Hi All,

First post on the forum, I have been stalking for a while and must say that the information available and atmosphere is excellent!

I have a 2003 build TD6 Vogue in blue with dark grey leather interior. Almost entirely stock (the only upgrades are repairs), including the phone cradle (with no phone though )
I bought her in June 2012 with 130,000 miles and was very pleased. Took her away for the Bank Holiday weekend must to the envy of my family....!

Since then I have had nothing but one issue after another...

1st - failed low pressure fuel pump - It's a 10 year old car I think, this is why I fought so hard on price and had a slush fund.
2nd - failed water pump. It's a 10 year old car I think ... this is why I fought so hard on price and had a slush fund...
3rd - TRANS FAIL PROG - Torque converter has shredded itself and destroyed the gearbox - It's ok ... I got it with the warranty on the gearbox (it had already had one replaced)

Few bits of money in servicing etc

4th - Really loud clatter and bang. Sounds like someone has left a spanner in the gearbox and or the engine. Complete loss of drive and a horrific smell. Turns out that the High Pressure fuel pump has failed. Fortunately the investigations and repairs show no damage to the block, only - ONLY - requires replacement High Pressure fuel pump and turbo. At a pretty substantial fee... and really starting to loose the love ...

Now R/N/S air bag has failed and I've got a mystery clunk when turning right...

I have invested huge sums into this car, way more than my initial slush fund, and I can't afford to keep doing it. I have only covered about 6000 miles in it and had nothing but trouble. I am now getting remarks relating to the lottery you enter buying a Land Rover, "should've bought an X5 - ours has never gone wrong..." (Never mind all the engine bits being BMW!)

I suppose my question is ... do I keep her...? There is a large part of me thinks that I have invested in this car "what else could go wrong ...?" But then this is the 2nd or 3rd time I have though that now...

Do I jump ship and let someone with either a bigger wallet or mechanical abilities to investigate and solve these problems themselves? Do I buy a garage, quit my job and learn myself - I'm pretty sure I am putting the mechanics daughter through Uni at the moment....!

If I ever get her back long enough to clean her and take some pictures in decent weather I will post them up.
Opinions and advice gratefully received.
Thanks
Scrub

hi Scrub, you're just down the road from me [swindon]..

you do get to that stage where you think that , do i keep or get rid..there will always be 'something' to do to the range and some peeps do a lot and others have to do little....

if you did sell what would you get cos from my experience i've found that nothing is as good as a fullfat ...

only you can decide which way to go but remember lifes to short so enjoy it ..

looking forward to the pics.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

As Stan says, there does come that clipping point when investment in gets a bit too much and you just want to walk away!Me, i'm now way past that point , I now look upon RR ownership as a hobby keeping the car in far better shape that it has any right to be in given the market value of the car, Christ, I even spent a few hours cleaning the seats at the weekend! Never even thought of doing that to the fecking sofa in the house!

Thanks for the replies guys,
With my I love my car head on, I'm getting close to that cut off point.
With my money head on I think that point has been and gone.

Swindon is no distance at all really, I may look to call on you for a hand pulling it apart when something else goes wrong ...

With regards to how much I would get selling ... I have no idea. From what I have seen on Autotrader about £8k I think. But then you see some similar advertised for 9k even close to 10k so I have no idea.

Quote:

Christ, I even spent a few hours cleaning the seats at the weekend! Never even thought of doing that to the fecking sofa in the house!

That is awesome .... maybe that's how I should look at it. Every man needs a project, right ...

Yup, project it is, I got rid of my scimitar last year, so this the subject of spare cash now.

There can be a tipping point, but it can take you to "better the devil you know"....

At least you now know what has been fixed and with help from the forum you know what is coming: battery problems, electrical gremlins, air suspension inactive - (compressor/reservoir/airbags or all!), suspension bushes all over, drop links, discs and calipers........then there is the regular servicing, oil changes, gearbox oil changes, etc.....etc.....etc

I have not found a better car to own and drive despite its many and frustrating reliability issues  .
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

^^^^^ Talk about gloom and doom.

I had my FFRR for 30 months nearly to the day and I found it to be a very reliable car. Ok, I put a new battery in it, lower suspension arms, an airline coupler, bluetooth module got wet and that's it actually.. Everything else was out of choice, as in an upgrade.
I was going to say its the luck of the draw, but I think it does come down to preventative maintenance as well.
It will get to the point you have fixed all the dodgy stuff so you might as well keep it. Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

maybe a mare friday car... why not swap for another L322 and see if you get lucky

This is the tradeoff for the sumptuous design...