10x03 - Range Rover L322 TD6 Vogue

[bunniefuu]

This time we're on a hunt for
a motor adored by the jet set.

I bag a cheap one that's
been struck off the VIP list.

That's a very odd one, isn't it?

Ed's not impressed.

Why would you paint a car like this?

It's nasty.

We get top-end trim cheap.

Wow!

Do it again, do it again, do it again.

One Ed gets busy with my secret
plan which could make us or break us.

I'm going to get the last
laugh because I'm going

to feel like I've robbed
the bank with this one.

I buy broken iconic cars and Ed
provides the mechanical know-how.

Then we sell them
on, hopefully for a profit.

Oh Ed, what a transformation!

The third generation
Range Rover L322 is one of

the finest luxury utility
vehicles of all time.

Although the original Range Rover
was a 70's child, the new century

launch married its retro looks
with up to the minute engineering.

Lusty V8 and punchy diesels,
a favourite with the country set.

The Range Rover is
also the transport of

diplomats, shakes,
footballers and pop stars.

And you'll need 50 to
70 grand to join the club.

Time for me to hunt one down
and sample the glamour for myself.

Now finding a Mark 3
Range Rover isn't that hard.

There's lots of them
out there on the Internet.

Just go to any of the mainstream
search engines and have a look.

But if you want to buy
a good cheap Mark 3,

then that is a completely
different ball game.

One thing I have noticed is that
white cars are at a premium right now.

But early Range Rovers
weren't sold in white.

So the cheapest white
ones I can find are

later cars, coming in
at up to 15 or 16 grand.

And that's too rich for me.

But what if I found an early
car that needs a respray?

Now when you need a car for
a certain price and I can't find

anything out there, don't be
afraid to try the motor trade.

Because you never know,
there could be a dealer

that's taken something
in that he wants to shift.

Something that's probably
too much work for him

and it's too difficult
for them to turn around.

You never know, it's worth a try.

Hello, yes, I wonder if you can help.

Yeah, I'm looking for a...

I'm calling some dealers that
I know and some that I don't.

And I've been told about
a heavily customised

TD6 diesel Vogue
that's just been taken in.

I've given the dealer a call and
he's sending me some photos.

Ah, I can see why he
wants to get rid of it.

That's not very nice, is it?

But he wants around the five grand
Mark for it and that is a very cheap car.

So I think it's definitely worth a look.

Now this is a bit of a strange
one for me because I'm on

my way to go and see a car
that looks absolutely hideous.

And I can see why it's laying
unloved at the back of a car dealer's lot.

But I've always had this mad idea how you
can turn a fortune to the nasty car around

and hopefully turn it into
something that can make a profit.

Well, this looks like the place.
There's plenty of Land Rovers for sale.

And if I'm not mistaken, I
mean, it could be a wild stab

in the dark, but I reckon
that's the car, don't you?

You, Robbie?

That's right, hi.

Robbie, how you doing, mate? I'm Mike.

Nice to meet you. How you doing, Mike?

I'm all right, yeah. Not bad at all.

What do you think?

Truthfully, I don't know what to think.

That's a very odd one, isn't it?

It sort of takes your
breath away, doesn't it?

It does. It's quite unusual.

It's got some big wheels on it, isn't it?

Yeah, 22-inch rims, yeah.

22-inch wheels.

It's a bit wild, isn't it?

Let's have a proper look.

It's a 2002 TD6 Vogue,
so it's the diesel three litre.

OK, and this colour, what's going on here?
It's almost textured, isn't it?

Yeah, it's different.

Can I have a look under the bonnet?

Three litre diesel.

That sort of looks OK, doesn't it?

Yeah, no nasty surprises
under there, nice and straight

down the front. Do you want
to fire it up for me, Robbie?

OK, well that sounds all right, doesn't it?
Give me a little rev, Robbie.

Good, reliable units these
are, so that should be all right.

Well, let's have a look in the boot.
Let me just turn it off.

Right now, round the back.

Yeah, wow, look at
this. I mean, it's actually

quite straight,
isn't it, in the back?

And I'm not being funny,
you know, this is what it's all

about, isn't it, with the Range
Rovers sitting on the tailgate?

Bit of a picnic.

Bit of a picnic grouse
sh**ting. Be the coolest grouse

sh**ter ever, weren't I, in
this baseball cap on, eh?

I think I could work my way
into society that way, thank you.

OK, let's have a look inside.

OK, it's a bit weird, isn't it, eh?
What on earth? What are people thinking?

It's obviously an acquired taste,
probably wouldn't suit everybody.

