Hi,

Long time member of the Disco site, with many years of happy ownership.

I'm here to seek some (any) buying advice on a possible opportunity that may crop up. A friend who works overseas has a FFRR 08 4.2 Autobiography with very low mileage (17k) that he may need to sell. The car has been garaged throughout and has been driven frequently by the guy that looks after his fancy cars. I'm thinking I could buy this and flog me newish D4 and pocket the cash. The FFRR is in great condition.

CAP values for the car are skewed by the low mileage. I wondered if there's anyone here who could offer a view on a likely rough value? Also, having never had one of these, is there anything specific to check for on a roadtest? I know D3s and 4s very well and am reasonably technically minded (especially after 20 years of Defeners, also). But most importantly, are these things reliable and what are they like to own (other than horribly thirsty, I imagine). What is a realistic town/motorway mileage, anyway?

Thanks for any advice.

Pagoda

Thirsty... Yes! 20mpg should be achievable if your careful... Drive it around town and you can half that quite easily!

Value wise... Subjective really as its such low milage! If mint then could reach £20k to the right buyer... If needing to take offers? I could see on a bad day being offered £15k...

There is a good buyers guide in the WIKI top right of this page sir

lots of short trips of a few miles each way going from one side of town to the other ( but not stuck in stop start traffic of a city ) sinks the mpg in mine to 15.

Long return journey run of 180miles at 70mph on the motorways ( average speed camera route ) got 22mpg average V8 or else ...

With a mixture of journeys, mine is averaging about 18 mpg according to the OBC.

I get similar mpg to the gents above........ Regards
Royston

2008 4.2 Supercharged Autobiography
1994 Classic Vogue SE
1999 Rover BRM
1987 Rover Vitesse Twin Plenum

pagoda wrote:

Hi,

Long time member of the Disco site, with many years of happy ownership.

... having never had one of these, is there anything specific to check for on a roadtest? ...

Thanks very much for your replies, chaps. I was expecting the thirsty remarks. To be fair, my D3s and 4s have never been brilliant in that regard. I did have a D3 V8 for a short period. I loved that engine but it loved to drink and drive.

@A1GSS - Graham, I'm intrigued by your comment. Could you perhaps explain a little more about the differences you're talking about? I love the way the D4 drives.

Well, this is my view and others no doubt might differ. It's about how it's biased to comfort at the expense of slower steering and softer suspension control. Straight steady A roads/motorways feel much the same (FFRR much quieter), but I found it unsettled on long fast sweeping A road bends, and very wallowy on twisty B roads. The payback is a superb ride, definitely better than my D3 (Air not a coiler).

Couple that with the disappointing engine and it was too much after a few months, I left it on the drive and took the D3 in preference.

I think that if the S/C has the same suspension setup as the TDV8 it'd feel out of control, hence why I think you need to give it a long hard varied drive and see if the characteristics are OK for you. Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

@A1GSS - Graham: What you say about preferring a D3 over a FFRR 3.6 TDV8 is really interesting.

I have a MY54 4.4 V8 petrol with lpg conversion, and bought a D3 but after 6 months with the Disco I sold it as I thought it wasn't a patch on the FF !

Me too. I had a 2005 D3 V8 HSE with all the toys. Changed to a FFRR 2007 TDV8 with even more toys. Went back to a D3 2008 V8 HSE and really missed the FFRR. Now thankfully back in a 2011 Supercharged AB.

The D3 never felt as well made, nor was it as quiet. The doors shut with a gentle whoosh of air whereas the FFRR doors close with a more satisfying clunk. No creaky plastic in the Rangie either whereas that dash in the D3 was diabolical. Seat comfort, soundproofing, leather quality, they're all better in the FFRR.

Both excellent vehicles though and streets ahead of eurobox mediocrity.

Stuart wrote:

I have a MY54 4.4 V8 petrol with lpg conversion, and bought a D3 but after 6 months with the Disco I sold it as I thought it wasn't a patch on the FF !

mzplcg wrote:

Me too. I had a 2005 D3 V8 HSE with all the toys. Changed to a FFRR 2007 TDV8 with even more toys. Went back to a D3 2008 V8 HSE and really missed the FFRR. Now thankfully back in a 2011 Supercharged AB.

The D3 never felt as well made, nor was it as quiet. The doors shut with a gentle whoosh of air whereas the FFRR doors close with a more satisfying clunk. No creaky plastic in the Rangie either whereas that dash in the D3 was diabolical. Seat comfort, soundproofing, leather quality, they're all better in the FFRR.

Both excellent vehicles though and streets ahead of eurobox mediocrity.

Don't disagree with these at all, the FF was never in doubt a better place to sit. It was the quality of the go/stop/steer that got me. No doubt the petrols (esp teh S/c!) are going to beat the log burner, maybe if I'd bought an S/C i'd still have it..

So my point for pagoda was that driving it (rather than sitting in it at a dealership and enjoying the ambience) is important. Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

Thank you all. I very much appreciate the advice. Hopefully I'll get a sense of whether this is a goer in the next week or so. If it goes ahead I'll report back.

Finally, I take it from your replies that there isn't anything specific to look out for on a little -used FFRR of this age?

Hi
Yes , rust in rear wheel arches and boot. Lots of info on here about it. Say that though , mine is a garaged low miler, and not a spot of rust anywhere, so the one your looking at could be the same SC 4.2, 2012 face lifted, 25K miles, 1 previous owner
Triumph TR6 1973
Triumph Bonneville 1970
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