Indecision agony: 10k budget for big SUV tow car: Help?!

[Sibsbibs]

Hi there,
Can you possibly help. I want to get a bigger tow can than my current trusty Outlander - although it manages, it feels a bit of a struggle when fully laden with two weeks worth of holiday gubbins, kids and a caravan hitched up. I like taking it far and wide and, with two weeks in Slovenia booked for the summer, I don't want to put the old girl through that journey with a big load up - she's not getting any younger and I want to add bikes and an inflatable canoe to the already heavy load, if possible.
This is where I need help: I don't want to spend more than 10K, so looking at high mileage 2006-2009 big 4x4s. Discovery 3s are much eulogized for towing and I LOVED being so high up/the general feel when we test drove a few. We nearly got one, but dithered while someone else snaffled it. This gave me time to look again at reliability issues - it seems to have many and since the main reason for buying a bigger car is peace of mind and greater towing stability/experience, buying an unreliable car doesn't seem the ideal solution. I've had Japanese cars forever because they just never go wrong (well, not much), so it makes me wary when branching out.
Anyway, for my budget, the most important things are reliability, towing capability and stability (I'll never need it for a big twin axle, but do want something I can load to the gunnels and still doesn't struggle with my large single axle (around 1,550kg).
Alternatives to a Disco I've looked at are Shoguns, XC90, Touareg, Pathfinder, Range Rover or possibly an M Class Mercedes. If reliability was no object, Disco would win hands down for the boot size, extra seats, ride height, visibility and general feel. But reliability is a big issue for me, so would welcome any advice about my best bet. I don't mind that Discos might be a bit more expensive to service/maintain; what I do mind is the thought of it being happier on the hard shoulder than the open road, combined with massively expensive running repairs. Aside from muddy campsites, not much off-road capability is required - well, none really - this is a dedicated tow car.. Thanks so much for any/all advice.

[55palfers]

Something like this perhaps, with a few bob over for fettling.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[Sibsbibs]

Now Landcruisers are interesting, but they seem disproportionately more expensive for the age of car - and hubby thinks we should avoid getting anything older than 2006 if possible because of possible Gov plans to target older diesels for God knows what.... I've not seen newer Landcruisers that come within our budget, so wondered why they are comparatively dear (is it just that they're huge...?).

[GreatGranny]

We've had 2 x XC90s in the past 6-7 years and they have been superb towcars.

Caravan weighs 1450kg fully laden and we also take 5 bikes and sometimes a canoe.

Had no reliability issues with either of them.

They are expensive to run, top rate of tax, high-ish insurance and 30-32 mpg solo, God knows what towing, I never measure it, just fill it up when it's empty :-) (realistically 23-25).

The auto box is a little sluggish when setting off but you do get used to it.
Once on the move it it's fine.

Seats are superb.
Loads of space, 7 full size seats, excellent stereo and epic heater.

We did look at Disco's but they were more expensive and the reliability issue also put us off.
saying that there's some horror stories about the XC90.

Ours is a Sport and TBH I wouldn't go for that spec again.
The larger wheels spoil the ride a little, making it crashy over potholes etc..

The SE is specced pretty well, Premium is very nice.
Active is base model, loads about but no leather or electric seats. Don't think heated either.

[Willy Nilly]

Sibsbibs said:

Now Landcruisers are interesting, but they seem disproportionately more expensive for the age of car - and hubby thinks we should avoid getting anything older than 2006 if possible because of possible Gov plans to target older diesels for God knows what.... I've not seen newer Landcruisers that come within our budget, so wondered why they are comparatively dear (is it just that they're huge...?).

I doubt very much there will be any retrospective targetting of old diesel engines.

You're budget isn't that big for the type of car you are after. The big Japanese stuff gets exported because there is a big demand for them. You're probably right to go after one, but would need to look very carefully at each car and buy strictly on condition, even Japanese cars aren't immune from neglect.

Here is a Nissan Patrol, in budget and inside your preferred age range http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

You may well find a good Discovery in your price range if you are not in a hurry, but they come with a reputation, and if you are used to Japanese reliability, may leave you disappointed.

[Sibsbibs]

Thanks very much for this - yes, Patrols look promising, but fewer come up locally, so less to choose from, which is a bit of a limiting factor. And when comparing prices, this is as expensive as a 2007 disco 3 currently advertised 16 miles up the road with just 94,000 miles on the clock, so looks expensive by comparison (and its 82 miles away - I'm in north Essex). Still, it's Japanese, so am I right to assume I'll spend less time at the garage getting things mended, even with more miles on the clock...?!

[Sibsbibs]

Sorry - I forgot to say: yes, I did like the XC90 a lot when we had a test drive, although it was noisier, lighter and not as roomy as the Disco. But, again, if reliability is much better, I wonder if it's a better bet, since it will still be appreciably more capable at towing than our Outlander, albeit not quite as big a size step up as the Disco 3. Would anyone actually recommend the Disco 3 or would you all avoid at all costs...?

[55palfers]

Sibsbibs said:

Now Landcruisers are interesting, but they seem disproportionately more expensive for the age of car - and hubby thinks we should avoid getting anything older than 2006 if possible because of possible Gov plans to target older diesels for God knows what.... I've not seen newer Landcruisers that come within our budget, so wondered why they are comparatively dear (is it just that they're huge...?).

Landcruisers are very reliable and strong. They will hold their money well too when you come to sell on.

Always buy on condition not age. If they have been properly serviced all is usually good.

