Land Rover LR3: A Cautionary Tale

[mpinco]

Oops, I am in Denver...I will change that.

http://jcbritish.com/jcb_old/index.html

 

[I Leak Oil]

You bought the first one you looked at knowing it needed a lot of work. You didn't look at any other options. You paid someone to do all the work. I'm guessing you didn't shop around for the work to be done either. Not sure how you can pass this off as a cautionary tale about a vehicle. No offense but you sound like a gullible consumer. You will never be happy as a Land Rover owner.

This is not meant to be personal but if you're happy with the characteristics that your Toyota provides then you should probably stick with that. I firmly believe each vehicle should fit it's owners personality or the relationship will be sour.

 

[Drover]

One bit of advise, don't go to the dealer !
OEM parts can be had from rovers north, Atlantic British , etc. and find a competent garage to do the work for you if your not good at turning wrenches. You'll always spend more than you expect to when it's taken to a dealer.

 

[Rovertrader]

another perspective- bought a $55k vehicle w/ 100k for low teens, then added $4-6k even at the prices you paid, and have mid teens into a vehicle this capable and yet comfortable- not bad in all reality!
Or to say it differently, the first owner drove it 100k miles for $40k +/-, and you will likely drive the next 100k for around $10k assuming some small residual.
Makes it a little more palatable eyh?

 

[JackW]

Consider being a bit more specific with your location than "United States" and it may be easier for us to offer specific advice. For example, we are always doing wheel swaps but I have no idea where you are located.

I'm in Roswell, Georgia and recently bought a 2007 LR3 with 19" wheels - I'm wanting to switch to the 10 spoke 18" wheels since I'll be needing tires soon. I'm not too picky about a chips in the paint or light curb rash. (Just missed a set of four on Ebay that sold for $260 on Thanksgiving Day which would have been fine.)

Where in NC are you and what can I expect to spend to swap wheels? I'd want to keep my TPMS sensors.

 

[LR Max]

xWhatever on pricing for the repairs. That said, all repairs were probably done in a timely manner.

Still, truck is up to snuff and should be good to go for a while.

Another tip: look at having the radiator flushed. I've heard of other LR3s with ~100k on them needing it. Heck I think any vehicle with 100k on it needs to have the radiator flushed. Its a couple hundred at a radiator shop, but its cheaper than dealing with a blown engine...that needs to have its radiator flushed.

You are probably good for right now that it is cold but once it starts warming up again and you hit them mountain passes, that is when it'll make a difference.

 

[proper4wd]

Wheel bearings are definitely next. Make sure you change all the oils (transfer box, both diffs) as well or you could really be stuck with a bill... (Front and rear diffs would bring your total repair costs probably close to what you paid for the whole truck)

 

[pugslyyy]

I'm in Roswell, Georgia and recently bought a 2007 LR3 with 19" wheels - I'm wanting to switch to the 10 spoke 18" wheels since I'll be needing tires soon. I'm not too picky about a chips in the paint or light curb rash. (Just missed a set of four on Ebay that sold for $260 on Thanksgiving Day which would have been fine.)

Where in NC are you and what can I expect to spend to swap wheels? I'd want to keep my TPMS sensors.

We're in Durham, NC but head down to GA pretty regularly (just did a head gasket job down there over Thanksgiving, actually). Email info@british4x4.us or call 919-237-3609. The big thing is if we know what you are looking for sometimes we can pair you up with someone trying to swap the opposite.

 

[rcharrette]

Yep!

The OP is right (which we all knew!), these vehicle are expensive to own! However not to many other vehicles can take you on a 8 hour drive in pure comfort then 4X4 with the best of them stock.
We had a Disco 2 for 6 years and threw a lot of money into it (ABS block, radiator, water pump, etc, etc) nothing that shouldn't go bad after 90K but still big hit items, especially when on the road traveling and having to use a indy shop or dealer.
Once the heads started to leak we traded it in on a 2008 LR3 with 50K on it. It was the service managers personal truck and we had all records on it. When they offered us the extended warranty we said HELL YES! Within a year we replaced the Air suspension compressor, 2 ride height sensors, a front wheel bearing and the MAF sensor. That was well into the $5K range by dealer pricing so we were happy with our purchase of the warranty for sure
It's now out of warranty and knock on wood all is running smooth. We are at 97K now and I fully expect to have more problems in the future (it's a high mileage truck) but again it's so nice to drive both on and off road with zero modification!

 

[upperporcupine]

another perspective- bought a $55k vehicle w/ 100k for low teens, then added $4-6k even at the prices you paid, and have mid teens into a vehicle this capable and yet comfortable- not bad in all reality!
Or to say it differently, the first owner drove it 100k miles for $40k +/-, and you will likely drive the next 100k for around $10k assuming some small residual.
Makes it a little more palatable eyh?

I like the way you think. You are right that it is much more palatable looking at it from that perspective. Thanks for the input.

