1988 Range Rover Classic

The vendor of this 1988 Range Rover Classic has owned the vehicle since March 2020. It was purchased from a good friend who owns a Range Rover restoration company, who had brought the vehicle for himself to use as a daily vehicle. He didn’t quite get around to having it ready for use, and so the vendor managed to twist his friend's arm into letting him buy the classic as a lockdown project, as it's a vehicle he’d always wanted to own. With the Range Rover already in good fettle, the seller wanted to create something usable with a classic feel. With lockdown now over and the Range Rover itch well and truly scratched, it is time to sell the furlough fun.

As you can see from the abundance of paperwork, the vehicle has been well looked after over the years, with problem areas such as the inner wings, and rear cross member replaced in 2016, and new sills fitted in 2017 to tackle some areas of corrosion. The head gasket was replaced in 2010. To add to this, the vendor has fitted new dampers and springs, brake calipers, sway arms and bushes, ensuring the Range Rover handles as well as it possibly can.

There are 2 Overfinch badges to the front and rear. The vendor was told by a previous keeper that Overfinch carried out some work to the gearbox at some point, but he does also say that there is no paperwork to back this up.

The body work on the Range Rover is very well presented for the age of the vehicle. There are the odd blemishes here and there and some light rust scabs dotted about, but definitely less than you would expect on a Range Rover of this age.

The first thing you will notice at the front end is the addition of the LED headlights. After buying the vehicle, the seller was taking it home down a country lane and thought his lights were not working, it turns out they were just from 1988 with the brightness of a candle. From a safety point of view, the headlights became somewhat of a priority, and the LED units were fitted, giving a more modern appearance and more importantly, made it possible to see where you’re going. The indicators and side lights are free from any splits or cracks, and the bonnet aligns as it should.

Looking down the sides of the 4x4, the doors align well with a matching panel gap, and there are no nasty dings to be seen on either side. As mentioned, there are just a couple of surface rust spots on some of the edges of the panels. The window rubbers are in good condition with minimal shrinkage, and the glass itself has been treated to privacy tinting, which just finishes off the look of the Range Rover.

Around to the rear, and it's nice to see the tailgate is in good order, as this is a part which can suffer from heavy corrosion. The wheels are the originals, which have been refurbished at some point, and the tyres have a good amount of tread remaining.

The inside of the Range Rover is all original and in good condition. There are some signs of patina to the leather of the front seats as you would expect, and the driver’s seat does have a couple of splits in it, but it is in keeping with the mileage and age of the vehicle. The rear seat is in very good condition and doesn’t look to have had much use over the years.

The dashboard is free from any splits or cracks. Sitting behind the steering wheel, which does have some wear but not excessive, the instruments are working as they should and the odometer has a reading of 28,223 miles. Looking back at the MOT history, the instruments were replaced at approximately 112,000 miles, meaning that the Range Rover has around 130,000 miles. Moving across the dashboard, the vendor has fitted an Alpine head unit which has Apple play and Bluetooth, for some creature comforts. Another nice feature which has been added is the reversing camera, which displays itself in the rear view mirror.

The switchgear throughout the vehicle is all reported to be working as it should. There is some wear to the arrows on the electric window switches which are mounted in the centre console.

The carpets are in good order, with just some light wear to the driver’s side. Up above, the headlining is free from any sagging and the sunroof opens and closes as it should. The boot carpet is nice and clean with the spare wheel mounted to the left, and the removable parcel shelf in place.

In recent years, the Range Rover has had quite a bit of mechanical work carried out to maintain it’s condition and reliability, and more recently new dampers and springs have been fitted along with bushes and sway arms. So as far as the drive goes, it handles very nicely, soaking up any terrain that it comes across, just as you would expect from a classic Range Rover.

The engine starts up as it should with no hesitation or unwanted noises coming from the engine. It pulls well through the automatic gearbox, with a smooth change, and also goes into high or low range as you would expect.

Bringing the heavy Range Rover to a halt takes some doing, and so the seller has fitted new calipers, discs and pads to ensure these are working as they should.

The underside has some light areas of surface rust, but there doesn’t appear to be any areas for concern, and looking at the MOT history, there have been no corrosion advisories since one in 2012.

A nice history file completes the story of this lovely Range Rover, with invoices dating back to 1997. It’s clear the vehicle has had what it’s needed, when it was needed.

It has had the main problem areas dealt with such as the rear cross member, sills and inner wings. Other work has included a replacement steering box, head gasket set and the more recent new springs, dampers and bushes.

The vendor had an MoT carried out on the 23rd June 2021, at 28,151 miles, which it passed with no advisories.

This really is 80’s luxury ready for the taking. The prices of Range Rovers are definitely on the move, with the two-door versions demanding a high premium. This is just the right time to step into the ownership of a Range Rover Classic.

It looks fantastic with the privacy glass and the metallic grey paintwork. Some nice modern, well executed touches such as the LED headlights, reversing camera and Apple car play, all make a more enjoyable driving experience.

Yes, if we were being picky, there are a few small age related marks in a couple of areas, but in the main this Range Rover is a very usable classic, ready to be enjoyed.

We estimate this British icon will fetch between £8,000 - £12,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at our headquarters near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 9am-5pm, so to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.