Upgrade to Disco 3 or 4?

Hi, I am looking to upgrade from a TD5 to either a 3 or 4, can anyone give me any tips and or things to look out for, plus any recommendations please?
Cheers.
Andy.

check out Disco3.co.uk lots of good stuff there.

Cheers will have a look.

One word of warning, while they look and drive extremely well, my LR indy mechanic says their engines are like unstable grenades - they go off without warning. You can have a fully maintained, cossetted D3/D4 and it'll be running perfectly well, then without warning the engine will fail spectacularly - he's got a 2.7 and a 3.0 engine in at the moment for replacement...

ArticFox said:

One word of warning, while they look and drive extremely well, my LR indy mechanic says their engines are like unstable grenades - they go off without warning. You can have a fully maintained, cossetted D3/D4 and it'll be running perfectly well, then without warning the engine will fail spectacularly - he's got a 2.7 and a 3.0 engine in at the moment for replacement...

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Not sure this is all that useful. There are always reasons and signs. And these engines don't have a reputation for this.

Lets face it, a garage/mechanic is probably the last person to ask about a car. As the only time they see them, is when people bring them in for repair work. Nobody ever takes their vehicle to a mechanic because there isn't a single thing wrong with it.

The PSA engines are used by Jag, Citroen and Ford as well as Land Rover.

andygrumpyoldman said:

Hi, I am looking to upgrade from a TD5 to either a 3 or 4, can anyone give me any tips and or things to look out for, plus any recommendations please?
Cheers.
Andy.

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Decide on a budget then see if a 3 or 4 are in budget. Then research that one.

While there isn't a huge difference between the 3 and 4, the differences are important. But if a 4 is out of budget, then there is no point wasting time looking them up.

Word of warning, the D3 is a very different vehicle from the D2 (which is more akin to a D1/RRC and Defender). This is good and bad depending on your expectations and intended usage.

Things to bear in mind, the D3 is easily dynamically better than the D2. But it is also vastly more complex.


I would also seriously take time considering what spec you want and what engine type.

If you don't do many miles, then a V8 D3 may well suit better than a diesel.

You also have the choice of manual or auto. And in the case with some of the base spec models, no air suspension. Which is again either good or bad depending on your view point.

I was under the impression that the 3.0 was less likely give unexpected trouble, compared to the 2.7

But I guess its a bit like the TD5 "horror stories" any make, any model will always have unexpected failures, forums just make it all more public!

Im planning to move up to a D4 3.0 when cash allows!

The only major issue with the D4 is the urban trim that makes it look so gash, tacky and chavy. Shame as its a brilliant vehicle otherwise.

markomate2 said:

check out Disco3.co.uk lots of good stuff there.

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I looked at buy a 3 and went to this site, asked some questions and found out it had a bad history of bin clocked ect and trading standards were involved with it,

I just borrow my dads d4 when I need to tow far which my van won't tow as a transit has a crap train weight, and is to far for my defender,

Having looked at buying a d3 and driving his d4, I would buy the d4 if money allowed

I'm sure a D4 is a lovely thing to drive, but can you live with the rear lights???

I have a D4 and to be honest its the best car I have ever driven, towing is effortless and the comfort you get whilst driving is fantastic. some do look a little blingy but when you find the right one you wont regret it.

I also have a buddy of mine who has a D3 and all the dash lights are constantly on and he has had a lot of quite major issues with it

All cars have the ability to go spectacularly wrong for instance i had a discovery 2 Td5 and the block had become porous leaking oil into the diesel, it then blew up on the dual carriageway spewing out yellow thick smoke from its exhausts
Also had a 300 tdi throw a con rod out at the very same place as the above both merited engine replacements
F*****g Land rovers

Thank you all for your posts, don't know if it helped or confused me even more, I think I will wait and see what sort of budget I have and if I can afford go for the 4.
Cheers all.
Andy.

Not for me,I like a landy that can get over a high kerb without breathing hard.Now that should cause some controversy...

The Discovery 4 has a very good traction control system. Like it a lot!

If you're happy to pay a dealer for servicing and other stuff, the D3/D4 cars are OK, but user friendly they are not.

While you can get almost every nut and bolt for D1/D2's, many parts on the D3/D4 are 'major assembly only' spares, so if your transfer box dies, you can't repair it.

D4 is the better car out of the D3/D4 but they hold their prices well.

I wouldn't buy a D3.

Peter

xeLR said:

The Discovery 4 has a very good traction control system. Like it a lot!

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D2 3 and 4 have great traction control systems but it will all boil down to the tyres

I'm now 29,700 miles and 11 1/2 months into owning a D4 from new. If someone picks this thread up and is interested in a D4, I might be able to answer something.

PS: MGBGTV8 - don't expect me to defend the blingy rear lamps

I have a D3 because I wanted another land rover and couldn't afford to run my focus st and repair my disco 1 so opted to sell them both and get a 3 as I'm based 200 miles away from home and that seemed like a good compromise, its a great motorway cruiser and eats up the miles effortlessly and is a pleasure to drive off road too. The only issues I have had are the electronic park brake unit seized which isn't surprising but that got changed under warranty, you will know when thats on its way out when you hear a high pitched squeak coming from the rear when you apply the epb but I'm sure that is meant to be adjusted when it gets serviced, and the compressor getting a bit hot once out of the many times its been down some green lanes, apart from that its been fine.

I have heard the horror stories about the engines but struggled to find much about it, you just need to make sure its got a full service history and it will be fine. Just be prepared to hear some hissing as it levels it self when you park it up and switch it off.. that confused me for a while until I researched it.

I think the main problem with the D3 engine is the oil pump housing. A certain VIN range had a housing that can snap. Unfortunately the bit that snaps off is holding the belt tensioner, so it id 100% catastrophic.
Earlier (05-55) and later (0 seem not to have this issue. There are many on the Disco3 site with well over 200k miles. And one with 740k....