Re: LRO: Range Rover Inquiry

From: Ray Harder (ccray@showme.missouri.edu)
Date: Wed Apr 25 2001 - 16:03:35 EDT

  • Next message: Faure, Marin: "LRO: Re: Range Rover questions"

    rich, others may have had good experiences, but
    i will tell you mine. i was watching an rr
    selling on ebay. the description sounded good
    and it was represented as problem free -- the pictures
    looked good. i was tempted to bid, but just watched.
    anyway, it didn't get to the reserved price.
    we were going to that (UNNAMED) city the very next week
    and i called the owner. went by and looked at it
    and i was *shocked*. the 95 rangie had had a hard
    life. rust, corrosion, just looked like it came
    from a downtown detroit winter. i told the owner
    that i didn't want that vehicle *at any price* and
    left. anyway, i learned that buying sight-unseen
    on ebay might be a pig in a poke... my current rules are
    to see it, touch it, drive it before reaching for
    the wallet... (hey, i still buy the small stuff
    sight unseen on ebay, though. where do you draw the
    line...)

    ray harder -- currently range-rover-less...
     
    On Wed, 25 Apr 2001, Rich Williams II wrote:

    > Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 12:38:47 -0700
    > From: Rich Williams II <richw@nwlink.com>
    > Reply-To: lro@works.team.net
    > To: lro@works.team.net
    > Subject: LRO: Range Rover Inquiry
    >
    > Okay everyone, I need some help. I need another vehicle and would like some input.
    >
    > Here's what I want to use this additional vehicle for:
    >
    > 1) Daily driving
    > 2) Dog hauling - needs air conditioning
    > 3) road trips and vacations
    > 4) camping and light off road use
    >
    > I am open to anything that makes sense. It doesn't need to be a LR (SWMBO says "NYET" to any additional Series trucks BTW) but I am curious about older Range Rovers, say pre 1995. Fell free to email me off-list, I'll put both addresses at the bottom. If those of you with RRs could chime in I would appreciate it. If anyone else has any different suggestions, I am open to those too. Ah yes, how much? Well I am in the middle of a frame off project on my 109 so I'd like to be as economical as possible but I don't want a POS that I am always struggling with either. What's reasonable here? I don't know, maybe between $5-8K.
    >
    > Here are the questions I have regarding Range Rovers.
    >
    > 1) Besides lrx.com are there any other good web resources for finding rovers for sale?
    > 2) Any good web resources for finding good information on the various Range Rover model years, etc.?
    > 3) Are there particular model years that are substantially problematic or troublesome? When do they become so complex that you basically need to go to the dealer for service?
    > 4) What kind of problems specific to RRs do I want to look out for when looking at these?
    > 5) What different motor variations available? I have seen the 3.5L and the 3.9L engines but are there others that I should seek out or stay away from? Any pros or cons with the 3.5 of the 3.9?
    > 6) What tranny do most prefer as far as auto vs. manual? Which one seems more durable? How capable is the auto tranny off-road? How are the manual trannys configured - 4 speed w/ OD or just 5 speed?
    > 7) What's the real difference between the LWB and SWB models in terms of real space?
    > 8) Is a RR just a RR or are there different model sub-variants besides LWB and SWB versions?
    > 9) What else should I know before seriously looking at one to buy?
    > 10) I have seen several on lrx.com that are listed at $5-8K with 150-200K miles on them. At what point do these things get to be as much "trouble" as a Series truck.
    > 11) What's it usually take to make a stock RR a decent off road truck? Are they good to go as is or do people have to go to great lengths with various modifications. And I am talking cost here basically.
    >
    > Well, hopefully this won't cause too many flame wars. (:-] And don't be shy. If someone out there has something available feel free to let me know.
    >
    > Thanks everyone.
    >
    > Rich Williams
    > Redmond, Washington
    > 1960 SII 109sw
    > 19xx RR ??? - well maybe sometime soon
    > HOME: paddlers@nwlink.com
    > OFFICE: richw@nwlink.com
    >

    Sincerely,

    Ray Harder



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Apr 25 2001 - 18:30:49 EDT