Hi from a newbie. After nearly buying a FFRR on a couple of occasions in recent years, I've finally taken the plunge today and put down a deposit on a 2011 4.4TDV8 from a franchised L-R dealer and I've got a few questions which I'm hoping you can help me with

1) I took a test drive in the car during the recent snowy period and the inside of the windows suffered from a lot of condensation which didn't clear with the a/c on during a 20min test drive. The salesman tried to say it was because the car had been sat on the forecourt for a few weeks which I accepted at the time. Today I've gone back to seal the deal and I was a bit disappointed to see that there was still condensation inside the car despite it being a mild sunny day. I've checked the spare wheel well and other areas inside and I can find no sign of a leak. Is this normal for a FFRR or should I ask the dealer to find a leak?

2) The car is shod with Conti CrossContacts which I've read on this forum are not as good a tyre in snow as the Pirelli Scorpions. I live in the Chilterns and there's a steep narrow lane to our house which gets very icy sometimes and I've had a very scary experience a few years back on it in a summer tyre shod X5 when it slid down the hill backwards ending up embedded in a telegraph pole. Should I buy a set of Vredesteins straightaway or is a Conti shod FFRR going to have appreciably more grip than a summer tyre shod X5 on icy/snowy hills?

3) In our area we have very poor Vodafone reception and I've found that a phone hooked up to a car via the bluetooth system only gives very poor reception. I believe there is a cradle system for the FFRR called PTI and I thought it hooked up the phone to a roof mounted aerial but the dealer says its not available for more modern phone types and it only acts as a charger. Is this correct?

4) The car doesn't have over mats fitted inside and I forgot to get the dealer to throw them into the deal. The dealer says I can buy them a lot cheaper online than from a L-R dealer. It was a bit of a surprise that he didn't want to screw even more money out of me. However I'm now wondering whether over mats should have been included in the original spec of the car and whether I can insist that he fits them? If not, where can I get a set of mats with the correct holes to mate with the original fittings?

Thanks for any help

Mike welcome to the forum

1. If the car has been outside for a while and out on a few test drives it would be a bit misty inside. A good run with the demise program on will sort that out. Check the drivers foot well for damp or wet carpet

2. The tyres are fine for summer use. i would, as a lot of us on here get another set of wheels and put winter tyres on you can swop at will then.

3. Change your phone network if its that bad.

4. i would get them to supply the mats as your spending a lot of money with them. they will do it if you persist. If not ebay have a few sets. i bought a new set for £110

I hope this helps

Jay  2020 Porsche Panamera Turbo Hybrid (V FAST)
2017 Range Rover Autobiography 5.0 V8
2018 JCW Mini Cooper
2018 Skoda VRS

Has it been wet vacced inside? One day your life will flash before your eyes......................................make sure yours is worth watching!

My car has never had condensation inside. It could have been wet-vacced though as suggested.

My car came with Pirellis and I do not change them seasonally. I have not ever had a problem (touch wood) in snow at all. I never personally saw the point of two sets of tyres and/or wheels.

I think if your going to have a 2nd set of tires you get some proper off road tires like Grabber AT2's One day your life will flash before your eyes......................................make sure yours is worth watching!

Sounds a very nice car, what is the spec like and could we see some pictures?

1. Sounds normal, don't worry
2. Contis should be ok for your needs, they are the All Season ones that Land Rover Experience use I think... as others have said you could get a second set of off road tires instead if the tread is good on the current ones.
3. Not sure at all on this one, sorry! Although if its an iPhone I know there aren't always up-to-date cradles.
4. Don't think that you can insist that he fit them... duckworths (site sponsor) could help you out:

http://www.duckworthparts.co.uk/landrover/...ction.html∑

welcome to the world of the Fullfat

If it was my money and I was not happy with car or condition or deal in general I'd walk away and find another car. There are hundreds to choose from in UK.

Important points to remember when buying any car: Condition, History, Price, Warranty spec and number of owners then haggle for any extras. It's also fair to say I would not expect to shell out further for a set of mats for any Range Rover from a LR dealer. but you should do the haggling before any deal is truck and deposit paid.

Good Luck.

I may be able to get a cheap set of matts for your vehicle but they would be used but still in perfectly good nick if you fancy them at a fair price

As for tyres i'd get a spare set of 19" rims as i believe they are as small as you can go with the 4.4 and fit either The vreds, Scorps (Ice & Snow ) or Nokian WR D3 in the 255/55/19 size as they all get rated well and there is a large price difference.
The contis will likely be better than summer tyres on the x5 due to the fact they are M&S rated anyway.