Well, it's horrible. It's got
blue leather interior, it's

piped magnolia, which is
quite nice, and it is all leather.

Plus it's got the satellite
navigation, it's got the sunroof,

everything's electric, which
are really good on these.

All right, well, I suppose
the only other thing I need

to do is to take it for a rather
embarrassing test drive.

I'm not being funny, Robbie, but I
might have to borrow your glasses.

One, to shield myself from the
dashboard, the brightness of the

dashboard, but two, some people
don't recognise me on this test drive.

Now, there's nothing like the driving
experience of a Range Rover Mark III.

These cars hit new heights when
they were launched back in 2002,

and they certainly transformed
the fortunes of the Land Rover brand.

These cars can be seen on every
corner and every continent in the world.

Even people that own cars like a
Bentley or a Ferrari or even a Rolls

Royce, they'll have one of these, a
Range Rover, as their daily driver.

Although these cars are rather
big, in fact they're huge, it doesn't

take you long to get used to
them and dial in to that luxury ride.

This one has got the diesel
engine and it's really sought after.

The only problem is this
engine isn't that happy. It just

feels a little bit sluggish
and a little bit down on power.

There is a little warning
light that's up on the

dashboard that says the
air suspension is inactive.

It seems to be all right, it
could be a fault, but I don't know,

maybe I could use it as a bargaining
tool and get some more money off.

But none of that is this
car's Achilles' heel. That,

unfortunately, is this
hideous colour combination.

So the big question
is, do I want this Range

Rover? Well, it's cheap,
I know it looks hideous,

but if I can get it just that little
bit cheaper, just enough to make

it even sweeter, I think this Range
Rover would be too hard to resist.

Well, how'd it go?

Well, it went. It's losing a bit of power
on the test drive. It's a bit gutless.

Yeah, it just might need a
service or something small like that.

Okay, okay. I would imagine with something
like this, you wouldn't want it hanging around

because you've got such lovely stock here
and it sort of sticks out like a sore thumb.

And I know you're going to
do that old car dealer thing. It's

cheap anyway, but I know it's
cheap. You want £5,700 for it.

I just need that little bit more.
So I was thinking, I'll bid you £5,000.

Harsh.

That's not harsh. It's a good shout.

Five and a quarter.

£5,250. No. I'm going to be
brave. I'm going to stick my chin out.

You can hit it if you want, but
really, I'm going to stick to me g*ns.

Five grand cash.

Deal.

Yes?

Just bought myself a Range Rover.
What have I done?

A Range Rover, even
one looking like this,

seems to be an absolute
steal at five grand.

But to jump this car
back into the big league

is going to need a
massive amount of work.

And a plan that can deal
with that horrible paint job.

A Range Rover is more than a 4x4 icon.
It's a luxury car fit for royalty.

What do you think?
I don't know what to see.

And even though this one is
a paint job that your mother

wouldn't like, it's managing
to make me very happy.

So why am I a happy bunny?

Well, because I'm just going to bought
myself a Mark 3 Range Rover for five grand.

Five grand! I can't believe it.

Now, people may be thinking I look like
a wannabe gangster, but you know what?

I'm going to get the last
laugh because I'm going

to feel like I've robbed
the bank with this one.

Because my idea is to turn this car white.

Now, back in 2002, the only people ordering
a white Range Rover were the police.

But now, everyone
seems to want a white car.

And the cheapest one I can find on the
Internet is for around £15,000 or £16,000.

But before we can earn
any profit out of this old

Range Rover, there's
going to be a few hurdles.

There's this lumpy engine.

And I'll be honest with you, on this
journey back, it's getting no better.

In fact, it's getting worse.

Ed, you're going to have
your work cut out with this one.

What the heck?

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know!

Hey, hey, mate, you alright?

I would have thought you stopped playing
with football when you were like 15.

Yeah, but I've joined my local Sunday team.

I'm going to get myself a diamond
deer ring, grow me hair a little bit.

But I'm going to look really
good in the car park, aren't I?

No, you look terrible.

What you're looking at here,
Ed, is a Mark-free Range Rover.

And underneath this hideous
exterior is a pot of gold.

Well, there really needs to be.

I mean, what's with this paint?

It's got anti-climb paint on it.

It's like that kind of spark
finish you get on plastic products.

Why would you paint a car like this?

The previous owner either had
a moment of madness or clarity

in his mind, and he's put
this textured finish on it.

And I guess we're going
to have to change it.

Do you think?

Yeah, but what we can do is we can keep
those wonderful wheels just as they are.

