Seriously considering a Land Rover again.

[Applejack]

Ok, I am thinking of purchasing Land Rover again. Why? I guess I'm going crazy. I have been a diehard Toyota loyalist for years but my latest, a 1999 4Runner Limited has left me with some things to be desired, namely, space and comfort and power. With only 170k miles on it I had to replace the transmission ($4500) now only 3k miles later my rear axle seal has begun to leak. Even with 4.88 gears it can barely get out of its own way. I think the motor is just getting tired. It has leaking valve cover gaskets and I think the cat is needing replacement soon. I was hoping this legendary toyota reliability thing was going to last longer. I have never kept any vehicle this long or racked up as many miles and perhaps this is just something to expect of ANY vehicle regardless of brand. perhaps I was foolish to believe otherwise? I have always been very fond of LR's but their reliability issues always kept me away until 2005 when I bought an LR3. I loved it for about 1 year and only 17k miles and then it began to have an affair with my local LR specialist and spent more nights and weekends with him than with me, so I sold her. I have heard/read that since then much of the bugs have been worked out in these LR3/4's but have they?

Looking for some good old honest input. If at 120-150k miles I am looking to drop money into it for relatively expensive things, that's ok. What's not ok is canceling trips/vacations because now my rig is not working again. I don't want to be spending $1300 on electrical/computer gremlins every 3-6 months or air suspension that won't work and the warranty repairs aren't ever a lasting repair. My bottom line is this, if a vehicle can't give you at least 120k miles of trouble free service, then its crap! In this day and age cars are and should be much more reliable, so if it can't give me that than it's basically a modern Yugo. A really hot, sexy Yugo :Wow1: I bought into the whole LR heritage/character thing before so I get it. But what good is an untrustworthy supermodel wife? To me, no good at all. I have a few friends who still have Disco's which have never had to be towed per se but always have some kind of CEL or dash light on (traction control, ABS etc.) or funky starting rituals, they get them "repaired" and in less then a year the lights are on again. While they have resolved to just live with it as "part of Land Rover ownership" I don't want to deal with that stuff again. So, has Land Rover built something that's ready to commit to the relationship or should just get another less sexy but still attractive and trustworthy Toyota.

 

[Davev1954]

Ok, ...I don't want to deal with that stuff again. So, has Land Rover built something that's ready to commit to the relationship or should just get another less sexy but still attractive and trustworthy Toyota.

Sounds like a good low mileage Toyota would be the answer (for you). Almost everything else is a roll of the dice.

 

[mpinco]

Later model LR3 or any LR4.

D1 or D2's did require more maintenance and did have issues with the old Buick engine. Those days are gone.

As always, with ANY vehicle / manufacturer, a pre-owned purchase requires some due diligence on your part as to whether maintenance was done.

 

[Ray_G]

Land Rovers are never quite fixed but rarely totally broken. If that's not for you, then the Expo stock '80 series LC' may be the best bet.

 

[da10A]

Was recently finding myself in the same dilemma.

I missed the personnality that Rovers have and the way it made me feel like a million bucks behind the wheel.

But then remember having to constantly fix something, and thinking I was finally done after basically changing everything from bumper to bumper, only to find that the first things I had fixed were breaking again.....

So, after surrounding myself with Rover friends and ending up with my local dealer's service manager personal cell phone number, I realized and found that owners are all in that same boat and end-up parting with our Rovers swearing we will never go back to that make.... Ever.

Then I found myself on the net looking for a low mileage 2012-2013 LR4.

A friend I had made during that time and hadn't seen in years, recently told me that his Series 2 Discovery had given him less problems than his 2 year old LR4 that he purchased new after being Rover free for 2 years. So that put a stop to my envy right there. I was suddenly struck with that old frustration I had learned to live with for the better part of half a decade and that I had not fealth ever since selling the Rover.

Quote from my local Rover service manager/friend "Rovers are extremely expensive vehicles to buy, and extremely expensive vehicles to maintain"

And quote from that friend with the LR4 when we chated the other day " you can be armored with all the warranty in the world, it doesnt take away the frustration of having something go wrong, nor having to take the time to take it to the garage".

 

[huskyfargo]

I've had very few problems with my '08 LR3. I bought it used with ~30K miles, and I'm now rolling at ~125K, with never any major problems. Probably the biggest thing was replacing the air compressor under warranty. One corner is beginning to sag again, so I'll probably end up doing a spring conversion before long. This is easily the most reliable / capable vehicle I've ever owned... way more so than any domestic vehicles I've owned. In fact, this is the only vehicle I've ever kept after receiving the clear title.

 

[da10A]

Yeah, I had to change the compressor twice, then converted to coils. Service manager said that the air suspension set-up was not made for northern climates with the winter freezing and road salt and all.

Apparently, the worst mistake to make where there is winter, is to garage it inside. The freeze defreeze etc... Creates humidity in the compressor and damages the compressor internally when that humidity freezes again.

 

[NCLR015]

Quote: Service manager said that the air suspension set-up was not made for northern climates with the winter freezing and road salt and all.

I'd call BS on that service manager (no personal attack on anyone here).

First: The UK is a 'northern climate." and second: You ever watch Wheeler Dealers? It appears about every car they work on looks like the underneath was dunked in a tank of salt water for a year.

I also believe (correct me if I'm wrong) the compressor has an air dryer?

Sorry, appears to my jaded eye that this could be yet another crock from a service manager and I've heard some tall tales over the years. I'd have to assume LR's are made for this type of weather (if not they should be considering the location).

 

[da10A]

Not sure about the dryer thing, but the quote was word for word. But we are in Canada and the UK has nowhere near the winters we have here.

 

[iowalr4]

They test vehicles in the arctic in extreme conditions and in freezer test chambers for a reason...

 

[da10A]

Well, I know forba fact that everybody I've know that have owned an air suspension Rover up here has had it fail on them. There's a reason why dealers up here have half a dozen coil conversions in stock in their parts dept.

 

[454]

If power and reliability are worrying you with your Toyota, the last thing you need is a Rover.

No offense, but it doesn't sound like you're cut out for "the life".

 

[Jwestpro]

Well, I know forba fact that everybody I've know that have owned an air suspension Rover up here has had it fail on them. There's a reason why dealers up here have half a dozen coil conversions in stock in their parts dept.

You must be talking about P38 era. Just because an air compressor gets worn out does not mean it's a "fail" on the "air suspension".

 

[Ray_G]

I do find the notion of Rover's being very expensive to buy, expensive to maintain interesting-I have always loved the fact that a few years off the line a Rover's price is so low that it is hard to believe what MSRP was. In truth you get a lot of luxury for little dollar if you buy used (I don't buy new cars for a variety of reasons). Rover's can be a lot to maintain if you rely on someone else to wrench-but if you embrace the community and do it yourself it seems dollar for dollar they aren't any worse that the high dollar amounts folks throw at Toyotas when the engine or transmission goes or it rusts out.

 

[Applejack]

In a nutshell my main concern is that I don't want to be left stranded in some remote place with a breakdown. I really rely on my vehicles to be able to get us home. We don't often travel with other vehicles, and are often quite remote in rather rugged terrain where you really can't expect anyone to be passing by for days or perhaps longer and there is no towing service to come get you even if you had cell service to make the call in the first place. I need more than any other thing, to feel confident in my vehicles dependability. Am I expecting too much from a Land Rover to ask for that, even the later ones like '12 or '13?