Hi all,

I have £10k burning a hole in my pocket and am really keen to get a FFRR on the drive after having countless number of German cars.

I'm doing an awful lot of research and reading an awful lot of buyers guides on the various options available, but nothing beats the advice of other FFRR owners such as yourselves.

So, with that in mind, what would FFRR would you spend £10k? I don't have a preference regarding petrol or diesel, the cost of road tax or the cost of insurance. I'm an average mileage user (so about 12k a year) and the car is going to have to last me a while.

At the moment, I'm seriously considering a 2011 L322 4.4 TDV8, but I'm open to suggestions.

TIA

2011 L322 4.4 TDV8 Sounds sensible, well as sensible as RR ownership can be

Check out the Wiki for some useful buyers info, buying a well maintained example is vital.

Enjoy! Sold - Bell a 2015 MY16 Loire Blue Autobiography 4.4 SDV8
Previously George a 2007 MY07 Java Black VSE 3.6 TDV8
Previously a 04 MY04 Defender 90

Find a car for £5k and keep the other £5k for repairs and maintenance. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

The question to ask is how much do you have to run a RR?

They are wonderful cars and you can get a 4.4 tdv8 for near your budget but they cost in excess of £80k new and running costs are high. Just had mine serviced and new brakes, discs anand d pads by a local specialist - £1,200, road tax due end of the month £615. My insurance is cheap £230 but reflects a low annual mileage and the fact I am retired.

A set of tyres are in excess of £800 for a decent make.

Fuel for 12,000 miles will be circa £3,500 depending how you drive it…..300 bhp is tempting!

So annual costs in excess of £6k without any major issues - 60% of your purchase budget.

If you go ahead buy the best you can with the best service history, you will enjoy it but they can’t be run on a shoe string. 2012 tdv8 Westminster arrived Jan 19 gone Dec 23

200 TDi discovery bobtail gone
RR classic v8 bobtail gone
300 tdi Discovery 3 dr gone

I personally don't buy new tyres and brakes every year - other than the fuel/road tax/insurance above, the rest of the costs are presumably in reality spread over a number of years and aren't recurring annually? I'd be slightly worried if the vehicle is eating a full set of tyres and brakes every year in 12,000 miles.

I certainly don't spend £6k a year on my 5.0 S/C, but they are definitely more expensive to run and maintain than a Ford Fiesta! Insurance is also horrendous in London even on a 10 year old 5.0 S/C, which along with road tax are historically the biggest annual expenses for my L322 excluding fuel. A standard annual service with maybe a few joints etc. replacing at my long standing LR indie is ~£500. It does depend what needs doing though, and how much you do yourself. So far in my 5-6 years of ownership very little has actually needed doing beyond routine maintenance, but maybe I'm very lucky.

Maintenance cost are obviously flexible, but at a minimum

Annual service - £300-500
Insurance - £250 - £1000
Non routine maintenance -£how long is a piece of string. Could be £100 could be £1500
Fuel - £depends on mileage but 8000 miles will cost roughly £2500 at 25mpg you could get more mpg 🤷‍♂️
Tax - £615
Tyres - depends if the car you buy needs them. But £200 a corner for decent £130 for more budget
MOT - £50

So bottom end running cost £3800 but I dont think that’s dissimilar to most cars, the only thing which would change is fuel.
Top end is any ones guess, you might have a bad year and need tyres, some suspension joints, brakes, etc etc which if it all came at the same time is a poke in the eye. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6

How about this - https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic65058.html 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

If i was Oliver Reed, and had 10k in my pocket burning a hole, I know what i would spend it on….

I bought a great 2011 L322 in Sumatra Black for £7500, with 160,000 miles on it, and full service history, it had a rattling in the front engine bay, that was easily sorted by replacing the bracket (coupling shaft bearing) and with labour at an indie garage I know cost me around £500 ex vat

LR022810 - BRACKET - COUPLING SHAFT BEARING - LR 1.00 £193.58
LR022953 - IDLER ASSY - LR 1.00 £43.88
LR022804 - V-BELT - LR 1.00 £22.01
LR022803 - V-BELT - DAYCO 1.00 £14.40

LABOUR - REPLACE BELT AND TENSIONERS 4.00 £65.00 £260.00

so this gives you an idea of costs and why I was happy to pay what I did at the time for a fantastic TDV8, it also had ceramic coating on all the body paint, this was done after the tailgate was repainted due to corrosion on the lower edges ( a common problem ) , the owner showed me all the invoices and photos before I bought the car !

So I think a very late 2011 or 2012 TDV8 for under 10K is possible, and with all the ULEZ thing going on in London you will probably pick one up with lots of DPF issues for under 7K in 2023 - good luck with whatever you purchase, this is my fourth RR and is the very best one I have ever had by miles

Last edited by pcourtney on 2nd Nov 2023 6:25pm. Edited 1 time in total

Quote:

bought a great 2011 L322 in Sumatra Black for £7500, with 160,000 miles on it, and full service history

well so far so good, I need to replace all the brake discs and brake pads ( EBC Greenstuff are ones that I like) in the New Year, but its not urgent

the rear wiper water jets have stopped working during cold snow snap we had before Xmas, so I need to get my Dremel out and find the smallest drill bit and have a go at that

I bought some reverse LED lights ( the oem ones are very poor at illumimating my driveway) , so will do this job over the weekend

am debating a full gearbox service with a local company who seem reasonable and do loads of Range Rovers, I think I will do this for peace of mind around March time - its more preventative ( I don't have to do it, the 8 speed rotary box seems really good and very capable of getting the 2.5 tons from A to B )

I bought some interior leather valeting stuff, so its on my list to give all the seats a good cleaning and restore, the rear seats and passenger side don't need it, but I want to do them all at the same time, should come up really nice

Last edited by pcourtney on 31st Dec 2022 4:22pm. Edited 1 time in total

All good tips so far - thank you for your input(s). I am tempted by a 2011 4.4 TDV8 that’s come up locally. Just over 100k miles so plenty of life in it yet (I hope).

Drums ?

I bought some LED reversing bulbs but they are useless as far a usable illumination is concerned so I'd go for replacing the whole units with those on aliexpress. If the gearbox has been serviced ( fluid and filter) and it's not showing any issues I'd leave it alone and deal with any issues if they arise. Rear jets can be not working for various reasons and not just blocked jets so check the pump, one way valve and wiper motor fluid connection first. (Mine was the one way valve) 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Condition and history. If they look good then it’s probably as good a bet as any out there. FSH (annual) MD or specialist indi, not KWik fit, reciepts, wear, corrosion points, etc etc. and Tyres. Are they nice tyres or are they cheapo. Not always but imho cheapo tends to ring alarm bells, where else has money not been spent. When I say cheapo I mean budget Chinese brands, not midrange like, Avon, Toyo etc, anything above £145 a corner is probably to be expected on an older car, but if it’s got shiny new Pirelli’s on it then money has been spent wisely.

There is a great buyers guide in the Wiki to have a read through, which will highlight the areas to look at when you view and test it. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
Fiat 500x 1.4 multiair Lounge 2015
2010 LR D4 Commercial 2.7 TDV6