A week or so before Christmas we were furniture shopping at a garage sale. Cutting a long story short we walked away with a couple of sofas and a Range Rover, the best bit was the price (of the car); 4000 riyal with just under a years insurance left on the car. Not sure on the exact exchange range but it comes in well under a thousand GBP.

The down sides are cosmetically it is in pretty bad shape (lots of scrapes and cracks in the paint and the interior is disgusting) and mechanically the gearbox can best be described as lumpy, it doesn't like cold starts and is running pretty rich.

A picture of the car at the local friendly independent Land Rover specialist for a quick oil change;

Some of the worst bits;

The rear lights lost their covers and were badly cracked

But with great service from Island 4x4 this arrived;

Good job 👍

Looks like a great buy - good on you for seeing past the bits 4.2 SC - sold , now bought back
4.4 AdBlu Tractor - Stolen

Great job

I'm sure you already have it on your plan but I would be making sure all the boxes - gear, front & rear diffs and transfer box have fluid changes and check the transmission oil cooler, especially given your warmer temperatures than us in the UK. Current Fleet:-
2018 Discovery 5 3.0 HSE
2021 Ford Ranger Wildtrack
2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt 5.0 V8
1993 Defender 90 200TDI Pickup

Gone - not forgotten
2016 L405 4.4 SDV8 Vogue SE
2012 L322 4.4 Westminster
2004 L322 4.4 V8 Autobiography LE
2000 P38 RR 4.0 HSE (ex Clarkson test car)

Thanks - I love this car!

The diffs and transfer oils were changed last year but the gear box oil had never been changed. I decided to get a full gear box service done but ever since then the gear box has been playing up, the electronic thermostat was throwing up an error code as were the front oxygen sensors so will place another parts order but they will take over a couple of weeks to get here.

I will get the gearbox oil cooler flushed as the gear changes are definitely smoother when cold, hopefully the new thermostat will help keeping the temperatures down and sensors will cure the rough cold starts.

We went off roading this week - it managed to go places my wife's Nissan Pathfinder wouldn't which was gratifying given it cost less than her car's last service. Although my parts bill already exceeds the RR's purchase price!

Its likely the gearbox service has loosened crud and gunk that has built up and is now going through the oilways.
Give it another flush when you do the cooler. Do it sooner rather than later. Make sure the correct oil is used too. Good luck with it  2007 Vogue TDV8 in Zermatt Silver with Charcoal

No need for a dehumidifier to keep the damp out of electrics out there then.

Thanks again - I have decided to park the car up for a while until I can get the thermostat and sensors delivered, I will get the gearbox flushed at the same time. In the mean time I am getting another cosmetic issue sorted.

The amount of brake dust generated by the pads is unreal, I don't think the wheels have ever been cleaned so the dust had baked on. I tried alloy wheel cleaner, the stuff that goes purple and even a bit of diesel but I couldn't get the wheel looking clean.

Time for a quick update.

March wasn't a good month for the Range Rover after convincing myself the gearbox was about to disintegrate. It was like driving over a cattle grid at certain revs/gears, then after leaving the car for a week the battery died.

My efforts to recharge the battery led to a string of suspension error codes which were shortly followed by the emission warning light and engine failsafe messages. I was about to sell it for scrap when a colleague recommended another Range Rover specialist who very quickly diagnosed a couple of faulty injectors and replaced the battery.

I am now back in love with the FFRR and am no longer going to drive out into the desert and set fire to it - the gear changes are silky smooth as is the engine. Result!

Looking good, did u get the seat side panel from island 4x4 ? do you mind me asking how much it was . Range rover 4.2 SC 06MY.

Sorry for the late reply, note the price doesn't include VAT. Yes - from island 4x4

1 x VALANCE - SEAT CUSHION HJR500031SUN £79.99

Ok thanks  Range rover 4.2 SC 06MY.

Mind me asking what is the part number for the center console?

Hi Rovah,

1 x Switch Panel Hi/Low Hill Decent (Genuine) FJV000254LYU £199.99 + vat

1 x Trim Centre Console (Genuine) FJV500180PVA £165.00 + vat