Or we could get them nicely
restored, change them somewhat.

I mean, they look quite expensive.

They are expensive.

How much was the car?

This is a diesel, not a petrol, V8.

And it's very sought after, this motor.

I only give five grand for it.

It's quite a lot of car
for your money, I guess.

Okay, well, if you think it looks bad on
the outside, why do you see the inside?

Okay.

Oh, yes.

Well, this is proper classy, isn't it?

No, it's not.

It's nasty in here.

Ed, you're missing the good bits.

This is a Range Rover Vogue.

It's got electric seats.

You've got a leather-piped
interior, satellite navigation.

But, of course, the whole
point of a Vogue is it's

supposed to be this
lovely, luxurious interior.

This is like being stuck in an 80s disco.

It's even got a sticky floor.

Yeah, it is horrible.

So we're going to have to change it inside.

And does everything work?

Yeah, all the electrics work,
the air conditioning works.

All that stuff is really good.

There is a problem up on the dash.

It says suspension inactive.

Okay.

And as for the engine, well, it's got one.

And you've got here.

And I've got here.

It runs rather reasonably well.

It doesn't.

It runs really, really lumpy.

But the previous owner reckons
it could just do with a service.

Just a service.

And you're good at that.

You do pick them, don't you?

I do.

Come on.

Now, please tell me you've got
a brilliant cunning plan for this.

I have got a fantastic plan with
what to do with this black monstrosity.

And that's to paint it white.

Okay.

If we can paint it white and do
a minor facelift at the same time,

we could turn this 5
gram Range Rover into a

10 gram Range Rover
or even a little bit more.

Well, it sounds like a long
shot, but it might just work.

Should we get it in the workshop?

Let's do it.

I honestly don't know
whether to laugh or cry.

This Mark 3 Range Rover is
an absolute joke on wheels.

But we did get it for
an absurdly low price.

But clearly sorting out this pain
work is going to be a huge job.

So I think I might start on something
slightly easier than mechanical problems.

The highly complex Range
Rover 3 litre is running rough.

So first thing I need to do is to try
the low tech approach and listen to it.

Now while it's idling, it doesn't
really sound silky smooth.

But at the same time, it
doesn't sound that bad either.

I think the problem really
manifests when you're

trying to pull away and
the engine's under load.

But I think the best thing to do now
is to plug it into a diagnostic machine

so the car can tell me
what it thinks is wrong with it.

By connecting the car's
ECU to a diagnostic machine,

I can see if any engine fault codes
have been logged on the system.

Well there we go, fantastic.

This is why these machines
can save you a whole load of time.

I've got an error code and it
clearly says injector cylinder 3.

So that lumpy running,
chances are, is actually caused by

a problem with the third
cylinder and the fuel injector.

Simple as that.

Let's get back under the bonnet.

The injector sprays fuel into the engine.

It's a critical part of the fuel system.

So I need to isolate the third cylinder's
injector and find out what's wrong.

I remove the plastic cowling
and then undo the inlet manifold.

With the inlet manifold now out of
the way, we can see our fuel injectors.

There are six of them because
it is a six cylinder engine.

The problem we've got is with
number three, which is one, two, three.

And there are three main reasons
why a fuel injector might not work.

The first being it might be full of dirt.

The second is the actual
solenoid itself has failed.

And the third, there could be a
problem with the electrical circuit.

Injectors aren't cheap and
cost hundreds of pounds.

So before I shell out and replace number
three, I want to try a test for the wiring.

I've managed to borrow
another injector to help.

If I attach a fuel supply to it and use
the electrical connector from injector one,

which we know doesn't have a problem,
our borrowed injector should work.

So theoretically, now
when I try and run the

engine, what should
happen is we should see

a nice fan of diesel being
squirted into the bottle.

Exactly as it should be.

Well, that's brilliant
news. So we now know

for sure this injector
actually works a treat.

And of course, that the wiring to
number one is working fine, too.

So if I just put that back on
number one for safekeeping.

If I now disconnect the wiring to number
three, which we know could be at fault.

And then the idea is
now when I run the engine,

if everything's working
OK and the wiring's fine,

then we should see exactly
the same thing all over again.

Well, I would say there is
definitely nothing coming out of there.

So that would suggest we've
got a problem with our wiring.

It looked like our injector
was a miss, but I've

proved it's actually
the wiring that's faulty.

If I hadn't taken the
time to test, I could have

wasted hundreds of
pounds replacing the injector.

The wiring loom is located in the
engine bay, and as usual on a Land Rover,

you can get to the loom
without serious headaches.

