RE: Shed Buying Guide: Land Rover Discovery 3
Discussion
Landrovers are marmite products in general but I love my D3.
Mine is a 2009 V8 HSE, bought 3 yrs ago with full dealer history with 90k (kms) on the clock and now showing just under 135k. It’s my daily driver and spends 4-5mths of the year in 40degC+ ambient temps and is rarely driven without the benefit of a heavy right foot. Hustles well for the heft and rides great even shod with 33inch bfg ko2’s (granted, stopping quickly is a different story with those!).
Faults to date have been:
A blown brake light bulb which made the car drop the suspension to access height and go into limp mode. This is when I started reading up on the utter nightmare which is the most bus comms system. Not LR’s finest work by a long shot....
The 50p (at most) plastic coolant bleed screw which failed, dumping all the coolant and again going into limp mode at 80mph on a 7 lane highway. Fun times, but all it needed was a new tee and top up and all was ok again.
Air suspension leak. Not a massive problem as it was only minor but was a pig to chase and diagnose, ended up with 2 new struts, front and rear valve blocks, servicing the compressor and fitting new o rings on all lines. A good weekends work but not too bad price wise, circa £500 in parts and a few new swearwords invented.
Another suspension panic after the above, usual xmas tree light dashboard scenario. Stuck the obd reader on and it turned out that the system was filling too quickly now it had no leaks. Simple job to clean the regulator blow off valve and all ok again.
Preventative maintenance has seen all new bushes throughout which I paid about a grand to have done as I couldn’t be bothered and didn’t want to be without a car for weeks as I inevitably swore a lot whilst doing it. Most of that was labour and not too bad given the level of work involved. Love the velvet steamroller analogy and that has definitely been restored.
I guess the electrics are the most frightening aspect as the most bus does its best to turn any minor failure into a limp mode scenario if you don’t have the right scanning tools or a decent specialist. I am lucky living in a dry climate though, the underside of mine would make many a year old UK car look bad in comparison. A good parts supplier is also required. LR dealer prices here are faintly ridiculous but I can get most OEM parts for near UK indie money and when I can’t I ship them in from Specialist Factors in the UK. These guys should be in any LR owners favorites folder.
I may have got a good one and the climate helps, but I don’t think that’s too bad an outlay over 3 yrs. any equivalent suv would have cost me the same I guess but I chose the LR on a mix of capability and ‘luxury’. IMVHO none of the perceived rivals offer a better cabin, and the split tailgate is way more handy than you would first realise.
I self service mine every 6mths, tow most weekends, have taken it across the desert and up mountains and it’s never complained even when dune driving arab style or competing in the dubai tailgating championship. It has a few scrapes from my misjudgments and has a cracked dash and sagging headliner from the heat but still scrubs up well for a 10yr old car and 15yr old design. Will be replacing it soon but not with a land cruiser or patrol
ETA: i also own a lotus and I guess the same ownership approach to both Marques applies. Often small niggles, occasional scary failure which requires your own research and spannering to resolve at reasonable cost. You become a bit of an expert by default yet on their day nothing in the price range comes close. Definitely one of those cars with character.
Mine is a 2009 V8 HSE, bought 3 yrs ago with full dealer history with 90k (kms) on the clock and now showing just under 135k. It’s my daily driver and spends 4-5mths of the year in 40degC+ ambient temps and is rarely driven without the benefit of a heavy right foot. Hustles well for the heft and rides great even shod with 33inch bfg ko2’s (granted, stopping quickly is a different story with those!).
Faults to date have been:
A blown brake light bulb which made the car drop the suspension to access height and go into limp mode. This is when I started reading up on the utter nightmare which is the most bus comms system. Not LR’s finest work by a long shot....
The 50p (at most) plastic coolant bleed screw which failed, dumping all the coolant and again going into limp mode at 80mph on a 7 lane highway. Fun times, but all it needed was a new tee and top up and all was ok again.
Air suspension leak. Not a massive problem as it was only minor but was a pig to chase and diagnose, ended up with 2 new struts, front and rear valve blocks, servicing the compressor and fitting new o rings on all lines. A good weekends work but not too bad price wise, circa £500 in parts and a few new swearwords invented.
Another suspension panic after the above, usual xmas tree light dashboard scenario. Stuck the obd reader on and it turned out that the system was filling too quickly now it had no leaks. Simple job to clean the regulator blow off valve and all ok again.
Preventative maintenance has seen all new bushes throughout which I paid about a grand to have done as I couldn’t be bothered and didn’t want to be without a car for weeks as I inevitably swore a lot whilst doing it. Most of that was labour and not too bad given the level of work involved. Love the velvet steamroller analogy and that has definitely been restored.
