Am I Crazy????

[btrippindacap]

First off, I love Land Rovers. Always have and always will. My experience with them has sucked though. I have owned 2 CPO Disco IIs in the past. The first I racked up 25k in warranty repairs. When I finally got rid of it no one wanted it (it was mint). The second was bought back by Land Rover.

So.......I am looking at LR3s with v8. I am also looking at series 100 LCs, but finding one that still has fit and finish with under 200k miles is tough. I am seeing a lot of LR3s with low miles and a decent price.

My budget max is 15k. Are the LR3s reliable? If so, how can I convince the wife based on our horrible Disco experience? How is the cost of maintenance compared to the LCs?

The vehicle will be for camping, towing the side by sides, and long hauls to in-laws (3rd row seating).

Thanks,

Nate

 

[ryandavenport]

We traded in a 2013 Corolla for our 2008 LR3 a little over two years ago. I wouldn't change a thing if we could go back. The maintenance has been much more reasonable than I thought that it would be, and the safety of the vehicle has been a huge plus for us. I say go for it. Just because everyone loves pictures, I have added a photo of ours as I was cleaning it yesterday.

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[High Country Nomads]

I owned 2 LR's back to back. An 03' Disco & 06' Sport. After depleting our savings in repairs my wife forced me to change my habits. Now we own a 100 series cruiser and 5th gen 4Runner. I miss my Sport every day.


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[IthrowWrenches]

We have an 07 Lr3 v8 and it's been hit or miss. We've had some issues although, those issues aren't necessarily different from what any other used car might have.
Let's just say this, same rules apply for buying an LR3 as they did when buying a Discovery. If the vehicle doesn't have maintenence records, walk away. After 100k miles the LR3's need to have the wheel bearings, tie rods, etc swapped out which can be pricey. It's a heavy truck so the brakes wear easily and you can warp rotors with aggressive driving, so make sure you have good brakes on a potential vehicle. Air suspensions can be unreliable, preferably you want one that has had the air compressor replaced already. Good luck!

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[Happykamper]

I love disco's. In fact I just bought a beautiful 2003 out of Oregon for 7000.00 only 88k miles . It has every record including every tank of gas that shows the fantastic gas mileage and where and how it was driven. It has 1.75 lift and a great safari rack with Ladder. Also the coveted stock diff lock ���� ! It's gray my least favorite color. No bags converted to springs. Had 80k done so saved 2500-3200 depending where you go.
So fantastic rig....that I know will cost me if just in preventative maintenance.

Wife is your issue plus let's face it, if the owner before you did not keep meticulous records chances are it's going to happen again on LR3. Get a 100, there a bit pricy . Finding one under 150k is not that hard but it will be lightly modded at most at 15k . But they are bullet proof fun to drive anywhere in the world.
But it's not a Landy.

 

[Rovertrader]

I love disco's. In fact I just bought a beautiful 2003 out of Oregon for 7000.00 only 88k miles . It has every record including every tank of gas that shows the fantastic gas mileage and where and how it was driven. It has 1.75 lift and a great safari rack with Ladder. Also the coveted stock diff lock ���� ! It's gray my least favorite color. No bags converted to springs. Had 80k done so saved 2500-3200 depending where you go.
So fantastic rig....that I know will cost me if just in preventative maintenance.


No diff lock on '03's!! The last 16 VIN'd '03s were TReKs and were actually '04s which did get the diff lock. The '99-'01 have diff lock capability if after market linkage is utilized, but the hook up point was deleted on '02/'03s. So, all that said, the only D-IIs with factory diff lock were '04's. They all did have high and low range however, just not lockable center diff.

 

[zimm]

your problem isnt fit and finish on an lc100. the fit and finish never fades. the issue is your budget.

and if repair work is a money issue, youre best to pay up front with a documented Lexus 100. there isnt a more reliable unit made.

 

[rabble]

Just buy a land crusier and be done with it.

 

[zelatore]

There is no comparison between the LR3 and the D2. Worlds apart. Somebody recently said comparing reliability between a D2 and an LR3 wasn't apples to oranges, it was apples to rocks.

