Give me the truth, are Land Rovers complete crap?
- Thread starter wmflyfisher
- Start date
njtacoma
Explorer
This isn't specifically related to LR's but on "expensive" cars (in quotes because of the relativity of that word, one person's expensive is another's affordable) is to be aware of the previous owner/owners. The first owner (off the lot) probably took it to the dealer for maintenance, warranty and repair. The 2nd owner might have as well. Somewhere though its possible an owner spent "all" their car budget to have a cool fancy car and they have nothing left for maintenance and repair.
No matter which manufacturer these cars have the potential to be money hungry until everything is repaired/maintained back to specification.
This isn't specific to LR's either. I live in a college town, and I see plenty of very worn out Land Cruisers and 4runners that have been sent to college with a young person that doesn't have the budget or knowledge to properly care for the car. The result is a very sorry/tired car/truck.
Again not specific to Land Rover, but hopefully helpful in shopping.
No matter which manufacturer these cars have the potential to be money hungry until everything is repaired/maintained back to specification.
This isn't specific to LR's either. I live in a college town, and I see plenty of very worn out Land Cruisers and 4runners that have been sent to college with a young person that doesn't have the budget or knowledge to properly care for the car. The result is a very sorry/tired car/truck.
Again not specific to Land Rover, but hopefully helpful in shopping.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Nicaragüense
Observer
As far as issues are concerned, which common ones actually immobilize the truck? I would imagine air suspension issues and such may be something to put you on the side of the road. Are most of the other issues like this or will they allow one to limp the vehicle to a shop or home. That is my one biggest gripe with modern vehicles. All the electronics. Heck even my old dodge has some issues here and there with some electrical things, but I can overlook them and keep going till I get home. Would be nice to hear from some of the guys on here about the little nagging things that come up but are not major issues. Heck little problems here and there that do not immobilize you may even be entertaining on occasion for the enthusiast. Maybe not so much for the significant other...
DiscoDavis
Explorer
>Suspension failure just sends it to bump stops, if you have too large tires they will lock up in the wheel well. Otherwise driveable if ground clearance not an issue. (disclaimer: I have never had this happen)
>Immobilizer problems with the key can stop the car. Voltage issues can stop the car, limits gears
There's a reason most of the people that go out and about have the GAP tools, they let you override error messages and usually can force the vehicle to work.
Day to day I don't have any issues, and I drive a LOT. I also haven't overloaded the vehicle with armor, nor have I fitted giant tires. She is a joy to drive. Best part of my day is my pre-dawn commute. And I get to work on a messy construction site so last rainy winter was fun
. HOWEVER: if your SO is not mechanically-inclined, or doesn't want to deal with the hassle of having a loveable but sometimes flawed machine, they will probably hate any LR that is out of warranty or not constantly checked up on...Nicaragüense
Observer
Thanks for the reply. Its good to hear that it doesn't immobilize from many things. How about the electronic E brake thing, is that a Lr4 only issue?
DiscoDavis
Explorer
Not sure about parking brake thing, on the D3/LR3 if it fails engaged you can just pull a manual disconnect wire and keep driving.
DorB
Adventurer
It turned out that the suspension failure was due to the injection pump..
The "smart" terrain system operates with a speed limit, and beyond certain speed, the truck lower itself.
When an injection/throttle failure happens, it affect the suspension that totally collapesed.
The actual failure was in the injection system that cussed other big problems because all is connected.
The big issue with this truck is the total lack of ability to deal with these problems by yourself.
They are just too complex, and it seems that the QC is done on Mondays.
crystalclear
Observer
Colin Hughes
Explorer
My LR3 is approaching the kilometres on my P38 (320,000 before I sold it) as it just turned 310,000 km but it's still got a way to go to catch up with the first D1 I owned. It had 435,000 kms when I sold it. They aren't perfect, they just need regular maintenance.
XJLI
Adventurer
No they don't. They're semi float with unit bearing hubs front and rear.
We bought our 2008 LR3 SE in May with 63k on the clock.
My wife daily drives it. We've put 8k on it in 5 months, suffice it to say, we drive the hell out of it.
Instantly after I bought it, we had to get the air compressor replaced. We opted for the AMK upgrade, because it's stupid not to.
Shortly thereafter, the back door latch failed.
We've had no problems since then, and I have put it on some pretty gnarly trails several times.
Despite the two mechanical failures, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I absolutely love it.
I was actually able to pry it away from my wife today to drive it to work.
Look, it's a Rover. It's going to be expensive. But there's really nothing like driving one of these trucks.
i think Toyotas are awesome, but you don't get the same feel as when driving a Rover in one of those.
If you're scared of repairs and staying on top of maintenance, don't buy one.
If you are willing to get dirty and set aside a repair fund should you need it, you'll understand what all the fuss is about.
There's just nothing like a Land Rover.
I'm going to trade this in on an LR4 when this one reaches it's usable end of life. I love them. Im a total convert.
My wife daily drives it. We've put 8k on it in 5 months, suffice it to say, we drive the hell out of it.
Instantly after I bought it, we had to get the air compressor replaced. We opted for the AMK upgrade, because it's stupid not to.
Shortly thereafter, the back door latch failed.
We've had no problems since then, and I have put it on some pretty gnarly trails several times.
Despite the two mechanical failures, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I absolutely love it.
I was actually able to pry it away from my wife today to drive it to work.
Look, it's a Rover. It's going to be expensive. But there's really nothing like driving one of these trucks.
i think Toyotas are awesome, but you don't get the same feel as when driving a Rover in one of those.
If you're scared of repairs and staying on top of maintenance, don't buy one.
If you are willing to get dirty and set aside a repair fund should you need it, you'll understand what all the fuss is about.
There's just nothing like a Land Rover.
I'm going to trade this in on an LR4 when this one reaches it's usable end of life. I love them. Im a total convert.