So with my trusty multimeter,
I check the flow of electricity

on the positive and negative
sides of each connection.

All the brown wires, first of all,
will go, so that means that's OK.

So now what I want
to do is try the red side.

Nothing there and nothing there.

So just to check, we've seen we've got a
break somewhere in the red wire on this.

So what I need to do
now is find out how much

one of these wiring
looms is going to cost.

You'd think that Range Rover parts would be
extortionate, but that's just not the case.

After a couple of calls, I discover I
can get hold of a loom for just 45 quid.

Well, that's fantastic. Thank you, sir.
Cheers, then. Bye-bye.

And while I wait for it to
arrive, I'm going to whip off the

wheels and send them off for
the refurbishment they sorely need.

Then I fit the new loom and hope
I've cured that rough running for good.

It's a push-fit job.
You could definitely try

this at home and save
up to £60 on garage fees.

I also clear the error codes on
the ECU. If they crop up again, I'll

have more work to do, but my
instinct is that we're in the clear.

There we go. For £45 and a bit of fettling,
I've managed to sort out a problem that's almost

certainly going to be part of the reason we
managed to get this car for such a bargain.

Clearly, there's still
loads of work to be done.

And while Ed is making the
Range Rover run better, I'm finding

a way of making that
horrible interior trim look right.

Well, I got up early this morning. I've
made it all the way down to the south coast.

Because of these trim panels
in our Range Rover, the colour

is so nasty, it's driving me and
Ed mad what to do with them.

The first thought was
to change them out for

pattern parts, but
they're very expensive.

Then I thought about
going down a carbon

fibre route, but that
cost an arm and a leg.

But then I got in touch with
a firm who reckon they can

give me the carbon fibre
look at a fraction of the cost.

This is them. Let's see what they can do.

I want to test the process
on just one bit of trim

before I commit to
having all the pieces done.

Wow. Look at this stuff.
Carbon fibre wheels. Brilliant.

And the first signs are looking good.

Hello, mate. You alright? Are you Lyle?

I am indeed, yes.

Lyle, nice to meet you. I'm Mike.
Spoke to you on the phone.

Well, this is a nice piece
of trim panel I bought

down from my Range
Rover. I like the colour.

Well, it's horrible. And
I can't understand how

you can make this look
like that. How do you do it?

There is a bit of a process
to it. First off, we need to give

this part a bit of a rub down,
get rid of this colour blue.

And then we take it over and
we'll do the transfer process.

Lyle gets me to work straight
away, sanding down my electric

blue panel with 500 grit paper,
ready for a black base coat.

The carbon fibre
comes from a plastic film

with the carbon fibre
texture embedded in it.

That is carbon fibre effect.

It is, yeah.

Oh, I see. Look at it underneath.

Yeah, that starts to give you a representation
of what it's going to look like.

Gotcha.

Cutting out the correct
size panel isn't that

important. The magic
comes in the application.

A catalyst is applied to dissolve
the base layer away from the

carbon fibre effect, so it's ready
to transfer to our piece of trim.

So now we've got to dip the part.

I don't...

Wow! I mean, like, really wow.
That is brilliant.

I can't believe you just pushed it
straight through the film. That is amazing.

Brilliant. Do it again, do it
again, do it again. It was so good.

Creating these panels
in real carbon fibre would

have set me back over
a grand for our pass.

So this process is a
fraction of the cost. A quick

final Polish and it's time
for me to take a look.

I can't believe the
transformation from that

rubbish bit of blue
trim I bought in earlier.

It looks absolutely fantastic.

I've agreed to have the rest
of the components sent down.

Do you know what? It's only going
to cost a couple of hundred quid.

I can't wait to show this to Ed.

So our Range Rover is
losing its black and blue

looks and it's running,
if not riding smoothly.

But the big challenge is yet to come.

We're going for a big
money colour change and the

results would decide
if we bag a profit or not.

This is our Range Rover.

Thanks to a third
division footballer look, I

bagged it for pocket
money, just five grand.

Five grand! I can't believe it.

But the paintwork isn't the only turn off.

It's had some mechanical headaches too,
including a fault on the air suspension.

It's pretty much as dead as a dodo.

And Ed needs to get
everything sorted because

we're chasing 10
grand plus on the sale.

Having got our Range
Rover to run properly, I now

need to sort out the problem
with the air suspension.

Now Mike reported a warning on
the dashboard, not terribly helpful.

But to enable me
to actually test the

suspension, I've had to
put on these old wheels.

And the real question is how
big a problem is this going to be?

