Hi all,
I am in the process of looking for an 05/04 Range Rover HSE for my wife. I believe that these were the years of BMW ownership. We have been looking and test driving a few and they seem super nice. So, a couple of questions:
1) Do you own an 05/04/03 Rover, if so what issues have you had, or not?
2) Is there a good forum like this one that is filled with brilliant and helpful people? (I have seen a few, just don't know which ones are worth a damn)
I just got an 05 for the winter/new house project (stupid thing barely fits in my garage, so check on that before buying ). Owned an 03 about a year ago (for 9 days, then sold it to my at-the-time gf's mom). So hopefully I can chime in somewhat.
05 is the last year of the Range Rovers with BMW equipment. 06+ had a facelift (and 07+ had an interior facelift as well), along with the new 300 horsepower Jaguar engine in the non-supercharged versions. It is generally regarded that the BMW-powered Range Rovers have far fewer issues than the Jaguar-powered Range Rovers.
05 is the best year to get due to the electronics. In 05, the navigation was upgraded to a new touch-screen DVD-based unit (I believe it's sourced from Jaguar, but don't quote me on it). In addition, all the wiring for the entertainment system was changed from the BMW copper to fiber. the 03/04 BMW units used a MKIII CD-based computer. While I personally never had a problem with MKIII systems, I know for a fact that the 05's system is superior.
I haven't ran into a good RR forum, but www.rangerovers.net has incredible information about all things RR. As for words of warning, make sure you get the obligatory PPI. And make sure the air suspension is inspected...they are incredibly expensive to repair.
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-Zack
Last edited by JizJizJiz; 17th December 2007 at 12:02.
I just got an 05 for the winter/new house project (stupid thing barely fits in my garage, so check on that before buying ). Owned an 03 about a year ago (for 9 days, then sold it to my at-the-time gf's mom). So hopefully I can chime in somewhat.
05 is the last year of the Range Rovers with BMW equipment. 06+ had a facelift (and 07+ had an interior facelift as well), along with the new 300 horsepower Jaguar engine in the non-supercharged versions. It is generally regarded that the BMW-powered Range Rovers have far fewer issues than the Jaguar-powered Range Rovers.
05 is the best year to get due to the electronics. In 05, the navigation was upgraded to a new touch-screen DVD-based unit (I believe it's sourced from Jaguar, but don't quote me on it). In addition, all the wiring for the entertainment system was changed from the BMW copper to fiber. the 03/04 BMW units used a MKIII CD-based computer. While I personally never had a problem with MKIII systems, I know for a fact that the 05's system is superior.
I haven't ran into a good RR forum, but www.rangerovers.net has incredible information about all things RR. As for words of warning, make sure you get the obligatory PPI. And make sure the air suspension is inspected...they are incredibly expensive to repair.
Thanks Zack, Appreciate your thoughts. Yeah a PPI is forsure, I don't touch used cars w/o one. It has saved my a** many a times. We used to have an X5 and I tried to talk her into getting one but with 3 kids it is kinda tight. Surprisingly the rover is rather roomy.
Thanks Zack, Appreciate your thoughts. Yeah a PPI is forsure, I don't touch used cars w/o one. It has saved my a** many a times. We used to have an X5 and I tried to talk her into getting one but with 3 kids it is kinda tight. Surprisingly the rover is rather roomy.
Shantu
Good man. PPI has done so much wonder for me. The X5 is going to be a bit small...and while the RR doesn't have a third row, I know for a fact that it feels much more spacious.
Any thoughts on a Cayenne? It's about middle ground between the RR and the X5, and with current prices, it's gotten a lot more reasonable. If you do decide to go Cayenne, 05+ is the way to go. 04s have electronic gremlins here and there (bought an 04 S for my mom awhile back, thank god it was a CPO...the nav screen went out and it ended up sitting at the dealership for 3+ weeks). Also, 05+ has a new DVD-based nav system, whereas the 04s used a CD-based computer.
Be prepared for massive depreciation on any RR. A friend of mine had a disco and had surprisingly few problems with it, but the resale on RR is absolutely abysmal.
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2003 LMB M5 R.I.P. 01/02/08
2008 Jet Black 335 Coupe (replaced the M5)
2008 Namibia Orange R1200GS (hence the handle "Beemer Guy")
Be prepared for massive depreciation on any RR. A friend of mine had a disco and had surprisingly few problems with it, but the resale on RR is absolutely abysmal.
The MKIII RR should be a lot better on depreciation (especially since he's buying used, and the car should have had a 50% depreciation already). They're much higher regarded than the previous RRs in terms of reliability.
The Lexus is sorta wheezy though. The Infiniti QX56 has similar power to the rover...
We actually did look at the LX470, beautiful car my only complaint is the third row and my wife felt the same. The infinity styling is to edgy for my wife. I do think the German cars wear better than the Japaneses cars. We are currently going through a buyback on a 07 Caddy Escalade ESV with GM and given GM's customer service or at least my experience in the last few months with them, GM is not an option. The ford/lincons are very cheaply built for the price imo. There seems to be a lot of hollow plastic and the new styling of the navigator makes me throw up in my mouth. I am pushing her to consider the MB GL 550 or GL 350. I really enjoyed test driving those, it sure seems the MB is making a big comeback. She has always had a thing for the redesigned rovers and thus here we are. I am just scared of the reliability curse that has followed the brand the past few years.
I told her that she needs to come to grip with the fact that she is a mother of 3 and just get a mini van... you can very well imagine how that conversation went. Lets just say that I promised after market wheels for whatever she buys to save my life...
Good man. PPI has done so much wonder for me. The X5 is going to be a bit small...and while the RR doesn't have a third row, I know for a fact that it feels much more spacious.
Any thoughts on a Cayenne? It's about middle ground between the RR and the X5, and with current prices, it's gotten a lot more reasonable. If you do decide to go Cayenne, 05+ is the way to go. 04s have electronic gremlins here and there (bought an 04 S for my mom awhile back, thank god it was a CPO...the nav screen went out and it ended up sitting at the dealership for 3+ weeks). Also, 05+ has a new DVD-based nav system, whereas the 04s used a CD-based computer.
We did look at the Cayenne, awesome car but my wife did not seem to like it all that much. She thought the interior was too spartan. I told her that we should get another beast for her since we know the family fits in it, which was responded to with an eye roll. *sigh*
). Owned an 03 about a year ago (for 9 days, then sold it to my at-the-time gf's mom). So hopefully I can chime in somewhat.
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