Just fitted Camper trailer brake controller , however ! I plugged in the plug and play lead to the car and no power so I took the car down to auto electrician and low and behold the factory had wired the plug up wrong. While he had the car on the hoist I decided to have look for an annoying rattling noise coming from the front passenger floor area, I found as follows,

# 1, hydraulic lines L/H side running in plastic cover near sill area not clipped down so this was the cause of the noise
.
# 2, missing screws where front L/H mud flap meets plastic conduit under car also causing rattles under car
.
# 3, L/H front mud flap with 1/4 " gap between body of car and rear of mud flap the mud flap was made incorrectly but still fitted
.
# 4, Oil weeping from front differential cover plate I wondered where the oil on the garage floor came from. The weep had tried to be hidden with grey silastic instead of new gasket
.
# 5, Clip coming from transmission wiring to mount on floor pan of car not connected so wires hanging in the breeze.
All this on a car that is 2000 KLM old and just out of service for turbo scavenge line modification.

Such a shame to hear about your problems. I have been on the edge of buying a L405 since it came out. In the past I couldn't think about buying a Range Rover as reliability is very important to me, up in the mountains at minus 15 degrees, or driving on a twisty pot holed icy road in Eastern Europe. Couldn't imagine anything worse than breaking down with family and dog in tow.

Hearing more and more reports of small items of quality control that have serious repercussions if driving in remote regions of Europe. That and shockingly outdated infotainment for such a premium product.

Sadly, it's built in Birmingham by brummies and here ends the story.

As I am half W.Midlands I can say this without being shot down in flames.... 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

Should I be considering a Mercedes GL for my needs? Having test driven a L405 V8 diesel, which was very impressive, perhaps the more practical and reliable GL would be a better buy? Off to test drive one next week to see. Though longer, the GL is 9cm narrower and therefore easier to negotiate narrow roads and width restrictions, has 7 seats and a 100 litre fuel tank for great fuel range where there aren't many fuel stations. Mind you it is made in America!

GL is a poor Discovery substitute, not a Range Rover rival.

but the GL is reliable and with the off road options, is well reviewed by the press in face lift 2013/14 spec. Also has more room in the rear than the Range Rover which still hasn't got a great reputation for reliability, my number one priority. I guess you've driven both. I'll give a GL a go next week and see. I really love the L405, but as a practical proposition travelling very long distances in some extremely demanding conditions are you saying the Discovery and L405 wouldn't let me down, far from home? Over the last 7 years of continuous Mercedes ownership, I've not had one fault and just serviced once a year and filled with fuel with each of the Mercs I've owned including the current one. Driven over 130,000 miles without fault. From what I've read on this forum and other forums, Range Rover doesn't seemed to have overcome reliability problems. Really hoped the new L405 would be different.

RRUK wrote:

Sadly, it's built in Birmingham by brummies and here ends the story.

So you know it wasn't the Australian service technicans then?

Why not go for something altogether more authentic like a G63 AMG?

The G63 AMG I am sure would be fun for the weekend but doing a 7-800 miles a day, on pot holed roads with four up and a dog might get tiring and be a bit of a squash with luggage, prams etc... and with its fuel range and the cost of its fuel consumption, not only would I be filling the thing up every 250 miles but it would be emptying my wallet at a serious rate of knots! Also it is very antiquated I imagine pretty uncomfortable on bumpy roads bearing in mind its based on 70's design.

In an ideal world I would love the long wheel based L405 with pop up third row seats, spare full size tyre and Tata to make it as reliable as its rivals. I would however settle for the short wheel base L405 which I think is stunning. Love the power and smoothness of the V8 diesel. They need to get some German efficiency in their production line to stop the small production mistakes that are giving this vehicle so many niggles. Radiator hoses coming off and shutting down the car, white smoke coming out the exhausts, over heating pre heaters, noisy suspensions, bits of trim falling off etc, etc. it just shouldn't be happening on a £100K car. I thought I would give it a year for Land Rover to sort out this new model. Clearly, its more than teething problems. Such a shame.

On another note. Test drove the V8 Landcruiser, which was truly shocking. Very tacky interior, not nearly as much space inside as expected and not a great ride.

What's the reason for the 800 miles a day with all the family?

nick644 wrote:

On another note. Test drove the V8 Landcruiser, which was truly shocking. Very tacky interior, not nearly as much space inside as expected and not a great ride.

Gazellio @ Prestige Cars wrote:

What's the reason for the 800 miles a day with all the family?

Sorry to hear you've had a "weird experience" staying in France. Lucky for us many (including Brits) still come to the South of France for the quality of life with top class food and accommodation... and nice weather.

ha ha. Glad to hear S.France is working out for you! Used to have a place in Nice. I live 13km from the French border now, as it happen. In my motorcycling days, too long ago to mention now! I only have great memories of the French, whether in Normandy or South of France, taking the night train with bikes down to Toulouse and riding in the hills above Nice and Cannes and back through the French Pyrenees. The French are amazing when it comes to motorcycles. Just in recent years there seems to be increasing animosity towards English speaking people. Paris is unbelievably spiteful towards those with nice cars from regular first hand experience and there just seem to be a lot of resentment towards tourists, at least in my experience over the past 15 years.

No jealousy down here. People take pictures and give the thumbs up when you drive something special. And you will see that if you try speaking French even a little bit instead of assuming everyone speaks English it will be much appreciated.
It happens I do know Andorra as it is my main place of residence and I can tell you locals also appreciate if you try to communicate in Catalan (if you speak another language they will reply in Catalan!). And I will not compare the quality of service and food with France, unless the Michelin guide is completely unknown to you!