Thought i'd do my bit for the environment, so i've picked up a Land Rover Discovery 3

2005 TDV6 S in Black with FSH and 52000 on the clock. 20" upgraded wheels and privacy glass. ......... £11,990

Needed something to chuck the dog in (when we get it in couple of weeks), can't grumble at the price. Dealer priced it realistically, which was nice. Can't help thinking if it wasn't for this credit crunch i'd of paid nearer 16-17k for it.

£210 road tax per year

Anyone have one of these and if so, is it worth me getting a Land Rover extended warranty (£1500 iirc). It came with a 12 month breakdown warranty but each claim is limited to £500 and I don't its worth the paper its written on.

 

Sounds Nice
Get some piccies up mate would like to see it. have to say i work for Landrover and have been pondering for some time now on buying a disco 3 or Rangerover but cant decide upon 4.4 petrol or 3.0 diesel. i know the 2.7 v6 in the disco is fantastic but dont know if i would miss the ooomph feeling when needed! saying that it would spend most of its time on the drive.

 

Nice car, if I was to ever by a 4x4 it would have to be a Landrover Disco

 

I love Disco 3's too, but be wary as they have a shocking reliability record.

2 friends have them, one has had no problems and the others had numerous, both use the same crappy main dealer, similar age, mileage and spec.

LR warranty is pretty good, dealers are muppets, similar to Subaru then.

 

B2Z, not trying to scare you, but there's plenty of tales of woe on the net -

Diary of Faults, Land Rover Discovery Revies and Report, Land Rover Discovery Recall

I think the engine's fine, it's the drivetrain/suspension/electrics.

 

have you looked at the toyota landcruiser LC100, 7/8 seats (the undisputed king off-road)

and the Land Rover dealership in Nairobi use Landcruisers as recovery trucks

 

bravo -- I love the look of the disco (i did have a RR's for 10 years) but i would never recommend them, they make such silly design/engineering decisions

i converted to the Toyota LC80 then LC100 about 5 years ago and wow what awesome cars. I have a 4.2TD easily good for 250K, and as I say -- good enough for the Taliban good enough for me

one of the few vehicles certified by the UN - in most conditions unstoppable -- and engineering integrity, unbeatable

remember the TG Toyota Pickup!!

 

If you're not bothered about toys then there is always the basic 7-st model. This came with regular coil spring suspension IIRC rather than the complex air system on the more expensive cars.
We tried the Discovery 3 and it really is a great car but the tales of all of our friends with unreliable Range Rovers put us off. Our local dealer has a dire reputation too.
I have a cousin with the Lexus badged version of the LC Amazon. It is very nice in a big wallowy kind of way but when loaded with their five kids and luggage the petrol V8 drinks a shocking amount of gas.

 

....absolutely. That is the myth of big 4x4s. The only reason to buy the feckin' things is the look and the high driving position.
In terms of footprint most 4x4s are no bigger than a decent sized saloon. With a 4x4 you raise the roof and the floor, with a people carrier the roof goes up and the floor stays where it is. Unless you really need the extra seats or off-road ability then an estate car is superior in every way. Even then, there are only three cars which offer extra seats that actually work for anything other than occasional use: the Disco 3, the LC Amazon and the Merc GL. The rest are just pop up seats for occasional use by kids.

People carriers are much the same, only the Grand Voyager offers extra seats and luggage space but there are so many other reasons not to buy one. The Fords (Galaxy/S-Max) are as good as anything thing out there but I'd really question the need for the extra seats hard before buying anything.

 

If yuo want somthing with the room, how about a look at an american day van? bags of room! Ours doubles up as a camper for the rallys and the F1 as well as my work van as it was a cheap one, the new ones are a lot more plush and modern inside

 

I really feel for you guys forced to drive these family mobiles.....must seriously suck..........especially when you got the kids and the old lady giving it to you in stereo whilst you drive a barge of weight with no possibility of driving fun except when up against a 1.0 litre Corsa driving 17 year old who thinks he can take on a 3.0 litre Land Rover.

You have my complete sympathy

 

Bravo,

Just checked in here and saw your post. To answer your questions:

I purchased in January and the price has since shot up to around £15k, so i'm rather pleased with my purchase.

I bought the LR extended warranty for £1k as this is a must, Its had around £800 worth of warranty work already. Nothing has failed but when it went in for the checks they just fixed a few things that would need doing for it to be perfect. These were Steering Rack, Something to do with the drivetrain and the seatbelt sensor in the seat.

I really do like it, its been my best car to date, much better than the Pathfinder I had before. Its so smooth and refined.

Regarding the room in the back, i've got the 5 Seater "S" and there is bags of room. I get the shotguns and the dog in the back with plenty of room left over. MPG is more like 21mpg as I only drive in Urban areas mostly but on a trip out about 28mpg.

