Land Rover. All that glitters is not Gold!??

[Dustydog]

One for David Motton.
Why is Land Rover the top choice for David yet it comes pretty well bottom, and has done for a long time, in the JD Power Survey??
Help. How should I spend my hard earned cash

 

[Martin24]

Simple answer to that one is Japanese or German. The most troublesome and expensive to run/repair car I've ever had was a Disco II.
Never had a jot of trouble with the Japanese and Korean cars I've stuck to ever since. Hoping the new one from Germany will be reliable too. Looking at all the forums and websites I think it'll last me out. :cheer:

 

[MichaelE]

There has been an interesting fb post on the LR discovery page about the couple that drove their brand new Discovery 5 off the forecourt and it broke down , took 2 weeks to repair and has broken down 2 times since. I think they have rejected it now.

 

[Marbles007]

I've had Landrover's for 20 years now 2 Freelanders and now a Evoque never had a bit of trouble with any of them.

 

[Dustydog]

I've had Landrover's for 20 years now 2 Freelanders and now a Evoque never had a bit of trouble with any of them.[/qu

That's good.
So how do you explain the experts results. I merely play the Devils advocate

 

[Mogwyth]

Never had much trouble with mine either, they certainly can have problems, older ones largely down to scrimped maintenance. they are not cheap to run, would I recommend one, well it depends. I cant speak for the new Discovery or other models but if you need a a family car with up to 7 seats, a great motorway cruiser, a load lugger with a cavernous boot with rows 2 and 3 folded down (you can get a double mattress in the back), that will go places on ordinary tyres most other vehicles can only dream of, and can tow up to 3.5t then there isn't much else out there, take away the extreme off-road ability and 3.5t towing then you open up the field to other probably better vehicles.

I am not a big fan of reliability surveys (JD Power, Which, AutoExpress) not because they often put LR bottom near the bottom its just that they are not very scientific, as they effectively rely on people volunteering to take part rather than a weighted sample.

Based on claims warranty direct have 5 German cars in their bottom 10, no Land Rovers, not saying they are far off

 

[Hutch]

I had an old series 3 landrover in Nigeria, basically rebuilt the running gear brakes etc. But would be a pain to start. Fitted "lumination" ignition. Wow what a fantastic change to a 58hp Go anywhere vehicle. 4wd. But no dif locks. Ĺovley old girl. Went all over Nigeria in her.

 

[Martin24]

Warranty direct; Car reliability index looking at 39 marques and LR is 36 out of 39 This is the user figure and is just the bad side of average. Upon using their car reliability search LR Discovery 04 onwards is Poor for Warranty direct's own figures.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I've had Landrover's for 20 years now 2 Freelanders and now a Evoque never had a bit of trouble with any of them.

I would like to believe it but I find it very hard to :huh: .

 

[Mogwyth]

I've had Landrover's for 20 years now 2 Freelanders and now a Evoque never had a bit of trouble with any of them.

I would like to believe it but I find it very hard to :huh: .

I have owned series II truck', series3 Lwb van, a 110 CSW, a V8 DII I and now the D3, over the course of 35 years, only one to let me down and need recovering was the DII, head gasket went as a result of a slipped pisin liner. Used that to my advantage and replaced the 4 litre engine with a 4.6l.

 

[Gabsgrandad]

I'm on my 4th. Freelander, -- they must be terrible!

 

[emmerson]

I'm now on my 6th Range Rover, but they have all been old classic models, all of which have been,generally, trouble-free.
One had a transfer gearbox fail in France, after years of off-road abuse, and had to be ADAC'd home, and one had to be recovered, again in France, due to faulty after-market ignition leads. Strangely, both breakdowns occurred with my current car, owned for 7 years, and the one I've liked the best. Getting into it is a bit like putting on a favourite old coat!
I'd hardly call that unreliable, over a twenty-two year period, but I do accept that newer models are not so good.
I feel that LR have lost the plot, but they still sell every car they make.

 

[otherclive]

I had a new Disco 2 TD5 and it had lots of problems with its engine cylinder head and cooling system as well as its air levelling. After 3 years just as its warranty was about to expire the dealer said it might be a good idea to trade it in. I did but for a Sorento which gave no problems in the six years and 70k miles I owned it. And the Kia's servicing costs and needs were much lower too. Pity as we really liked the Land Rover. My son has a FL 2 and apart from an issue with its rear diff bearing its been trouble free. If he sells it next year my wife has first refusal.

 

[Mel]

We had Freelander2 for 4 years. Broke down once. This was eventually found to be a split hose. (Dunno which one) The problem was the woeful service we got from the Dealers repair centre. We had paid for a warranty which provided a courtesy car while ours was being repaired. However this only applies if the repair was covered by the Warranty. Thing is they couldn't tell us when the car would be repaired as they were too busy, and we couldn't have the courtesy car until they started the repair as they didn't know if it would be covered. Course, when they did eventually get the car up on a ramp and discovered the problem, they fixed it in 10 minutes.
Heated telephone calls were had.
Mel

 

[timhowarduk]

Never had a Land Rover. Always fancied one... They seem to be totally 'marmite' vehicles; love them or hate them.
Forgive me for being totally pedantic but the original Shakespeare phrase is "all that glisters is not gold". An earlier sentence in the same speech might equally apply "O hell! what have we here?".
Should get out more...

 

[Fordy6]

Like all new cars they have plenty of issues with all the electric junk now fitted and emission reduction items.

I have a freelander 2 which I don't tow with. If you have ever worked on one they are made of chocolate really....

