Land Rover Range Rover (lease, luxury car, vehicle, Japanese)

[LexusNexus]

I've been looking at these pricey vehicles and I like their look. Dignified and understated, they seem to exude class and money. I read though that they are prone to have mechanical problems. Anybody shed some light on their experiences with them?

Thanks.

[Charlottean]

I've heard from several friends and clients that most of the problems were corrected when the 2006 model year was released. I know that they have been pretty happy with them and haven't had any mantainence issues.

[yo vanilla]

i used to sell and finance land rovers, right when the current range rover was released.

let's see... we had several land rovers (discos, RR's) roll right off the delivery truck and spend a month in service getting stuff before they even hit the lot. i've seen several RR's come back soon after purchase with problems and spend a couple more weeks in service (it takes a looooong time to get parts for these things). i remember one in particular was bought as a second (or third) vehicle by a local couple. within 3 months and less than 3K miles it was in service for 3 major issues, the last being a coolant leak that left then stranded on the highway in the dead of winter. that's not a special case, that's common for land rovers.

i take any kind of jd powers, consumer reports etc survey with a grain of salt. there's too many variables for them to be completely accurate and comparable. but there is very good reason that land rover always shows up dead last.

[sunsprit]

I used to work on these POS in my shop a lot, and advised my upscale customers to buy something else if they needed a SUV or 4x4 for transportation. While nothing else compares for panache and elegance and alleged features ... these vehicles simply fall apart (expensively) at sunrise, sunset, changes of moon phases, falling leaves, or being loaded with an intent to take passengers someplace.

I got started working on these vehicles because the shop next to mine was doing all the dealer installed window glass tinting on the new units as they came in. There wasn't one vehicle that ever was brought into their shop that didn't have serious faults, flaws and defects ... the guys next door used to go crazy with windows that didn't work, vehicles that wouldn't start or move, or other problems that made their work difficult. These were brand new, just off the transporter, fresh from dealer prep and inspection vehicles. Most had already been detailed at the dealer and were supposed to be lot ready. Just driving them across town to our shops was enough for them to have failures.

One of my regular clients, a used car dealer specializing in upscale car resales, got into these for personal winter use and resales. He proved my point ... if you wanted to have one to drive each day, you needed to own three ... one that was broken, one that was waiting on parts, and one that ran. He thought I was joking when I told him how unreliable these vehicles were .... until he found out for himself on his daily 10 mile commute. He still has a few on his lot for the customers that want them, but he drives Audi Q's now for winter transportation ....

Two other clients of mine bought these as Christmas presents for their wives and their own ego's. I'd told them the cars would spend more time at the dealer for warranty repairs than they'd ever have driving them ... and they, too, thought I was crazy and a little overboard about these units. Both vehicles spent over half of the first year of ownership at the dealership ... with major and minor on-going faults to be repaired under warranty. Both units were finally taken back by the dealer under the state's "lemon law", where major faults were not (or could not) be repaired after three attempts.

Another customer of mine ... an "english car" fanatic, owns/drives Morgans, Triumphs, older Jags ... spent years with Rover products leaking in his driveway. Has a 40 mile commute to work, and it was always an adventure to get there in the winter months with a Land Rover or Range Rover. He finally gave in last spring and bought a Ford Explorer to replace 3 Rover 4x4's ... one less than two years old (he bought another fellow's lease out, thought he was getting a "great deal" on an almost brand new unit) ... and was amazed that he could get up in the morning on a cold day and actually go out and reliably start his car and drive it without any issues to work and home each day.

Luxury and well appointed doesn't offset the serious flaws in these vehicles. First and foremost, they're supposed to be transportation. They don't do it very reliably. Again, you don't need to take my word for it ... search the owner's forums on the web, and you'll see the common repeat failure items for these cars. It's not just small failures, they've got a lot of major mechanical issues which are not for the faint hearted or short of funds.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Both vehicles spent over half of the first year of ownership at the dealership ... with major and minor on-going faults to be repaired under warranty. Both units were finally taken back by the dealer under the state's "lemon law", where major faults were not (or could not) be repaired after three attempts.

My brother is on his second Range Rover. The first was bought back under the Lemon Law and he was given a replacement at no cost.

The replacement has been flawless for the 2 years he's had it. He loves the car and I'm glad the second one worked out for him.

I do Lemon Law Arbitration and with the complexities of today's cars, I would not own a high end Luxury car without the Extended Factory Warranty. Just factor in the additional cost as part of the cost of ownership.

My brother bought the 10 year 100,000 miles plan for his Range Rover.

[sunsprit]

UltraR ... glad to see your brother bought the extended factory warranty, which makes a pricey vehicle all the more pricey.

As I consult on another professional site for European vehicles, and see the inquiries that come in almost daily for these vehicles with major mechanical issues .... I'd say that your brother made a wise decision. He'll need that warranty sooner or later ....

[missionhome]

My nephew had one. It was a good car, but he made his all fancy with some shock thing that made the car shake side to side. One of the cables came undone and the engine caught on fire and the car burned. That was the aftermarket stuff that caused it though, not Land Rover.

[PNW-type-gal]

I've driven a couple of them that belonged to friends and was never impressed. For something that got driven 100% around town, they have have a pretty harsh ride, which no amount of burlwood and leather can fix. The only exception was an early 60s Rover, which I adored for it's total funkiness. It looked like a truck and drove like one, too, but it was a great truck.

Plus the new body style looks like a baby Hummer/Jeep/Other GMC product - boring, boxy, overinflated-looking and pretentious as all-get-out. Obviously, your opinion may differ.

[tigerclaws]

From what I have heard, they rank very high in the "unreliable" ratings. . Next in line would be the Volkswagon line of vehicles (Audi's especially) along with American made cars.

nothings worth the heartache IMO. Just get a Japanese or lease one of the above vehicles.

[DowntownJerseyCity]

The girl I am seeing drives a RR Sport, and it's been in the shop three times in less than a year.

I LOVE the LR3's but avoid hem like the plague due to the terrible build quality and reliability issues.