The "S" I have comes with cloth seats, leather on the HSE and SE I think. And all your hill desent / low range business. I took it off roading the other day and was amazed at its capabilities.

Overall I would recommend one, but the warranty is a must. Any questions PM me as i've not been browsing "Other Marques" as I get the urge to buy a new car.

 

Thats for 12 months. You do have to pay around £180 for a full check of the vehicle before hand and put right any faults before the warranty commences. After you have purchased the warranty though, when you come to renew any work needed will get done so you don't have to pay for checks again.

You don't have to buy from a LR dealer, I bought private then took the car in. To be honest it was great to have the checks done and know exactly what needs doing and put it right. LR also did a few bits that hadn't been done on warranty previously and some ECU updates free of charge.

Yes, £1k per year may seem expensive but its essential with these vehicles because they are expensive to fix. Factor in around £500 per year for servicing too. Probably won't cost any more than your Scoob to be honest.

Oh and if you get a 2005 model like me, you will be in a lower tax band - £210 per year. The 2006 models go up to £400 I think.

 

No idea about cambelt changes.

£18k is expensive, you could pick an S up for 15k and pay £600 to have a leather re-trim.

 

leave the LR warranty alone .............its too expensive

look at tesco car warranty

its run by same people who run the LR extended one

i looked into this in great depth on my RR sport

i have exactly the same cover along with hire car on major repairs

http://http://www.tescofinance.com/p...plan/index.jsp


there are 3 levels of cover and the top one is impressive and its even got MOT insurance that covers the lot incl

if you trawl the disco/rr forums there a lot of owners using them with no issues and you specify exactly where you want car repaired .

so it can go straight to LR dealer and because its the same company that backs both they have accounts with all LR dealers which in turn means you dont have to pay out up front . Dealer bills warranty company direct

heres cover on the three plans

http://http://www.tescofinance.com/p...ver-levels.jsp


well worth a look.

jon

 

I bought a Discovery 3 4.4 V8 SE for the wife, loved the car but got rid due to endless problems. The kids thought Id bought a freelander as thats what I had most of the time. Endless problems with the air suspension, even failed at 70mph, pretty scary when it drops onto its bump stops at that speed. Numerous other air suspension faults, The Electronic parking brake is a nightmare. Just wait till you cant go anywhere as it wont release. Clunks and knocks from the front suspension become the norm. Endless days driving at 30mph on the bumpstops as the air suspension is unsure what to do. Wireing looms trapped between the body and the chassis, great for a whole range of flashing lights.Expect to get to know your service manager on a first name basis. Loads of problems with the boot release, I could go on forever. All the owners I know gave up, its just not worth the hassle. It should be a fantastic car but is let down by endless faults as you WILL find out.
I got rid and bought the Nissan Pathfinder Aventura, not as refined but has done 6K miles without letting me down and thats 5999K more than the Discovery. I have always had Landrovers, 110 county, 2 discovery 2s and then the discovery 3, but that really was the final straw. I wouldnt recommend them at all, I think you will find most people who bought them had endless problems. It will be even worse now as Landrover dont have there own technicians for roadside/breakdowns, its been sold to the AA.

 

Considering one of these too at some stage.

Landcruiser is good (inlaws had three) but they handle SO badly on the road that's its not much fun.

Not keen on the Nissan - too long and too many engine hiccups. Not great off road either.

Just wish LRs were more reliable.

 

I know it's a few days old, but this is possibly the most random piece of information I've read on here in quite some time!

 

The pathfinders seats do split, they have more combinations than most 7 seaters. I find the pathfinder comfortable to drive, it doesnt have the badge but it is more than capable. I have the Aventura which has all the toys, including reverse camera, leather, sat nav, climate front and rear etc......
They are a bargain buy really when you think what you get. Power wise its similar to the D3 Diesel aswell. The aventura is aswell kitted as the HSE. But is £15K Less.
The D3 really is that bad, even the RR Sport has the same problems, there are forums for both and they both list similar problems, I had the petrol one so didnt suffer EGR or turbo failure as alot of diesel owners have.
I really loved the discovery as do most owners, but it just isnt a safe reliable car. I know of owners who had the electronic park brake lock on the motorway. I so wanted it to be reliable, but it just isnt. Alot of owners cant see beyond the badge, and are willing to accept its going to be in and out of the dealers alot. Apparently part of the Landrover experience.

 

Bravo,

I had the Pathfinder Aventura before my Disco and you can't compare the two. Yes it has all the toys but it drives like a transit van.... Fact! Don't forget its a pick up truck underneath. Hence the difference in price. Not even in the same league.

As you said, there may be horror stories but you get that on all cars. There wouldn't be so many RR Sports on the road if they were that bad would there?