wrestrepo

Take a look at the Land Cruiser, or the new Infiniti, based on the Nissan Patrol, or the Lexus GX, based on the Toyota LC Prado, or the Jeep GC, just to name a few.

I couldn't agree more, most SUVs CUVs or the likes, never touch dirt, the closest to off roading they get is snow, and maybe sand on the beach. That's not to say that some people do put them to the test and make off roaders out of them when they get a bit older and more affordable.

VQPower37

if ur considering the landrover for the mix of luxury and offroad capability, i would def look at the land cruiser ... it has the good characteristics of the rover but solid reliability, because hey its a toyota

wrestrepo

No off roading capabilities, the most I would do is driving in the snow and the occasional unpaved road.
I am a LCruiser person, but I have to say that when I played around in one at the auto show I was very disappointed. Not as great as I thought they would be, it felt the same as the ones I used to get in 20 years ago. For some that's a great thing, not for me.

VQPower37

have you looked into the toyota sequoia platinum? its pretty luxurious does well in the snow and has a nice luxury feel to it with reliability?

Myxomatosis

I'd go Japanese anything over a Rover. Rovers sure look great and feel great but they dont look great sitting in a shop. Imo also I could never justify buying one, I'd have to own a ranch or go pheasant hunting often... those are the only two things they were designed for.

mcflyguy24

Yep. Ranching and pheasant hunting you hear that? Haha! I love how they look and know they are pretty capable off road, but you should prob talk to your wife about the reliability and see if she still likes them. It's a shame really, they otherwise would be great vehicles. I hope Tata can get those ratings up at LR.

wrestrepo

I can talk reliability all day long, it also has to look and feel good and "luxurious"

pttl

Something tells me that she will soon understand the value of reliability. Good luck.

achenator

Only way I would buy a LR is to lease one brand new and give it back after 2-3 yrs.

wrestrepo

hmm.....not a bad idea....

thelastaspec

stockpile headgasgets and every possible thing that can be replaced and you should be good.

Myxomatosis

better yet, just buy two

Aman

Then you'll have two cars that will break down

Myxomatosis

This is true you could have the parts car break before or while putting it on the good car. Better get a parts car for the parts car for the car.

Really it again is like owning a merc or BMW, if you can't afford the cost and maintanence costs, you have no business buying one in the first place. By owning a LR you're telling everyone, not only do I blow money I also straight up thrown in my fireplace to warm the house.

wrestrepo

Everyone says bad things about Audi, Merc and BMW, and yet they have some of the most loyal customers....they must be doing something right. I do believe that if you own a luxury car, you should expect to pay luxury prices for maintenance, and perform it on time. I strongly believe that some of the bad reputation of some brands come from people buying a fancy car for low money (because they are able to afford it) and then not being able to keep up with the cost of driving the car.
We are not looking at throwing money away...heck, we are not looking at any specific cars yet. The car my wife likes the most in the SUV market is the MDX, which I like too....but for some reason I have started looking at other brands/cars that also seem appealing.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

I get your point and kinda agree with you, but I think that the reason Audi, Mercedes and BMW have such a following is largely because they are "status-type" luxury brands and have acceptable quality. Although Land Rover is a luxury brand as well, they do not have nearly as much brand loyalty as the before-mentioned and I believe that has everything to do with the mechanical problems they have.

I hear you on the whole, "if you can't afford the maintenance then you can't afford the car" bit, but LR doesn't just come with a "luxury maintenance bill" it comes with problems and I don't care how much you can afford a vehicle, you should never have to budget for repairs as a result of poor quality / engineering, expecially on a $60-$70K vehicle.

edit: My wife looooooves the RR Sport. We test drove a used one and we were highly impressed with the interior quality, ride and sound of the engine, but at a little over $30K for a 3 y/o $60 vehicle that made us skeptical.

My advice. Lease it.

wrestrepo

I am on the same page you are. There are no reasons why an engine/transmission should leak before 100K miles....I don't even believe that 100K is that much either, and when you take into account the sticker price of the car you go WHAAAT?
I currently have my Acura under warranty and although I have not had problems in over 40K miles, it's nice to go to the dealer and have repairs done and walk away paying nothing at all.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, most cars now can do 100K - 120K without any "major" problems. I hear what you're saying about not paying for repairs. Actually BMW is very good for this. For instance, my wife's X3 "brake maintenance" light came on and BMW service department checked and told us that the front and the back pads needed replacing... and they did it for free. Well, not really free. We paid for an extended maintenance plan, but I'm fairly sure it will more than pay for itself by the time we get rid of the vehicle.

Myxomatosis

I completely agree, I hear so many people bitching about fixing their BMW or Audi.. Merc whatever but really if all you could do was buy that car but cant afford the maintenance, then you screwed up. My biggest concern with buying a truck based SUV is the mpg.