[Willy Nilly]

Sibsbibs said:

Thanks very much for this - yes, Patrols look promising, but fewer come up locally, so less to choose from, which is a bit of a limiting factor. And when comparing prices, this is as expensive as a 2007 disco 3 currently advertised 16 miles up the road with just 94,000 miles on the clock, so looks expensive by comparison (and its 82 miles away - I'm in north Essex). Still, it's Japanese, so am I right to assume I'll spend less time at the garage getting things mended, even with more miles on the clock...?!

When you put the news on and they go to some war torn place in the Middle East, what are they driving? Nissan Patrols, Hilux's and Land Cruisers, or Land Rovers? I'm sure there's plenty on here that will jump to the defence of the Discovery and neither it or the big Japs are going to be cheap to run, but I would expect much more maintenance with the Discovery and have heard that £1,000/ year in repairs over and above normal service items is not unusual.

The LR may well turn out to be ok, but if you are expecting Japanese reliability, and they set a pretty high bar, you are probably going to be disappointed.

[Sibsbibs]

Actually, Willy Nilly, no one seems to have jumped to the defence of Land Rovers yet; maybe that tells me all I need to know... but don't be shy, Land Rover lovers; do come forward and tell me why they're a good buy... There are a fair few Shoguns about at the moment - and they seem familiar/safe given my current Mitsubishi habit. But I guess they're that bit smaller than the Patrols/land cruisers? And Hiluxes? I hadn't considered pick up type things - do they tow well? They're oddly shaped, but that van-like capacity in the back wouldn't go amiss when it comes to squeezing in one more unnecessary holiday/caravanning accessory.

[GreatGranny]

Personally I wouldn't go for a pick up.
They are a compromise.
Yes they will be good for towing but refinement will not be as good as a Disco, XC90 or X5.
Space is limited for passengers in my experience as well.
You will only be towing with it for a small minority of it's use anyway.

Have you thought about the XC60?
You could pick up a 202 bhp engine one for your budget.
Yes, it will have 100k ish miles but they should be more reliable than the Disco or XC90 IMO.

Or the X5? 3.0d with 235bhp will be plenty for what you need.
Probably the most refined 4x4 there is as well.
Again it will be 100k+ miles but will be the facelift model I think.

Edited by GreatGranny on Wednesday 19th April 08:04

[Sibsbibs]

Thanks again for the advice - yes, a bit of research about pickups suggests there could be issues with towing too - something to do with suspension/vibrations being unkind to caravans?

I assumed XC60's wouldn't be any advantage over our Outlander, but haven't actually compared kerbweights/size - will do so. We nearly test drove an X5 but when we saw it, the boot seemed tiny compared to others, so we didn't bother (we tote a lot of holiday stuff). But I'll double check - maybe we ruled it out too hastily.

And still no votes for the Disco - which makes me think the nearest Patrol to come up on Autotrader is more and more worth the trip to view, maybe...

[GreatGranny]

What's the spec of your Outlander?
Is it the older 2.4 petrol or newer diesel?

The 202 bhp engine in the XC60 also powers the XC90 so it's well up to the job.

Our XC90 is the 182bhp version and it deals with towing superbly.

Not looked closely but a neighbour has an X5 and boot looks pretty big.

[Willy Nilly]

What about a Transit?

[Sibsbibs]

My Outlander is a 2007 diesel - very capable and we'll keep her forever, but would like more towing capability for heavily laden holidays.

Thanks all for the suggestions- will keep on researching

[Tyre Smoke]

Range Rover or Disco.

Get one with a service history, good independent is fine. Parts are surprisingly cheap - even Main Dealer and readily available.

I've had my Sport Supercharged for a few years now and although it's not exactly a high miler (60k now) has been metronomic in reliability. The only slight hiccup was a fuel pump that failed, but it did that in such a civilised manner, causing low pressure when the fuel tank was less than a quarter, that it didn't strand me. And the Supercharger water pump was wired up backwards at the factory causing a sensor to fail.

Preventative rather than reactive maintenance is the key with Solihull products.

[Sibsbibs]

Thanks for that tyre smoke. Well we have thought of taking the risk on a discovery 3 for that reason - our local mechanic we always use is great - cheap and completely reliable, so a bit of preventative maintenance might just keep us on the road most of the time.

[Tyre Smoke]

My Sport is on the same chassis as the Disco 3. I refer to it as a Disco in a mini-skirt.

A Disco is not a complicated motor. Not quite 'take it apart with a Swiss Army knife' but fairly close. If you have a decent mechanic then find a good Disco with history and you're on your way.

[ZX10R NIN]

What about a Jeep Grand Cherokee they run Mercedes running gear but are considerably cheaper & in Overland form they come fully loaded.

2009 62k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2009 36k FJSH

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[Sibsbibs]

I tried a jeep Cherokee and couldn't find a comfortable driving position (and didn't really warm to it either - don't really know why...). Anyway, like a moth to a flame, I've gone for a Disco 3 after all - one came up in the same village as our mechanic - a bit older and with more miles than planned, but correspondingly cheaper - with the huge advantage that the Seller didn't blanche at my cheeky request to ''test drive" it down the road to Bob at the garage to give it an inspection for us. Bob didn't identify anything more troubling than slightly uneven wear on one tyre, so the deposit is now paid.

It'll either turn out a marvelous stroke of luck or an unmitigated disaster - but at least it won't cost me quite as much as I originally budgeted for. It's already booked in with Bob for its next service...

Thanks all for your advice - I may or may not regret departing from my Jap fetish...