Morning Everyone.

I am looking for some honest advice. I have wanted a L322 for years and at the beginning of November I bought a Stornoway grey from a reputable dealership in Essex for £9k with 73k on the clock. As I was driving home to Cheshire, the engine system failure message came on briefly and then went off.

As soon as I got it home I booked it in to my LR specialist to be checked over (Who in my case in Lanny Man St. Helens). This inspection took place last Thursday 7th December. The first thing they guy said was that the car 'needed thousands spending on it'. Specifically, he suspected an issue with at least one of the turbos. He also reported an excessive coolant leak, a leak on the transfer box, corrosion to the brake pipes and sub frame which was not on the MOT and advised that all four front suspension arms would need to be replaced.Quote for turbos approx 3k, coolant leak 1.5k and so on. Cost of inspection £350

I was a bit gutted by this because I thought I had found a good example (hard to come by as you know) but when I went to pick up the car he backtracked a little bit on the turbo issues saying that a 10 quid bottle of Wynns may go some way to resolving it. This left me more confused than ever. He said that further testing would be required to determine the extent of the turbo damage - another £300.

Slightly would up t, I got back in touch with the dealer and relayed what the mechanic had told me and forwarded on his findings. I requested a return of the car. Th dealership then, understandably, got in touch with the specialist to try to get a bit more information and again the mechanic suggested that the turbo issue could be resolved by the use of a turbo cleaner and admitted that it could be something as straight forward as a carbon build up.

Now I spoke to the dealer yesterday and he obviously wanted to put his point across. He rightly pointed out the specialist has been very vague, has not provided photographic evidence and has a vested interest in me spending significant sums at his garage. The dealership has a good reputation but failed to disclose things like the corroded brake lines even though they did know about them. There were also just some little but annoying things as well for example they failed to replace the wiper blades even though they were clearly knackered.

So, now I am faced with 3 options

1. Return the car. Refund of my £9k less delivery £350 less mileage charge £250.
2. Have the turbos tested and claim under warranty (claim limit £750) - so if they are Kaput I'll have to fork out a couple of grand there. Not sure if the turbos and the coolant leak will be treated as two separate claims.
3. Get a second opinion from a different LR specialist. I know there is a guy in Bury who I have used before.

I am really torn on this one and would appreciate peoples opinion. I know these cars cost money but I don't want to be spending thousands out the gate on a car that was sold to me as an excellent, well looked after example.

Thanks for reading

Get a refund. £9k for an 08 3.6 is way over priced in the first place and these engines have a poor rep with regards to turbo reliability which are way, way more than £750 to fix when they go wrong. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Hello,

If you can get out of it for a few hundred quid I would highly recommend doing that.

These cars are plentiful and cheap, you’ll find much better examples for sale by members of the forum if you are determined to own one.

However, be aware that the cost of running these things is ruinously expensive if you are relying on a garage to do all the maintenance. I’ve owned mine for approaching three years and despite doing as much as I reasonably can myself, I’ve still put thousands into it. These cars do not take well to delayed maintenance or service work, they need looking after. Parts can be easy to come by and often very affordable but best to do as much as you can yourself. If this is not an option I would possibly reconsider owning one unless you are prepared to spend £2k minimum per year on keeping it going.

J

@OP

have PM'd you.

JayGee wrote:

Get a refund. £9k for an 08 3.6 is way over priced in the first place and these engines have a poor rep with regards to turbo reliability which are way, way more than £750 to fix when they go wrong.

Thanks everyone for your advice

have you checked your pm's?

I'd return the car, for that price you can get a nice 4.4 TDV8.

Put the lost funds down as the cost of having an extended test drive and confirming that you really want one

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

How did you get on then, any progress?

J

Use the sale of goods act…..not fit for purpose etc etc. I think you can legitimately return the car within 30 days. In my eyes, you’ll never be satisfied with what you’ve got, get a refund then keep a close look on this fabulous site for a genuine well looked after car, you may even get a 4.4tdv8 for that money.
Hope this helps.
Let us know what (appends. 2012 Orkney Grey Westminster 4.4TDV8 with Ivory interior.........nice!
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