I guess the electrics are the most frightening aspect as the most bus does its best to turn any minor failure into a limp mode scenario if you don’t have the right scanning tools or a decent specialist. I am lucky living in a dry climate though, the underside of mine would make many a year old UK car look bad in comparison. A good parts supplier is also required. LR dealer prices here are faintly ridiculous but I can get most OEM parts for near UK indie money and when I can’t I ship them in from Specialist Factors in the UK. These guys should be in any LR owners favorites folder.
I may have got a good one and the climate helps, but I don’t think that’s too bad an outlay over 3 yrs. any equivalent suv would have cost me the same I guess but I chose the LR on a mix of capability and ‘luxury’. IMVHO none of the perceived rivals offer a better cabin, and the split tailgate is way more handy than you would first realise.
I self service mine every 6mths, tow most weekends, have taken it across the desert and up mountains and it’s never complained even when dune driving arab style or competing in the dubai tailgating championship. It has a few scrapes from my misjudgments and has a cracked dash and sagging headliner from the heat but still scrubs up well for a 10yr old car and 15yr old design. Will be replacing it soon but not with a land cruiser or patrol
ETA: i also own a lotus and I guess the same ownership approach to both Marques applies. Often small niggles, occasional scary failure which requires your own research and spannering to resolve at reasonable cost. You become a bit of an expert by default yet on their day nothing in the price range comes close. Definitely one of those cars with character.
Edited by shirt on Wednesday 13th March 22:45
Slow said:
br1anuk said:
300bhp/ton said:
EazyDuz said:
Get a Landrcruiser
LC's are cool, but look rather fugly. They also don't have the same breadth of abilities.The ability to break down every month?
Ive read the newest ones arent as strong as the old stuff was/still is though.
Plus the terrain system and cross linked air will generall outperform the coil IFS of modern Land Crusiers.
As said the LC is cool. I have nothing against them. But the Discovery will match or exceed one off road. And be much better on it. Nicer interior too.
300bhp/ton said:
The Discovery will ride better and be more comfortable. Better high speed cruising ability too.
Plus the terrain system and cross linked air will generall outperform the coil IFS of modern Land Crusiers.
As said the LC is cool. I have nothing against them. But the Discovery will match or exceed one off road. And be much better on it. Nicer interior too.
Which Land Cruiser are you speaking about? "Land Cruiser" is just the brand not a specific model and covers everything from a basic workhorse 70 series to a £60k V8 200 series. Have you even driven a modern 100/200 series? Plus the terrain system and cross linked air will generall outperform the coil IFS of modern Land Crusiers.
As said the LC is cool. I have nothing against them. But the Discovery will match or exceed one off road. And be much better on it. Nicer interior too.
The only thing they've all got in common is phenomenal build quality and engineering under the skin that makes anything produced by Land Rover seem toylike in comparison.
I've owned and enjoyed quite a few Land Rovers over the years but they really are, almost without exception, badly made and badly engineered crap!
Edited by snowandrocks on Thursday 14th March 07:19
mikeyr said:
ruprechtmonkeyboy said:
The Discovery now appears to be the model of choice for internet bashing.
To be fair, most of the posts on here have been from owners and I don't think a single one of them has described them as low maintenance!ruprechtmonkeyboy said:
True but you removed the rest of my post when quoting so it's out of context. The question is if they are all so terrible how come they are still a common sight on our roads and not all in a scrapyard?
Totally agree, not had one myself but people must love them and you expect the running of a once expensive car to be, well, expensive. But it does seem you have to go in to with your eyes open beforehand. I'm a bit disappointed reading the various comments on here as always quite fancied one but they don't seem as ruggedly built as I'd have expected.Land Rovers are quite popular in the UK, but thanks to the internet you tend to get an amplification of faults reported. You get a similar thing with mass market cars when a small proportion of faulty cars is amplified into 'they're troublesome'.
Conversely you get brands like VW or Toyota who are perceived as very well made, so you get people who are basically in denial about any faults. Toyotas do have built faults and problems they're just not widely publicised. We burnt the clutch out on a delivery mileage Toyota towing off road, and the last Hilux I had exhibited numerous minor but niggly faults, engine flat spots, water in the headlights, poor finish.
Conversely you get brands like VW or Toyota who are perceived as very well made, so you get people who are basically in denial about any faults. Toyotas do have built faults and problems they're just not widely publicised. We burnt the clutch out on a delivery mileage Toyota towing off road, and the last Hilux I had exhibited numerous minor but niggly faults, engine flat spots, water in the headlights, poor finish.
clarkey said:
We've had ours for about 7 years now - it is a 2006 HSE. I originally did about 25k a year, but it has been the wife's car for the last 3 or 4 years and does far fewer miles.
