Range Rover Problems

Range Rovers are great, but they can be expensive to run and service.

I would strongly recommend the Sorento, particularly if you find it gives you the comfort and support you need.

The later Range Rovers are not nearly so troublesome but still not as bulletproof as an X5. I would not vote against the British beast if that’s what you really want.

The Range Rover can be successfully converted, but you need to determine the health of your engine first. Ask the installer to run a check over it, if it gets a clean bill of health you could go ahead with confidence.

Try Ram Locksmiths (1300 13 7726). They might be able to help you out, but they will need to see the key to know for sure.

THE Range Rover is renowned for its off-road ability, no reason it won't keep up.

AS WILL all carmakers, except for those that make an LPG-compatible model, the Land Rover people will tell you automatically their cars are designed to run on petrol or diesel. They will try to discourage you from converting to LPG simply because they don't have the experience of running their cars on LPG. To get the best advice you need to consult an expert in the field, and that means a Range Rover specialist service agent.

YOU have to look behind the rate of depreciation to find the cause. The Range Rover is a big, heavy car with a very thirsty V8 engine, so it is best suited to someone who wants to tow a fairly big trailer. It also had engine reliability issues that can be expensive to repair. You need to do homework on the car you are thinking of buying and find out what goes wrong with them. If you buy carefully you can get a well-designed, well-built car for a fraction of its original price. Your idea of buying an old Volvo isn't a bad one, but it's getting hard to find good examples of those models. Their best years have long passed. But again, if you do your homework you might just find a gem that will serve you well for years.

THE problem with ethanol is that is attacks materials in the fuel system, plastics and rubber materials in particular. Engines that run on high levels of ethanol need protection and carmakers who do use it have to go to extra lengths to add that protection. The level of ethanol here in Australia is limited to 10 per cent, which shouldn't really cause you trouble, but clearly it has in this case. The answer is easy: switch to another brand that contains no ethanol.