Dear All,

Yesterday I agreed a deal to sell our beloved 08 Java/Ivory TDV8 VSE so on Saturday it will be a farewell to Range Rovers until at least the kids finish school, if cars like these are not taxed to oblivion by then.

Despite the considerable weight of opinion declaring RRs as money pits and unreliable I must say my experience has not reflected that. Besides the quality of the paint, materials used and general feeling that the RR gives, the car has been certainly no worse than other cars and in many ways better.

We bought her at 2.5years old with 49k and now ten years later she is at 160k on original turbos, original, untouched gearbox with no indication of weakness. She has got through a couple of air compressors, an alternator and the intercooler hoses plus the usual consumables but little out of the ordinary. Something I did frequently was change the oil regularly for the correct spec and this was DIY. Whether this helped her longevity or not I don’t know but my old five series is now at 229k with the main components being from the factory.

I’ll dearly miss climbing up in the world to drive the RR and perhaps one day we will return. For now we have become an all electric household Where I can do 200miles for £2.20 and a number of other benefits but letting the RR go was one of these heart and brain dilemmas.

Recommendations I’d give the new owner is autodoc for parts, duckworth if you need LR genuine parts, buy the biggest NOCO battery pack (I’ve seen breakdown guys with truck rated packs not touch the TDV8), get the bigger Bosch battery on a five year ECP warranty, change the fluids at least every 10k...and this forum which has given me so much guidance over the years. I’m very grateful for all the advice, write-ups and steers as we navigate the ups and downs of RR ownership. I’ll smile every time I see a nice, unmolested RR and maybe one day I’ll get that feeling again, as I did ten years ago when I picked her up. Good luck to all.

Kind regards,

Ed '96 Volkswagen Polo 1.4CL - SOLD
'00 Audi A3 1.8T - SOLD
'97 Lotus Esprit V8 - SOLD
'03 BMW M3 - SOLD
'93 Range Rover 3.9 Vogue SE - SOLD
'92 Peugeot 205 GRD - DIED
'99 BMW 540i Touring - SOLD
'94 Peugeot 405 GDRT - SOLD
'00 Peugeot 406 HDI estate - 63mpg! - SOLD
'08 Range Rover TDV8 Vogue SE - SOLD
'11 Skoda Fabia Greenline II - 94.2mpg!- SOLD
'07 E61 BMW 530d msport touring - SOLD
‘20 Tesla Model 3 SR+
‘20 Tesla Model 3 Performance

Good luck Ed, and stay away from deep puddles sir 👍

Great write up! Good luck Sir 👍

Jim

Yes, all the best for your next car adventure.

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

EDWARD757, with all due respect, how can you do 200 miles for £2.20? Does you car not depreciate?

What EV have you got? I changed to an I3 in February and have never looked back, amazing in every respect. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

Thanks Gents.

Haha Rosco, of course but I was just referring to the energy cost. At 4p/kWh overnight on the Octopus go Tariff it makes the running of the car very cheap and I’m not missing filling with diesel at various times of the day. Normally I’d be doing 25,000miles a year so electric is great for that.

We went for a pair of model 3s. Predictable really. The man maths suggests I’ll save £100/month moving the wife from the RR to a standard range plus. Still a safe car and I now don’t mind her sitting, idling while she messes around with mirrors, seatbelt and telephone! Quite different to the BMW 5 series and RR but impressive given they have only been building cars for a short while. Some one once described the SR+ as a £30k car with £10k of software. Clever bits of kit. My son and I took it from the south coast up around the NC500 then the PENIS287, camping in the car. Nicola Sturgeon paid for all the energy once up there and all in I think it was about £150. Regardless of the car, most of the NC500 is spectacular. Highly recommended.

Funny about deep puddles...when the Electric car was quite new I was on my way home to find every route across the South Downs was flooded. The RR would have laughed at it. My wife often would come home saying how she had been paddling up to the top of the gills. Unsure about one particular flood I thought I’d watch how a 1 series got on...he made good progress then there was a puff of smoke or steam, a flickering of his headlights and he gentle coasted to a stop next to me, engine knackered. A brief conversation took me to find a different route.

It was the days of snow, typhoons and parking in fields that I wished I had the wife’s car. '96 Volkswagen Polo 1.4CL - SOLD
'00 Audi A3 1.8T - SOLD
'97 Lotus Esprit V8 - SOLD
'03 BMW M3 - SOLD
'93 Range Rover 3.9 Vogue SE - SOLD
'92 Peugeot 205 GRD - DIED
'99 BMW 540i Touring - SOLD
'94 Peugeot 405 GDRT - SOLD
'00 Peugeot 406 HDI estate - 63mpg! - SOLD
'08 Range Rover TDV8 Vogue SE - SOLD
'11 Skoda Fabia Greenline II - 94.2mpg!- SOLD
'07 E61 BMW 530d msport touring - SOLD
‘20 Tesla Model 3 SR+
‘20 Tesla Model 3 Performance