Buying - what to look for

Evening folks

My better half is looking for a new (to her) Land Rover. She currently drives a Freelander but, as a leather interior is important to her, she's started thing of a Discovery 3. In the main this will be a short work commute drive but will aso be a fall back for caravan or horsebox towing & longer distance family trips when my P38 is feeling poorly. A bonus as the Freelander can't tow the caravan.

Her requirements are colour, leather & must be manual. She also likes the look of the Discovery 3 or 4 - finance suggests a 3. Oh and must be a Land Rover.

So what should I be looking for when buying? Will buy on condition and spec but anything I should avoid? Next step is to go look at some and have a drive, how it feels will be important to her.

Can find some generic buying guides but would appreciate input from those who drive and fix.

low miles HSE spec auto, they are nice to drive, costly when the go wrong, and they do just like the rest of the stable,

focus on HSE model which includes all the extras i.e sat nav, bluetooth, rear dvd player, logic 7 audio, 3 sunroofs etc etc
i heard hand brakes and air compressor for suspension bags might be problematic and expensive to fix
if you are considering a diesel, belt must be replaced every 105k miles so make sure it is done (if you are buying a 100k+ miles disco)
other than that full service history kind of stuff always helps

just got a d3 Java black with black leather, love it, very smooth with plenty of power, in such a big heavy vehicle I prefer the auto just sit back in comfort and let the car do the work.
Go through all the suspension heights and make sure it's doing what it should, will cost £400-£500 to fix, auto handbrakes can fail, make sure there is no nasty noises when operating it, big and heavy so hard on brakes check them.
Manuals can wear the thrust race bearings on the crank destroying the engine if it's a 2.7 as they must be harder on end float than autos, listen for anything out the ordinary on a test drive and to be sure whip the sump off and have a look for any metal debris and check the bearings.
Cambelt is 105k or 7 years, fuel pump belt too, located at the back of the engine on 2.7, a pig but can be done without removing body, ignore anyone that says otherwise.
I got the SE as hse usually has the twin roofs, very nice but fail and leak also comes with many useless gadgets that break.

The biggest single thing to look out for when buying a D3 TDv6 diesel is the service history and IN PARTICULAR, have the cam timing and fuel pump belts been replaced, also the water pump. This should be done at 105,000mls or 10yrs, whichever is the sooner.

This can be an expensive job so watch out for it. You need to see an invoice showing that this specific work has been done, not just a tick in the service book. Always assuming of course that the car has done the requisite amount of miles/years.


Dave

thebiglad said:

The biggest single thing to look out for when buying a D3 TDv6 diesel is the service history and IN PARTICULAR, have the cam timing and fuel pump belts been replaced, also the water pump. This should be done at 105,000mls or 10yrs, whichever is the sooner.

This can be an expensive job so watch out for it. You need to see an invoice showing that this specific work has been done, not just a tick in the service book. Always assuming of course that the car has done the requisite amount of miles/years.


Dave

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105k or 10years? I thought for some reason it was 7years. Can you confirm its 10 please?

I've just bought an S 2.7auto, love it to bits. Unfortunately will need to buy a tow hook - they are not cheap on fleebay!

HelpBob said:

105k or 10years? I thought for some reason it was 7years. Can you confirm its 10 please?

I've just bought an S 2.7auto, love it to bits. Unfortunately will need to buy a tow hook - they are not cheap on fleebay!

Click to expand...

Hi Bob, well I was sure it was 10yrs but having had another look around I can find no supporting evidence, so I'm guessing I was just plain wrong - 7 yrs it is.

This makes it even more important.

Folks

Many thanks, don't think I can miss the message about the belts It will probably be something around the 100k mileage mark.

On the air suspension is it basically same as on Range Rover P38 or more complicated?

I completely agree with an auto box - the Rangie has one and it's a pleasure but she just can't adjust to it. Might be because she was going back and forth between my auto and her manual but that's her requirement.

Surprised electronics haven't been mentioned, assuming that means they're pretty robust?

And Lee sounds like you got her car.....Java black with matching leather but suspect she will enjoy the toys. And when it breaks I'll get to fix (or play) with it

Much advice, much appreciated