Spied in the classifieds

£15k Rangie, £5k Fiat Coupé

The generation of Range Rover we’re considering here ran from 2001 to 2012 and was conceived by BMW during its ownership of Land Rover. The model was then brought to fruition by Ford, which acquired the company in 2000. Fortunately, the new owners shared BMW’S vision of a Range Rover for the 21st century. It was the first to be built with a monocoque structure and the first to have independent suspension. A neighbour of mine has one that he’s owned for at least 10 years. He has two other cars, both newish BMWS, but can’t bring himself to part with it. He uses it most days but, as far as I can tell, never cleans it. Even so, it still looks classy and imposing, while its cream leather interior could be straight out of a Bentley.

There are lots of Range Rovers like it in the classifieds, starting from as low as £1500 for a one-owner 2004reg 3.0 TD6 with 170,000 miles. They stop at around £30,000 for a 2012-reg 5.0 V8 Autobiography with 55,000 miles. We’ve plumped for something in the middle: a 2010-reg 3.6 TD V8 Vogue with 61,000 miles for £14,995.

It is being offered by a private seller so is sold as seen with no guarantees. That makes it quite a risky purchase, except that cars from 2010 had had most of the faults that plagued earlier models, including unreliable automatic gearboxes and troublesome front diffs and driveshafts, ironed out. In any case, it’s an opportunity to meet the current owner and gauge how they’ve driven and looked after it. On that point, it has a full service history. Haggle hard and you’ll have a Range Rover to be proud of.

JOHN EVANS