Air suspension gives the Range
Rover its trademark wafty ride.

It's a common moan and
can be expensive to repair.

And there's no way we can sell
this car unless it's in tip-top condition.

Now the cool thing about a
Range Rover's air suspension is you

can choose what ride height
you're going to be travelling at

depending on the terrain
you're going to be driving over.

At the moment, I've got a message on the
dashboard saying air suspension inactive.

Let's just see exactly what that means.

I'm just going to shut the door.

Turn on the car.
I've got a little knob here.

If I lift it up or down,
theoretically some

little light should show
here on the dashboard.

And I assume it would actually
change the suspension height.

At the moment, nothing
seems to be going on at all.

I've got no indicators whatsoever.

It's pretty much as dead as a dodo.

I think the best thing to
do now is to plug in the

diagnostic and see if the
car can tell me anything else.

If a fault warning shows on
the dash, then more precise

information should be
revealed by my fault code reader.

A dealer will charge about
£65 for a diagnostic session.

You can buy a domestic
reader for around £100,

but it may not give you
as detailed information.

OK, there we go. Nice and easy.

Code 116, which is reservoir
pressure static when filling.

So that could kind of
mean one of two things.

Either the actual sensor that
measures the pressure is faulty,

or perhaps more likely when the engine
or the car tells the compressor to turn on,

it's not sensing any
difference in pressure.

So that would suggest that
probably there's something wrong

with the compressor, and that
is stored in the boot of the car.

A main dealer will sell you
a compressor for around

£400, but I'm going to
do my best to fix ours.

Why spend cash if you don't need to?

So there's the compressor.
You can see it nestles

quite nicely inside the
void of the spare wheel.

You've got here the
airline and the wires for the

power, and also of course
the sensors inside there.

Now the problem we've got
is when the car knows there's

a problem, it cuts all the
power to the compressor.

So there's no point in even using a
multimeter to find out if it's got any power.

But what I can do is actually fire
this thing up and see what happens.

And look at that. It actually works.

But the interesting thing
is that the error code

was saying it couldn't
detect a change in pressure.

So even though the
pump itself isn't actually

seized, it's not really
producing any air pressure.

And that can be down to something
as simple as a failed piston ring.

So I think the best thing to do is
take it apart and have a closer look.

Items like this are generally
non-user serviceable,

which means you
don't tinker with them.

But I'm hoping there is an
obvious problem that I can fix.

It comes apart with only a
few bolts, and is very basically a

motor connected to a piston in
a cylinder, which provides the air.

Well yeah, you can see the
piston ring is looking quite polished.

If I just check, actually in the
bore itself, I can feel with my finger.

I mean it looks quite polished, but
there's no kind of wear on the metal.

So clearly this is a sacrificial part,
and it looks like it has been sacrificed.

So now, if I just undo this, I
should be able to peel it off.

So there we go. So that is our piston ring.

And you can see there's a little
bit here which kind of overlaps.

And the idea is, when it's
sort of deep down in the bore,

that will pretty much be
closed up to a nice good seal.

So of course it's going to push
as much air through as it can.

So we're just going to
pop that into the bore.

You can see there, it doesn't
actually close up very much.

Which means obviously the outside is worn.

So clearly, I need another piston ring.

Better get on the phone.

You would think this piston
ring would be easy to get hold of.

But only companies who refurbish
these compressors actually hold them.

And they don't want
them in general circulation.

Seriously? That is nuts.

So despite calling
around, I've drawn a blank.

I really wanted to fix this, and
if I could get the parts, I would.

But I've been thwarted
by a single piston ring.

It's a big and costly disappointment.

So I'm forced to install a
refurbished compressor

which, at £120, is more
than I wanted to pay.

But it's less than half
the price of a new one.

It's from a Land Rover approved
supplier, so at least I'll know it'll work.

So now it's time for the moment of truth.

But of course before I can
actually test our new improved

compressor, I do need
to clear all the error codes.

Otherwise the car isn't going to
feed any power down to the boot.

Well there we go.
Error codes are now all clear.

So we can find out whether we've
actually managed to fix our suspension.

There we go.

Well so far so good. A little noise there
from the air going into the suspension.

But also we've got a
light on our air suspension

level indicator, which
is a really good sign.

And we haven't got any errors
coming up on the dashboard either.

So now let's just pop
it into the up position.

That's a good sign. So we've got
some air going into the suspension.

And here we go.

So now down again.

Great.

Sorted.

Well it wasn't so much work
to get the suspension sorted,

so now it goes up and down
the way it's supposed to.

