Luxury car for £6000...

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I think your definition of "Mint" may be slightly different than others.

I suppose the term 'MINT' is subjective. I consider an item to be in mint condition when it's clean for its age and shows little signs of wear. I'll use my TT as an example. It's got some body work issues but the car is mechanically mint. If the body work matched the condition of the engine, it would be a mint car. It's not and therefore worth less than one with higher mileage but in better overall condition.

 

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Because we like running nice new cars with a warranty, and don't have £50k+ spare?

Which diagnostic machine do you have?

iCarsoft

 

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Hi guys,

Apologies for the radio silence...

So, I went to see one quite close to me, described as 'very good condition'. It smoked... A lot! The exhaust sounded like a bird was stuck in it, tweeting away and when accelerating, blue smoke poured out of the exhaust. I walked away. I was all set up to go and view the one in London, which I previously linked. Anyway, the night before the seller messaged me to say "I have been in touch with my solicitor and the car will be sold as seen, so should anything go wrong with it, it isn't his responsibility" - now, with second-hand cars, this is usually a given and the message wasn't warranted... If anything, it made me feel like there was something wrong with the vehicle. I politely declined the viewing and walked away. Anyway, in between all of this, I was watching a few different series on YouTube of people buying cheap Range Rovers and others buying eBay bargains... I got chatting to some of the Vloggers and got some rather decent advice. After this, I considered the XC90 and even looked at a couple of Q7's, but they didn't scream luxury or come close to the comfort offered with the L322. Anywho, I found a 59 plate (facelift) L322 3.6 TDV8 Autobiography that had a full-service history (part dealer, part indie) that was advertised on eBay. It was a no reserve auction, so I put it on my watch list and patiently waited for the several days. During this time, I did some vehicle checks and made sure the information provided matched the description in the advert. It all came back good, so, on Sunday I put a last minute cheeky bid in and won the car via auction. I arranged to go and see the vehicle and paid a £100, refundable deposit. I had a look around the vehicle and everything checked out.... so I finished the purchase and drove 220 miles home.

I love it!

My original post wasn't asking about the reliability of Range Rovers, nor was it asking for a 4x4 that isn't as luxurious as a Range Rover. It was simply asking, what 'luxury' vehicle can I purchase for £6000. Many thanks for your advice and points and I will keep you updated on my ownership.

 

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The pictures were from another land rover group and were blanked... You never know. Anyway, yes I got it from Reading for £6k. It has high miles and failed it's MOT. They put it right and I drove away on Wednesday. I was given as long as I needed to inspect the car. There was loads of faults in my diagnostic machine, but they were all related to the battery going flat due to it being sat there. After I cleared these faults, drove the car and re-read the machine, all seemed good.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated with the progress. So far I'm loving it. The tyres have approximately 1500-2000 miles left and I have receipts for previous works. The tyres look like they've always been Pirelli Scorpions, which shows no expense has been spared. There is a sticker on the windscreen with the motorway logo, so I can only assume it was a motorway car or maybe something to do with highway maintenance.

 

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To be fair that looks very clean and a worn suspension bush and a corroded brake line isn't exactly a bad MOT result for a car of any vintage.

Nah, it's nothing and is something I will look at replacing myself on the driveway.

 

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Thanks for the comments guys. So far, it drives really well and you wouldn't believe its a car that's done nearly 185k miles. In the next 3 months, I intend to fix a couple of issues I already knew about and give the thing a full service.

Small issues, which the guy in Reading told me about before I ventured down (he sent me a very detailed video walkaround):

• Lower tailgate straps have corroded and snapped - £15 eBay
• Nearside wing mirror surround has been glued on (poorly) - £10 eBay
• Bonnet struts don't stay extended - £12 eBay
• Tailgate trim has a couple of missing clips - £5 on eBay for a load
• Start/Stop Engine button is worn and some of the text is missing - £30 eBay
• Tyres to be replaced in the next 3 months - £650 for Pirelli Scorpions
• Full service, oils, fluids and filters (inc. diff, transfer and trans)
• Although not necessary, I may refurb the wheels

Other than that, I will either service it myself or get my pal to do it. He is a very competent mechanic and very reasonable. Before setting up on his own, he worked for Pro-Drive where he was one of Colin McCrae's personal technicians and travelled the world. He has a world map with his passes for each of the stages, it's very impressive... but not anywhere near as impressive as his completely rebuilt E30 M3 featuring a tonne of custom Pro-Drive components.

Anyway, I will keep you updated and I am very happy with the purchase. It was filthy when I got it and I was able to make a note of all of the marks and dings (which were minimal for the age and mileage). It seems it was a motorway vehicle and I am assuming that's why it has such high mileage, yet very little wear to the interior. It came with no history other than the original manuals and fully stamped service book. I spent the day cleaning it inside and out and polishing it by hand. I have a DA buffer and will give it a full cut and polish, including wax protection... when the weather permits. I have also purchased a touch-up pen for the little marks that won't buff out. But, overall, it's an incredible car, a lovely drive, the inside is such a nice place to be (especially with the leather headlining) and to say I paid £6150 and it was £80k new, is just mental! Some depreciation, eh?