Before I bought my L322 Vogue I did a lot of research & asked around.
Many, many people told me that they were rubbish ect, unreliable & very expensive to run. Not one of the people who tried to put me off had actually owned & ran one. Those that had actual experience of them made it quite clear that they were not cheap to run, so I went into FFRR ownership with my eyes fully open.
Yes, it has a few issues ;
Noisy wheel bearing (the vendor told me about it before I went to see it).
O/S headlamp has an access cover missing & the reflectors are dirty, both need adjusting.
O/S rear light unit has condensation in it.
Reversing sensors are erratic (so I have disconnected them & will install a camera).
A bit of "honest" rust where the rear wheel arches meet the door cills.

To the OP - if you really want to announce to the world that your life is effectively over then by all means buy a Toyota Vellfire - remember, this is built by the manufacture that has inflicted the Prius* on the world - a vehicle so environmentally unfriendly over its total service life it makes FFRR start to look like a tree-huggers dream.

If you cannot appreciate the driving experience of a FFRR then you may as well purchase a bus pass. We all (well, most of us) deserve a bit of "spoiling" - to me, my FFRR is my bit of excess.

* I look on the Prius as an infestation - & infestations should be eradicated. 2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6

remember, this is built by the manufacture that has inflicted the Prius* on the world - a vehicle so environmentally unfriendly over its total service life it makes FFRR start to look like a tree-huggers dream.

Had mine over 3 years. I chose it carefully checking the service and maintainance history . In that time I had an alternator fail. Thats it. Fixed myself for €80. Do your research and you will find that all cars have their known faults.
RR just tend to be more expensive to fix.
That said this forum has a wealth of knowledge and you have a JLR man to hand. Read the buyers guide in Wiki, take your time for the right car and you wont regret it. 👍 2007 Vogue TDV8 in Zermatt Silver with Charcoal

Brian Considine wrote:

Before I bought my L322 Vogue I did a lot of research & asked around.
Many, many people told me that they were rubbish ect, unreliable & very expensive to run. Not one of the people who tried to put me off had actually owned & ran one.

There is lies one of the biggest problems with trying to get a realistic idea of reliability

Unfortunately, we are all very good at reporting the bad bits but very poor at reporting the good bits and especially when it comes to criticising a product that we may have never actually owned but “know someone that has”

Regardless of make, there are horror stories out there that spread like wildfire - just look at the bad rep Porsche got from the Top Gear story reporting one setting on fire etc.

You are correct to ask and especially on here, but please remember that a LR of any kind will need maintenance the same as any other manufacturer and possibly more depending on how you drive it and use it

Good luck in your search and hope you find a good one owner low mileage one soon - sure you won’t be sorry. "UNDERSTEER" ----is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"OVERSTEER" ------is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"HORSEPOWER" ----is how fast you hit the fence.
"TORQUE" -----------is how far you take the fence with you.

Thank you all very much for the replies

Get one - you know you want too. People post on here because they have problems and in some cases don't want to spend any money even on a 10 year old car. I see dozens of RR knocking about that aren't members of this forum and they seem happy enough. I've only had normal faults in my 9 years of ownership and as I don't do spanners have always had them fixed at the local indy. Geoff

DaveK wrote:

Brian Considine wrote:

DaveK wrote:

Unreliable pieces of crap...allways in the garage, one problem after another....yet when you look in the car adds for an 8 or 9 year old FFRR, be it petrol or derv, the first thing that strikes you is most of them are well past the 100,000 mile mark !!! No idea how people manage to clock up that sort of mileage in an unreliable car...

So, if you dislike them that much what are you doing here then ?

Typical sweeping statement without facts to back it up.

(Unless, of course it's a wind up).

Clearly was to most people...

DaveK wrote:

Unreliable pieces of crap...allways in the garage, one problem after another....yet when you look in the car adds for an 8 or 9 year old FFRR, be it petrol or derv, the first thing that strikes you is most of them are well past the 100,000 mile mark !!! No idea how people manage to clock up that sort of mileage in an unreliable car...

