Discovery 3 thoughts.

I've just read an article on the D3 being rated as the best they did and despite being a Disco cynic it's now won me over. I want one now. How high is safe mileage? They're such good value for what they are in contrast to a Defender and for 6 grand or so what's not to like? Any owners recommendations gratefully received.

Coffeelandy said:

I've just read an article on the D3 being rated as the best they did and despite being a Disco cynic it's now won me over. I want one now. How high is safe mileage? They're such good value for what they are in contrast to a Defender and for 6 grand or so what's not to like? Any owners recommendations gratefully received.

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hi mate

is this any good to u

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/buyers-guide.312800/

wrote a rough help guide from personal experience

more than happy to help all i can with any questions etc u may have

personally this is the best landy i've owned, so comfortable, quiet at motorway speeds , plenty of room

mileage wise, very important if the belts and oil pump cover has been replaced ,

plse feel free to ask away

Coffeelandy said:

I've just read an article on the D3 being rated as the best they did and despite being a Disco cynic it's now won me over. I want one now. How high is safe mileage? They're such good value for what they are in contrast to a Defender and for 6 grand or so what's not to like? Any owners recommendations gratefully received.

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The D3 is a lovely vehicle to own and drive. The only words of caution I suggest are, don't overstretch yourself when buying one. The D3 is a complicated vehicle, that has some issues that only parts can solve.
I say don't overstretch yourself because a D3, no matter how well looked after, can throw an expensive curved ball in your direction.
Bear in mind that they are very heavy vehicles (around 2.7 Ton). This weight is hard on all the suspension bushes and brakes too. You can expect to replace front pads inside 20K miles and front lower wishbones in 25K miles. The brake pads are an easy DIY job for a competent owner but the wishbones need more skill. It's still a DIY job, just more difficult complex and expensive on parts. I racked up almost £3000 in replacement/service parts in the 2 years and 30K miles I had my D3 for. Thankfully I didn't have to change an engine or gearbox in that time, or my costs would have been silly money.
So if you are planning to buy a D3, make sure the expensive items have been recently changed.
Things you want to see replaced are:
Front lower wishbones.
Rear upper wishbones.
Front diff rebuilt.
Front and rear brakes new.
Recent EPB module.
Recent suspension compressor.
This is just a taste of the parts a typical D3 could need in a couple of average years motoring.

On top of this, the oil pump can crack, causing pressure loss and engine failure. Sometimes the engine can suffer sudden crank failure for no good reason. Replacing a D3 engine is well beyond the average owner, which pushed costs up massively. A second hand D3 engine with 80K miles will set you back around £3K, plus whatever labour and consumables are needes to finish the job.
This is why I recommend not overstretching yourself when buying a D3. When things are going well, they are a probably the best LR to own. When things go wrong, they can be the worst.

gstuart said:

hi mate

is this any good to u

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/buyers-guide.312800/

wrote a rough help guide from personal experience

more than happy to help all i can with any questions etc u may have

personally this is the best landy i've owned, so comfortable, quiet at motorway speeds , plenty of room

mileage wise, very important if the belts and oil pump cover has been replaced ,

plse feel free to ask away

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Brill. Thanks Mate. What sort of mileage can they achieve before they are breaking down?

by far the best discovery for the money you can get in my opinion, genuine parts prices are coming down as dealers want rid of the stock, for example I just bought front discs and pads from a LR dealer selling on ebay for £110, rears were £97,
you will need a diagnostic for one but there great to drive, especially the auto version

Coffeelandy said:

Brill. Thanks Mate. What sort of mileage can they achieve before they are breaking down?

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couldn't agree more what @Nodge68 has said

may i also add, make sure the belts have been done and also this is really important that the oil pump cover is also replaced , otherwise if it fails can cause catastrophic engine failure

belts 105,000 miles or 7 x years , if they haven't been done expect to pay £1,000 for them

hope the post i done on buying one may be of use to u

mines coming up to 100,000 miles, it has full service history and i think like any motor it's so important to get one with full service history , then to carry on servicing it

250,000 miles isn't uncommon for one of these , see plenty of owners that have this kind of mileage

make sure to keep on top of anything to u see wrong , ur u know that already as u own a land rover, lol

going from a freelander to a D3 i learnt they do need more looking after , but even now owning it for 10 x months i still try and find an excuse to drive it, such an awesome motor

may i ask have u had a test drive yet , u won't be disappointment

as @johnlad said , need a good diagnostic , will pay for itself real fast,

there's a few of us now owning D3 and D4s

i feel this is the best land rover i've ever owned, for comfort, space , quiet at motorway speeds , good off road capability and wouldn't ever wish to have any other model. well apart from a D4 , lol

plse ask away as there's plenty of us to help with any questions u may have

plus for ur interest , here's my engine with the new belts to going on, inc water pump and the infamous oil pump cover

gstuart said:

couldn't agree more what @Nodge68 has said

may i also add, make sure the belts have been done and also this is really important that the oil pump cover is also replaced , otherwise if it fails can cause catastrophic engine failure

belts 105,000 miles or 7 x years , if they haven't been done expect to pay £1,000 for them

hope the post i done on buying one may be of use to u

mines coming up to 100,000 miles, it has full service history and i think like any motor it's so important to get one with full service history , then to carry on servicing it

