Thinking of joining the club!

Hi. I'm really tempted to buy a Land Rover Discovery 3, I've seen a 55 plate one that I like. My only concern is their thirst, and the rising price of diesel! Would you say they are an expensive car to run, apart from the fuel? And are they worth the extra cost? I can't really justify it, we don't live up a farm track etc, but they just look like fun!

think you have anwsered your own question

Mmmm, road tax.fuel consumption,tyres,parts prices and the need for gold plated AA membership........
Think I'd buy a Trabant before a D3.

Definately fun, i love my D1 but there again i also like playing with spanners which is pretty much essential i think with a landy.

Dont know about the D3 but i get around 30mpg which although not brilliant is still acceptable these days i think? My mondeo which i will be seling later this year does 50+mpg but it wont pull a 2300kg trailer which i need to occasionally.

MorayLandyFan said:

Hi. I'm really tempted to buy a Land Rover Discovery 3, I've seen a 55 plate one that I like. My only concern is their thirst, and the rising price of diesel! Would you say they are an expensive car to run, apart from the fuel? And are they worth the extra cost? I can't really justify it, we don't live up a farm track etc, but they just look like fun!

Click to expand...

Depends on your financial situation. If you can afford to invest more in your running of a car get it. If not get a normal car.

If you are worried about the fuel costs then maybe its not for you, landrover ownership can get expensive if you dont do your own repairs. If you do then factor in diagnostic equipment too.
Mark

Hi..... wife's got a D3 as kiddie transporter. Gets around mid/high 20's on economy but then she's only doing short runs most of the time. She and the kids love it.

As others have said, LR's generally are costly to fix and the more modern the motor, the harder it becomes to do stuff yourself or cheaply , particularly with all the modern electronic gizmos on the D3. Would strongly suggest if you buying a 55 plate and it's from a main dealer - get an extended LR warranty as part of the deal. Independents insurance warranties are not normally worth the paper they're written on. D3's out of warranty could be costly.

If you want a 'fun' approach, why not buy a 'normal' small car that'll give you 50mpg+ as an every day use and then chuck a few grand at an older Disco. That's what I used to do (and then I flogged both and bought a Defender - proper fun !)

Good luck

as above, make sure you buy one with a warranty. its peace of mind because that car could easily demand 5 grand in repairs in a year if it decides to.

we have bought and sold a few D3/RRS at work and some have been fine, but some have been BAD, and by bad, i mean endless problems.

FABULOUS cars when theyre working right though, but thats land rover. the problem is that old landrover was pocket change and greasy hands, new landrover is silk suits and fat wallets

cheers

A 55 D3 is the first of the D3 model, nice -but they had some teething problems that were sorted out in later years. why not get a 54 D2 - which was the last of the TD5s and well sorted and fairly reliable

D3 was available on an 04 plate you know! THEY were the horror stories!!

I looked at load of d3 04 Reg 54 Reg all there own problems eg high mileage only part service history or 3 owners plus I ended up buying a 04 Reg td5 Es premium 1 owner full service history for a lot less money and in better nick

will be a better car for you mate, D3 is great but they can cost a lot of cash, especially the early ones.

hope you enjoy it

Thanks for the tips guys. I went to test drive it today, loved it!!!

It has had 1 previous owner and only had a slipping clutch and the normal wear and tear so far. It's from a Land Rover dealer so I dare say I'll be paying over the odds, but I'll get a 12 month warranty and maybe even pay for an extended one. It's also relatively low mileage, 42000. Me and the kids loved it, and my husband is stuck offshore while I spend his earnings on a ridiculous vehicle! I'm putting it down to a mid-life crisis and fully accept that it may well be a decision I come to regret, but hey ho!


However I take the point about looking at a later 2 model instead, and will have a look round for one, before I sign on the dotted line!

Many thanks

Hi - just one more observation and this comes down to personal preference......

Sounds like you are looking at a manual D3. My wife test drove a manual and wasn't so keen due to the number of gear changes she felt she was making at low speeds around town on her test drive.

She's always had a manual motor but for her D3, she ultimately went for an auto.

Horses for courses I know but maybe worth just test driving the manual again in a more stop/start environment. Or maybe test an auto too...... Perhaps you did already and are totally happy with your choice and therefore I say, ignore my ramblings and good luck.

On the warranty - (I think) you can only do it one year at a time. I can't remember now if ours was included as part of their 'used/approved' scheme or whether I added it on. Check the service history too and if she's due in next few months/miles, get them to do it as part of the deal. Used/approved does not include a service (or at least mine didnt and I forgot to check) :doh:

If you've never owned a Land Rover before I would be inclined not to spend too much on the first one. Also it's worth taking into consideration the extortionate road tax you'll be paying for a D3. I've owned 4 Land Rovers over a period of 40 years and to be honest in terms of reliability they've never kept up with the rest of the planet. Unless you're fortunate enough (and wealthy enough) not to worry about maintenence costs, you need to be prepared to get dirty hands from time to time. Your Land Rover will break down, its just a case of when Despite my love/hate relationship with Land Rovers (chucked a 5lb lump hammer at mine only a few days ago), they are like an itchy arse, give it a good scratch and everything's fine