I'm probably 6 months out from looking for a small SUV and from what I'm seeing, something like an MDX, RDX CRV, Pilot, Rogue, Murano, Infinity EX, and since I like em I'll thrown in Sportage are the way to go, with gas clearing $4/gallon. My wife wanted an Xterra, I wanted an FJ, but they'd both kill me on gas. The big SUV's dont make sense anymore unless you need them or like I said if you're not worried about that aspect. That's fine, everybody's different.

ThermonMermon

....and most ppl who drive fast exotics dont take advantage of the cars performance. get what makes you happy. range/land rovers are nice, large luxury SUVs in their own right. the off roading capabilities are a plus.

Fibonacci

I :heart: the '11 LR4's -- they do suck gas, but they look cooler than the Rang Rovers imo.

My best friend had an '02 Disco, it was a money pit. Then he went to a Saab 9-3. Is now happily sporting a 328xi wagon.

Another buddy of mine has an '07 LR3 V8 which he still has - seems to holding up okay, but he did have to replace the rear air suspension.

VQPower37

damn how much did it cost him to replace that suspension?

wrestrepo

If you happen to need room, then erase the RDX from the list, it will suck up as much gas (almost) as an MDX with way less room.

I've heard that is not an expensive fix, you can modify it to have regular springs....

charliemike

I think there's a difference between reliable but sometimes needy and abject disasters.

BMWs and Audis require regular and earnest maintenance. They aren't appliances. But if you keep up with the maintenance (which isn't cheap but isn't as bad as the result of NOT doing it) the cars will go for a long time.

Range Rovers break down regardless of how you treat them ... They're simply an abusive relationship waiting to happen IMO.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I know of at least 3 households who have traded in their RR for an Audi or Mercedes SUV b/c the RR was not reliable. So if people think that the German's have a bad rep for reliability (which, as charliemike illuded to, is overblown), you can imagine how bad their RR experience was.

Nice vehicles, love the styling and luxury (RR Sport is money)... but I wouldn't touch one.

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

I would agree with German unreliability being overblown. My family has three Benzes (one being a GL450 with 100,000 miles) that haven't ever needed any abnormal service done. Its just the cost of maintenance that kills you. Every time you take the car to the dealer for scheduled service, set aside $200+. Brake jobs are easily close to a grand, etc. Unless of course you buy a Bimmer, which has free service for XX amount of time. I think many people buy BMWs and Benzes thinking the sticker price is all they'll have to pay.

Myxomatosis

fixed

Dr. Colorado

One of my best friends has an RR Sport. The very first day he drove it off the lot he had to take it back that afternoon for an electrical issue 1 day old.

Many other more reliable SUVs at that price point

ghttf

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/29/r...to-dealer-wit/

wrestrepo

I read that yesterday and couldn't stop laughing...

TRIUMPHT

iTrader: (1)

my barber has an RANGE ROVER 06 i believe and he loves it other than gas he never really mentioned any issues....other than he had a broken mirror and a broken tail light and they were SUPER expensive as most luxury vehicles....i also work with some one who has like a RANGE ROVER from the 90's if i am not mistaken and ..........................he has about over 150K and also says he has no issues with it .................and he bought it used ...not CPO but USED ............................of of somebody...................................

But as someone else on this thread said on the car lists they come in last place for reliability ....................i guess it really comes down to what you use it for ......my wife wants one also ....................

for somebody like me and her who really only drive our vehicles on the weekends and most of the time we are together on the weekends so 1 car is sitting for a week or 2 it doesn't matter what we get ..... but for somebody who is a DD it might matter more .........yet she owns a lexus and i own an acura ......

But the RANGE ROVER is a nice vehicle eveybody who i know who owns one loves them .........

ThermonMermon

your barber...........sells drugs...........killed somone over a drug deal..........stole their RANGE ROVER..............

On his weekends..........he spends less time than you and your wife......in his RANGE ROVER..........but the RANGE ROVER.......is great.......everyone within your circle loves them.......BUY IT.

vas25tl

Used to sell used Land Rovers. On cold days, I'd have to start it up to get it off the ground because the air shocks would leak out. This was an 04 Range Rover with 63K miles on it back in 2007.

I think they are amazing cars, feel awesome, make you feel awesome, they look awesome.


But they break; a lot.

I'd never buy one, even if it had warranty. I don't have the time to get it fixed.

wrestrepo

I guess that the general opinion of people here and in other boards that I asked the question is "stay away from them"....

vas25tl

I think someone before mentioned a Land Cruiser. I had one as a demo and although not as "cool" as a LR, it's a great vehicle and they are extremely reliable.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

hahahha......I cant stop.........laughing.
and.....its not..... the drugs......

Aman

IMO Land Rovers are the nicest trucks you can buy in terms of luxury, but there are plenty of trucks that come close, that are much cheaper and much more reliable. I think the only reason people buy Land Rover nowadays is because of the cachet.