Hi,
I will shortly be commencing a search for a VSE but need a little more clarity with regards to operating costs. Whilst I am expecting a few useful comments along the lines of 'if you need to ask you cannot afford it', etc but anything a little more constructive would be appreciated.
What car suggests about £1850 over three years and I am also aware of a theory that one should budget 5% of the car new price per year to maintain (i.e approx £3000/year!!!) but perhaps that relates to a car at higher mileages/age.
Would anyone that has run a FFRR for a while care to offer a run through of costs?
I can discount things like MOT (fixed), insurance (very variable) and warranty(that I plan to extend) but I am considering tyres, brakes, in fact all others. What does she cost you?
Also, how variable are the service costs. I have a ballpark idea of the Oil/Inspec1/2 costs but am wondering whether a trip to a further afield dealer would result in a better service and cover costs/couple of nights away into the price!
Any thought appreciated.
Kind regards,
Ed

I hope I can speak from experience.

Tyres: Cheapest way is to buy a set with alloys on eBay for about £800 for 20", then sell some alloys and make money back. Great deal

Warranty: Save your money, the extended warranty is worthless, less covered than a shanty town in wet season. Save the money towards anything that MAY crop up.

Brakes: You can buy pads and discs from eBay places or LRO magazine advertisers discounted to LR Dealer. Fitment can be done by anyone, no need for a dealer and you'll save hundreds.

Servicing: LR Dealer can charge massively variable rates so it really pays to ring around and get 4 quotes. If the car is out of warranty you can use an independent for servicing, just make sure they use LR parts. An oil service at an indy may be less than £199.

An inspection 2 at the dealers could be quoted at £750, but you really need to shop around and beat them down off one another.

The long and short of it is that people think these cars are horrendous to run but they're not. OK, they're not Ford Ka status but the pleasure of owning one and the cache of ownership FAR outweighs the additional costs compared to a normal car.

I have a Vogue SE now and I absolutely LOVE it.

Does that help? Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Just had my Inspection 2 for £300 at a good LR specialist that used to be LR Main Dealer. Shop around.

where was that? Steve Hills?

Dolphinboy wrote:

where was that? Steve Hills?

Thanks RRUK.
Had not thought of the tyre trick. Have you always managed to flog the wheels and are the tyre new?
Does £1900/3yrs sound about right.
My fear would be big faults having to be fixed by a main dealer (with VAT!) as I understand few indys have diagnostics that can cope with the RR as Testbook can.
Of course it will depend on style but roughly what mileage would one expect out of tyres, discs, pads?
Thanks so far,
Kind regards,
Ed
P.S.read your posts re seatbelt recoil - our E39 5 series also has poor recoil so probably common part. Main dealer sprayed on a silicon spray which helped for a while - must get some as I note a few hear had sticky doors this winter. Also where do you tend to get all your car care kit from and also cheapest LR parts. Probably planning to DIY discs/pads and other things service dept recommend that do not fall within service.

Edward,

the bottom line to keeping a FFRR on the road equates to a minimum of between £5K and £10K a year for secondhand to new, this covers all running costs (based on approx 12k miles yr) and depreciation etc, but not purchase or repairs. A Petrol RR will also cost more to run as fuel consumption is less and the depreciation is greater - residual values for Diesel are higher and they are easier to sell S/H

Figures will vary from vehicle to vehicle, how you drive, where you live and which garage you use - but these figures will not be hugely out.

IMHE £5K a year is the minimum you will get away with and that is buying good secondhand at the right price and being judicious with servicing costs.

Putting this into context £5k a year is not a lot - its less than £100 a week to cover fuel, RFL, servicing, depreciation, insurance, other running costs etc. especially when you consider a full tank of fuel can cost £120, and RFL at well over £400. A new Discovery 1 bought in 1996 was costing me £5k a year to run 14 years ago!

We run 7 RR's and have owned LR vehicles for 40 years - so have a very good idea on costings.

