advise on buying a range rover 3

hi there im intrested in buying a range rover 3 between a 2002 and 2004 just wondering if any of you guys have got some advice on what to look out for when buying 1 as ive spoke to a few people and a few tell me to stay away from them and the rest say there the best car theyve ever had if anyone could tell me in there opinion what is the best engine for reliability the 2.9v6 or the 4.4v8 ive looked on the autotrader website and it seems you can get a 2003,2004 td6 with 80,000 to 90,000 miles for around £12,000 and then you see 2002 td6 with 115,000 for £15000 is there something im missing because this seems a bit weird to me but im new to the range rover world this is why ive come on here to hopefully get some good advice thanks

Don't know a lot about the L322 but the early ones are supposed to be a bit iffy.

My advice would be to stay well away from the P38, the L322 is an awsome truck in my opinion, like any thing else does have the odd issue every now and then, the TDV6 is underpowered, best go with the 4.4 V8 and get it LPG'd that way you can use it for every day use and have the comfort and toys ! The TDV6 gets around 27-30mpg where as if you get it on LPG 20-24mpg but then LPG is half the price....

Budget for a new gearbox, and make sure the diff recall has been done.

thanks guys is there much difference in a 2002 and a 2004 model

azza1 said:

thanks guys is there much difference in a 2002 and a 2004 model

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Other than ironing out a few niggles - no. The big change was late 2005 onwards when they stuck the Jag lump under the bonnet.

Garwillis said:

My advice would be to stay well away from the P38, the L322 is an awsome truck in my opinion, like any thing else does have the odd issue every now and then, the TDV6 is underpowered, best go with the 4.4 V8 and get it LPG'd that way you can use it for every day use and have the comfort and toys ! The TDV6 gets around 27-30mpg where as if you get it on LPG 20-24mpg but then LPG is half the price....

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they didnt put the tdv6 into the L322 it was in the sport and disco 3s... the L322 had a 3ltr straight 6 bmw engine by far the more reliable of the 3 ( 3ltrd and 4.0 4.4 ) petrols are crap and if you run them on gas they knacker up breather pipes split / soggy on the petrols again cause big issues and the housing on the rear of the inlet cloggs up causes breathing issues wich can cause oil filter to collapse and bugger the engine.. 3ltrd cyclone breather filter blocks shoots oil out of the engine into the exhaust and seizes engine ( i do sell the modified part so it no longer cloggs ) as said above diff recall ( even now is foc if it hasnt been done ) gearboxes brake pipes were they run down past the tank ( behind the pump cover ) suspension arms bushes and ball joints fail frequently, water ingress into nearside rear of the boot behind the pannel and buggers the amplifier sat nav etc etc up wich cause the stereo to stop working. Steering rack lower pinch bolt was never tightened properly from the start and wears the splines out on the rack. rear hub bush/ bearings fail and creak with the suspension.make sure the airsuspension opperates well not to slowly as pumps are common. make sure theres no water in the spare wheel well as intake for the air sus is in there and this again knackers up the pump. caused by the boot seal. corrosion along the lower edge of the upper tail gate very common..make sure power steering oil doesnt smell burnt again more signs of rack failing.. burnt gearbox oil points towards failing gearbox oil should be redish in colour. noisy turbo bearings on the 3ltrd. battery going flat issues caused by the heater reostat playing up. xenon headlights play up frequently. electric seats have issues with wiring make sure u sit o it and they move without blowing the fuse. dash binacle display breaks down....lots more i could tell u email if u need... tbh the later tdv8 is the best but still holds money!!:doh:
cheers
arron

personally not a fan of the styling of the L322 - get a late P38 big engined petrol & LPG it

just my 2p worth but I am biased

Stoneytd5 said:

they didnt put the tdv6 into the L322 it was in the sport and disco 3s... the L322 had a 3ltr straight 6 bmw engine by far the more reliable of the 3 ( 3ltrd and 4.0 4.4 ) petrols are crap and if you run them on gas they knacker up breather pipes split / soggy on the petrols again cause big issues and the housing on the rear of the inlet cloggs up causes breathing issues wich can cause oil filter to collapse and bugger the engine.. 3ltrd cyclone breather filter blocks shoots oil out of the engine into the exhaust and seizes engine ( i do sell the modified part so it no longer cloggs ) as said above diff recall ( even now is foc if it hasnt been done ) gearboxes brake pipes were they run down past the tank ( behind the pump cover ) suspension arms bushes and ball joints fail frequently, water ingress into nearside rear of the boot behind the pannel and buggers the amplifier sat nav etc etc up wich cause the stereo to stop working. Steering rack lower pinch bolt was never tightened properly from the start and wears the splines out on the rack. rear hub bush/ bearings fail and creak with the suspension.make sure the airsuspension opperates well not to slowly as pumps are common. make sure theres no water in the spare wheel well as intake for the air sus is in there and this again knackers up the pump. caused by the boot seal. corrosion along the lower edge of the upper tail gate very common..make sure power steering oil doesnt smell burnt again more signs of rack failing.. burnt gearbox oil points towards failing gearbox oil should be redish in colour. noisy turbo bearings on the 3ltrd. battery going flat issues caused by the heater reostat playing up. xenon headlights play up frequently. electric seats have issues with wiring make sure u sit o it and they move without blowing the fuse. dash binacle display breaks down....lots more i could tell u email if u need... tbh the later tdv8 is the best but still holds money!!:doh:
cheers
arron

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Add to that lot, rust around the window frames under the plastic, steering column adjustment failure and folding wing mirrors that will not stay folded. IMO a late P38 diesel is better unless you want speed Much cheaper and easier to maintain Plenty of info on www.rangerovers.net

Azza, pm sent to you today. ref info on L322's.

thanks to everyone for the replies its been a great help

azza1 said:

thanks to everyone for the replies its been a great help

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Does that mean you still want one after hearing all that ????

362bkr said:

Does that mean you still want one after hearing all that ????

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Errr yea !!

if you find one you like buy it when it breaks fix it, simples, as them fooking anoying meerkats say

gearbox..... be very very carefull 90,000 mine failed and its expensive

If you have plenty of money and nothing better to do with your life a range rover is soooo much fun , otherwise ...... take up golf ??

Thinking of selling mine if you're still looking. Silver 2003 TD6 Vogue, 111k miles, dark blue interior new LR gearbox at 75k miles, new LR diff shortly before, collapsed steering column rebuilt by LR, front diff shaft recall done. Basically, all the main faults detailed above are sorted so hopefully should be relatively trouble free. Looking for about £13k. PM me if you're interested

Bigdel, you'll be lucky. Azza doesn't seem to have the good manners to acknowledge emails and info sent to him.

No pleasing some people then?

Garwillis said:

My advice would be to stay well away from the P38, the L322 is an awsome truck in my opinion, like any thing else does have the odd issue every now and then, the TDV6 is underpowered, best go with the 4.4 V8 and get it LPG'd that way you can use it for every day use and have the comfort and toys ! The TDV6 gets around 27-30mpg where as if you get it on LPG 20-24mpg but then LPG is half the price....

Click to expand...

well said