250,000 miles isn't uncommon for one of these , see plenty of owners that have this kind of mileage

make sure to keep on top of anything to u see wrong , ur u know that already as u own a land rover, lol

going from a freelander to a D3 i learnt they do need more looking after , but even now owning it for 10 x months i still try and find an excuse to drive it, such an awesome motor

may i ask have u had a test drive yet , u won't be disappointment

as @johnlad said , need a good diagnostic , will pay for itself real fast,

there's a few of us now owning D3 and D4s

i feel this is the best land rover i've ever owned, for comfort, space , quiet at motorway speeds , good off road capability and wouldn't ever wish to have any other model. well apart from a D4 , lol

plse ask away as there's plenty of us to help with any questions u may have

plus for ur interest , here's my engine with the new belts to going on, inc water pump and the infamous oil pump cover

View attachment 126434

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You love posting that belts picture lol

gstuart said:

couldn't agree more what @Nodge68 has said

may i also add, make sure the belts have been done and also this is really important that the oil pump cover is also replaced , otherwise if it fails can cause catastrophic engine failure

belts 105,000 miles or 7 x years , if they haven't been done expect to pay £1,000 for them

hope the post i done on buying one may be of use to u

mines coming up to 100,000 miles, it has full service history and i think like any motor it's so important to get one with full service history , then to carry on servicing it

250,000 miles isn't uncommon for one of these , see plenty of owners that have this kind of mileage

make sure to keep on top of anything to u see wrong , ur u know that already as u own a land rover, lol

going from a freelander to a D3 i learnt they do need more looking after , but even now owning it for 10 x months i still try and find an excuse to drive it, such an awesome motor

may i ask have u had a test drive yet , u won't be disappointment

as @johnlad said , need a good diagnostic , will pay for itself real fast,

there's a few of us now owning D3 and D4s

i feel this is the best land rover i've ever owned, for comfort, space , quiet at motorway speeds , good off road capability and wouldn't ever wish to have any other model. well apart from a D4 , lol

plse ask away as there's plenty of us to help with any questions u may have

plus for ur interest , here's my engine with the new belts to going on, inc water pump and the infamous oil pump cover

View attachment 126434

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I had an L322 Vogue so I imagine these arent far off that. Thanks Ms again for the in depth breakdown of it all.

Coffeelandy said:

I had an L322 Vogue so I imagine these arent far off that. Thanks Ms again for the in depth breakdown of it all.

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very welcome to add my info

have heard the D3 is suppose to be considerably better than the L322

bought the iid diagnostic , alas they are £400 but it's paid for it self extremely quick, seeing it can also be used to turn things on and off, set the suspension heights , also able to do software updates and live data of the entire system

shame ur so far away as i would have been more than happy to have gone with u when u looked at one

hope that doesn't come across as rude in any way as i know ur an experianced landy owner

just wait till u drive one, u won't be able to drive anything else, lol

In the 100,000+ miles we ran ours, it had three sets tyres, two sets discs, four lots pads, front wishbone bushes, two front hubs, new air compressor and relay, new belts, oilpump, and egr valves, and Land Rover recalled it to change the rear crossmember/ towbar as we used it for towing, and one battery, nearly the most reliable landy vehicle we have owned!
Pic shows sort of towing we did, hope the replacement D4 is as good!

I had one for a while 05 plate hse auto absolutely loved driving it so smooth and comfy had to have both erg valves done and a new alternator but what did it for me was we came back off hols and the hand brake went cost me about £1000 and a mechanic I new did it as a forigner , gut reaction was get rid cuz of cost swamped it for a Nissan Pathfinder big mistake . That was the biggest bag of #### I've ever had, still wish I hadn't got rid of her she was a lovely motor.

freelance said:

View attachment 126454
In the 100,000+ miles we ran ours, it had three sets tyres, two sets discs, four lots pads, front wishbone bushes, two front hubs, new air compressor and relay, new belts, oilpump, and egr valves, and Land Rover recalled it to change the rear crossmember/ towbar as we used it for towing, and one battery, nearly the most reliable landy vehicle we have owned!
Pic shows sort of towing we did, hope the replacement D4 is as good!

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Erm doesn't sound reliable? Or was that sarcasm? I'm looking about now so I'll keep you updated.

I think if you analyse that list, most parts would be considered service items, but maybe you don't? It's a bigger, heavier vehicle which comes with a bigger running cost, imo

also agree, considering that was the only parts fitted over 100,000 miles

@Coffeelandy have u had a test drive yet, will be interesting to see what u think of them

gstuart said:

also agree, considering that was the only parts fitted over 100,000 miles

@Coffeelandy have u had a test drive yet, will be interesting to see what u think of them

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Yeah I've just 're read it not bad at all actually. Considering what I do to my Defender.