It looks like it has averaged £2000 a year in maintenance regardless of mileage. I paid £16k, and it's probably worth £6k now so depreciation has been pretty good for 100,000 miles of hard use.
Ours has done everything - driven through floods, towed everything from Caterhams to diggers and shredders to caravans, and has pulled trees out of the ground. It's had kids throw up in it and had sheep in the back.
It's been expensive to run, but I don't think it is too bad - overall it has cost about 50p a mile to run, which is absolutely fine when diesel makes up half of that.
Every time I think of selling it something goes wrong, so I may as well fix it and keep it - last year it was a noisy a/c compressor and failed doors locks, this year the gearbox and various suspension joints will need doing, so it will probably be a £3k to £4k year. However, it is now on 170k and drives as well as ever, so I may as well keep it. The cost to change to a D4 or D5 isn't worth it as it still drives really well in all conditions.
Just don't buy one if you expect it to cost the same as a Fiesta to run!!
This is exactly it. Buy with your eyes open. I budget for £2k a year . Sometimes it's less. One day when she dies I'll just accept it . 145k so far (from 114k when purchased).It looks like it has averaged £2000 a year in maintenance regardless of mileage. I paid £16k, and it's probably worth £6k now so depreciation has been pretty good for 100,000 miles of hard use.
Ours has done everything - driven through floods, towed everything from Caterhams to diggers and shredders to caravans, and has pulled trees out of the ground. It's had kids throw up in it and had sheep in the back.
It's been expensive to run, but I don't think it is too bad - overall it has cost about 50p a mile to run, which is absolutely fine when diesel makes up half of that.
Every time I think of selling it something goes wrong, so I may as well fix it and keep it - last year it was a noisy a/c compressor and failed doors locks, this year the gearbox and various suspension joints will need doing, so it will probably be a £3k to £4k year. However, it is now on 170k and drives as well as ever, so I may as well keep it. The cost to change to a D4 or D5 isn't worth it as it still drives really well in all conditions.
Just don't buy one if you expect it to cost the same as a Fiesta to run!!
Such a great workhorse, with comfort. Flawed, but awesome.
My wife wanted one of these. I looked on warranty direct and it was the absolute worst vehicle, and I then asked a friend who works at a LR dealership and he almost pissed himself laughing when I asked if they were a viable buy. I bought her a Toyota Verso instead, it's cost me £190 in total to repair in nearly 12 years of ownership. It obviously isn't as complex as a Disco 3, but I don't think that extra complexity accounts for people stating they are spending £2K a year getting these things running. That's totally absurd.
Edited by Rich Boy Spanner on Thursday 14th March 09:05
Rich Boy Spanner said:
My wife wanted one of these. I looked on warranty direct and it was the absolute worst vehicle, and I then asked a friend who works at a LR dealership and he almost pissed himself laughing when I asked if they were a viable buy. I bought her a Toyota Verso instead, it's cost me £190 in total to repair in nearly 12 years of ownership. It obviously isn't as complex as a Disco 3, but I don't think that extra complexity accounts for people stating they are spending £2K a year getting these things running. That's totally absurd.
If it didn't cost much in the first place I'd be happy enough paying £2k p.a. in maintenance to keep something big, comfortable and good off road running properly. I'm currently doing circa 16k p.a. in a 3l petrol Subaru which isn't exactly cheap. The thing is though that in 45k miles not once has it either failed to get me where I needed to be or had any unscheduled time off the road. So while it does cost a bit in upkeep, it has proved very dependable. I'd love a Disco 3 or 4, or a Range Rover, but I just worry that with those I'd be paying a lot in upkeep but also running the risk of being left in the lurch on a semi-regular basis too. For that reason if I do get a 'proper' 4x4 it'll be a Land Cruiser. shirt said:
toyota verso, that well known direct rival to the landrover 
i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
The point is valid though. Justifying spending thousands every year on repairs because the vehicle was originally expensive and complex or, even worse, heavy is bizarre. A supposedly premium product should be more reliable not less. i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
My Land Cruiser 80 series hasn't even had £2k worth in repairs in total over the last 27 years of daily running.
snowandrocks said:
shirt said:
toyota verso, that well known direct rival to the landrover
i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
The point is valid though. Justifying spending thousands every year on repairs because the vehicle was originally expensive and complex or, even worse, heavy is bizarre. A supposedly premium product should be more reliable not less. i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
My Land Cruiser 80 series hasn't even had £2k worth in repairs in total over the last 27 years of daily running.
Get your head out your arse imo.
