High mileage Disco 4 - am I mad?
Discussion
Hi guys
I’ve been on the lookout to get back into a LR for a short while. I settled on a D4 with the sdv6 and the 8 speed auto box. The search has proved ok if a little tricky as I’m on a tight budget, a fair few 12/13 MY cars coming up in different spec/ trim, not many in the desired hse trim. In or around 100k miles and due a cambelt is the typical fodder.
Anyway, I agreed to go this Thursday and see something different, a MY14 early facelift SE spec car. It has the advantage of being the cheaper tax model post facelift and also slightly more economical, even if not by much.
Only snag is it’s on 150k miles at 5 years old. It’s consistently done 30k a year (89k at first MoT), the seller has sent me pictures of service invoices every 15k, along with some minor works like gear selector etc.
Also, he’s sent evidence of cambelt change at 111k and the big one, nearly £4k spent on replacing both turbo’s at 120k. It’s also got a pretty clean MoT history. One advisory this year for a joint noise on the suspension. All this work carried out at a LR Indy and not the dealer, from new it seems!
In my head, the engine is probably going to run forever if looked after. But what about the other bits. The 8speed box, hows it’s longevity? Water pumps, air suspension components, all the usual stuff.
I want to keep the car a minimum of 5 years (75k ish) and so I’m concerned I’m going to have a worthless 225k Mile example on my hands vs buying something older with lower miles on.
I know the old adage is buy on condition and not mileage, but what says the general LR beard around these parts? Anything to worry about? Should I scrap the idea and keep searching for the perfect one to turn up with lower miles?
I’ve been on the lookout to get back into a LR for a short while. I settled on a D4 with the sdv6 and the 8 speed auto box. The search has proved ok if a little tricky as I’m on a tight budget, a fair few 12/13 MY cars coming up in different spec/ trim, not many in the desired hse trim. In or around 100k miles and due a cambelt is the typical fodder.
Anyway, I agreed to go this Thursday and see something different, a MY14 early facelift SE spec car. It has the advantage of being the cheaper tax model post facelift and also slightly more economical, even if not by much.
Only snag is it’s on 150k miles at 5 years old. It’s consistently done 30k a year (89k at first MoT), the seller has sent me pictures of service invoices every 15k, along with some minor works like gear selector etc.
Also, he’s sent evidence of cambelt change at 111k and the big one, nearly £4k spent on replacing both turbo’s at 120k. It’s also got a pretty clean MoT history. One advisory this year for a joint noise on the suspension. All this work carried out at a LR Indy and not the dealer, from new it seems!
In my head, the engine is probably going to run forever if looked after. But what about the other bits. The 8speed box, hows it’s longevity? Water pumps, air suspension components, all the usual stuff.
I want to keep the car a minimum of 5 years (75k ish) and so I’m concerned I’m going to have a worthless 225k Mile example on my hands vs buying something older with lower miles on.
I know the old adage is buy on condition and not mileage, but what says the general LR beard around these parts? Anything to worry about? Should I scrap the idea and keep searching for the perfect one to turn up with lower miles?
Edited by eltax91 on Wednesday 20th November 00:10
I bought a 2015 (65) D4 (8 speed), commercial version earlier in the year. It too had been well used, showing 80k miles but it was in almost spotless condition inside and honest on the outside - very much the gaffa's company car pounding the motorway rather than the work hack. It was from a Toyota main dealer - very odd thing to have but apparently there was some relationship between the original owner and the dealer principle so it found itself there among a sea of hybrid auris's.
I made the cardinal sin of taking a punt as it had no service history, only the PDI from the dealer at registration. Apparently the previous (single) owner had an estate and fleet of them so everything was maintained in-house. Given its mileage and condition I figured it inconceivable that it hadn't been serviced at all, but LRs of this age only seem to have an electronic service record that is available online and generated by dealer work rather than a traditional stamped service book.
It was of course priced competitively as this would put a lot of people off, but it was SE spec with pretty much every option fitted.
