Discovery 3 reliability?

I am about to sell my defender 110 because it seems to be a target for thieves, and am looking for a replacement. I am happy to spend a bit more money, but want a car that is not a hobby! The Disco 3 and 4 look ideal (4 is well out of budget though ), and the features/benefits advertised on the reviews/brochures etc make it look like the ideal family car, as well perfectly good for the occasional bit of towing/mild offroading, load lugging etc that I want to do with it.

I have narrowed it down to the HSE model- I fancy some bells and whistles on it, and that seems to have plenty, and am expecting to spend probably £10-12k, including my 110. The thing that is holding me back- other than clearing mine, taking some pics and selling mine is the reliability question.

Am I exposing myself to a world of financial pain if I buy a Disco 3? Are they all much of a muchness, or are there good/bad years? I know that some spec has changed wrt aircon in the rear, cooler cubby boxes and a couple more, which became options in later years.

Theres a disco 3 forum around, have a look on there, there is a section I think for common issues which may help you. I think you will find maintenance costs a bit of a leap from your defender!!!!

i will have a look for that forum- thanks. I appreciate that the maintenance will be a leap from the defender, and accept that. It is the sudden £2k bills that I dont want- if I spend 10k on a car, i dont want too many bills that are beyond the annual servicing costs, and usual parts that are reasonable wear and tare.

Heres an idea, find a typical car then get a warranty quote from one of the car warranty providers. Whatever they quote will give you some idea of how much they would expect to spend on such a vehicle. I did this and from memory the warranty cover was around £2700 for 24 months............

good idea. I think that somebody also bumped an old thread earlier on a similar subject that made interesting reading.