And having already sorted the
engine so it runs properly, I've now been

able to get rid of all the warning lights
and messages from the dashboard.

So it would seem our
car is coming together.

Which is a little ironic, because
next I've got to start taking it apart.

Ed, how you doing?

The world's most striking, if I'm allowed
to use those words, Mark 3 Range Rover.

Every time I see it, I want
to throw up to be honest.

It looks horrible doesn't it?
I see you haven't been hard at work then.

That's a little cheeky.
Actually, I have

you know, I've been
doing all the oily bits.

Remember that kind of rough running engine?

Turned out it was a
problem with the wiring loom,

so now that's all
sorted, it runs beautifully.

And also the air suspension
had to sort out a little

compressor thing that
obviously supplies all the air.

And now it goes up and
down just like it should do.

Fantastic, that's all good news isn't it?

Now I've been busy too, I've gone and
seen a bespoke interior company, and I've

ordered a load of stuff that would give
this car a more youthful and fresher look.

Well before I start bolting anything
on, I'm going to actually have to

unbolt some stuff, because this
thing really really needs to be painted.

We've established that our Range
Rover certainly doesn't look its

best, and in this state it's
definitely not going to turn us a profit.

Now Mike is convinced if
we rub it down and paint

it white, we will be able
to collect a premium.

And as always, when
I'm prepping a car for the

paint shop, I need to
take a whole lot of bits off.

But in this case, it's not
going to be quite that simple.

That's because our Rangey is
going to benefit from a new front

end, which will give the look of
a car that's seven years younger.

It's the best facelift for
the AL322, and it makes

the vehicle look fresher
and slimmer at the front.

It comprises second-hand xenon headlights,
reshaped bumpers and a rounded grille.

So I've got to take off all the old
kit and fit the new stuff before it

goes for painting, because if it
don't fit now, they won't fit later.

If we were doing just a
straight paint job, then I wouldn't

actually have to remove this
bumper iron or this bit of plastic.

But because we're changing
the headlights as part of the

facelift, unfortunately this
has to change, as does that.

It sounds a bit drastic,
but actually it's not too bad.

The bumper iron unbolts, and
a new one is only 170 pounds.

These mouldings
hold the light units, and

I've got replacements
for them in the new kit.

I can hear Mike's little voice in my
head asking if all this hassle is worth it.

Well, if we're going to the trouble
of updating the paint, adding the 07

year look as well will definitely add
a few grand to the old girl's value.

Our set of parts for our facelift
conversion cost 900 pounds.

And as none of those parts
were designed to fit onto

this particular model,
they all take a bit of fettling.

Once the mouldings are in
place, I can offer up the new lights.

Well, these are our lovely new
light lenses. They do look the part.

The problem is, because they're
from a newer model, they don't quite fit.

Now that edge of the
light is supposed to

sort of butt up against
the edge of the wing.

And at the moment, I've got
this bit of metal in the way.

So I need to trim that
down, maybe a little bit

off there as well, and
a bit on the inside there.

And I think then hopefully
they should fit in nicely.

Yes, it's a bit more work, but
replacing the wings would be the

other option, and we'd be looking
at 700 pounds to do both sides.

So it's well worth doing
a bit of modification.

This often happens
when you fit updated parts.

This cut will be covered
by the headlight, but it

needs to be an exact cut
or the lamp won't fit flush.

Once it's done, I finish
the edge with a file.

Well, I have to say
that's looking pretty good.

The nice little shot line
down there, nice and even.

So now having done one
side, I've got to do the other.

Our new look headlamps now
fit the car the way they should.

So theoretically, our
face-lifted bumper and

grille should now fit
without any bother at all.

But just to be on the safe
side, I will try or fit them.

Altogether, it takes me an hour
or two to update the front end.

That translates to a garage saving
of a couple of hundred pounds.

And it is a genuine DIY job.

But it was well worth trying
this because I now know

that the grille and the
bumper both fit beautifully.

I think it looks much better.
The car looks much younger.

Now I need to strip the Landy
before it goes to the paint shop.

Which means removing the lights, door
handles and anything else that will come off.

And because it's a complete
colour change, I'm removing

the door cards and as
much of the interior as I can.

Even the badging comes off.

I've taken loads of bits off the Range
Rover, but I just can't ignore it any longer.

I'm going to have to deal
with this horrible paintwork.

Now the nice thing to
do before I send it off

to the paint shop is to
get rid of this texture.

Because it is pretty appalling.

But I've got no idea whether it's going
to be harder or softer than normal paint.

I guess really there's
only one way to find out.

