Land Rover Discovery 3 Good or Bad????

[Oldsalt49]

Hi Guys,

A question for you LR Discovery 3 owners.

Are the Disco 3's as bad as what the motoring press are saying? Or is it just the people making them sound worse than they really are?

Some are saying don't buy one as it spends most of its life at the garage being fixed. The cars were first produced in 2004, so surely the early problems must be sorted by now?

David

 

[WMRussell]

If you go onto any motoring forum you will always get tales of woe, look at the BMW or Audi forums. If something goes wrong people always publcise it to try to gt their point across and get the matter rectified.

I have had a D3 and am now on a D4 and personally love them both. Yes I have had a few issues with the D3 (56plate) but no more than with the fords I have had and a lot less than the Citreon I had. If you want help and guidance look at thi forum http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/index.php. They are unbiased and will tell about good and bad, they also have vehicles for sale wich have known history and can advise on what faults are if you do get them.

One life live it as they say. One last point, they make excellent tow cars but do not get a manual go for the auto as the manual are known to have issues with the DMF and as a result clutches fail early.

 

[Oldsalt49]

Hi WM,

Took the plunge yesterday and inspected and had a long drive in a LR Discovery HSE 2006 (06 plate). I was very impressed with the solid feeling of the car. Anyway we have ordered it for collection on the 2 Aug, can't wait. While we were there a lucky chap picked up his D4, jealous, you bet!! Looking forward to our first tow.

Thanks for your input!

David

 

[Martin24]

All that I have heard is that 07 models onwards have had most of the electrical glitches sorted. I'm still going to avoid it and have a 110 defender XS station wagon instead, much less to go wrong!

 

[WMRussell]

David

where are you based and have yo looked at the forum. There is loads of info on the cars any potental issues, how to cure these issues and where to get various accessories. There is also loads of other tips and tricks on there as to how to upgrade our d3 quickly and cheaply.

Russell.

 

[graham_cliffe]

I personally have never owned one, but coincidently was just reading the following

http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=154201077&page=10
Which are usually reasonably reliable.

 

[NigelHutson]

Or it might be that in surveys owners are more open and honest than owners of other vehicles. A work colleague of mine has a "premium" German car, which if you ask him has been brilliant, never let him down etc, despite it being off the road for quite some time and having to have lots of money spent on it.

You get good and bad of all cars. Get a good one and you'll be delighted. Get a bad one and you won't.

 

[graham_cliffe]

Nigel

Funny you should say that, the second worst in the survey is a bmw 3 series

 

[Oldsalt49]

David

where are you based and have yo looked at the forum. There is loads of info on the cars any potental issues, how to cure these issues and where to get various accessories. There is also loads of other tips and tricks on there as to how to upgrade our d3 quickly and cheaply.

Russell.

Hi Russell,

I am based at Rochester, Kent. I have looked at the disco3 forum and am now a member. I was able to use many of the tips to assess the d3. It is great that there is a large membership to offer advice and help. I have also found a reasonably local independent LR service centre which offers excellent rates 44% below main dealer prices. Also on offer for the d3 is a service plan at

 

[waffler]

Forums attract people who are knowledgeable or people with a problem so don't judge a car by the entries- the thousands who haven't had a problem don't log on to tell the world. However look at www.reliabilityindex.co.uk which is based on warranty claims.

 

[NigelHutson]

Except that on older cars people only tend to take out a warranty on more expensive vehicles.

 

[ed1]

hello david....we have had 2 disco 3s, an 06 and the current 1 is a 08 plate...we had more issues with suspension on the 08, but its got a warranty so it gets fixed(and my dealership are excellent)...they have just done some major upgrades on it and it seems fine...its the best tow car we have ever had, thats my opinion, based on my cars....we all have a choice, and i love mine.....regards edwina...hope you like your new purchase

 

[NigelHutson]

Reliability surveys are usually done by gathering information from warranty providers, which can show flaws in that system. For example, something like a Discovery 3 is a very complex vehicle, and therefore if it has issues with suspension (not that there is any excuse for Land Rover's poor parts quality) it will be expensive to repair. As a consequence, many owners have extended warranties, whereas something that is a lot simpler wont, and the owner just stumps up the cash as and when. The latter will not be recorded in the statistics, and therefore that make of vehicle APPEARS to be more reliable, when in fact it might not be.

