Two owners, last for 4 years, 78,000 miles, only ever had advisories on MOT, Pirelli's all round! This is not a lemon. My guess is it's a pampered car in lovely condition, if everything worked and I was looking at it, I'd buy it.

Of course things could go wrong, but if you're looking at reducing the chances then this is the sort of car that seems to be sending out all the right messages. Drives:
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue - Stornoway Grey
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue SE - Zermatt Silver
1998 BMW E36 M3 GTII

Proftinkerpot wrote:

I bought my 2012 Westminster tdv8 in January this year. It had 53k miles. I have replaced all fluids except the gearbox and I will get it done when the car is next in for work. In 11 months and 8k miles the Rangie has been flawless. I know that run won't last forever but keep it maintained and hopefully it won't all break at once. They are a fantastic vehicle.
Also airbag dampers can be got from oem suppliers for much less than £800 a corner.

Find yourself a good local independent who can maintain it for you.
And good luck with the viewing.

D3Jon wrote:

Air suspension checks I would do without any form of diagnostic kit:

1) On level ground - Lower the car to access height
2) Raise to off-road height by pressing heigh control button up twice. Make sure the car rises quite smartly, I've never timed it, but will a full air reservoir, it should go from access height to off-road height in less than 10 seconds. Note - if you do this several times it will go more slowly as the reservoir will become empty and all air required for vehicle raising will be coming from the compressor alone. The car will raise in stages, rear first from memory, this is normal.
3) Do the above test a couple of times and listen for the suspension compressor kicking in, it's in the boot, but you'll hear it from outside as a humming / buzz.
4) Make sure the vehicle looks level and isn't lopsided
4.5) Look for any warning messages on the dash display!
5) Have a look at the front air bags, if they look new then they may have been replaced already! They're easiest to inspect when at full off-road height.
6) Listen for any hissing sounds indicating a major leak
7) The front air bags will show cracking on the bottom edge of the rubber where it folds over itself when at lower heights - if it looks lightly cracked, then that's pretty normal tbh, it doesn't mean they're going to blow any time soon, but could be a haggling point, especially if they're 11 years old.
8 ) Rear air bags in my experience are less problematic (and cheaper as they're separate to the shock)
9) If possible look at the car after it's been left for a couple of days (or at least overnight), if there's a small leak somewhere it'll lower on one corner or both wheels across the same axle.

Jon

Fox889 wrote:

I looked at a warranty when I bought my Westminster over 4 years ago, didn’t bother because of the price & how finicky warranty companies are. Decided to open another bank account & save £150 a month for any servicing or repairs that are needed. Accounts soon adds up to a nice little amount……then suddenly disappears for some reason🤣

Love the spec of yours too! Exactly the same as what I will be viewing

DrRob wrote:

Check for water ingress in the spare wheel well (lift boot floor) and in both of the boot side compartments (covers come off with a handle at top). Check for any moisture, damp or "green" furring of connectors etc.
Walk away if any signs of damp

The water ingress is usually from the rubber round the tailgate they do wear I have replaced mine twice and its an easy fix

rvbush wrote:

Two owners, last for 4 years, 78,000 miles, only ever had advisories on MOT, Pirelli's all round! This is not a lemon. My guess is it's a pampered car in lovely condition, if everything worked and I was looking at it, I'd buy it.

Of course things could go wrong, but if you're looking at reducing the chances then this is the sort of car that seems to be sending out all the right messages.

Thank you. I am certainly hoping that’s the case

Hi all,

I shall be looking at the vehicle you have all been kindly been providing me with viewing tips for this week.

On my extensive list of checks is arch and sill corrosion.

Is it possible to check these with the plastic trim in tact? Or do people view these armed with screwdrivers for removal and closer inspection?

Daz90

Unlikley you can remove sill trim to inspect but it's easy to see the wheel arches and tailgate and look uderneath for the general state of rust but you will be lucky to find one that is rust free by now so keep your expectations realistic. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Thanks JayGee,

Appreciate that

Daz90 wrote:

Is it possible to check these with the plastic trim in tact? Or do people view these armed with screwdrivers for removal and closer inspection?

Daz90

Best not to dismantle the car until after you've bought it! In all seriousness though, it's not really possible to remove the trim without breaking the fixings (they're a bit fragile).

As said, rust on upper tailgate lower edge is easily spotted.

Rust on rear arches can be seen with rear passenger doors open, look at the edge that's about 12mm (1/2") wide, disapearing intowards the wheel - that's where they go first. If they're bad then the corrosion spreads to the front part of the rear wings as well. Just look at pictures of older examples on Facebook or Ebay for an idea!

Good luck with the viewing!

Jon 1992 RR Classic 3.9 efi Vogue
===================
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)

Cheers Jon,

So if the edges you refer to end up being free of rust, there’s a good chance it’s not got to the sill as that’s where it eventually gets too? Have I understood that correctly ?

Cheers

Daz

The wheel arch edges are a good place to check for general 'rearward' L322 corrosion. That's not to say they haven't been re-painted previously, but then that's also a sign of a caring owner! It's not a certainty that's it's not got to the cills though if the arches are good. But it's unlikely.

In my expereince, bad cill corrosion shouldn't affect a 11 year old car unless it's been dipping it's rear end in seawater (boat launching). My 21 year old (2002) L322 fattie was in need of love in the cill area, but just look at the age difference we're talking about!

If cills get bad, the hard plastic jacking points will come away easily, give them a bit of a tug (no screwdrivers it's not your car), if they fall out in your hand (or are missing), then that'd be a good indication things are not all well. As I say though it's very unlikely on such a late L322.

Jon 1992 RR Classic 3.9 efi Vogue
===================
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)

Thanks Jon,

Really appreciate it. Exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.

I will update you all with how it went and if or not I have just joined the fattie owners club

Daz90

Hi all,

So I’ve literally just got back from viewing the l322.

Paperwork was great, drive was great and condition of bodywork and interior was fantastic.

In addition to the usual checks I carried out the model specific ones too.

Firstly I looked at the rear arches and from the front, all looked great. Looking at the lip there is some minor corrosion as I understand is often the norm. Obviously I found not remove the plastic trim so all I could do was take a look from underneath. Can anyone tell me (without having the benefit of trim removal of course) their opinion on this corrosion? Is is bad and what am I looking at underneath? Is that chassis or sill?

This jacking point did not move with hand force only

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