Land rover enthusiasts future..?

Ok I'm not sure If this has been covered did search but nothing came up.

I went to my main stealer a few days ago for a few bits and whilst there one of the sales guys rushed over and insisted I sat In the new disco 4 he went on to say how it could do everything I wanted as a agronomist and that it could be mine for like £70000.

I was slightly interested I will admit.

However after further questioning I asked him about maintenance and repairs after my 3 year warranty.


He said that maintenance is easy it's just a case of splitting the body and chassis and working on the engine!!

I stopped him there and asked that I'd like to maintain it myself he went quiet and changed the subject back to something about heated seats....

So what do you guys think the future holds for us on are backs on the drive way enthusiasts? Will there/has there now been a landy created that is designed not to be fixed at home.

This isn't a rant just thought I'd put it up for discussion.

Will

I'm sure that most manufacturers would jump at the chance to make a vehicle that could only be maintained by a main stealer. The harder they make it for the home mechanic the more it pushes down second hand prices imv. For some things people will find a way (think Ford 'security' bolts) but for others you have to either buy a really expensive piece of kit or swallow main stealer prices.

It's been happening for years even with Landrover.

I guess your right. I asked him about having the timing belts done I believe there are two on the D4 one front one rear. He said it could be done in a day. Only for a girl at the help desk to say "haven't we had the blue one in for a week doing that" a week at £120 per hour ;(

Littelwill said:

So what do you guys think the future holds for us on are backs on the drive way enthusiasts? Will there/has there now been a landy created that is designed not to be fixed at home.

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Take the £70K and buy between 10-12 x older 300Tdi Defenders; stick them in a garage and watch your investment increase in value over the next few years.

Now that is good financial advice! I'll sack my book keeper how do you fancy a job lol. Fenders are going to be like rockin horse sh#t in a the next few years

Before buying a newer vehicle you need to look at what diagnostic kit is available on the market for it.

Littelwill said:

Ok I'm not sure If this has been covered did search but nothing came up.

I went to my main stealer a few days ago for a few bits and whilst there one of the sales guys rushed over and insisted I sat In the new disco 4 he went on to say how it could do everything I wanted as a agronomist and that it could be mine for like £70000.

I was slightly interested I will admit.

However after further questioning I asked him about maintenance and repairs after my 3 year warranty.


He said that maintenance is easy it's just a case of splitting the body and chassis and working on the engine!!

I stopped him there and asked that I'd like to maintain it myself he went quiet and changed the subject back to something about heated seats....

So what do you guys think the future holds for us on are backs on the drive way enthusiasts? Will there/has there now been a landy created that is designed not to be fixed at home.

This isn't a rant just thought I'd put it up for discussion.

Will

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or is that
"He said that maintenance is easy it's just a case of splitting the body and chassis and working on the engine!! "

been telling that to the uneducated for ages now,
but am met with blank faces and - what did you say - followed by a little laugh as the laughers think It was me off me trolley....lol...

I think eventually it will be both impractical and illegal to repair a vehicle other than at an authorised repairers. Impractical because they are becoming too complicated and demanding of specialised and expensive equipment. Illegal because in the official mind there is not much point in requiring new cars to meet various standards if the owner is to be allowed carry out work that may compromise those standards.

I didn't laugh I was aware that it was messes art to split the body. But didn't like the way he sugar coated it as if was nothing and anyone could do it lol

W

I could have purchased an early D3 but what did I buy? a late TD5 D2

D4 are nice I have driven one, but too expensive

Land rover have lost their way as far as enthusiasts are concerned ,they are only interested in mass production and making cars to make money, my D2 is 12 years old at the end of the month , I would like a new D4 but due to them not being DIY friendly I will be keeping my old girl for many years to come.

For me the whole point of running a Land Rover is that I can keep it on the road myself at not too much cost. The modern stuff is just pointless to me I'll stick to my 200tdi Defender which probably cost me to buy than a major service on a modern disco or rangie.

I don't think the design of vehicles is what will stop the home maintinece I think soon there will be a law preventing it instead

Or are we holding onto the next lot of classic cars?
My freelander td4 is home mechanic friendly. I looked at a couple of D4's with a mind to change it, researched it a bit and asked the stealers some part prices, etc.
Nearly choked at costs and work involved. Most of its computer stuff as well. So add it all up, I'll be keeping my freelander until I either find something I can maintain or I find a mint disco 2 Metropolis
Mike

lets face it, if we owned a D4 in a few years time, and say it needed a body off to replace the starter, think I`d get the cutting gun or the angle grinder out to remove a lump of offending floor/firewall/whatever to fix it then replace the cut out bit but with edges welded on to make it an access flap for servicing..
done it before on cars that were awakward..
problem solving the easy way on older cars is always easier...

never be afraid of Inventiveness,
or main stealers bills

D2 / P38's are the last user-maintainable Landies, D3/D4 are restricted on what spares you can get for major assemblies, and suspension bushes shot at 60k miles doesn't sound like a good recommendation.

I looked at something newer than my D2, but quite honestly I don't see me going to anything else now, just keep it on the road until I stop driving, about 10 years or so.

Peter

Littelwill said:

I guess your right. I asked him about having the timing belts done I believe there are two on the D4 one front one rear. He said it could be done in a day. Only for a girl at the help desk to say "haven't we had the blue one in for a week doing that" a week at £120 per hour ;(

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That's the difference between a dealer and a real mechanic. The mechanic who did my timing belt on the D3 (both front and back) did it all body on - it's an awkward hand in tight space job, but, not a day long job and not a body off.

The other thing i've found speaking to a few mechanics is, actually, body off is not that difficult, it's made to sound scary, but, actually it's quite straight forward and easy to do if you need to.

MJI said:

I could have purchased an early D3 but what did I buy? a late TD5 D2

D4 are nice I have driven one, but too expensive

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I feel so sorry for you, i could not wait to get shot of my horrible TD5 D2 - the D3 is a million billion zillion times better than the TD5 D2. Seriously, get shot asap.

listerdiesel said:

D2 / P38's are the last user-maintainable Landies, D3/D4 are restricted on what spares you can get for major assemblies, and suspension bushes shot at 60k miles doesn't sound like a good recommendation.

I looked at something newer than my D2, but quite honestly I don't see me going to anything else now, just keep it on the road until I stop driving, about 10 years or so.

Peter

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Having owned a D3, maintained a lot of it myself, modified it, dragged it round Moroco, it really isn't that hard to work on yourself, you can buy good little fault code readers / modifiers for not too much money to sort out electrical problems, and, yeah parts may be a tad more expensive being a new vehicle, but, it is not that hard to maintain yourself.







Having said all that - mine goes tonight in exchange for a new 110

SupraAyf said:

Take the £70K and buy between 10-12 x older 300Tdi Defenders; stick them in a garage and watch your investment increase in value over the next few years.

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and stand a chance of one being working when you want to use em

timtheenchanteruk said:

and stand a chance of one being working when you want to use em

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engine will start fine It's just the pile of rust surrounding the engine which was once a landy which will be the issue

I'm surprised you lot int going to use the more traditional methods:

discovery body removal - YouTube

As new vehicles age and become cheaper people on ere will start to buy them. I'm sure we'll find ways of maintaining them. Just needs a slightly different approach. Diagnostic tools are becoming cheaper and more sophisticated. Stuff like wheel bearings and wear and tare will be ok too.