Advice on purchase of 2005 LR3

[McDull-LOVESiu]

Hi all, I'm brand new to the forum and I'm looking for advice on buying an LR3.
2005 LAND ROVER LR3 HSE
odometer: 120K
Budget before tax:8K
Location: CA

I was attracted by the good looks, low price and fancy name.
But the more I read, the more I question.
What I care about is that the costs and repair may occur after 120k miles.

any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[Derel1cte]

Read through this:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-to-look-for-check?highlight=lr3+buyers+guide

Keep in mind that the forums are a place where people come for help when things go wrong, and rarely login just to post about how dependable their truck is, so you get a skewed perspective. My LR3 is the most reliable vehicle I've ever heard of. My Father's LR3 is a little more finicky but not in a money pit kind of way. Luck of the draw I guess. Following the factory recommended maintenance schedule exactly and understanding the meaning of 'consumable parts' is a mandatory prerequisite to owning a LR3, LR4, or RRS.

 

[Ray_G]

Welcome to the board. As far as what you care about, i.e. the costs/repairs after 120k the good news is...it depends.

As a start point it is worth noting that the LR3/D3/LR4/D4 platform is light years from the issues experienced by previous generations-so anyone telling you to avoid a Rover at all costs may, or may not, be basing this off a somewhat well deserved reputation for being rather expensive to maintain in many eyes. Keep in mind that the modern Range/Land Rover is an extremely complicated machine-that was true of the RRC in her day, the D1, and the subsequent generations i.e. the Dii, the P38 (avoid!), and the L322 RR.

As it relates to what you are looking at the 'it depends' is based off the simple question of what is its history? A lot of trucks are showing up on small lots that buy from wholesaler auctions that come with minimal history and often less preventative maintenance. That means the initial cost of ownership to get her up to spec may be high.

On the other hand the good news about 120k is most of those things should have already happened and thus have been dealt with! Specifically you should look to see if it has an AMK compressor vice the Hitachi unit (usually goes at 10yrs ~100k miles or so), or if the Hitachi has been rebuilt. The air struts may have hit their lifespan too, likely already, so there is the possibility that those have been replaced or that they may need to be.

Presumably at 120k the LCAs and all the other 'consumeable' items (bushings, brakes) have been done, at least once.

You'll want to check for signs of water ingress in the passenger side floorboard-take the time to pull the carpet up.

Drive it and listen for clunks and the like, usually a sign of the aforementioned bushings going.

A short read but poking around here is a good way to get another like perspective: http://www.robisonservice.com/servicedep/buying-a-land-rover.asp#LR3

This is the most pertinent part: Designed from the ground up with a combination of Ford and Jaguar technology these new trucks are by a large margin the most reliable vehicles Land Rover has ever offered.

You get a lot of truck for the money these days but they will not be Toyota like in their ownership relationship. Every Rover has a soul, if that's not something you are interested in dealing with it may not be the best option.
r-
Ray

 

[DiscoDavis]

Everything that was said above, and; find a good dealership and budget ~$300 for them to do a pre-purchase inspection. Nine times out of ten they will find most of what is wrong and check major problem areas for you. Also include in your budget money for changing as many fluids/filters as you can (oil, coolant, diff oil, transfer case fluid, transmission fluid/pan/filter). Don't feel bad about lowballing someone if it doesn't have service records. Those are key.

I wouldn't use my own truck as a model since it is used for work but I have spent a few thousand this year doing a lot of post 100k preventative maintenance. Some people get away with very basic stuff like oil changes. My favorite was the mining employee in Elko NV that put 250k on a D3 and only replaced the EAS compressor.

Like Ray says, it a Land Rover so you're paying in some ways for something with a lot of character.

 

[spikemd]

2005 was the first year of the LR3 and the year with the most problems. There were a lot small changes rover did to address the problems. If u can go for a later model, but every truck will be a bit different. Definitely get a pretty purchase inspection and if the seller balks at this, then run away as he is most likely hiding something. Remember that trying to save a thousand now can cost you many thousand in the future. I have changed my thermostat, coolant reservoir in the last 10k miles on our 2007.