I see you have quite a bit of experience....a fleet of 7!
Roughly what mileage is that based on?
I guess many of those will e quite variable, such as insurance and fuel cost but have the cars caused much trouble and if so, at what cost?
Also, if you do not mind too many questions(!), what policy do you have for renewel? Do you buy new and run for 3yrs for example under warranty?
Thanks for the insight.
Kind regards,
Ed

Tyre and wheel packages to be found on the interweb tend to be new tyres yes, make sure they are suitable for the car i.e. the right size, load and speed rating etc. You can always sell your old alloys or, sell the new ones and make money back, there's always someone needing them.

When I did this trick on my last one I got an updated set of 19" alloys and tyres, sold my 18" wheels and tyres and the total swap cost me £150, A total steal!

There is a LR Dealer in Exeter (Matford) who sells the 20" tyre and wheel combo package on eBay for £800 brand new. Cheaper than buying the tyres alone. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

genius!

Hi Edward,

usually purchased new or 12 months old, keep for 3 to 4 years. Insurance NFU - favourable discounts, covers towing and Off Road Use, free loan car insurance. Main agent serviced, shop around for tyres, batteries and other consumables. Mileages average out at 12 to 20K miles a year. Believe me we are careful with running costs - but its not just about saving a pound here and there now, its longe term residual we look at = Main dealer serviced to maximise resale value.

In 40 years of LR / RR ownership I can confine costly repairs to only 2 blown engines (1 vehicle 2 weeks old the other 2 years old), 2 or 3 clutches gone on manual vehicles, gearboxes have been ok, turbo's ok, perhaps a couple of oil seals, loads of suspension bushes and the obvious smaller technical glitches like regulators on windows being inoperable etc etc.

Damage to vehicles whether covered by insurance or not IS EXPENSIVE. Repairs which you thought would only cost £250 end up costing £1k plus.

If you can buy at max 12 months old, run for two years under manufactuers warranty, get everything done under warranty and then run for 12 months at your own risk - this is probabl;y the most cost effective option - a lot depends on what you want to use the vehicle for and what you want from it. Aftermarket warranties are not worth the paper they are written on. Save the money and put it towards any repairs.

Costs could be pruned below the figures given but you are after a TDV8 so these are fairly fresh and are still depreciating more rapidly compared to vehicles which are 5 years old. Do not rely on the current false secondhand market values at the moment. I have seen in more recent stable economic climates between £10 and £15k wiped immediately off a new FFRR driven out of a showroom.

Think long and hard about the vehicle you are buying, take your time, pick the right one and stick with it. A FFRR is not a vehicle to chop and cahnge every 6 months unless you are a lottery winner or seriously well off.

Even then the more canny wealthy owners stick with their vehicles for 3 to 4 years...

Vougue my friend,

lot of info there, i would not totaly agree with the aftermarket warrenty, i agree that they are not what they seem at face value, however if you can get one thrown in with the vehicle deal then i would have no hesitation of doing that (one came free with my rr) yes i agree they dont bpay for all the cost of a repair howver they dont half put a dent in the bill.

i am seriously thinking of getting another aftermarket warrenty once this runs out

they have there pros and cons i would choose carefully and read the small print after using the one i have  02 Range Rover HSE Zambezie silver 4.4

yes, got to agree there andy, but in my experience the only aftermarket warranty worth having is Land Rovers own and at around a grand that isn't cheap. If you can get an aftermarket warranty thrown in as a sweetener by a dealer then fair enough - but I wouldn't part with cash for one.

In any event Edward is talking about a TDV8 not a 6 to 8 yr old motor. For a vehicle of this age and cost I personally would go to a main agent, it would therefore come with LR's own warranty or the balance of it.

At the end of the day aftermarket warranties are insurance, for which a company is making money out of you - if you are paying for it. I would rather bank the cash and save it for when its needed - or put it towards changing a vehicle when the time arrives.

Call it self assurance, the odds for us are better because we are running fresh vehicles that are only around 12 months out of warranty before they get changed. If the worst comes to the worst LR have in our experience come up trumps with post warranty claims as a good will gesture.

Fuel consumption I am getting about 19/20mpg out of my TDV8. In a month I probably only do 400 to 600 miles and use about £90 in fuel (those Sainsburys 5c off vouchers help )

ukrangie wrote:

Fuel consumption I am getting about 19/20mpg out of my TDV8. In a month I probably only do 400 to 600 miles and use about £90 in fuel (those Sainsburys 5c off vouchers help )