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View Full Version : Tell me about 1st gen Rangies



cshontz
12-04-2007, 12:48 PM
I'm not in the market - god, I'd get a tongue-lashing from my wife if she knew this was even going through my head. But can you tell me about 1st generation Rangies for a dd and light trails vehicle?

Power?
Fuel economy? (premium only?)
Practicality?
Best year?
Best options?
What one should expect to pay?

cshontz
12-04-2007, 12:54 PM
Since I have a tendency to answer my own questions immediately after I ask them, I'll add that I just found this resource.

http://rangerovers.net/rrbuying.htm

Frank84
12-04-2007, 03:06 PM
Power?

The 3.9 is acceptable and the 4.2 in the long wheel base versions a bit better. Don't expect to accelerate like most of the new SUVs of today, but they'll cruise along fine on the highway.

Fuel economy? (premium only?)

i got 19mpg once. 15-17 on the highway, 10-12 around town.
all done on premium fuel - i was told to run it and it isn't a big deal since it isn't my every day car

Practicality?

It's actaully a very comfortable car, has all the "features" one needs, and can haul plenty of stuff.

Best year?

1989 :D
No ABS and has the 3.9 (versus 3.5). However, the '93-95 LWB's are really nice if you'll have back seat passengers. '95 has the DI dashboard which looks much more modern.

Best options?

Less is more. There were not many options within each year. However each year seemed to have different configurations. LWB/SWB, 3.5/3.9/4.2, Borgwarner/LT230 t-case, no sunroof/metal sunroof/glass sunroof, ABS/no ABS, air springs/coil springs, etc.

What one should expect to pay?

Spend more upfront to get one WITHOUT rust. Then look at engine/tranny/drivetrain. Then body/interior. Taking a guess here, but I'd think a nice one would be $4-7k. I've got $2200 into mine.

cshontz
12-04-2007, 05:47 PM
Thanks for the great info, Frank! I was just curious. I'm too deep in my Jeep, which doesn't usually bother me until I visit this site. I wonder - would my local dealer act as a broker if/when the time comes?

jason
12-04-2007, 09:46 PM
A dealer will kill you on the price of a RR. Stay with a private party or wait till someone in the club has one to offer. If you're going the ebay route (I've never personally had a problem on ebay), try to find a mid-west no rust one. Like Frank said, there are some nice options available if you're willing to wait and be patient.

rvrsrvc
12-04-2007, 10:08 PM
Chris,
I'm in E-town if you'd like to come over sometime and talk Rovers. My 95 is a SWB and I use it for everything-off-roading (had to winch it out of my backyard yesterday with some help from my 3 year old), towing, picking up hay and feed, beer runs. 153k now, I bought at 122k 3+ years ago for $4k.
Trevor
PS: There are 2 Trevor's in E-town, who live on the same road, both driving Range Rovers. His is nicer. And often cleaner.

Trevor
12-05-2007, 11:23 PM
Chris,

I bought my Range Rover, a 95 SWB, about a month and a half ago and love it. I haven't had it on any trails yet, but it's done some time in some rather muddy corn fields. Everyone who's seen it it the mud has been impressed (Thanks for the M/T's Randy- they're great).

I found mine on craigslist, actually my wife found it for me - I know, I'm pretty lucky. They do seem to show up somewhat frequently on craigslist.

I would rate it high for practicality, except for the fuel economy, but what would you expect from a 5000 pound, full time four wheel drive vehicle.

As for power, you're not going win many races, on the pavement anyway, but that's not why you buy a rangie.

-Trevor (#2)

P.S. I'm not exactly proud of the fact that mine is "often cleaner", I'll have to work on that.

Trevor - I'll give you a call soon to set up a time for the Synchrones, it's been a busy couple of weeks.