It was just about a year ago I bought my first Land Rover. It was a beautiful car and I really enjoyed driving it. Just not that much. I didn’t get more than five miles from the car lot before the temp gauge pegged. I spent more time trying to get the dealer to take the car back than I did driving the thing. Fortunately I opted for the “cooling off” option, or I likely would have had to shell out some big bucks for a new powerplant.
But even though I didn’t own the Rover very long–about seven hours, tops, I learned a lot about Land Rovers in the process. For one thing, never go on a test drive when the gas tank is on Empty. Make the dealer fill the tank and drive long enough to give the truck a chance to overheat if it will.
Aside from that, a Land Rover has a lot more storage space than a Jeep Wrangler. Not just passenger room and trunk space, but lots of pockets and shelves to put maps, cameras, GPS receivers and the like. Rovers also handle better on the highway and they are a LOT QUIETER to drive.
I still miss my poor dead Rover. I weep nearly every day at the loss. But the thing that finally made me give up on Land Rover and buy a Jeep was what I read on the forums.
A typical post on the Land Rover forum:
The front driver side door lock does not work with the key FOB or central locking swithch…replaced the actuator with a used one from a LR dismantler, but does the exact same thing?
The discussion goes on to describe other Rover owners with the same problem. How difficult it is to replace the actuator in the driver’s side door on a Land Rover Discovery, problems with the used parts dealer that specializes in cannibalizing Land Rovers.
Land Rover forums are filled with queries about how to replace window regulators, diagnose trouble codes and how to keep the manufacturer’s warranty valid.
Typical post on a Jeep forum? What do you guys think about a 3″ suspension lift, 2″ body lift and 35″tires?