Discovery 3 - Any major problems?
Discussion
) and I was wondering if there are any common faults to look out for? Not much, in the three years I had mine, from new, it was recovered only 14 times to the dealer with parking brake problems!
It was an 06 car which had had software updates to supposedly cure known issues with the brake. It was only when it went into limp home mode whilst my wife was driving in the outside lane on a dual carriageway (the A12) and very nearly had a nasty crash that LR finally agreed to replace the brake.
Great car, crap reliability, very poor service from LR
It was an 06 car which had had software updates to supposedly cure known issues with the brake. It was only when it went into limp home mode whilst my wife was driving in the outside lane on a dual carriageway (the A12) and very nearly had a nasty crash that LR finally agreed to replace the brake.
Great car, crap reliability, very poor service from LR
We won't be buying from LR so don't need to worry about their service, my mum uses a specialist who have always done a good job so we'll probably go there too if any non DIYer stuff needs doing Happy82 said:
We won't be buying from LR so don't need to worry about their service...
LR Franchised Dealers are just that... A Franchise. They are an independent company and like all companies, some are good and others are not so good.Don't tar them all with the same brush as there are some decent ones out there.
M
I have just in the last month replaced a 04 freeby with a 54 plate HSE auto.
There are plenty of average and rough examples out there.
Mine thankfully has almost full main dealer history, came with decent brand tyres, ( i use tyre's as a guide for general condition as better brands cost more)
Has had an alternator and 2 wheel bearing's done this year.
They are heavy on bushes, wheel bearings and ball joints. They like proper servicing and dont like cheap parts. Pretty much every known issue is on disco3.co.uk along with the answer and how much it will cost to fix. Fuel economy is about 25-28mpg and road tax for pre march 06 is £270.
Dont be afraid to travel to find a good one, i had to do a 400 mile round trip to get mine.
Mine is fantastic and is in superb condition despite having nearly 100k on the clock, i will take it to 150k at minimum.
There are plenty of average and rough examples out there.
Mine thankfully has almost full main dealer history, came with decent brand tyres, ( i use tyre's as a guide for general condition as better brands cost more)
Has had an alternator and 2 wheel bearing's done this year.
They are heavy on bushes, wheel bearings and ball joints. They like proper servicing and dont like cheap parts. Pretty much every known issue is on disco3.co.uk along with the answer and how much it will cost to fix. Fuel economy is about 25-28mpg and road tax for pre march 06 is £270.
Dont be afraid to travel to find a good one, i had to do a 400 mile round trip to get mine.
Mine is fantastic and is in superb condition despite having nearly 100k on the clock, i will take it to 150k at minimum.
after owning several freelanders and discoverys Ive vowed NEVER to buy one again. They have all been money pits. My last Discovery was the worst yet. An SE 2006 with only 60,000 miles on the clock, in 18 months its turbo failed, suspension failed, hand brake failed, cd player jammed, sat nav doesnt go off killing the battery, phone prep doesnt work and gearbox starting to prove difficult to select first. (ive spent £5000 in that time trying to repair all of this with various dealers both franchised and non franchised, they see one of these come in and you can physically see them rubbing their hands together!) Have had enough of these over priced over glorified vehicles (i've owned enough of them to feel justified to state this), how on earth do these get so highly praised by the media? - I also own a tvr tuscan and its far far cheaper to maintain than a discovery and more reliable too! LR owners will say, ahhh but they can move you through 5 feet of snow and through 3 feet of flooding. Yep, I tried that last year but as the car in front of me and behind me got stuck in the snow, and its illegal to drive over the top of someone elses vehicle, the road was blocked, although I could move, there was no where to move to! bare this in mind when folk tell you how good they are for getting out of bad weather situations. If the road is closed its closed - you aint going anywhere. Ive stuck with 4x4 and bought a 'jap' comparison in size. Its fantastic - everything works beautifully! no rattles or dead electrics. Costs £40 less to fill the tank and goes 100miles more between fill ups.
More people need to come out and be honest about how bad these vehicles are - its unacceptable for something that costs £40k+ to be so badly built with such poor materials. Ive owned enough of these to say this (and I didn't simply end up being unlucky with just one vehicle - they were all like this)
my advice? buy anything but a Landrover!