 

[Graham_374564440]

Hi David,

Just sold mine. Had it nearly 3yrs. As the other posts indicate it does still suffer from many issues, but as long as you get it serviced these will be sorted. All told a good car, but at a price. These demand serious annual money (Road Tax =

 

[Oldsalt49]

Hi Everyone,

I have taken onboard all the advice and concerns posted here. Thank you Edwina and Graham for your more direct responses. Today is the day I go to the my local LR main dealer to make my final decision as whether to buy or not. In the past I have had towcars that drink fuel like it is going out of fashion, so the running costs will not put me off. My first impression has been very positive, especially the quality of road holding and not having my teeth and eyes rattled in my head. I expect that for every rogue D3, there be at least 10 that have no problems at all.

Once again thanks for the imput, I could be driving home today in a smart Buckingham blue HSE with Alpaca leather interior.

David

 

[Martin_374319553]

I agree you can't really tell from forums. Generally, they will highlight lots of issues because people post them looking for answers. However, generally owners will never be disparaging about their current car as otherwise they're admitting they made a mistake.

What is really telling is the number of forum members you find on OTHER car make forums where they say "Used to have a Discovery/Range Rover, never again". Honestly, take a look at the S-Max, BMW Land and Touareg forums and you'll see what I mean. There are some bad comments about various previously owned cars but never as many as Range Rovers/Land Rovers and given they are low volume sellers that's even more of a surprise.

Also take a look at WhatCar owner reviews - it's not pretty reading. Of course, owners will defend their cars and say they've never had problems (a la the German car owner mentioned above) but there's a lot of people who have.

Yes, all cars go wrong, some models have particular faults but time and again when I was looking at a new car I was put off Range Rovers/Land Rovers from various different sources. They can't all be wrong!

Having said all that, my research did lead me to sugest the later Discovery 3's were a lot better than the early ones.

Whatever you get, get yourself a comprehensive warranty. If things go wrong they are expensive!

 

[PaulNotts]

Well me and my OH had a good look over the Discovery 3 HSE, which the dealer(franchised) was asking £25k for. We had to walk away from it, as the previous owner treated the load area as a skip. The trim was so badly marked and cut, there was no way we were going to accept that. If the interior is mistreated, it does not bode well for the rest of the car?

The hunt goes on!!

David

£25k would gets you quite a way up the spec-tree on a new Skoda Superb estate. Possibly with a bit of haggling as far as the top-spec Elegance 4x4 170 (if you really MUST have 4 wheel drive). Massive space, excellent build quality and loads of bells and whistles, plus you slip under the enviromentalists radar and wouldn't have one iota of the potential guilt that you might otherwise have about driving an SUV (for the majority of the time you are not towing).

 

[Oldsalt49]

Good comments Paul!! Too late I'm afraid, picked up a LR Discovery 3 yesterday. If I was seriously concerned for the environment I would give up my job in a power station. We burn more fuel there in a minute, than what would take 1000's of Discovery's to burn in their whole lifetime. So guilt, no! I ride a bicycle most of the time, so I do my bit to appease the tree huggers!

David

 

[ed1]

HELLO DAVID
which one did you get then...and when do you go on your first outing, hope you are well chuffed with it.....

 

[Oldsalt49]

HELLO DAVID
which one did you get then...and when do you go on your first outing, hope you are well chuffed with it.....

Hello Edwina,
We got a 2008 XS Auto V6TDi Stornoway Grey 37500 miles, black leather seats. Have to arrange for the 13 pin electrics to be fitted before our first tow. Got a new detachable towbar on e-bay for £250 (dealer wanted £430). Disco drives really nice, smooth over our potholled roads. Just got to get used to it now, so many buttons!!! We are expecting to have our first trip to the New Forest CC site at Bransgore, hopefully very soon.
David

 

[Oldsalt49]

Well me and my OH had a good look over the Discovery 3 HSE, which the dealer(franchised) was asking £25k for. We had to walk away from it, as the previous owner treated the load area as a skip. The trim was so badly marked and cut, there was no way we were going to accept that. If the interior is mistreated, it does not bode well for the rest of the car?The hunt goes on!!David

 

[Oldsalt49]

HELLO DAVID
which one did you get then...and when do you go on your first outing, hope you are well chuffed with it.....

Hi again Edwina,
Just remembered I was going to tell of our first outing, in am word!! - Brilliant!!!!!!!! This is one really good towcar. Plenty of power, great Automatic gearbox, smooth, quiet. We went to Ferry Meadows CC site at Peterborough, very nice site, busy but roomy. We will certainly be going there again, the nearby park was excellent for walking etc. Still getting used to the £90 diesel top-ups, but its a big big tank. The towing average fuel economy was 28 mpg and solo averaging at 32 mpg. I find putting the gears into sport mode when pulling away with the caravan give superb acceleration. One feature I like a lot is the stereo system, wonderful sound quality.
Kind regards
David