Is this $28,000 1993 Range Rover County a “car history” bargain? – Jalopnik

The seller of the current Nice Price or No Dice Range Rover County claims this is “the original luxury SUV that defined an era.” It’s in stunning condition for its age, but will we find the price just as eye-catching?

As he walked through the gaslit streets of nineteenth-century Paris, Joseph Pujol most likely passed his Parisian neighbors relatively unrecognizable and unnoticed. On the stage of the Moulin Rouge, however, where he bore the name Le Pétomaneor ‘fart maniac’, he delighted audiences with his astonishing ability to form tunes, make whistles and extinguish candles through the singular effort of sucking in air and blowing it out of his ass. What a time it must have been to be alive.

Like Monsieur Pujol, the 1997 BMW 318ti we looked at yesterday keeps a secret hidden from those who are unaware of it until the time is right to exploit it. The secret is that the milquetoast 1.9-liter four-cylinder that came factory-installed under the hood was at some point replaced by a much more powerful 3.2-liter S52 six-cylinder, making the car much hairier than a cursory glance might suggest. As nice as that hidden gem may be, it turned out to be no secret that the vast majority of you didn’t think it was worth the $22,990 asking price. That was made abundantly clear in the 90% ‘No Dice’ loss the Bimmer suffered.

Take today’s 1993 Range Rover County LWB as an example. Seductively handsome and with the potential for capable off-road tricks, the original Range Rover offers a siren song for the classic 4X4 enthusiast. These trucks also have a reputation for poor workmanship and frustratingly frequent breakdowns that can complicate the ownership experience.

With its long-wheelbase chassis and 4.2-litre ex-Buick V8 under the bonnet, this Eastnor Green beauty is the latest and probably most desirable version of the legendary British off-roader. That’s a point not lost on the seller, who describes the truck as “the ultimate expression of vintage Range Rover comfort.” Nice!

This Range Rover appears to be in astonishingly good condition, considering its age and the manufacturer’s reputation for mechanical shakiness. The ad claims it is in pristine condition, with only a “light patina” of wear on the interior surfaces. The photos prove that point, with exceptionally clean bodywork and paint, paired with iconic three-spoke alloy wheels that are color-matched to the bodywork. Everything seems present and accounted for, down to the perforated plastic lip under the front cover. On most other first generation Range Rovers these seem to switch off with regularity. Above that is a bull bar that is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, but does give the nose a bit of an aggressive, furrowed brow.

According to the advertisement – ​​and equally impressive for an old Range Rover – everything underneath works as it should. The mechanicals are the aforementioned 4.2-liter V8, which managed a reasonable 190 horsepower and a more impressive 280 pound-feet of torque in this model year. The cost for that engine moving the truck’s 4,575 pounds is an overfamiliarity with the gas pump as they average about 12 mpg.

Other additions include a more modern stereo headset pointed cheerfully skyward beneath the dashboard, and an ancient, wired cell phone that’s so quirkily charming that upon picking it up you’d expect someone to come on the line and say, “op-of-a-tor, who do you want to call?”

Apart from some rumpled carpeting in the boot, everything looks as tidy as you’d want, and if everything really works as well as the seller claims, this should make for a comfortable and capable classic.

What do you think of this classic County (no, I don’t know why they called it that either) and that $28,000 asking price? Does that feel fair, given the presence and presentation of the truck? Or is that too much for even the nicest first-generation Range Rover we’re likely to find?

You decide!

Los Angeles, California, Craigslistor go here when the ad disappears

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