Deal done, I drove it 300 miles home to Scotland and it didn't miss a beat. Booked it in for a full going over with the local and very well respected specialist, who gave it a full service and gearbox flush as a precautionary measure (generally recommended at about 80k miles).
He found nothing wrong with it at all - no fault codes, evidence of good maintenance, recent OE brakes, recent premium tyres etc. Fair to say I breathed a sigh of relief having appreciated the risk.
Anyway, immediately took it for 3000 miles + in France, and have done near 8000 miles in it since June. Not skipped a beat. It's a peach.
Fair to say, I have for the first time got comprehensive breakdown cover... just in case!
Condition I think is all important. There are lots around polished up nicely, but perhaps don't seem that honest. I'm always a bit suspicious of anything overly prepped! Maybe I got lucky.
I'm intending to keep mine - it's not my only car but is a useful and comfortable tool to have for long distances lugging stuff that the daily two seater just won't handle and I recognise I'd probably struggle to sell given its absence of history for its first 80k miles.
I wouldn't necessarily worry about the D4 being able to handle the miles - I'd say high miles over few years is far preferable to few miles over lots of years and all the stop/start and cold engine work that implies, but if you're looking to sell again in a few years you'll have to price appropriately against others with lower miles. Presumably though, you'd have taken that advantage on buying it though, so won't really be much worse off.
Just keep it nice and keep records!
I made the cardinal sin of taking a punt as it had no service history, only the PDI from the dealer at registration. Apparently the previous (single) owner had an estate and fleet of them so everything was maintained in-house. Given its mileage and condition I figured it inconceivable that it hadn't been serviced at all, but LRs of this age only seem to have an electronic service record that is available online and generated by dealer work rather than a traditional stamped service book.
It was of course priced competitively as this would put a lot of people off, but it was SE spec with pretty much every option fitted.
Deal done, I drove it 300 miles home to Scotland and it didn't miss a beat. Booked it in for a full going over with the local and very well respected specialist, who gave it a full service and gearbox flush as a precautionary measure (generally recommended at about 80k miles).
He found nothing wrong with it at all - no fault codes, evidence of good maintenance, recent OE brakes, recent premium tyres etc. Fair to say I breathed a sigh of relief having appreciated the risk.
Anyway, immediately took it for 3000 miles + in France, and have done near 8000 miles in it since June. Not skipped a beat. It's a peach.
Fair to say, I have for the first time got comprehensive breakdown cover... just in case!
Condition I think is all important. There are lots around polished up nicely, but perhaps don't seem that honest. I'm always a bit suspicious of anything overly prepped! Maybe I got lucky.
I'm intending to keep mine - it's not my only car but is a useful and comfortable tool to have for long distances lugging stuff that the daily two seater just won't handle and I recognise I'd probably struggle to sell given its absence of history for its first 80k miles.
I wouldn't necessarily worry about the D4 being able to handle the miles - I'd say high miles over few years is far preferable to few miles over lots of years and all the stop/start and cold engine work that implies, but if you're looking to sell again in a few years you'll have to price appropriately against others with lower miles. Presumably though, you'd have taken that advantage on buying it though, so won't really be much worse off.
Just keep it nice and keep records!
eltax91 said:
Hi guys
I’ve been on the lookout to get back into a LR for a short while. I settled on a D4 with the sdv6 and the 8 speed auto box. The search has proved ok if a little tricky as I’m on a tight budget, a fair few 12/13 MY cars coming up in different spec/ trim, not many in the desired hse trim. In or around 100k miles and due a cambelt is the typical fodder.
Anyway, I agreed to go this Thursday and see something different, a MY14 early facelift SE spec car. It has the advantage of being the cheaper tax model post facelift and also slightly more economical, even if not by much.
Only snag is it’s on 150k miles at 5 years old. It’s consistently done 30k a year (89k at first MoT), the seller has sent me pictures of service invoices every 15k, along with some minor works like gear selector etc.