It's really important to do
as much prep as you can

yourself because you'll
save money in the paint shop.

Well the good news is
the paint turns out not

to be quite as hard
as it might have been.

But it's still going to take an absolute
age to get the whole car as smooth as this.

And it does.

Four hours of sanding
later and then the Land

Rover is spirited
away to the paint shop.

A colour change in a
car this size is no small

job and costs a whopping
three thousand pounds.

If the car looks great afterwards,
we'll hopefully see that money back.

But there's no guarantee
and this is a risk.

The Range Rover is masked
up and has already been primed.

And now is the exciting bit.

Our Range Rover already looks so much
better with the high build primer in place.

The boys have flattered that off
and it's now ready for its top coat.

Now we had a choice of
two whites from the 2007 year.

And we've gone for Whistler white
which was much brighter and bluer.

And more in keeping with
the colours currently available.

Now all they're going
to do is put down two

coats of top coat and
then one coat of lacquer.

And then it's going to
look absolutely fantastic.

The next time we see this motor it's
going to be completely transformed.

It's not going to be a third
division footballer motor.

It's going to be something
fresher and newer

which will connect us
to a whole new market.

And hopefully a higher price.

Range Rovers are a luxury
car icon for the privileged few.

But ours look like something
the cat had dragged in.

Every time I see it I want to throw up.

Ed tackled the lumpy engine and
sorted the inactive air suspension.

Sorted?

But a total colour change has
always been our secret weapon.

Our Range Rover deserves to
be reborn as a prestige vehicle.

But it will only be worth
a premium if it looks right.

When our Range Rover
turned up at the workshop

it was definitely a sight
that caused sore eyes.

It had that horrible
textured paint all over it.

It needed some serious attention.

It needed a respray.

And that's what we've done.

And doesn't it look absolutely fantastic?

Now it was always
Mike's intention to buy an

ugly duckling of a motor
because it was cheaper

and add value by transforming
it into a beautiful white swan.

Because right now on premium
motors this is the colour to have.

But if you think it looks good now,
wait till it's bolted back together.

I'm going to start with my 2007 facelift.

Which includes a new
bumper, stimmer front grille

and those lovely high
performance xenon headlights.

The problem is the model of Range Rover
that our 2006 xenon headlamp comes from

actually has a different
wiring loom and therefore

different connectors than
the one on our Range Rover.

So what I need to do
is actually cut off this

connector and then
solder in this new one

so that everything connects
up the way it should.

Thankfully somebody's
gone to the trouble of

actually giving me a
little bit of a diagram.

so I know which wires to
connect to which wires in my loom.

Soldering the wires is
fiddly and time consuming.

A garage would charge
around £60 to do this.

But it is a simple process
using nothing more

than a soldering iron
and a bit of Patience.

And some heat shrink.

The wiring's all done
but before the headlights

can be attached I need
to put the bumper back on.

So I've got my friend
Paul to give me a hand.

Now before I bolt anything
else on I think we should

just check to make sure
these are wired up correctly.

Oh look at that! A full set! Brilliant!

To complete the facelift I need
to fit the matching rear light units.

No need for any
modification this time. They

slot into the same
space as the old ones.

Well the exterior of our Range
Rover is looking pretty good

but these panels that Mike had
transformed look absolutely amazing.

I can't wait to see what
they look like inside the car.

Mike had considered having new trim parts
made from scratch in real carbon fibre.

But that would have cost
an absolute fortune and

there could have been
problems with exact fit.

Instead he's had the original parts
recoated with carbon fibre effect

which is much cheaper and
of course they go straight in.

Well that is a vast improvement.

It looks so much more contemporary and
actually quite a lot more expensive as well.

The final touch for the
interior is to replace the missing

Land Rover badge from the
centre of the steering wheel.

Outside I put the
refurbished wheels back on

and there's one more
detail left to sort out.

Luckily the letters for the bonnet
badging come in a handy template

but it still has to go
in the right position.

After a quick consultation with
Land Rover we're good to go.

All it takes is a steady hand.

By rebuilding the
exterior and interior

myself I've saved around
£1000 in garage fees.

It takes around a day and
a half and despite being

a top end motor, it's
doable for any DIY mechanic.

Well that's it, our
rejuvenation is complete.

We've taken years off our Range
Rover and she looks thoroughly modern.

Now Mike's cunning plan was
based on the premise that if we could

make a big enough transformation
then we'd make a big profit.

And looking at her, I'd
say we're in the money.

Our ugly duckling has turned into a swan.

We've transformed cars
before but this one is a biggie.

