What to watch when buying an old classic

[skunkworks]

Im going to be buying a Range Rover Classic really soon and I was hoping that someone could give me whats important to look at. Like the classic rusting of the back tailgate. and the little things such as the highest amount of miles before I would even need to be thinking about major repairs. This rover would be used a almost daily driver, and primary tow vehicle. It would see more pavement then dirt. Any help is appreciated

[BullDogSix]

#1 Previous Owner and Service History. #2 RUST #3 Major Mechanicals
If you are looking at $2-3k prices expect that you will have some work to do or pay for some work to be done. If you are not a DIY kind of person then I hope you have DEEP pockets.

[Funrover]

Range Rovers


Click on the link, there is a lot of great info there

[nickyill]

I have 2 - and I can tell you they don't have a whole lot of power, especially if you get one with the 3.5 liter engine. If you plan to lift it, add bigger tires, etc. there won't be much power left to tow with. In fact, depending on what you want to tow and how often, you might consider getting a truck with more oomph.

[skunkworks]

Originally Posted by nickyill

I have 2 - and I can tell you they don't have a whole lot of power, especially if you get one with the 3.5 liter engine. ... there won't be much power left to tow with. In fact, depending on what you want to tow and how often, you might consider getting a truck with more oomph.

It would only be towing about 700lbs cross county maybe 5 times and every sunday putting a few boats into the water ( boats = 450 - 530 lbs ) + trailer

[ArmyRover]

It'll do fine for that kind of towing. Hell I'd tow that kind of weight with my saab

[nickyill]

Yeah, not too heavy...I'd still look for a Classic with the 3.9 liter engine, the 3.5 's are pretty anemic.

The major issue is rust and care - at this point they all have a fair amount of miles on them, and I would easily take one with a lot more miles on it if it was rust-free and it had been serviced properly. Do have it used-car checked at a dealer or qualified shop before you buy - well worth it...

[skunkworks]

Originally Posted by ArmyRover

It'll do fine for that kind of towing. Hell I'd tow that kind of weight with my saab

I always talked bout getting my saab fitted but never made it happen

[OkieRover]

Did anyone say RUST.
Umm....yeah everyone did. Good so here's my list.
1. Service.
2. RUST.
3. Hydrocarbon test for the coolant.
4. RUST.
5. Transmission and transaxle.
6. And probably rust.

[MysteryTheatre]

check the radio presets while your test driving it.
its a good way to get a feel for the way the car has been treated. I.E : death metal versus Public Radio... not that theres anything wrong with death metal. the main thing i would check for is: as mentioned above hydrocarbon in the coolant, as the head gasket is perhaps the most infamous failure. if it has more than 100k you can check if the fuel pump has been replaced: if the hose clamps are facing down: its been replaced; and is good for another 100k . when assembled in the factory the body is not on , &its done from above and the clamp screws face up. check the cv joints for oil, bad owners neglect them, mine were empty when i bought it.

[hermanpj]

check power brake pump. start car, pump brake, listen for the pump to run. if it runs after pumping a few times, ok. if it runs after every time you pump brake, bad. if it runs all of its own, constantly, worse.

from personal experience i recommend you remove the driver and passenger carpeting and check for rust in the toe boards. There are little plastic screw covers that anchor the carpeting once you have removed the mats. remove these covers and you can remove the carpet itself. next you'll see rubberized mats for heat and sound insulation. the foam on the back of these traps and retains moisture. if you smell moisture or these are soggy, you'll have some rust. probably either rusted through the toeboard from outside in, or the heater core may have leaked, or AC evaporator, or leaky windshield gasket.

you need to assess how bad any of that rust is and factor it into price your willing to pay.

another place to check is the seat belt anchors on the wheel arches of the rear wheels. these are where the 2nd seat outer occupant belts anchor to the arches. this area seems prone to rust. its carpeted so look at them from outside the car - looking up in the wheel well. you should see a grade 5 bolt coming through the top of that wheel arch - maybe 15 degrees forward of top. If there's a lot of rust around that bolt, i know that can be an expensive repair.

removing the cargo area carpeting is kind of extreme but you get what people are saying - look for anywhere you can spot rust. rear corners are steel and more prone to rust.

check the function of the suroof -does it tilt, slide, etc. does it leak? drive to a carwash and run it through as a favor for the seller :-)... do you get a shower? Could be a rusted out sunroof assembly, or just a bad gasket or clogged sunroof drains.

test everything electronic. it wont all work, but you should know before you buy what does and does not. in addition to door locks, windows, lamps, check the less obvious: front and rear window demisters, front and rear window cleaner sprayers, headlamp sprayers, front and rear wipers.

count how many fluid leaks there are. if more than 17 walk away. kidding. ideally if the car was perfect there wouldnt be any, but some oil leaks are going to be there. best thing you can do if you are not super mechanically inclined is take the vehicle to be inspected. if you are better than 50% sure you will buy it, then go ahead and spend $100 to have a professional put it on a lift and tell you where its leaking, weaping and seaping from.

cruise control (uses vacuum) can be an expensive repair. heater and AC - if the heater core or AC evaporator have to be replaced the entire dashboard has to come out. get ready to pay.

A lot of guys have posted how to's on many of these repairs if you are inclined. So don't shy away if you find one without any bad rust and in basically good shape. you should definitely let this forum know what the mechanics say about the condition once you have it checked out, and say what you are thinking of paying. this forum is way more accurate on what you should pay than blue book. :-)

good luck!