discovery 3 petrol or diesel which would you buy and why??
discovery 3 petrol or diesel which would you buy and why??
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Discussion

hedgefinder

Original Poster:

3,418 posts

194 months

Saturday 18th May 2013
quotequote all
just looking for a bit of advice from people with experience.
Which would you buy
a Discovery 3 with a petrol engine and possibly an LPG conversion or
the TDV6 version...

camel_landy

5,418 posts

207 months

Saturday 18th May 2013
quotequote all
Depends on annual mileage...

The V8 is a cracker if you're OK with the fuel bills but I'd avoid LPG.

M

hedgefinder

Original Poster:

3,418 posts

194 months

Saturday 18th May 2013
quotequote all
camel_landy said:
Depends on annual mileage...

The V8 is a cracker if you're OK with the fuel bills but I'd avoid LPG.

M
I am curious - why avoid LPG?
I used to run a chevy suburban with a multi point lpg kit and it never missed a beat.

camel_landy

5,418 posts

207 months

Saturday 18th May 2013
quotequote all
IMO - Due to the extra wear & tear on the HT System and then factor in how fussy that V8 can be on LPG, I wouldn't bother.

Sure there are plenty of arguments for & against LPG but I'm of the opinion that if you can't afford the running costs, don't buy the car.

M

A.J.M

8,341 posts

210 months

Sunday 19th May 2013
quotequote all
Most LPG systems need a flash lube system or the cylinder heads taken off and harder valves fitted as the V8 engine doesn't run happily on LPG otherwise.

I looked into it when buying mine, to do the valves is £3.5k. LPG is about £2k or so to do.

It really depends on your annual mileage, the V8 is a lovely engine as is the tdv6.
Then you need to consider spec, Base, S, GS, XS, SE, HSE, manual on the tdv6 or auto only on the V8.

Then budget, what is your's?

V8's are S, SE and HSE.

hedgefinder

Original Poster:

3,418 posts

194 months

Sunday 19th May 2013
quotequote all
would always be going for the HSE or as close to as I could get.
Budget not really set although V8 models do seem cheaper, probably for reasons of economy - I was looking more for peoples opnions on reliability and performance.
On the running costs front between the v8 and the TDV6 there seems to be approximately a 10 mpg difference, if printed figures are to be believed.

croyde

25,701 posts

254 months

Sunday 19th May 2013
quotequote all
I used to have a TDV6 which would struggle to get 16mpg in town so lord knows what the V8 would be like.

rykard

447 posts

205 months

Sunday 19th May 2013
quotequote all
croyde said:
I used to have a TDV6 which would struggle to get 16mpg in town so lord knows what the V8 would be like.
our 4.4 V8 is around 15mpg around town, driveing round the countryside today 50-60 mph we're up to 18 mpg

croyde

25,701 posts

254 months

Sunday 19th May 2013
quotequote all
That's pretty good for around town but shocking for the motorway. The TDV6 would get up to 30 on a run, even fully loaded with family, luggage and bicycle rack.

A.J.M

8,341 posts

210 months

Sunday 19th May 2013
quotequote all
Hse spec is really good, it's what i have.

You really need to sort a budget as that will generally say what likely condition you're buying into.

They are generally ok for reliability.

Tyre's can be dear or cheap, depending if you use cheapo budget wellies, or a named brand or buy AT tyres as these last longer, but can dent the mpg by 2-3.

Fuel economy from a 2.7 ton 4x4 is never going to be great, ever. This will really depend on your individual driving nature and if you do lots of town or motorway driving, so take account of your annual mileage for what engine to go for.

Auto's suit the nature of the car better, plus make town and stop/start driving much better.

Common failures as the miles increase are ball joints, front lower arm bushes. If the ball joints are knocking, it's easier and cheaper to replace the full arm as it changes the bushes at the same time.
ARB bushes can wear out as well as wheel bearings.
Batteries generally last 5-8 years, if you have HDC, Transmission faults etc flashing on the screen, then they are the first signs of a failing battery/alternator. £150 or so for a proper battery.

EGR valves fail, remove and fit EGR blanking kit, no more issues, Tdv6 issue.

Servicing can be done cheaply, my last one cost me £105 inc parts and labour, i did the air and pollen, got a garage to do the fuel and oil for me.
The tdv6 has timing belts, these need to be changed every 7 years OR 105k, whatever comes first!
The 105k service is about £6-800. Unless you can use a spanner and get a indy to do it for a homer. Then you can get it done, with change from £350. Inc buying the correct oil, filters and belts, plus labour.

DON'T FIT CHEAP FILTERS! I know a mate who bought a cheap D3 with a gubbed top end due to a cheap filter.
Get a proper kit and give it Castrol 5w30 oil. Said mate is rebuilding the car with a replacement engine and will use it as a daily driver for a few years.

My car, bar needing drop links all round, front lower arms and steering arms, has proved 100% reliable in getting me about. It's done 9k and runs happily with its 107k on the clock. The parts i changed were simply due to wear and tear.

hedgefinder

Original Poster:

3,418 posts

194 months

Sunday 19th May 2013
quotequote all
I will be using it to tow my race trailer occasionally, really fancy the v8, but if its not going to do more than 18 mpg on a run i might as well buy a Chevy suburban with more room and more power and similar mpg..

I had a TDV6 disco 4 on load a while back for a few weeks and its performance in the snow uphill and down really impressed me. Suburbans tend to be k at getting up the hill, but have a hell of a job not just sliding down the other side..

IroningMan

10,598 posts

270 months

Monday 20th May 2013
quotequote all
I'd have thought that V8s were sufficiently thin on the ground to markedly limit your choice - whereas there are enough TDV6 HSEs about to give you plenty to compare.

Don't be tempted by a manual, though.

hedgefinder

Original Poster:

3,418 posts

194 months

Monday 20th May 2013
quotequote all
IroningMan said:
I'd have thought that V8s were sufficiently thin on the ground to markedly limit your choice - whereas there are enough TDV6 HSEs about to give you plenty to compare.

Don't be tempted by a manual, though.
surprisingly I have seen several v8s for sale and funnily enough I had considered a manual Tdv6...

croyde

25,701 posts

254 months

Monday 20th May 2013
quotequote all
My TDV6 was a manual but I'm a bit traditional biggrin Would have been nice if it had had a proper hand brake and not that silly on/off brake switch (Apparently worked really well with the auto box)

IroningMan

10,598 posts

270 months

Monday 20th May 2013
quotequote all
Everything I've read suggests that the manuals eat clutches - particularly in low-speed manoeuvres while towing and that the DMFs are short-lived. Resale is also likely to be harder - although the quid-pro-quo ought to be a lower cost to buy now.

Auto suits the whole character of the vehicle much better and makes towing a piece of cake; you can of course stick it in 'command shift' and row it along like a manual if you want to, but there's always a sense that it was designed from the outset to be auto, and the way that the terrain response gubbins uses the autobox reinforces this.

If you've driven them then you'll know, but the D3/D4 is much more 'practical Range Rover' than it is 'comfortable Land Rover'.