Rangi or Landi? what model? manual or auto? which is best?

[jacques]

hi everyone
im looking at buying a range rover or land rover (very specific i know;) ).
i was wondering if anyone could tell me what i should look for? any specific models that are more reliable? easier to modify? landi or rangi? 3.5? 4.4? i hear there is a 3.9 fuel injected? i dont know anything about them so im after any information on them please!
cheers

[Rocky4.4]

Thats a Pretty hard Question to ask mate, I have only had my Rangie for about 6 months a i picked a 81 2 door with a 4.4 leyland V8 and 4 speed manual and could'nt be happier.
Really depends on how much you have to play with?? You really can't go wrong with any Landrover 4wd made be it a Rangie or Disco, Defender there all Great.:D

[shakes]

Rangie's and defender's were pretty damn similar mechanically from mid 70's to early 90's, lil erk's and perk's from model to model but overall not enough to fuss over from what I've seen. as you go along you'll learn which model's had the better bit's which you'll eventually upgrade to either way as well.

Go the rangie for comfort, fender/county if ya need a lil extra space

Spend some time searching around aulro.com and you'll get too much info and wont know what to go for. :thumb:

[Muckinhell]

I had a series 3 landi troopy and it was awsome, specially in the load carring ability then i traded to an 84 rangie 4 door 5 speed and it was wasome but i did struggle getting all my camp gear in it though but for on road comfort you couldnt beat it. I reckon that rangie of mine rode better than my 97 80 series i have now.

id say for the sort of money your looking at you will possibly limit yourself to the series land rovers and very early rangies. If going for a landie make sure it has the salsbury diffs usually found in the original 6 cyl models. you should find one thats been converted to holden motor for cheap now and they go for ever and are reliable. keep eye out for bulkhead rust and chassis rust.

As for rangies beware the 5 speed models they wernt the strongest box and could have problems if not treated right where as the 4 speed boxs almost indestructable from what i was made aware of at the time. check for rust in chassis again. Also the springs could be sagging now as well but there cheap enoupgh to replace. thats about as much as would need to worry about i reckon other than full mech inspections for the usual gremlins in any car that age.

[v8disco]

For the $$$ dont pass up a series 1` disco. A V8 will start at about 1500 + but be prepaired with any LR V8 to pay for fuel , they love a drink. I sometimes wish for a TD5 , but then I blow one away with my V8 out in the sand and the universe is at one again. Mine is a series 1 update and its at home as much on road as off. The beauty of a L.R. is they work brillient straight out of the box , no need to go and spend up big on aftermarket gear.
So cross to the dark side and join us and the green oval......

[tempestv8]

How much do you want to spend and how new or old do you want your vehicle to be? That will help narrow down the question.

For around $25K, you can get yourself into a nice Discovery Series II TD5 auto. Whack on some taller tyres and a 2" suspension lift you've got yourself a very capable bush vehicle, as long as you go for the non SLS model.

[long stroke]

For under $10,000 i would go for a land rover 110 county 3.9 isuzu for fuel efficiency,reliability and space,but if you are looking for comfort go for a series 1 disco or a rangie.

[tpj77]

For less than $5K you'll get a good Rangie from about 86-91 vintage with around the 250-300K on the clock. There's many variables but there's a few gems in that price range. If you want to spend more, S1 Discos are a great buy especially the V8's. With bloody good air con, reletivley great on-road prowess as well as matched off-road performance as well you can't got too much wrong.

If you want to go further up the Land Rover spectrum, decent Tdi's and some td5's are worth a look at if you're a diesel man it would probably be worth the extra few $$ in that price bracket. I personally wouldn't fork out more than $10K on a 4WD and the way I use them it's not such a bad thing :D

With any Land Rover, it's advised to be a bit hands-on to save you some $$$. This isn't about them being unreliable (put bluntly, there's about on par with many of the major makes) it's more that some LR specialist think they have a right to charge whatever thay like because that's what they specalise in. I've had 6 Rangie of various era's and had a few breakdowns but you get that with any vehicle (could count on one hand how many times I've been stranded) but no 4WD is perfect, even Toyotas. Don't listen to the unsubstantiated propaganda put out by your local 4WD accessory outlet or the like because put simpley they want you to buy a Landcruiser/Patrol, it's what they can sell you and Rangie/Disco gear is a bit thin on the ground by the mainstream suppliers.

