How to avoid buyer’s remorse
If you enjoy a touch of class, a regal Range Rover doesn’t have to cost the crown jewels. But as John Evans warns, the wrong buy could be a right royal pain…
For car buyers on a budget but with a taste for the high life, there is only one luxury SUV: the Range Rover L322 of 2002-12. It still looks the business, especially the TDV8 Westminster Edition of 2012 with its illuminated treadplates, gloss black trim, and heated and cooled rear seats.
It cost £70,000. Today, you can pick one up with 27,000 miles on the clock for £30,000, or with 100,000 miles for £16,000. This 2600kg Range Rover will consume diesel at the rate of 30mpg but, when occasion demands, launch itself from 0-62mph in just 7.5sec. If you’ve got some heavy towing to do or you just like arriving stirred but not shaken, it’s the SUV of your dreams.
Or nightmares. The thing is, an L322 is a complicated beast with ill-matched mechanicals. Without expert, preventative maintenance, they can fail – expensively.
For example, regardless of which engine it has, the L322 has an appetite for gearboxes. They’re all automatics: the first, a five-speed from launch to 2005, then a six-speed and, from 2010 on diesel models only, an eight-speed. The ZF fivespeed and GM six are by far the most troublesome and let go from around 85,000 miles. They’re ‘sealed for life’ units but while that boast helped keep the lid on service costs in the vehicle’s first three years, beyond that they do like fresh fluids and filters, and should then be more reliable.
Cars from launch to around 2006 were the subject of a technical service bulletin (TSB) to check and upgrade the front diff and driveshafts, which had been wearing out prematurely. Chances are the L322 you’re interested in has had the work done but check anyway.
That was a technical bulletin, but the L322 was also the subject of numerous safety recalls, all listed on the DVSA’S website. Again, most vehicles will have been rectified, but all the same, the list makes uncomfortable reading.
Now back to the good news. The big headline is the L322’s engines are far less troublesome. It was launched with a choice of BMW units: a 3.0-litre straight-six turbodiesel and a 4.4-litre V8 petrol. In 2006, the diesel was replaced by a more powerful 3.6 diesel V8 (badged the TDV8) and the petrol by a 4.4-litre V8, both Jaguar engines. At the same time, the supercharged 4.2 AJV8 from the Jaguar XK8 joined the lineup. If economy isn’t your priority, this is the engine to have. Prices for a 2006 4.2 Supercharged start at £6000 (see ‘One we found’, right).
In 2009, the 4.2 became a 5.0-litre while the 3.6 TDV8 morphed into a 4.4 with smarter turbocharging and an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Trims range from well-equipped HSE to 10-star Autobiography. There are hundreds of used L322s for sale, most of them diesels. Target not only those with full service history, but also proof of recall and TSB rectification, and drivetrain and suspension refurbishment. Then enjoy the high life for low(ish) money.
Without expert, preventative maintenance, Range Rover L322s can fail – expensively