The LR3 is a great truck. As someone mentioned in his own post, there is a lot of 'Internet experts' out there and he said to avoid the p38. I have 6 plus years in my p38 with over 50k miles, a lot of them on the trail including sierras, moab, death valley, Baja and more. My P38 is awesome, but I do all my own work.

 

[PhyrraM]

I agree with most of what is said.

My personal experience:

Bought at a Toyota dealership used @ 64K. Needed an alternator 1 week later.
Flashed the bluetooth module to work with newer phones. ($1000 diagnostic tool, but will keep the truck mostly DIY)
Needed a starter about a year later.
All fluids changed at about 100K.
Fuel gauge stopped working @ 120K, $200 for both senders, still need to pull the tank for installation.
Just now @130K will need to do the front control arm bushings and I'm thinking about shocks as the ride seems a bit floatier than when I bought her.

That's it. I'm happy. Still on the OEM compressor so that is in the back of my head.

These trucks do EVERYTHING well. They just pay for it with gas.

 

[JimBiram]

My LR3 now has 174k miles and yes it has had lots of service work. My annual budget for service is $5k...if it goes over that...she goes, as I can get another used one for not much more than that. I love my truck, but I would be lying if I didn't tell you that she has broken down in some bad places. Keep it well serviced and you will avoid most problems, though.


Every Day is a Good Day Surfing...Some are just Better Than Others

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[ColoDisco]

Mine is a 05. All that was mentioned above is true. As I am a LR tech I bought mine knowing I could fix anything that cropped up and so far that has mostly been maintenance. One thing I have been doing is changing all my bulbs to LED, especially the small peanut bulbs. I have dug more of those out of melted plastic than I care to remember. In the 05 you will not have bulb monitoring so they are plug and play.

The most recent hiccup I have had was my brake light switch. Had a random fault so I promptly picked up a new one which I have yet to install.

 

[MrWesson]

As true with any expo vehicle you should know your rig.

If you are the type who head straight to the dealer then IMO no expo vehicle will work for you.

If you can turn a wrench even slightly then I'd say to anyone the LR3 is amazing.. you'll also need scan tools(iidtool). Not really for repairs in the break down sense but little annoyances or maintenance can be caught and done early.

 

[eloist]

I can jump in here, we bought our first Rover, a 2008 LR3 SE with 66k about a month ago.
Immediately had the compressor fail. I pulled it, and installed a refresh kit, and made my problem worse.
Decided I needed to upgrade to the AMK version, so had a specialty shop do it, just b/c my wife needed the truck running ASAP.

This cost $1,500.

Just have a contingency plan for repairs. The parts on these things are pricey, and alot of the work requires a Land Rover "test book" computer to reset software.
Absolutely at the very least buy a scan tool specific to Rovers, and if you can afford it, get the more expensive IID Tool from gap Diagnostic.

I really enjoy this truck, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me a bit nervous every time I drive it...
That's kinda just how I roll though. Like the above poster, if this trucks eats through my yearly repair budget, I'll drop it like a hot coal.
I'd be absolutely stoked if this thing would be reliable for the most part and cost me under 2k a year in repairs. Time will tell...

Good luck with the purchase, plan ahead for repairs.

 

[DiscoDavis]

Never fun to hear the horror stories but for what it is worth...

I drove my 06 across the country in 5 days when I moved back to California, never had a mechanical malfunction at all. Drove up pikes peak too. Now putts around on a dusty and muddy construction site 6 days a week, used to do 100 miles a day commuting too, jobsite is a little closer now, commute is 60 miles a day. Not going to say it hasn't been a lot of money and work sometimes but its either a love it or hate it. Put 33,000 miles on it in 18 months. I honestly believe the fact that it is run for a good solid commute and daily keeps everything in better shape beyond the drive train wear components. Gotta imagine a D3 is a love-hate thing, like most rovers.

I am not nervous climbing into the disco for a workday. Everyone on our site always seems surprised to see a LR there.

 

[Ray_G]

I honestly believe the fact that it is run for a good solid commute and daily keeps everything in better shape beyond the drive train wear components.

I honestly believe Rover's like to get flogged. They hate sitting and tend to react poorly to being babied but so much (which doesn't mean you shouldn't have mechanical sympathy)...they love to be driven.

 

[ColoDisco]

Fully agree. I am never easy on my Disco's but also never abuse them.