Anyway, whatever you choose you'll enjoy because LR's IMO are the best 4X4Xfar :waycool: :waycool:

Trav

[long stroke]

We have resently bought a series 1 disco 200tdi off ebay for $2,400 and the only thing wrong with it is a dicky gearbox and we have since put a later model gearbox in it for only roughly $800.

[Rat_RR02~~~]

Which model is a question you will have to answer as each model has a purpose. Others pointed them out already, rangie for comfort and cruising but a touch small in space, disco is a good compromise for space, comfort and ability and the defender is an out and out 4by4, thats why the army use them.
My best advice, buy the newest one you can afford and if you look at one with lots of accesories then check it for "high tide" water marks as it has probably been off road quite a lot. If it has water marks then you may have problems with all kinds of things (Electrics, diffs, gearbox and transfer box, rust, etc)
Generally they work so well standard that there are not many aftermarket gadgets that you need to buy for them.
In the end any 4wd that old is going to need some maintenance so dont get bent out of shape if you have to rebuild something in the not too distant future (start saving for it as soon as you buy your truck) Anyway, welcome to the green oval brigade and get yourself the best 4by made. I agree with tpj77, dont listen to the propaganda spread by the others, their 4bys are just as prone to break down and just as expensive to by parts for as landies.
cheers Mick

[GuyG]

Hey Mate,

I agree with Trav also, I picked up a 1990 4 door, Trav calls it the poverty pack - no woodgrain or arm rests in the front, suits me fine. Its got the 3.9 efi 4 speed ZF auto, split rear seats (which have arm rests - no idea why the front doesn't then) had the viscous coupling until I cracked the housing on a rock - now fitted a LT230, electric windows etc but no ABS etc on the later models, picked it up late 05 for $3500, am happy with it, as also mentioned have spent reasonable amount on it, not excessive though.

no lockers, just spring and body lift to fit 31*10.5*15 on cheviot mags with mud tyres

Goes most places I want it to, previously had 2 door manual rangies. I personally find the auto easier offroad but then you don't have the engine braking

Good luck and enjoy
Guy

[discogirl]

I'm with v8disco go the series 1 Disco!!!!

Pretty much whatever Landrover you get will be a good one. It depends on what you want it for. I have a series 1 Disco and wouldn't go any different we did look at getting rid of it to go to a 80 or 100 series but when i looked into it i would much prefer the Disco any day.

Mine is the 3.5L 5 speed manual and other than the radiator hoses blowing when out in the bush we haven't had a problem with it all we have done is put a 2" Suspension lift with 30mm spacers and the clearance is fine. I will upgrade to Maxidrives eventually but other than that i LOVE IT!!!!

[known2]

whats the sls model in the series 2?

i thought they only came in s, se ,hse. guises.

[Scouse]

whats the sls model in the series 2?

Self Levelling Suspension (air bags in place of coils in the rear)

[001525]

G'day mate. I'm in the same boat as you at the moment. I've been looking for a new fourby for a few months and narrowed it down to a Series 1 Discovery. My personal choicemis a 1993 model because it doesn't have some of the extra electronics of the later models. There is ample information on the internet and I suggest you pay a visit to The Australian Land Rover Owners Club or aulro.com.au

Both the Disco and Range Rover are extremely capable off road straight off the production line possibly more so than other makes. What else would you expect from a car manufacturer who makes nothing but 4 wheel drives. From the V8's you can expect around 14L/100 km to 22L/100 km for city driving and not much better on the highway and fuel economy is even worse when you go off road. The diesels fetch around 9L/100 km which is outstanding for a vehicle that is just shy of 2 tonnes in weight. Parts and servicing are very expensive from LR dealers. Why this is I don't know but look around for a good mechanic who will do the work much cheaper or service the car yourself and save yourself some money.

The series 1 Discovery is known for it's unpredictable reliability and electrical problems as well as some quality control issues but these were sorted out in the Series 2. The diesels go forever with scheduled maintenance and for some reason didn't inherit the petrol model's reliability problems. Disco's are renowned for their oil leaks but they're not as bad as what people think they are.

I'm still looking for my first Disco and there are plenty on the market. You can expect to pay $6000-10000 for a decent Series 1 Disco from either a dealer or private sale. I've seen a few outstanding examples with sub 200,00 kms, one owner models which have never seen a speck of dirt and fastidiously maintained for around $8000.

Despite their problems, I haven't yet met a Disco owner who has said a bad word about his car. I've discovered that LR owners are fanatical about the brand and are among the most loyal of car owners i.e. they will stick with the brand rather than experiment with other makes. Whatever you decide, do your homework and when you find a car get a pre purchase inspection done.