Also, he’s sent evidence of cambelt change at 111k and the big one, nearly £4k spent on replacing both turbo’s at 120k. It’s also got a pretty clean MoT history. One advisory this year for a joint noise on the suspension. All this work carried out at a LR Indy and not the dealer, from new it seems!
In my head, the engine is probably going to run forever if looked after. But what about the other bits. The 8speed box, hows it’s longevity? Water pumps, air suspension components, all the usual stuff.
I want to keep the car a minimum of 5 years (75k ish) and so I’m concerned I’m going to have a worthless 225k Mile example on my hands vs buying something older with lower miles on.
I know the old adage is buy on condition and not mileage, but what says the general LR beard around these parts? Anything to worry about? Should I scrap the idea and keep searching for the perfect one to turn up with lower miles?
Some things to look for in the service history. I’ve been on the lookout to get back into a LR for a short while. I settled on a D4 with the sdv6 and the 8 speed auto box. The search has proved ok if a little tricky as I’m on a tight budget, a fair few 12/13 MY cars coming up in different spec/ trim, not many in the desired hse trim. In or around 100k miles and due a cambelt is the typical fodder.
Anyway, I agreed to go this Thursday and see something different, a MY14 early facelift SE spec car. It has the advantage of being the cheaper tax model post facelift and also slightly more economical, even if not by much.
Only snag is it’s on 150k miles at 5 years old. It’s consistently done 30k a year (89k at first MoT), the seller has sent me pictures of service invoices every 15k, along with some minor works like gear selector etc.
Also, he’s sent evidence of cambelt change at 111k and the big one, nearly £4k spent on replacing both turbo’s at 120k. It’s also got a pretty clean MoT history. One advisory this year for a joint noise on the suspension. All this work carried out at a LR Indy and not the dealer, from new it seems!
In my head, the engine is probably going to run forever if looked after. But what about the other bits. The 8speed box, hows it’s longevity? Water pumps, air suspension components, all the usual stuff.
I want to keep the car a minimum of 5 years (75k ish) and so I’m concerned I’m going to have a worthless 225k Mile example on my hands vs buying something older with lower miles on.
I know the old adage is buy on condition and not mileage, but what says the general LR beard around these parts? Anything to worry about? Should I scrap the idea and keep searching for the perfect one to turn up with lower miles?
Edited by eltax91 on Wednesday 20th November 00:10
Inlet manifolds. They are known to crack (Made of plastic, which isn't unique to LR) and they should be replaced as a pair at around £1200 all in.
The biggest worry for me is having the money to replace the engine if the crank lets go. You will struggle to find exact data on on how many people have suffered, but its a common jobs at many dealers. About £7k is considered the going rate if the crank decides to turn its self into kit form. There is nothing you can do to prevent it, so all you do is drive it and relax.
They are big old beasts at 2.7T and are heavy on suspension components. Suspension arms are £500 to replace for a pair at an indy. There are a huge number of sensors on D4s and any number of them can go wrong and throw up errors on the dash and you can end up chasing your tail, so a decent local indy on speed dial is essential!!
You are right to for an 8Sp box. Better on fuel, cheaper to tax and bluetooth streaming became standard along with DAB. However, the box specialists are starting to see issues with these boxes, but they are still much better than the 6Sp box from the previous gen.
I'd expect the torque converter to be on its way out at 150k. However they can go for a while like that. Budget £1200 for a new one fitted.
The D4 is a wonderful machine and LR's design skills at their finest. However, you will have issues. Its a Land Rover after all
I had a D3 and I'm well read on the D4. I will probably buy one at some point in the near future if one comes up at the right price. Our D3 was great when it was working well...which it rarely was.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Just factor in the cost of a warranty - peace of mind
Just factor in the cost of a warranty - peace of mind
Rugbyman said:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Just factor in the cost of a warranty - peace of mind
Quite. Just factor in the cost of a warranty - peace of mind
Well I didn’t buy the one in the OP for various reasons. However I did buy another one that I saw today. 6 years and 100k miles old, so not mega mileage.
I’ve just spent the last 30 mins reading that thread and running warranty quotes.
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