The interior shouldn't be that condensated. I'd get them to stick a dehumifier in it and get it dried out before pickup as it could lead to electrical gremlins if it gets into an electrical connection of which there are zillions in the things. FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

Pictures and details here
http://www.harwoods.croydon.landrover.co.u...or?id=8239
Its the silver one at £46995

Reply to STMVOGUE2010
There aren't hundreds to choose from. I started looking back in November for a 4.4TDV8 Vogue SE in silver, grey or blue for less than £50k and, at that time, there were indeed quite a few around, although not hundreds. I prevaricated on a couple of cars on the assumption that the launch of the new RR would see prices drop but they didn't, in fact quite the opposite. A lot of used 4.4TDV8s were sold in the run up to Xmas, presumably as people bought for the winter and now there are only a handful on the market with sensible mileage. This one at Harwoods is an ex L-R car and in nice condition except for the condensation although the mileage is a bit high for a 2011 car although I guess that's why the price is a bit lower.

Thanks to all for the feedback. I will stick with the Conti tyres on the FFRR for this winter; I have an Audi A8 on contract hire until mid March and that has winter tyres fitted (actually Conti WinterContacts) and if it snows between now and then and the FFRR struggles on it's CrossContacts, I will use the A8 which actually is a fantastic car in the snow. Dare I say that Audi seems to know a bit about 4WD too! It looks like I'll have to put up with the poor mobile phone reception on bluetooth. Oh well, I've got used to that. Yes, I dropped a goolie by not getting the dealer to fit mats in the deal but I got a fair bit off the asking price anyway and he might well have refused
Thanks again. I guess I'll be back with more questions soon once I get the car next week. Btw has anyone chipped the 4.4TDV8? I've used DMS in Southampton in the past on other cars and it's been worthwile from both the economy and performance points of view

ooh chip a 4.4, theres an idea.

A few guys on here have chipped their 3.6TDV8's with good results, but i dont think (and i may be wrong) that anyone has done a 4.4 TDV8. Would be properly rapid though.

DMS are good, but there are others such as JE engineering who are more specialist in Land rovers in particular. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

I may be able to offer official JE Engineering Remaps soon.....

Yes me

OK Gary, I'll bear that in mind as I live only a few miles away. I'll give it a few weeks and see how I get on with the performance

There are hundreds of Range Rovers to choose from in UK is what I meant.

If you are looking for particular spec then you are correct and are more limited. However the rest of my advise does still apply imho.

mikef wrote:

Pictures and details here
http://www.harwoods.croydon.landrover.co.u...or?id=8239
Its the silver one at £46995

Reply to STMVOGUE2010
There aren't hundreds to choose from. I started looking back in November for a 4.4TDV8 Vogue SE in silver, grey or blue for less than £50k and, at that time, there were indeed quite a few around, although not hundreds. I prevaricated on a couple of cars on the assumption that the launch of the new RR would see prices drop but they didn't, in fact quite the opposite. A lot of used 4.4TDV8s were sold in the run up to Xmas, presumably as people bought for the winter and now there are only a handful on the market with sensible mileage. This one at Harwoods is an ex L-R car and in nice condition except for the condensation although the mileage is a bit high for a 2011 car although I guess that's why the price is a bit lower.

Thanks to all for the feedback. I will stick with the Conti tyres on the FFRR for this winter; I have an Audi A8 on contract hire until mid March and that has winter tyres fitted (actually Conti WinterContacts) and if it snows between now and then and the FFRR struggles on it's CrossContacts, I will use the A8 which actually is a fantastic car in the snow. Dare I say that Audi seems to know a bit about 4WD too! It looks like I'll have to put up with the poor mobile phone reception on bluetooth. Oh well, I've got used to that. Yes, I dropped a goolie by not getting the dealer to fit mats in the deal but I got a fair bit off the asking price anyway and he might well have refused
Thanks again. I guess I'll be back with more questions soon once I get the car next week. Btw has anyone chipped the 4.4TDV8? I've used DMS in Southampton in the past on other cars and it's been worthwile from both the economy and performance points of view

mikef wrote:

.....There aren't hundreds to choose from. I started looking back in November for a 4.4TDV8 Vogue SE in silver, grey or blue for less than £50k and, at that time, there were indeed quite a few around, although not hundreds. I prevaricated on a couple of cars on the assumption that the launch of the new RR would see prices drop but they didn't, in fact quite the opposite. ......

They will no doubt....at the moment we are in the 'Winter Premium' stage of the year were all 4x4 new or old will sell for more money...

Wait until the good weather in spring/summer and the prices of the pre2013 model (L405) will soon drop.... 

Gazellio @ Prestige Cars wrote:

I may be able to offer official JE Engineering Remaps soon.....