Can the LR3 be problematic? Sure, I guess. My '07 has 130K miles and was pampered (owned by a local winery) prior to me getting it - now it's pushed hard; harder than most LR3s to be sure. Yet almost all my failures can be traced back to my own doing. Either from abuse (they really aren't rock crawlers despite how hard I may try) or a few foolish attempts to use non-OEM parts. (driveshaft, half shaft, strut) The fact of the matter is my truck has actually been pretty reliable and required fairly little repair other than the usual maintenance items.

Is it as reliable as a 100? I've never owned one and never will (don't like beige, and all Toyotas are beige) but to tell the truth I doubt it. I know the vaunted Toyota reputation for reliability is a bit over-blown, just as the Rover reputation for unreliability is overstated as well, but I'd still wager the Yota will require less of it's owner. Conversely it will give less if you really want a vehicle instead of an appliance.

You said you spent $25K on repairs on a D2...I'm not sure how you do that, even if you take it to a dealer for every little noise. If you are the sort of guy who does that - takes his vehicle to a dealer for everything from regular service to repairs to upgrades then a Rover may not be for you. If you're willing to do even a little of the work yourself and are willing to find a trusted indy shop for the stuff you can't do you'll find the costs are much more reasonable.

You'll get a lot more info over on the Rover side of the forum if you're actually interested. Just don't be fooled into thinking you can judge an LR3 by your past D2 experience.

 

[Happykamper]

Rovertrader your right it is a 2004. I bought from a straight forward honest person. Thanks for catching that lol. I'm driving it home right now. Well actually I stopped for a few.
Hope your day is well. I'm loving my sprinter and my soon to be 4x4 chinook.
Peace brother !

 

[Rovertrader]

No worries, and didn't mean to derail the OP thread. I get calls asking what was/wasn't available on different models, and wanted as much correct data out there as possible...
Glad you're enjoying the new rides! Good choices, well except maybe the D-II ;-)
Cheers!

And to the OP:
I have had a few LR3's, and they are completely different animals than a D-II. More reliable, but when an issue arises, you need the LR specific programs to diagnose. Luckily, that is seldom, but not a great DIY vehicle for anything beyond general maintenance. I cannot address the 100 Series, but the term most often used to compare is the Toy is an appliance while the Rover has personality. Sadly, some have a good personality, while others not so much...
I had one brand new LR3 which never returned to the dealer for 60k miles (do our own fluids, etc). Conversely I had an used '06 with around 60k miles and it had issues with the radio/hands free phone interface. I worked on it and a Master Tech friend worked on it, and we never got it right. I finally traded it in (on a new F-150 shop truck, as I didn't feel comfortable selling it to an individual), and found it got sold out of town, and then died for the new owner. Turned out to be a pinched harness in the steering column, with a $3k fix required.
As much as I love the antributes of the LR3, and there are many, I feel like I am always waiting for the other foot to drop so to speak. Consequently, I stay with Defenders and early D-Is, which can be made reliable, and are stone simple. And I must say I had a 55, a 60, and a 62 back when they were new, and never had a single issue!! Sold the 62 to get my first of many Defenders, and have been hooked since. Must be the romance, because it certainly wasn't the reliability!

 

[jream2008]

We had an LR3 (one of the first years - 2006, I think). I LOVED driving the LR3 - great handling and ride, but still feels like a truck, super-comfortable.

BUT, what a piece of crap. We probably spent $25k in repairs as well, during only 5 years and about 70k miles on a new car. Not all of this was out of pocket - some covered under warranty - but those repairs still had to be made.

The entire sunroof assembly was replaced 4 times. The center of the steering wheel warped and peeled to the point that the airbag was questionable. The rim of the steering wheel rubbed entirely off. The brake pads needed to be replaced at 30k miles and...LR does not allow you to replace the pads - you have to replace the entire rotor (and maybe caliper?) assembly - something like $1100 per axle. The alignment went out twice (despite essentially no off-roading). A thousand other things went wrong.

The last time I took it in for a few minor repairs, the estimate came back at $7k. I told the service technician to cancel the whole thing and just leave it on the street for someone else to take. Their response was - "yeah, that's what I would do with one of these. I'm embarrassed that we even service these for customers."

I would love an LR3 or Disco outfitted for expedition travel - what a great look, and I dream of that ride (I currently have a heavily-modified expo Jeep). But yes, you are crazy to think you can actually live that dream.

 

[MTSN]

Mods/OP - can we move this thread out of the "for sale" section?