Slow said:
snowandrocks said:
shirt said:
toyota verso, that well known direct rival to the landrover
i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
The point is valid though. Justifying spending thousands every year on repairs because the vehicle was originally expensive and complex or, even worse, heavy is bizarre. A supposedly premium product should be more reliable not less. i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
My Land Cruiser 80 series hasn't even had £2k worth in repairs in total over the last 27 years of daily running.
Get your head out your arse imo.
Unreliability of the sort being justified by some here and repeated failure of components which are clearly not fit for purpose I find completely unacceptable in what was an expensive vehicle.
Edited by snowandrocks on Thursday 14th March 10:39
snowandrocks said:
Which Land Cruiser are you speaking about? "Land Cruiser" is just the brand not a specific model and covers everything from a basic workhorse 70 series to a £60k V8 200 series. Have you even driven a modern 100/200 series?
The only thing they've all got in common is phenomenal build quality and engineering under the skin that makes anything produced by Land Rover seem toylike in comparison.
I've owned and enjoyed quite a few Land Rovers over the years but they really are, almost without exception, badly made and badly engineered crap!
Toyota only offer 1 Land Cruiser for the UK market:The only thing they've all got in common is phenomenal build quality and engineering under the skin that makes anything produced by Land Rover seem toylike in comparison.
I've owned and enjoyed quite a few Land Rovers over the years but they really are, almost without exception, badly made and badly engineered crap!
Edited by snowandrocks on Thursday 14th March 07:19
https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/land-cruiser/
And lets be fair on this, there is little point comparing a brand new '19 plate top of the range model with a £3k 2004 Disco 3, just to claim the Yota is capable on the road.
So lets keep it sensible, you either compare 2004-2011 UK Land Cruiser or whatever Land Cruiser you can currently buy with ease in the UK of a value of £3000-9000.
BTW - I like the LC, so I'm not bashing on it.
I think the quality of parts can be a big factor in repairs.
My own experience.
Car was bought with 97,752 miles on it, front lower arms had a knock. A known wear and tear component.
Replaced at 105,000ish, with “All makes” arms.
18 months later, the knock returned as the bushes and ball joint were on the way out.
Replaced with genuine LR RRS arms. 70k later, arms are still tight, no knock or play in them.
They weigh 2.5tons. They are heavy on bushes, and will slaughter cheap parts that aren’t up to standard. From experience. Genuine parts last the best. If it’s in a blue box, leave it in the box...
Mine has had a couple of unexpected bills in its life with me. The injectors was one. Replaced all 6 and mpg, cold starting and general running all were greatly improved. That was nearly 40k ago.
The autoboxes suffer because no one services them. Not a LR only issue.
ZF say 50-75k between oil flushes for a 6 speed and 30-50k for an 8 speed.
Rarely done for any make of car.
Maybe it’s a U.K. thing because we are used to manual boxes that automatics and their servicing needs aren’t known like they are in the USA.
My own experience.
Car was bought with 97,752 miles on it, front lower arms had a knock. A known wear and tear component.
Replaced at 105,000ish, with “All makes” arms.
18 months later, the knock returned as the bushes and ball joint were on the way out.
Replaced with genuine LR RRS arms. 70k later, arms are still tight, no knock or play in them.
They weigh 2.5tons. They are heavy on bushes, and will slaughter cheap parts that aren’t up to standard. From experience. Genuine parts last the best. If it’s in a blue box, leave it in the box...
Mine has had a couple of unexpected bills in its life with me. The injectors was one. Replaced all 6 and mpg, cold starting and general running all were greatly improved. That was nearly 40k ago.
The autoboxes suffer because no one services them. Not a LR only issue.
ZF say 50-75k between oil flushes for a 6 speed and 30-50k for an 8 speed.
Rarely done for any make of car.
Maybe it’s a U.K. thing because we are used to manual boxes that automatics and their servicing needs aren’t known like they are in the USA.
snowandrocks said:
shirt said:
toyota verso, that well known direct rival to the landrover
i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
The point is valid though. Justifying spending thousands every year on repairs because the vehicle was originally expensive and complex or, even worse, heavy is bizarre. A supposedly premium product should be more reliable not less.i was thinking of buying a house but bought a biscuit tin instead, this hasn't cost be anything in repairs whereas the house would have cost thousands.
snowandrocks said:
My Land Cruiser 80 series hasn't even had £2k worth in repairs in total over the last 27 years of daily running.
The LC80 is very cool, but lets be fair. It is also very very very very basic. It has electric lights and .........300bhp/ton said:
snowandrocks said:
My Land Cruiser 80 series hasn't even had £2k worth in repairs in total over the last 27 years of daily running.
The LC80 is very cool, but lets be fair. It is also very very very very basic. It has electric lights and .........Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff