Ah now we are getting to the crux of the issue it seems. Now the problem is becoming clear. "Quirks" and "Facts" Dendy? I don't see any quirks in your list and the only facts I can see are that you are considering the failings of old and poorly maintained vehicles as "Quirks" or the fault of the vehicle instead of the owner. The majority of these vehicles are in the 15-20yrs old range. Some even older, some much older. Yet you consider failing seals, blocked drain tubes and failed factory fitted pressure vessels such as a heater matrix a "Quirk" or a failing on the vehicles part? Land Rover is once again the victim of its own vehicles longevity and then having them fall into the hands of yet another somebody like you.
If your vehicle leaks, fix it. The seals are old and perished, replace them. The drain tubes are probably blocked, clean them. The window and seat switches or the lift ECU are probably worn, replace or repair them. The cooling and heating system is well past its sell by date, either accept a failure at some point or replace the parts which examples of MANY vehicles that have reached this respectable age have shown to be suspect after a certain point.
Your RRC had to be close to 20yrs old but you complain that the heater matrix blew? You suffered leaks in some of your vehicles but obviously made little attempt to find the cause and rectify them. You just label this stuff quirks and choose to ignore that the failing is on you, not the vehicle. Then you present them as facts in a discussion as to how LRs are so wonderfull???? You choose to quote a tongue in cheek write up from a guy who admits that he had chosen not to fix his own vehicle as an example of the failing of the VEHICLE???? Yet another case of “it's not in the service schedule so when it fails it's the Brands fault”.
My D90 doesn't leak water, the doors close properly, all the lights work correctly and it runs properly. Am I lucky or is it that I pay attention to the fact that my vehicle is 15yrs old and needs a little attention and consideration of the fact that the parts that are still operating well past the point they were designed to do and restore, repair or replace them as needed? ALL the parts, not just the ones nicely listed for me to check in the Service Schedule or contained in the Oil Pan. Same applies to my 14yr old D1 and did apply to my 16yr old D1 before it became a parts truck. I hazard a guess the same will apply to my 18yr old D90 when I get round to putting it back together and on the road. Same applied to my previous Land Rover vehicles prior to me coming to the US as well.
Why are we even having this conversation? Because there are SO MANY examples of these vehicles still running around in the hands of people like you. A positive point so easily overlooked or ignored. You obviously expect to jump into a 20yr old truck that's been abused by the lack of proper attention from any number of previous Dendy types and have it purr like a Honda and run perfectly the way it did when it left the factory. You wash it, wax it, put a roof rack, RTT and other pretty aftermarket parts, stickers and graphics on it with lots of pictures and a write up so your friends can see how cool you are, hitch up the super trailer and head off into the sunset to conquer the local camp grounds. Then when the tired old parts on the truck start to fail, you label them ‘quirks', and go buy another one and start all over again because you love these vehicles so much don't you. The image, the heritage, the picture in your mind's eye of you on the Serengeti plains with your trusty Land Rover beside you while you are camped and living it up in your RTT, closest to the barbeque pit and the showers. Eventually you run out of enthusiasm or whatever drives you and go buy a new vehicle of a different type. Since its new the parts are not falling off it and it does what it says in the brochure so it must be superior to those “Quirky” Land Rovers mustn't it? After all, that's a “Fact” isn't it? Land Rover must be quirky and un-reliable and the brand new example of brand X that you replaced them with is soooooo much better? But ohhh the image in your mind's eye is not the same is it? You have to come back and poke at those that obviously can accept this LR ownership thing and be happy about it. How can we be so blind to those quirks? How can we put up with driving such an inferior, old, tatty, unreliable vehicle and be happy? You must educate us, you MUST!!
The test will be time. Let's re-visit this conversation in 20yrs time shall we and discuss how you are getting on with your super Jeep? Maybe you can get the tires dirty before then so we can do a proper test?
I will concede the DII, P38 and early 20xx RRs are the exceptions to the rule and have issues. Consider however that these vehicles were primarily designed and released after the changeover to BMW ownership and the issues did not properly start to become fixed until the next change in ownership to Ford. Consider also that these are the vehicles where the numbers sold here in the US had climbed to a point that people might actually have stopped thinking they were Toyota's or similar, so the brand in general got a bad name here in the US for reliability based on these few models made over a relatively short period of time. Sucks to be successful and get bought out it seems. The engines in the earlier ones for our market were 50yr old designs and at the end of their life and produced primarily for this market only by then. Tooling, etc. was not updated, repaired as needed due to the imminent replacement and the issues were manifest into the vehicles produced. Its why I would never own one of them. The newer LRs are considered by many to be the most reliable vehicles LR have produced for a long time. Time will tell if that's the case as I doubt there will be very many 50yr old 20xx Range Rovers or LRx/Dxs running around. But we will see. Did Jeep ever make a bad vehicle? Was every model over the years a home run and the epitome of reliability and performance?
So I say again, enjoy your new Jeep. Have fun. But don't come over here and snidely and repeatedly insert your innuendos and comments on how bad LRs are and how wonderful your Jeep is by is by comparison here in the LR forum in the disguise of offering news and an opinion on a not as yet released vehicle that may or may not one day wear the badge. You may just get called on it.
Ian
