Very true! The first year with mine I thought ye gods what have I done…..then after she was how I wanted her, it’s been pretty plain sailing so far, regular quality maintenance & they’ll do you proud. 2012 Orkney Grey Westminster 4.4TDV8 with Ivory interior.........nice!
Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Just one Montesa now, 349 White Wonder
Austin A40 Farina MK2
1975 Morris Marina 1.8TC
1973 Honda CB250 K4

Stefanbutler wrote:

That would leave £2000 for repairs and then I would put away £100 a month for maintenance

I'd suggest at least £5k for repairs esp if you have to pay a garage to do the work. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

I’d agree with JayGee in as far as £100 per month is nowhere near enough for “maintenance” depending on what you call maintenance!!

A decent set of 4 tyres will set you back £600 (easily), lots of other things can be cheap if you are handy on the spanners, brakes, oil changes, etc etc.

Without any major mechanical failures I think you need £2k a year as a basic figure for one of these older cars, dependant on use of course, but if it’s used as a tow vehicle it will need some regular love.

Whatever you do, DO NOT be tempted to buy one that has not been looked after and that means someone with a fist full of invoices / receipts for work carried out. A full service book is not enough, you need more evidence in my opinion.

J

I really appreciate all the advice I got on this. Thank you

If you're keen on a warranty, you may need to go down the 4.4 route anyway.

The last 3.6 would be getting on for 15 years old now - is anyone offering a warranty on 15-year-old cars?

In fact, would you even get one on a 2012 4.4? 1992 RR Classic 3.9 efi Vogue
2014 Disco 4 HSE
===================
Both my fatties now gone...
Previous: 2011 L322 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE /// 2002 L322 4.4 V8 HSE /// 2009 Discovery 3 2.7 TDV6 XS /// 2004 Defender 90 TD5 /// 1993 110 V8 Snatch Landrover /// 2005 Discovery 3 2.7 TDV6 SE (Aus) /// 1990 110 Isuzu 3.9 County (Aus) /// 1976 Series III Trayback (Aus)

Even the newest 4.4's are 13 yrs old now so a warranty is likley not going to be worth anything. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Depends what your driving profile is like. I have had both and went back to the 3.6 as my current profile for this vehicle is small short trips so lack of a DPF is a bonus. I had forgotten how much more the 3.6 with the 6sp revs compared to the 4.4 with the 8sp though when I went back into a 3.6. Current: RR L322 2010
Past: RR L405 2017, RR L322 2012, 2008 & 2004, 2018 D5, 2016 Defender, 2011 D4, a few Disco2s, P38, RR Classic, couple of Disco1's, SIII SWB

I looked long and hard at various FF's both 4.4 and 3.6, diesel and petrol variants, for me the problem with the 4.4 diesel is the DPF, not being able to cruise at reasonable speed for 20 or so minutes to clear the DPF was a deal breaker. the petrol version did look fab, until you hang a large trailer behind it and the range drops alarmingly. Therefore a 3.6 facelift was bought, EGR blanked and written out with the GAP IID, heavy duty towbar fitted, all fluids, alternator, pulleys etc., brake disks and pads, front suspension bushes changed. I have done this over the last 4 years and to me it is still a joy to drive and I hope it will serve me for a good while yet or for as long as our overlords will allow the sale of hydrocarbon fuels.
Whatever you buy make sure you do your research, driving habits and whether you will maintain the vehicle yourself or an independant does the jobs needed.
These will never be cheap cars to run, anyone who says differently has to take shortcuts somewhere or be very lucky that nothing goes wrong... but they are (when they work) one of the best ways to move around the country.

I agree that if doing a lot of towing then the 3.6 with the 6-speed gbox is a good option. My brother has a 3.6 RRS used solely for towing his caravan and off-road camper trailer, not that a 4.4 was an option for him. I work at keeping my 4.4 in a lower gear when towing my caravan because IMO the 4.4 too readily works hard at lower revs yet the 4.4 has exactly the same main and big-end bearings as the 3.6. If not towing then my 4.4 which doesn't have a DPF has much better fuel economy.

ianmacd wrote:

Depends what your driving profile is like. I have had both and went back to the 3.6 as my current profile for this vehicle is small short trips so lack of a DPF is a bonus. I had forgotten how much more the 3.6 with the 6sp revs compared to the 4.4 with the 8sp though when I went back into a 3.6.

There is a ‘theory’ that the gearing on 4.4 which aids economy could compromise lubrication under high load / low rpm due to reduced oil flow. This may have been fixed in software updates and I find under potential low speed / high load situations such as hills that the gearbox will hold lower gears and let the engine rev higher than feels necessary. Given the scarcity of 4.4 engine failures this doesn’t sound like a problem. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Red Hot one wrote:

Therefore a 3.6 facelift was bought, EGR blanked and written out with the GAP IID, heavy duty towbar fitted, all fluids, alternator, pulleys etc., brake disks and pads, front suspension bushes changed. I have done this over the last 4 years and to me it is still a joy to drive and I hope it will serve me for a good while yet or for as long as our overlords will allow the sale of hydrocarbon fuels.

Another 3.6 fan...I was beginning to think they didn't exist!

Similar first year to mine, albeit with some undersealing thrown in for good measure. Albeit she's on 140K now so I'm hoping I get a couple of years of spend free motoring (outside of regular maintenance). Wishful thinking perhaps....

I have had my 3.6 for coming up to eight years. I look at the 4.4s for sale from time to time but mine has been sorted for rust etc and I love it. Also I would think,for me, it is a bit cheaper to run. The mileage I do now doesn't make the fuel difference a big draw and spares for the 4.4 (suspension struts for example) can be quite a bit dearer.

I had a 2005 Td6 with the straight 6 BMW engine and, although I liked it, the 3.6 was a quantum leap. 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