| 2009 Westminster TDV8 Alaska White | |
Greetings!
I would've never thought I'd be driving an off-roader! Having had owned several German luxury cars, I'd become a fan of MB. We still have an E-Class coupé and we did quite a bit of GT driving with our labrador in it.
Then we'd decided to get a second lab because our first is getting older. And then we decided that the old lab can't really keep up with the youngling, so we decided to get yet another! And now having 3 labs and unable to go some places we would like to visit because of a RWD and low clearance I had started looking at off-roaders and watching off-road videos on YT gradually becoming hooked.
Initially I was looking at GLE and GL/GLS. But what quickly attracted my attention was a vast number of LR fans and LR-sponsored media, from documentaries to how-tos and promo videos - it looked as if LR meant business when it came to off-road (I now obviously know this is the case, but several months ago I was still rather clueless).
I then remembered I had a hidden appreciation for the RR design, which had always had something Victorian about it. I remember seeing RRs with the proud Westminster badge a couple of times and feeling strangely triumphant and majestic in those moments. I also can't get the picture of Lara Croft in a Defender traversing the Indian jungle (if anyone remembers the 2001 Tomb Raider movie, you'll know what I'm talking about) out of my head.
...and then I got stuck in a 2cm snow on an ascent just outside the village I live in. Thankfully my neighbours were kind enough to push me out of the snow (one of them drives XC90, another one - RRS). And as I was sitting behind the wheel looking at a white RRS while being pushed something clicked inside my head - I had to have a Range Rover, right there and then!
And so it was decided. I went on a hunt for an L322 RR. L322 for a few specific reasons:
- it was (barely) within my budget
- it's old enough to be able to find a solution to any problem easily
- I rather like the look
- HRH has one (!)
I'm using the word hunt intentionally here - these RRs are a hot commodity right now (at least in Russia). To a point where one can be sold with 48 hours after being listed. I'd missed two because they were reserved literally as I was driving to the shop. One I couldn't buy because they owner didn't want to list the real price. This is when I found out about the "Safe Deals Territory" - you bring the seller to the JLR dealer, they inspect the car; if you like it - they prepare all the paperwork and act as an escrow agent for the money; if there is something wrong with the car after the purchase - they'll assume responsibility; and this costs 1p. The dealer said this is a way for JLR to stimulate marque loyalty. And it works. Especially after I had paid £150 for an engine inspection of a Cayenne I was considering buying (yes, it was hard to let go of the Germans).
Initially, I wanted a Supercharged 5.0L petrol for the fun of it and because I'd never owned a Diesel before and was rather skeptical about Diesels. Thankfully, I'd missed all of the Supercharged ones that were on the market. 2 were reserved, one was the story above, 1 had its engine rebuilt by a BMW specialist after overheating the block (it also had cheaply done alcantara headliner and springs installed in place of air suspension). Becoming rather desperate, I had started looking at diesels. Looked at two. One was an escort vehicle with low mileage but it was apparent it had seen some abuse; another one had over 200k miles on the clock and poorly maintained. It's rather mind-blowing how poorly maintained are many Range Rovers (at least in Russia). And then people talk about reliability issues, smh.
Completely desperate I came across a white 3.6 Westminster. And again, as I was driving to the shop, a couple that had travelled from Moscow to buy it was looking at it. Thankfully, they couldn't agree on a trade-in valuation of their car and I had the whole day to look at it (it's possible this was a fairy tale thought up by the dealer to sell the car).
Six things that it had going for itself:
- According to Harry from EVO, 3.6 is arguably the best engine for L322
- 2 owners, last owner had owned it since 2011
- Great condition of the leather (in comparison to what I had seen on the market)
- No accidents (at least no history in either the police database or the insurance database)
- Acceptable and verifiable mileage - 177,000km
- Great price (lower end of the market) and last day of the month
Cons:
- The whole underneath was orange
- Deployable sidesteps were removed because one of them broke (I had to pick those up from some BMW, again, specialist later)
- Service history went only till 2013 (but it had the gearbox service at a dealership in November 2020)
- Front and rear suspension needed new bushings
- Passenger airbag needed a new control module
- Oil sweating on the engine cover
- Oil sweating around the engine-transmission gasket
The dealer did a full inspection and had agreed to pay for half of the required maintenance. And it had an unopened set of headphones, which I considered a good sign.
Most importantly, it was a Westminster!
So, after a short waiting and some paperwork, I became a happy owner of this Westminster! The dealer also managed to sell me a set of 19" wheels with tyres for £300 as a spare - you know how it goes.
Nice things to note:
- It still has a parcel shelf (although it needs some work)
- It has reclining, heated and ventilated rear seats
Attaching some photos from the original listing. And will create another post in the appropriate thread with what had been done with the car since (in case it may be interesting and useful to someone).
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20th Apr 2021 4:42pm
). It's also much more capable off-road and has the split tailgate (3 labs) - two rather important reasons for selecting the FF in the first place for me. I have to say RRs are also rather popular in St. Petersburg. The ride comfort is almost a necessity here - general swampiness of the area coupled with rapid temperature changes and high humidity decimate the asphalt in 1-2 seasons, creating potholes the size of a football.
