Should I buy a Disco 3?

Hi guys

I'm new to the forum and a Land Rover virgin having never owned one! I currently have a Ford Focus but have persuaded my wife now we have a baby to sell both our cars and buy a 4x4 and one small car i.e. Fiesta.

What I'm not sure about is whether a Discovery is right for me! I'd love one but worried about the running costs.

I would have no more than £14k to spend so according to Autotrader could get a Disco 3 from either 2005 or 2006 with about 50k to 60k on clock.

I do quite a bit of mileage i.e. 50 miles per day.

I'm worried about costs to run it. As such some advice would be welcome, especially with regards to:

Annual service costs.
Any major faults or repairs that might come up (family friend has RR and got stung for new gearbox which was a few grand!).
Road tax (heard that before certain year it was cheaper).
Fuel costs i.e. Is this disco going to make me broke just running it!

Any help from you guys would be welcome. Also toying with a Freelander 2 instead but like the Disco more, but if the Freelander is less costly to run then might have to be that!

Thanks chaps
Mark

If your worried about running cost buy a small car not a disco

dyte said:

If your worried about running cost buy a small car not a disco

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I'm worried to a point. I just want to know to what extent i should expect the running costs to take over my bank balance!

Disco three onwers wont agree but early disco threes came with some rather expensive faults if you can afford a bit more buy a late 3 or 4 if not save yourself a huge wad of cash and buy a late disco 2 imho and youll have some cash to keep for fuel /repairs as for fuel i think most desiels discos are about the same you can get around 30mpg driven lighty remember its a big old car the other benifit i think is the disco 3 is really heavy 2.4 ton if i remember so it gives you less towing capacity from you car licence

Yes!
it is by far the most accomplished and versatile family 'car' out there.
I get just over 25 mpg from mixed urban driving which is good for such a big vehicle (2.7 tonnes!!).
Full service hstory is more important than mileage and the benefit of more miles is that most of the electrical 'gremlins' will be sorted. Bear in mind the better the spec the more to go wrong!!!! but most of the bells and whistles are really useful ( 7 seater / heated seats/ windscreen / Sat Nav etc)
There is an expensive belt change due around 100k miles which gives you a negotiating lever, underbody abuse should be obvious signs of a hard life. The auto box is a dream though I've gone for a manual (6 speed) don't go for anything with +20" wheels (smaller wheel bigger ride comfort)and with all the electronic terrain settings and reasonable all terrain tyres you will be an off road god!
one thing my missus found is that parking is a bit of a chore as the other end is actually in a different postcode to the driver's seat so parking sensors come in useful (however mine have decided to play up at the moment).
consider a late Disco2 as a compromise as there's plenty about and you should be able to find a high spec late model for under £10k

disco 3's have problems with the clutches burning out after 24,000 miles. its a fault althou lr say its driving style. they also have a fault with the eletronic handbrake. main stealer will charge you few hundred quid to fix, however an indi garage will charge you around £60 for the same job. only other fault i'm aware ofis there is a switch in the gearbox called the xyz switch. £0.90 to buy, however the gearbox needs to come off to replace. There maybe other faults with them but i've been out of the loop for awhile

Thanks chaps.

I guess then if i look to buy a 2005 or 2006 disco 3 with about 50k on clock, all of the electrical and clutch gremlins should have been resolved by then?

How much is the major belt change at 100k?

How many miles do you get out of a full tank and how much does it cost to fill up roughly?

Landrovervirgin said:

Thanks chaps.

I guess then if i look to buy a 2005 or 2006 disco 3 with about 50k on clock, all of the electrical and clutch gremlins should have been resolved by then?

How much is the major belt change at 100k?

How many miles do you get out of a full tank and how much does it cost to fill up roughly?

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Not a major belt change but involes or used too removing the body from the chassis i believe it can be done by other methods but like verything else lr will want to charge you the most expensive option

hey there

i work for a indepent landrover garage and i do love a discovery 3 but they always seem to need maintence whether its bushes ,egr valves,turbos,electric park brake problems ,door locks ,tyres and varoius other things services arnt through the roof but the 105k is a expensive service but at the end of the day youve only got to do that service once my boss has a discovery 3 and his getting around 27mpg and his flat out freddy everywhere !
have you considered at l322 td6 rangerover they dont seem to be much as a money pit as a d3 apart from a gearbox problem and the odd turbo they seem to be quite bullet proof
im in the sort of situation you are in i have a discovery 2 at the moment and looking to upgrade next years and its either a d3 or rangerover and im heading towards the rangerover route purley down to reliabilty .
oh and btw you havnt got to take the body off to do a timing belt

mike

mike07986 said:

hey there

i work for a indepent landrover garage and i do love a discovery 3 but they always seem to need maintence whether its bushes ,egr valves,turbos,electric park brake problems ,door locks ,tyres and varoius other things services arnt through the roof but the 105k is a expensive service but at the end of the day youve only got to do that service once my boss has a discovery 3 and his getting around 27mpg and his flat out freddy everywhere !
have you considered at l322 td6 rangerover they dont seem to be much as a money pit as a d3 apart from a gearbox problem and the odd turbo they seem to be quite bullet proof
im in the sort of situation you are in i have a discovery 2 at the moment and looking to upgrade next years and its either a d3 or rangerover and im heading towards the rangerover route purley down to reliabilty .
oh and btw you havnt got to take the body off to do a timing belt

mike

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You only have to change the belt once what you saying it wont make it to 210k lol

Why do you have to lift it off the body to change the timing belt?
I have a discovery 2 and have thought about getting a 3 but like everyone else I have my doubts, had my 2 for 2-1/2 year and in that time did a hub when got it and did a full clutch and flywheel last week also while I was on changed the exhaust front pipe as it was off and flex looked a little sooty and the diesel pressure regulator as looked a bit wet and easy with the box off. Apart from that total trouble free driving just looked after it service wise. I would be gutted if I got rid of it and got a 3 what broke down. My mates are always saying stick with what you've got at least you know it's a good one.

Langer said:

Why do you have to lift it off the body to change the timing belt?
I have a discovery 2 and have thought about getting a 3 but like everyone else I have my doubts, had my 2 for 2-1/2 year and in that time did a hub when got it and did a full clutch and flywheel last week also while I was on changed the exhaust front pipe as it was off and flex looked a little sooty and the diesel pressure regulator as looked a bit wet and easy with the box off. Apart from that total trouble free driving just looked after it service wise. I would be gutted if I got rid of it and got a 3 what broke down. My mates are always saying stick with what you've got at least you know it's a good one.

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Tis not really the timing belt its the rear timing belt fuel pump drive belt

dyte said:

You only have to change the belt once what you saying it wont make it to 210k lol

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who knows lol i no theres alot off them out there over 200k but it all depends if theyve been looked after alot of people get these cars and ruin them because they cant afford to keep on top of things like bushes etc

mike