Nothing remains of the
monster that came before.

This Range Rover is simply amazing.

I went looking for an ugly
duck to save us money

and the master plan
was always to go white.

This diesel at £5,000 was a nice price but
it took guts to see beyond the mob colours.

I have got a fantastic plan
and that's to paint it white.

The rough running wasn't
a 40 injector as Ed feared

but 40 wiring that Ed swapped
over quickly and cheaply.

£45 and a bit of bettling, I've managed to
sort out a problem that's almost certainly

going to be part of the reason I
managed to get this car for such a bargain.

The air suspension was broken and Ed came
up against the only spare you can't buy.

And then it was time for the big stuff.

An expensive but mind-blowing respray
which combined with the refurbished wheels,

respect interior trim and
facelift to give us a Range

Rover that doesn't look 5
or 10 grand, it looks like 50.

So what does it owe us?

The mechanical fixes were cheap
compared to the paint and trim.

We ended up putting nearly 10 grand into
the old girl and we're looking for payback.

Ed! No way! Wow!

Oh Ed, what a transformation!

It's amazing what a lick
of paint will do, isn't it?

A lick of paint? Ed, it's fantastic!

Is this really the same car that
mish-mashed up a horrible Range Rover?

It looks brilliant, the grill at the
front, the wheels, the paint job.

You've done it again, it's brilliant.

Well thank you sir but you should
take some of the credit because of

course after all it was your idea
to paint it white in the first place.

It was actually quite a
good idea for a change.

Now we need to make sure that
we attract somebody out there who

wants to spend the kind of cash
that this car is now seriously worth.

So do we get to test out
its new found bit of class?

Of course we do, yeah I've
got a great idea for a test drive.

Seriously?

Yeah, you might want to change
out of those clothes though.

Look at you!

I like that look on you, it suits you.

Yeah it suits you as well sir.

What do you think my dear stalker?

Eh?

That is very natty
actually, very nice but I'm

a bit concerned about
what we're about to do.

Some people just don't
like this kind of stuff.

You might get letters.

Letters? No trust me, look we've
got an absolute pristine Range

Rover and me and you, we should
be getting into pursuits like this.

Follow me.

I'm still not really convinced
about this country pursuits thing

but I've got to admit the car is
looking so much better than it was.

Well it looks fantastic and I reckon our most successful
transformation because we've taken a car from that

low ring gangster look and we've made it contemporary,
we've made it fresh and we've made it highly desirable.

And from where I'm sitting as well it's
really comfortable, does it drive nicely?

Well it does indeed, it's
obviously well worth spending

some time sorting out the
suspension and the engine.

Well listen I'd expect nothing
less than your superb workshop

skills Edward and I can see
with this one you've pulled it off.

Not only does the car look
great, it drives great too.

It's fair to say it always
was a good runner

in the first place but
we just couldn't see it.

We were blinded by that
nasty paint job but now it's all

back together and all complete,
you've nailed it sunshine.

Listen Ed, I reckon this car could
return us a really healthy profit.

So what sort of money are you thinking?

Well I was hoping to go for say
£12,000, it could take a bit less but

that would give us over double
what we originally paid for this car.

Admittedly it was cheap
in the first place but

now where can you get
this much call for £12,000?

Well that would be absolutely
amazing if we can pull that off.

Test drive over, it's time to
get back to the matter in hand.

So what are we hunting mate?

It's duck.

Selling our pristine white Range
Rover hasn't been a walk in the park.

I advertised it quite ambitiously
at £12,000 and I never got any

bites but then I've lowered the
price to a more reasonable £11,000

and the first person on the phone is
this young lady behind me, her name's

Michelle, she's taken it for a test drive,
she likes the way it gets down the road.

But does she want to do a deal?
Let's find out.

So then Michelle, it's great isn't it?

It's lovely.

It does look smart,
it's got the right front on

it, I love the wheels,
the interior's really tasty.

Lovely.

So you like the car, the thing is do
you like the price? I want £11,000 for it.

Surely you can do better on the price.

What have you got in mind?

Ten.

Ten!

That really hurt. No, that really did it.

Ten and a half?
I'll meet you in the middle.

Cash?

Yeah, go on then.

Hold out your hand.
You just bought yourself a cracking motor.

Lovely, thank you.

So that's a profit of nearly
a grand for me and Ed.

Alright, admittedly I didn't earn
the kind of money that I would

have liked out of it but look at
our achievement, it was worth it.

If you want to see more lost
causes being turned around

then join me and Ed soon
on Wheel Of Dealers. Tala!