I have a disco 4 which is better for towing.

It all depends on how you drive and the train weight. Caravans aren't really that heavy

 

[neilharg149]

Love my Freelander 2 towed van Bailey Ranger 4 berth to Normandy and Brittany this summer via tunnel so covered some distance. No effort towing and combination less than 3tonne so not restricted by lower speed limits.

 

[MichaelE]

The local Land Rover dealer in Reading is having an awful time at the moment, friends Sport had been there for 6 weeks after the new rear brakes at a cost of £1200 fitted seized on, no return of calls etc so went down to see them and they hadnt even looked at it because they were so busy. Compained to LR HO and the response was they are so busy dealing with complaints at the moment it will take time to respond!!!

 

[Raywood]

Looks like it may be the motoring equivalent of Marmite.

 

[GD485]

I have a love/hate relationship with LR vehicles. Starting in the 1980's I used to take part in off road racing and used a highly modified RR based car.
The reliability wasn't a problem because of all the aftermarket parts over came the problems.
However the choice of tow car to go all over the country was a Diahatsu. I tried towing with a variety of LR vehicles which were slow, thirsty and not too good on reliability.
Over the 12 years of racing I had two LWB Diahatsu Fourtraks, both were new and part exchanged around the 150k mileage mark. Neither went wrong during the time I owned them.
I personally would not buy a modern day Evoke, Disco or RR as they seem to be aimed at wrong market today. Gone is the hardworking brilliant off roader and now the cars are biased towards the yuppie owner.
The best test for any 4x4 is Australia, miles and miles of dirt roads and no help for days if you break down. The 4x4 of choice in Oz is the Toyota Landcruiser solely because of LR's reliability.
I realise that the UK market is much different. The majority of owners only buy LR badged vehicles to use it as a status symbol. Not even a towbar fitted. What's the sense in driving a fuel thirsty 4x4 to take the kids to school.
In my opinion LR. have moved away from there core market in favour of the far more lucrative status symbol seeking customer.
I considered buying a RR Sport and had one on a weekend test drive. This car had all the toys and was ok to drive. The one thing that put me off was the ride quality, this car had air suspension and silly low profile tyres that provided a crashing ride. After 10 miles the car was uncomfortable and rattled like a Morris Minor Van! Reliability has taken a back seat while fancy features and styling suits their current target customer far better.
Just my opinion I'm sure there are many owners quite happy with their purchases but I will not be joining them anytime soon.

 

[JTQ]

Love my Freelander 2 towed van Bailey Ranger 4 berth to Normandy and Brittany this summer via tunnel so covered some distance. No effort towing and combination less than 3tonne so not restricted by lower speed limits.

In France, it will be restricted to the lower towing limits, 50 and 56 mph, as its plated GTW is above 3.5 tonnes and it only needs a trailer of any weight to be restricted.
The restriction is based only on the capability, not the actual weights involved, but the rules are widely ignored even by the locals.

 

[Mogwyth]

Each to their own but how fast do you need a tow vehicle to be? Discovery 3 diesel does 0-60 in around 13 secs, avg 28 mpg tows 3,5 t with ease and seats 7 adults and in std guise is a better off-roader than any other unmodified LR product to the date it came out. Discovery 4 ticks all the same boxes but gets down to 9 secs for the sprint.

Plenty of Aussies run D3s and D4 I'll admit not as many as Land Cruisers but the D3/4 is seen as the better offroader despite its questionable reliability.

Any car on low profiles is going to suffer from compromised ride, dont understand why anyone does it it adds nothing to real world driving and results in a sore derriere.

PS North Wales to Belgium and back at the weekend solo,1100 miles didn't miss a beat.

 

[MichaelE]

One thing that the JD power survey doesnt break down is the faults that have been reported or the amount of warranty claims? Ok there is no excuse for mechanical breakdowns, electrical faults etc, but ive been at garages where customers have brought their cars in for squeaks and rattles, one had it in for a noisy cup holder. Annoying sometimes yes but do people who buy "lesser" (tongue in cheek) brands accept these slight annoyances?

 

[ProfJohnL]

One thing that the JD power survey doesnt break down is the faults that have been reported or the amount of warranty claims? Ok there is no excuse for mechanical breakdowns, electrical faults etc, but ive been at garages where customers have brought their cars in for squeaks and rattles, one had it in for a noisy cup holder. Annoying sometimes yes but do people who buy "lesser" (tongue in cheek) brands accept these slight annoyances?

Why Should they?
I do not know of any one who contracts to have a new car and states they don't mind if its faulty.

A new product should be fault free - free of ALL faults regardless of how minor others might consider them to be.

The designer of the cup hold would not have designed it deliberately to produce a squeak so why should the "lesser" vehicles be allowed to get away with it?

The Consumer Rights Act and SoGA before it make it quite clear goods must be as described, and "New" must mean absolutely fault free with no prior use.

Interestingly, most new cars are handed over to their owners a few miles showing on the clock. You could challenge the description of the car as being "new" with any mileage showing unless the seller can show it was genuinely necessary as part of the vehicles standard post production testing, and delivery to dealership.

 

[Raywood]

Not sure about the bit about the mileage unless it is far higher than normal. Before delivery there is driving in the factory onto the ship to bring it to Europe in many cases, into the storage and out and so on. Mine had 9 miles on the clock, but I have had far higher figures before and I doubt anything under 200 miles would be a problem and possibly more.
If you buy one actually on the forecourt and have been in it with the ignition on showing the mileage then you are stuck with whatever it showed.