I have searched this forum end to end regarding the infamous timing chain guide issues, and I gather that no matter what, the 2010 - 2012 5.0 will at one point need to have the timing chain guides and timing chains replaced, or risk utter engine destruction.

As such, when looking for a used 2010 - 2012 it would make sense to factor this job in to the purchase price, in the event it had never been done.

However, after speaking to service technicians at multiple Land Rover dealerships I have been getting a pretty consistent response which implies "It is the luck of the draw". Citing numerous examples of well maintained 5.0's with over 100K miles that have never had the guides replaced and do not demonstrate any of the symptoms of a loose chain.

I found a very clean well maintained 2010 supercharged 5.0 for $25K with 75K miles. I looked through the Carfax and called up the dealership where it was maintained and I found out that the previous owner brought it in for a "loud rattling noise" and sure enough they diagnosed it as needing new timing chains/guides and quoted him $8K to do the job.

The service technician explained that the previous owner meticulously maintained the truck in every other way and always took care of any needed service right away (I assume the $8K put him over the edge, so he ultimately traded it in for a 2013+ and it went to auction where it was subsequently bought by another small independent dealership currently selling it).

As such, I figured all in at $33K ($25K purchase price+ $8K timing chains/guides) would be a pretty good entry price and would leave me somewhat worry free from catastrophic engine failure risk. However, he told me that since it is making the rattle to RUN. I explained $33K would actually not be too bad considering, however he was of the opinion that it would be more prudent to go with a more expensive one without the rattle, lets say $33K for the same truck with a bit less mileage but without the rattle.

I could not understand the logic since the rattle could start at anytime and then I would need to spend another $8K bringing the all in price up to $41K instead. However, he seems to think there are good ones and bad ones, and if you have a 2010- 2012 in 2017 with decent mileage that is not rattling, it most likely won't and therefore you are better off continuing to search for a "good" one.

I also got the impression that he was of the opinion that a "bad" one even after getting the job performed is still worse off than a "good" one that never had the job performed.

Are there any 5.0 owners out there which have never had the rattle? If so, what is your current mileage?

Is there any disadvantage to getting this job done which would somehow make the engine more likely to fail in the future? I read on here that someone got the job done and then 30K miles later the engine blew.

Any insight would be appreciated.