2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 Petrol - Should I Buy One?

I've been offered a 2005 Range Rover 4.4 Vogue petrol. One well-heeled lady owner; used as an occasional runaround in central London. It's only just done 30,000 miles (only 600 in the past year). It doesn't have a main dealer service history after 2007, when it has since been serviced annually by the same independent 'mews-style' garage in Kensington.

The ivory interior is immaculate and the rear seats look like they haven't been used. The boot is very clean as are all the carpets etc. The tyres are excellent. The external paint in buck blue is also immaculate, although I did notice a minor inch-long area of what appears to be excess 'run' dried paint on the forward bumper. The headlamp casing above it was slightly loose too (like it had a loose clip). I wonder whether both these indicate it may have been subjected to a minor bump at some point in the recent past? Anyway the car looks otherwise great.

I now work from home and no longer need to commute. I want a Range to replace my current commuter-focused 520d Touring. I do probably 50-100 miles per week with quick trips down the dual-carriageway into town. Despite this, I'm concerned that averaging 12mpg will become tiresome after a while. Is it worth paying that little bit extra for a diesel variant, or would I be the 'perfect' petrol Vogue owner?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

Diesel versions suffer gearbox issues...

The petrol does too, but not as catastrophic, and with a lady owner, I doubt it has towed so all should be good.

Expect price would be in the 8-10k range for a 2005 pre-facelift very low miles L322 petrol....

They are awesome to drive, and I average 15.4mpg (on LPG) so would be closer to 17mpg on petrol (due to gas being less efficent) so 12 is a little low unless it is all towns and no m/ways!

Go for it...what have you got to lose bar your sanity!

Okay thanks, mate. Should I be bothered by the non-dealership (but annual) service history?

Shanksy, Saint is correct. It sounds like a good motor. Go for it. What is the asking price?

Main dealers servicing is largely toss anyway adn it doesn't mean the car has been well looked after, in fact quite the opposite in some cases. It should mean nothing to have their stamp, unless you are worried about resale soon. A good indie stamp is worth 100 times more!

My previous TD6 had 5 owners, no svce history but one could tell it had been well looked after. In 4 years, I never had a problem at all.

I now have a 4.4 V8 petrol/LPG which gets equivalent of 27-28 MPG on gas, beating the avge 25 MPG that the diesel got. However the sound, performance adn everything is miles better.

with your low mileage, petrol is the one. with 5p per ltr difference in fuel costs, it will take a while to make a diesel worthwhile. It will only cost you £500 more per year (or 5,000 miles) for the petrol.

My MPG (petrol) is currently showing 19.7 and I really don't hang about either.

I used to get about 18 mpg in the city.

As dolphinboy states: the benefit you'll get from the petrol, as apposed to the oil burner, far out weighs the little extra you have to pay.

I'd just go for it. what can possibly go wrong.

Go for it if you have good DIY skills, a fat wallet and a spare car for when (not if) it goes wrong.

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the input. The seller wants £18k for it. 30k miles with fsh. As I said, looks to be pretty much immaculate all round. Thoughts?

For that price, you could get the much better TDV8 model, although they have some issues regards alternators and turbos £££

Whilst it is low mileage, 18K is a bit excessive if you ask me!

Most 2005 models with reasonable miles are around the 6.5-8k mark, low mileage examples would be between 8-12k if you ask me...

But if it really is mint, I mean showroom mint....maybe worth it, but you will never get your money back on it!

But for 18k you could get a good TDV8 - diesel MPG with V8 power!

Hi.
The car sounds really nice.
Has it got all MOTs to support miles history?
Check age of tyres, and they should tally with the MOTS.
Receipts? Check for all of these. you need super history

As for the price. This is a pre facelift BMW 4.4 2005?

£18k?

Even with 30k miles this does seem high.

Lastly check the paint and damage...ask the question. when did you have a bump and what was it? check door handles for ware.

Best of luck...

Datatek said:

Go for it if you have good DIY skills, a fat wallet and a spare car for when (not if) it goes wrong.

Click to expand...

:hysterically_laughi but so true

donp38 said:

Has it got all MOTs to support miles history?
Check age of tyres, and they should tally with the MOTS.

Click to expand...

You can check this yourself if they don't have the previous MOTs:

Motoring : Directgov - MOT history request

All you need is either:

MOT test number from
-VT20 test certificate
or
-VT30 refusal certificate
or
Document reference number from V5C registration certificate

and the registration number.

£18k does seem a bit much. I wouldn't pay a £6k-8k premium just for the miles. As said, you could get a TDV8 for that money, and that would be a much nicer purchase. The only real reason to get the 4.4 V8 is if it's cheap (i.e. cheaper than the diesel) and you don't do mega miles. This one aint cheap, so you'd probably be better with the diesel. At least it will hold it's money a little better.

I'd rather have a 100k plus miler that had sat on the motorway than a low miler that has been stop started around London all its life !!
Poor gearbox

£18 is way over the top IMO, you could get 4 good P38's for that kind of money then you would be (almost) sure to always have one that works.

I wouldn't just be getting a tdv8 for that money
You'd be getting the facelift and new electronics that are on the updated model

Seems less trouble so far lol

there are turbo issues/expense on the Tdv8.
that buys lots and lots of fuel.

donp38 said:

there are turbo issues/expense on the Tdv8.
that buys lots and lots of fuel.

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Even more issues on the early l322 from what I can see
Although its still early days for some late l322's lol

My next one will be the 4.4 tdv8 lump on the 2010 onwards models