More people need to come out and be honest about how bad these vehicles are - its unacceptable for something that costs £40k+ to be so badly built with such poor materials. Ive owned enough of these to say this (and I didn't simply end up being unlucky with just one vehicle - they were all like this)
my advice? buy anything but a Landrover!
My 06 HSE D3 is a keeper. simply the best do it all car I have had especially with the kids on long road trips to france. My audi A3 was great but too small, the nissan qashqai was dull and too small.
If I had my time again I would go straight to a Disco or a FFRR but it has been really handy having the 7 seats which fit Adults allround in comfort (we did Paris and back and we were large males without any complaint).
I would consider a Volvo D70 as they are apparently cheaper to run and buy.
If I had my time again I would go straight to a Disco or a FFRR but it has been really handy having the 7 seats which fit Adults allround in comfort (we did Paris and back and we were large males without any complaint).
I would consider a Volvo D70 as they are apparently cheaper to run and buy.
I had a 55 plate disco 3 from new and replaced this year after 65,000 miles with a disco 4
Faults on mine were:
coolant bottle sensor - warranty
front passenger lock eratic - after 5 years
rear door tailgate switch corrosion inside - after 6 years.
They are great cars. I would look for a simpler rather than loaded car - ideally manual with the spring rather than air suspension. Less to go wrong and the manual much nicer and better mpg than the 6 speed auto
Faults on mine were:
coolant bottle sensor - warranty
front passenger lock eratic - after 5 years
rear door tailgate switch corrosion inside - after 6 years.
They are great cars. I would look for a simpler rather than loaded car - ideally manual with the spring rather than air suspension. Less to go wrong and the manual much nicer and better mpg than the 6 speed auto
I've now done 3k in mine.
Only issue is the front parking sensor's are intermittent, but since the bumper has been removed and refitted by a previous owner. I think they haven't fitted the wiring back together properly hense the issues.
Otherwise, superb car. Everything else bar the above works perfectly. The autobox is smooth and the ride is comfortable.
Great car, decent off road even with my crap tyre's. As with any mark, buy with care and you should get a good one. However, they are heavy on ball joint's, bushes and bearings. 2.8 tons on these component's will always be the same.
The hunt for better tyre's is on as i do use mine off road and winter is coming.
Only issue is the front parking sensor's are intermittent, but since the bumper has been removed and refitted by a previous owner. I think they haven't fitted the wiring back together properly hense the issues.
Otherwise, superb car. Everything else bar the above works perfectly. The autobox is smooth and the ride is comfortable.
Great car, decent off road even with my crap tyre's. As with any mark, buy with care and you should get a good one. However, they are heavy on ball joint's, bushes and bearings. 2.8 tons on these component's will always be the same.
The hunt for better tyre's is on as i do use mine off road and winter is coming.
I had a D3 new back in 2005 but sold it in 2008 as I couldn't bear to run it outside of it's warranty. The extended warranty cost more than a Porsche one.
I loved it, fantastic family car, great for carrying loads, brilliant off road yet drove like a limo on road but it kept letting me down. In my case it was mainly electrical niggles but come on! in this day and age and at late £30k upwards it really isn't on.
It also managed to do 2 major breakdowns in the 3 years we had it, both times on holiday.
I have owned my E36 BMW since 1998 and it has never broken down. That's torn it
I loved it, fantastic family car, great for carrying loads, brilliant off road yet drove like a limo on road but it kept letting me down. In my case it was mainly electrical niggles but come on! in this day and age and at late £30k upwards it really isn't on.
It also managed to do 2 major breakdowns in the 3 years we had it, both times on holiday.
I have owned my E36 BMW since 1998 and it has never broken down. That's torn it
Gazzab said:
AT's?
Goodyear duratrac's. Unicorn sightings are more common than these tyres. 
AT's are nice but have been on off road runs where the at tyres one got stuck more often mine did.
The places I go tend to be muddy and the duratrac copes better in those conditions while remaining a decent road tyre.
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