 

[voodoojk]

I'm just curious where you can replace heated windshield for $150?? Unless that is insurance cost.

 

[upperporcupine]

I'm just curious where you can replace heated windshield for $150?? Unless that is insurance cost.

It is insurance cost.

 

[spikemd]

Sounds like you knew what you were getting into but I highly recommend getting your hands dirty and learning how to work on your LR3. There are some good diagnostic tools available for that rover and they will pay for themselves quickly especially if you need to take your truck in each time an issue creeps up.

Join your local rover club and you will find a great group of folks to help as well.

Welcome to rover ownership. I love the truck everyone told me I would hate, 2001 range rover, and it is easy to work on and fun to drive. It's been 4 years of great rovering.

 

[jaxyaks]

I love the looks of a Land Rover, and almost pulled the trigger on a discovery a couple of years ago. The maintenance costs and things that go bad in them are what deterred me from buying a land rover. And the fact that I didn't really need one. I am not bashing rovers because someday I hope to own one, but the type of repairs and failures that these vehicles have at 100k are appalling IMO. A vehicle that costs as much as a Land Rover should not have things like water pumps, all kinds of sensors, suspension parts, bearings etc failing at or under 100k. Not with the technology that we have. I know that there are a lot of other vehicles that have issues as well, it just always seems to me that LR has a ton of them and then some. I think LR has been selling vehicles on their reputation, and people have taken up for them over the years because they are cool vehicles. Until consumers hold LR feet to the fire and they build $50-100,000 vehicles that last, then they will continue to not take their quality control seriously. That has been the biggest detractor for me in seriously looking at a Land Rover new or otherwise. And I really want to like them. I just don't want to sit around looking at them and wearing their repairs as a badge of honor so to speak. I have owned Toyotas, Fords, quite a few Jeeps, Chevy's and now a Ram so I really don't have a lot of brand loyalty. I would love to be able to be able to be loyal to LR but until they get their act together I will just admire them from afar. I will say that a plus on the current Ram I own was that the tranny was built by ZF the same company that builds the tranny for Land Rover, and one thing I have never heard too much about is transmission failures on these vehicles not caused by other parts.

I think the original poster was spot on as far as factoring in repairs to used vehicles, any used vehicle..I always factor in at least a couple of thousand into what I am paying for getting things up to snuff.
'

 

[David Harris]

I love the looks of a Land Rover, and almost pulled the trigger on a discovery a couple of years ago. The maintenance costs and things that go bad in them are what deterred me from buying a land rover. And the fact that I didn't really need one. I am not bashing rovers because someday I hope to own one, but the type of repairs and failures that these vehicles have at 100k are appalling IMO. A vehicle that costs as much as a Land Rover should not have things like water pumps, all kinds of sensors, suspension parts, bearings etc failing at or under 100k. Not with the technology that we have. I know that there are a lot of other vehicles that have issues as well, it just always seems to me that LR has a ton of them and then some. I think LR has been selling vehicles on their reputation, and people have taken up for them over the years because they are cool vehicles. Until consumers hold LR feet to the fire and they build $50-100,000 vehicles that last, then they will continue to not take their quality control seriously. That has been the biggest detractor for me in seriously looking at a Land Rover new or otherwise. And I really want to like them. I just don't want to sit around looking at them and wearing their repairs as a badge of honor so to speak. I have owned Toyotas, Fords, quite a few Jeeps, Chevy's and now a Ram so I really don't have a lot of brand loyalty. I would love to be able to be able to be loyal to LR but until they get their act together I will just admire them from afar. I will say that a plus on the current Ram I own was that the tranny was built by ZF the same company that builds the tranny for Land Rover, and one thing I have never heard too much about is transmission failures on these vehicles not caused by other parts.

I think the original poster was spot on as far as factoring in repairs to used vehicles, any used vehicle..I always factor in at least a couple of thousand into what I am paying for getting things up to snuff.
'

Actually expensive luxury vehicles usually have more problems than simpler/less expensive vehicles due to their greater complexity. The company I used to work for ran a fleet of Mercedes S500's and those cars had a lot of problems at low miles, such as a completely new electronic rear suspension on one at 30K. Also, expensive cars get a worse rap because when they do break, their owners usually take them to the dealer and get raped to repair them. I do agree that the basic drivetrain of any car made today should not have problems under 100K, including water pumps, etc. However I think suspension bushings, shocks, and even springs depending on usage are fair game at 100K. The Discovery II was the main car that gave the brand a bad name and deservedly so. Land Rovers before that have always had their share of problems, but usually not ones that stop the vehicle cold. Over 100K most vehicles will have some troubles including brands like Toyota and Honda, which are probably the best up to 100K. I've had four Toyotas, two trucks and two cars, that started giving major trouble at around the 125K mark despite proper maintenance, mostly due to design flaws and quality control issues, so nothing is immune. The Japanese cars can take more abuse without stopping though.

David