trading down to a disco?

hello folks, i'm thinking of trading down from a p38 DHSE to a disco 3. i've had a disco for a test drive and it seems quite a nice drive. i use the p38 mostly on road and the disco 3 seems equally capable. it also has 7 proper seats.
anyone think this is a good move - or complete lunacy? my p38 has been the best and most reliable car i've ever owned.
thanks

Out of the frying pan and into the fire springs to mind. If you have reliable working car why step into the unknown?

+1....

The D3 is great, but you'll find the repair costs are similar to early L322's...they are quite complex beasts....

Here is a mates D3, looks the biz I have to say but still costly to repair - don't forget the early sports share the same gubbins as the D3....

They have just had the gearbox done and a few other bits bill was around the £5k mark.....



Photo by the Girlfriend who is an accomplished photographer and Graphic Artist hence the arty feel to it!!

same gubbins as early sports!! sounds bad. i haven't heard good reports about the sport model.
main reason for change is i need extra seats and disco 3 appears to be the best 7 seater around?
we've been lucky with the reliability on the p38 but it is beginning to feel a bit tired

ps = disco 3 in the snow looks awesome...great photo

I do
Like the look and feel of the d3 I went on a test drive we need a second car again but it as said an even more complex car that the p 38 but in your case better the devil you know unless you got a exceedingly high milage stick with it until the d3 comes down ,gosh they are pricey .you can get extra seats for the boot area if its for young adults

Rodent said:

same gubbins as early sports!! sounds bad. i haven't heard good reports about the sport model.
main reason for change is i need extra seats and disco 3 appears to be the best 7 seater around?
we've been lucky with the reliability on the p38 but it is beginning to feel a bit tired

ps = disco 3 in the snow looks awesome...great photo

Click to expand...

The D3 was basically a test bed for the Sport....similar equipment used....

The D4 is basically a Sport with a Disco body....

So while they share the same equipment in the D3, they are screwed to gether differently and don't share the same Faults....so whilst they are similar, they are different...

A bit like Murray Walker - 'The car in front is totaly unique, just like the one behind it which is exactly the same...'

The best 7 seater is a Volvo XC90.

The Disco as a 7 seater is on par with a Zafira, sure you can do it. But you can't get anything else in the vehicle.

So you might as well get a cheap Zafira and keep your P38.

Having changed jobs to a landrover dealership yes main stealer not inderpendant and now working on all sorts of landrover the d3 uses alot of the sport, to my eye and only having worked on them for 4 weeks it seems to me the d3 and sport uses the same running gear and engines just a different body on them. I can confirm they are expensive to repair a sat nav dvd drive £2300 front hydro arms rear upper arms turbo actuator arm etc make my eyes water

However you look at it they are expensive and if you cant repair it yourself give up now.

What engine is in the d3 I would expect the 2.7 tdv6 try fitting a turbo on it without taking the body off it is a 15-20 hr job

matt1987 said:

Having changed jobs to a landrover dealership yes main stealer not inderpendant and now working on all sorts of landrover the d3 uses alot of the sport, to my eye and only having worked on them for 4 weeks it seems to me the d3 and sport uses the same running gear and engines just a different body on them. I can confirm they are expensive to repair a sat nav dvd drive £2300 front hydro arms rear upper arms turbo actuator arm etc make my eyes water

However you look at it they are expensive and if you cant repair it yourself give up now.

What engine is in the d3 I would expect the 2.7 tdv6 try fitting a turbo on it without taking the body off it is a 15-20 hr job

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The D4 uses Sport running gear...the D3 was a test bed for it...so there are similarities....

A Disco 3 is definitely not a step down from a P38. Owned one for 3 years and it was a superb motor. Had usual LR reliability issues and I got rid of it at the end of the warranty. They were fairly new then and DIY was non existent so didn't want to risk the maintenance bills. But when it worked it was superb. Took 6 of us and luggage to Southern Spain in comfort.

Our Disco replaced an XC90 which we owned for less than 6 months (Never lost so much dough on a car!!) We had teenage boys back in 2004 and the seats in an XC90 are made for small kids. In my opinion the Disco was better in every department.

Early Disco 3's are getting on now so factor in some hefty running costs for repairs (Like most Land Rover's!!) And whilst you'll find the 2.7TDV6 very refined, it's still trying to move some serious bulk so it's no drag racer.

The best 7 seater is a Volvo XC90.

Click to expand...

"Centurion, throw him to the ground"

rewmer said:

"Centurion, throw him to the ground"

Click to expand...

I didn't say a good vehicle, just a good school bus. Though the Galaxy is what a friends far use to transport bodies around and they hold 5 grown adults in the back with no drama, so probably a better school bus. If that is what OP wants. If he wants to look flash with all of the school mums then D3 would be ideal.

I dont think you can beat my school run bus - MK1 Disco with monster mud terrains, a 2" lift, rusty winch and a permanent 1" layer of mud. The kids love it, parents turn away in disgust.

I suppose you'd get all of the best parking places with that.

Disco 3's have the same chassis as the sport.

Suffer from front lower arms (back bush) of the arms are quite common.
Front ball joints
Arb bushes

These can cause horrible knocking noises!

Rear upper arms as lower arms have been quite popular lately on the earlier ones.

The handbrake modulators are notorious and not cheap.

All the recalls should have been done on the
Majority of d3's out there inc high pressure fuel pump, brake servo and booster pipe and master cyl if the vehicle needed it.

Tailgate latches are ****e and fail but the part has now been modified.

Any Disco is an upgrade from a P38...

Nearly two years ago I was looking into the same market
Was after an upgrade from the freelander
So it was between a disco 3 and an L322.

Got to say I'm glad I got the l322, lovely motors.
yes they go wrong (like the disco 3) but at least you don't have to take the body shell off to fix it ! Lol

I've had a d2 and a d3 and the latter is a far superior machine. I can't see it having any more faults than the notorious P38 electrical time bomb. Probably more expensive to fix tho.

The epb issue can be avoided by routine maintenance of the rear brakes.

I traded the D3 for a RRS and although it's basically the same car it is far better to look at and seems to be much quieter and smoother to drive. Might just be because it is newer with less miles.

Both are very nice to drive and are very capable off road.