 John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
GAP iiD BT
2003 Discovery TD5 Auto, Nanocom Evolution - gone to a new home!
MasseyFerguson 152 - No electronics!! - Sold

Just to Add, ive only had 1 L322 bought 4 years old 1 owner and 50,000 miles as Red says try to get a one owner car 2 at the most. Low mileage isnt the be all and end all its the service record and owners if its been passed around you know its had alot of problems. Mine had been good but now at 145k miles things like torque converter and most suspension components need replacing.

I feel there are good ones and bad ones so tick to low owners, they are not too bad to work on yourself providing you have a decent size garage and a BIG toolkit, they are heavy! so need good jacks and axel stands.

Brakes suspension is all well within the capabilities of a home mechanic who does his research and parts are not that bad.

As someone said before though you wont go back once you have one.

My L322 experience has led me to my own opinion on owning one of these...

Ever since the L322 came out, i have loved them, the design...everything, and until a couple of months ago, it was all just a faint dream to actually own one. Then last month, the stars aligned (well the wife let me) and i managed to get one, a well looked after 2005 4.4 v8 Vogue.

The 100 mile drive home was amazing, so comfy, the noise etc....but......

It went downhill from there, the size, the awkwardness to drive the narrow roads where i live, the constant tinkering, the cost of bits. It made me realise you have to LOVE these vehicles to put up with them, if you dont, the love affair very quickly goes.

What i should have done is hire one for a week....get to fully understand the ownership before jumping in.

I know many people say once you've owned one, you wont go back......for me it was more a case of never meet your hero, It was nice in parts, but not nice enough to keep or in fact ever own one again.

Andykid77, whilst I sympathise with your disappointing experience I feel its unfair to compare the reliability of a 15 year old fatty wirh a 2012 4.4 tdv8. Different electrics, electronics, engine, gearbox and brakes. In fact they really just share the shell and some suspension parts.
Starter motors seem to be an issue and the oil cooler "o" rings. Them aside they seem very reliable.
Also the size driving down narrow lanes isnt exactly a fault. I wish you good luck finding a better replacement. 2007 Vogue TDV8 in Zermatt Silver with Charcoal

You should try driving an L405 on Cornish country lanes!

Followed an L405 in the Lake district for a short period. They were very cagey down narrow lanes and even wider ones. Got fed up after a bit and took the opportunity to blast past them on a clear wide section of road.  Previous cars:
S-Max 2007-2013 (only diesel I've had, good car but expensive when diesely bits go wrong, so what's the point?)
Galaxy 2001-2007
Mondeo Estate 1997-2001
Sierra Estate 1993-1997
Uno Turbo 1987 -1993
Fiesta 1984 - 1987
Fiat 127 1982 - 1984

my 2010 VSE "Roger" is the best car I've ever owned. He was 2.5 years old & 48k miles when I got him (now 102k) and having heard all the unreliability stories, kept the other car in order to stay mobile when Roger was getting fixed.

in 7 years he's needed a battery, alternator and top intercooler hoses, though because he's my pride and joy he's also had a suspension rebuild last year and some other bits and pieces which frankly weren't needed.

Running costs across 50k miles (including depreciation, insurance, fuel, parts, servicing) are about £50k = £1 per mile though I'm handy with spanners and have carried out most servicing etc myself. Meanwhile the other car which I kept on standby has hardly been used and lost £10k in depreciation alone!

As said by others in this thread, it's easy to find folk who will warn you about unreliability etc but few are actual previous owners. After a couple of years old these cars are often owned by enthusiasts and because of forums such as this one, you can read of problems, just as you can on Ferrari or Porsche forums. You don't hear of unreliability of boring stuff cos there aren't forums and there aren't enthusiasts to talk about them!

Whilst you often hear of the costs of ownership, you rarely hear of the 'value' of ownership and untill you get a fatty you can't understand this and just see the running costs and stories as the decider. Peerless for long family journeys and when you're stuck in traffic jams you can watch the telly.

I don't do many motorway miles these days and most journeys are 1 mile each way to the office but I can truthfully say that I have looked forward and enjoyed every single journey I've made in Roger, even those 1 mile ones. BTW, the other car is an SLK and when the suns out I still choose Roger with his air con and cooled seats!

Difficult to see how I could go back to a different type of car but I could see Roger finding a new home and an upgrade to a 405.