyone really notice and you wont get £6k more when it comes to selling it, most likely the £6k option paint will be a standard colour by then!

Locking rear diff only needed for off roading I'd say.

Washer bottle increase? Nah!

Save your money! Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

JJ

My guess is that the Factory Paint Shop is automated for the main colour palette but not the Autobiography colours and therefore these cars are hand/specially sprayed. Effectively you will be paying for dearer paint and the cost of a high quality bespoke spray over and above the automated work. £6k seems reasonable if this is the case but you would have to be stark staring mad to want to do it. The standard colour palette has some great colours and resale will be easier....

6 Grand paint option. NO WAY.
Cant see how you would ever get that back when you sell it.

Diff locker its nice to have but not essential. 2020 Porsche Panamera Turbo Hybrid (V FAST)
2017 Range Rover Autobiography 5.0 V8
2018 JCW Mini Cooper
2018 Skoda VRS

I doubt many people paying for the Autobiography paint are sweating too much about resale.

The Autobiography is designed for those who do not really care about the cost but want to be different to show that. Good cars to buy used as the extras will not add much to the resale value.

johnf wrote:

shown an Evoque in Havanna to illustrate

If it were me i wouldn't bother with the paint. Imagine a bit of damage to it, it will cost more to repair properly!


Rear Diff, as this countries weather changes so much it could prove useful. £750 useful, who knows but worth a punt maybe and if you can get them to discount it a bit all the better.

£30 for the washer bottle upgrade... No brainer, if it saves you filling it up as much its worth £30 and is possibly the cheapest option on there bar another one IIRC  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Also note that you cannot specify park assist with the diff!

If SWMBO allows I'll have a bog standard Autobiography with 20in wheels and standard paint and a fixed towbar for my favourite bike-rack and trailer. Dream on.

Nick 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR

Do you need parking assist though as it wont add any value to the car later on either I'd imagine but i cant see how it really affects it being added on  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Thanks for your comments guys. I've also phoned Landrover direct - who are due to phone me back in the next day or so as the person I spoke to wasn't sure.

I appreciate that I would lose money on all these options, that said I tend to keep my cars a long time (current one 7.5 years) so this is less of an issue for me than whether I will get increased enjoyment from them. Lets face it, if depreciation was a major factor in my decision making I wouldn't be buying a new range rover at all....

Paint costs seem to vary a lot between manufacturers - Audi who famously charge vast sums for enhanced leather interiors "only" charge £1500 for their wide range of exclusive paint finishes whilst Bentley charges in excess of £20,000 for some of theirs. I'm prepared to pay for quality (even if I'm the only one that appreciates it), but not if it is just an unusual colour. I did read somewhere on the web that metallic paint is no more expensive to buy or apply than solid colour paint and that the only reason a premium is charged is that people are prepared to pay it.

Anyway, thanks again for your responses and I'll let you know what Landrover say.

Well, feedback as follows:

Autobiography colours are dipped rather than sprayed so.the paint quality is better

The rear diff benefits on road driving as well as off road

The washer bottle high capacity option doesn't compromise anything.

I'm no wiser....

The washer bottle is offered as an "extra large ADDITIONAL washer bottle" which implies it is a second washer bottle not a bigger one than standard, at least that is how I read it.

I'd get the bottle and the diff ! the paint! There's a subtle difference between options worth having and having your pants pulled down  2021 L405 Vogue SE 4.4 V8 DIESEL ~ #17