1983 Range Rover 3.5 2 door

While the Range Rover’s rise from second hand lottery to bona fide investment took many by surprise, folk like us had been waiting for it to happen for years. This is, after all, not only the vehicle that started the whole luxury four-wheel-drive SUV class back in the very early seventies but also acknowledged as a genuine piece of automotive art.

Of them all, none are more beloved than an early three-door, preferably fitted with a manual gearbox. Dial in an analogue carburettor'd V8, the exterior hinges that we all lust after and the most glorious door handles of the decade and there’s no doubt that you’re in the presence of something very special indeed.

And this left-hand-drive example from 1983 is a beauty; in the care of the same family for 19 years, it has spent most of its life in the Languedoc region in the south of France, an area known for its hot climate and lack of road salt in the winter.

Finished in white and in dry storage for the past four years, even the boss, a man not known for getting over-excited about, well, anything, describes it as “remarkably rust free” and “straight and solid, even underneath”.

All this is joyous news, and underpinned by the fact that the vendor has sufficient faith in it – and you – to offer it with no reserve.

Despite its age, the bodywork is still largely straight and well aligned; it also has good shutlines and an absence of serious rust, even in the sort of areas that normally adhere quite vigorously to the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

It’s true that the offside front wing will need either intensive care or replacing but everything else is in a remarkably good condition. Some work is, of course, necessary and that will almost certainly include a full respray; while we yield to no-one in our admiration for patinated and original vehicles, the underlying condition is so good that it really does deserve having that level of time and money lavished on it.

The 16-inch steel wheels are superficially rusty but easily salvageable. The same cannot be said of the tyres, all of which are cracked and age-expired.

The tyres echo the condition of the rest of the exterior rubber trim, all of which looks to be perished, cracked, and sun-damaged. However, bad though it looks, we’d rather than having to deal with salt-encrusted and heavily corroded metalwork, so #swingsandroundabouts, eh?

Oh, and besides the sub-zero yellow headlamps, just take a look at the rear numberplate, which is designed to remain legible, even with the boot open. Glorious, isn’t it?

(Those of you mentally contrasting this rear numberplate with the kerfuffle – and weirdly aggressive defence by the chap who designed it – caused by the trying-too-hard offset jobbie on the Discovery 5 get extra geek points…)

The best that can be said of the interior is that sourcing and buying replacement trim is considerably cheaper and easier than you might think. If it were ours, we’d have the front seats retrimmed but replace everything else wholesale with either good secondhand or new bits.

That said, it still sports the unusual and rare centre cubbybox/armrest, and the dashboard and plastic trim at the base of the seats all looks to be good, so it’s really only the carpets, door trim, and headlining that need sourcing. The rear seat is missing too, so the winning bidder will need to find one of those, too.

As for the electrics, the lights, wipers, and heater fan all work, and though there is a lovely badge to say it has air-conditioning, we wouldn’t bet the farm on it either having it or, if it does, it working.

The Range Rover has a new battery and HT leads, and while it starts and drives it will need trailering away, not only because it lacks an MOT but also because the brakes are marginal at best.

Oh, and the boss is right; the underside is very solid indeed and even still has a genuine Land Rover exhaust, albeit a rusty one. Still, its presence does show that the previous owner wasn’t prepared to compromise when it came to maintaining their much-loved family friend.

The Range Rover doesn’t have a current MOT certificate (it will be exempt in 3 years by virtue of its age when it's over 40 years old) however, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car re-MOT’d at the earliest. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

The Range Rover Classic’s renaissance has stuttered somewhat in the past couple of years; after a period in which the model was achieving what were frankly silly prices, their values have stabilized. For the time being, anyway.

This means that potential owners can now find some very good examples for a lot less than would have been the case a few years ago. Like this very desirable three-door example, which we think will fetch between £5,000 and £7,000, small change for a car that is utterly solid and in need of only cosmetic titivating.

And what will it be worth after investing a few thousand pounds? Well, while that depends on the quality and extent of the work, we’ve seen some very nice restored examples fetching north of £50,000…

Even better, it’s being offered with no reserve, so why not have a cheeky flutter and see what happens?

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.