Hi All, I understand the rules of the forum and have read as much as I can.
We have test driven the car 2 times now and are close to buying a car however contemplating between Discovery 4 TDV6 MY15 or LC 200 GXL. The car will be used for driving around city and towing a boat. However I have grand plans to 4WD - go off road and go to Fraser Island, Simpson and Kimberly over the next 5 years.
As far as city driving and towing are concerned I've no questions.
However when I get to the off road part I have a few questions. I hope you guys can help me.
1> Firstly, I have been told by the Sales Manager on email and quote, Discovery4 TDV6 MY15 is a twin-turbo, is this true?
2> I will be getting free service parts and labour for the first three years plus have an option to buy +2 years warranty for $4.5K. Is the additional warranty recommended?
I bought the warranty for insurance mainly. That said, lot's don't. It's a personal choice but I felt more comfortable doing it. It cost me $3300 in December 2013 so $4500 seems a bit high. You can buy the extended warranty up until the existing one runs out. I bought when I did to avoid potential increase in premium which, if your amount is correct, seems to have been a good choice. You need to check whether the extra warranty covers extra kilometers too. Mine doesn't but I won't go over 100k within the 5 year period. If something does go wrong it can be expensive but that's the same with all cars these days.
3> The 2 dealership I went to advised me generally people use LRD for 4- 5 years max and then sell or trade them as the service and repair costs are not linear and you are better off buying a new car after the first 4 years? Can the cars be used for ~8-10 years?
Sounds like they want to sell more cars Once again it's a personal choice. If you buy new there's a lot of depreciation initially so you can lose out by selling it too soon. I keep cars for a long time so it's not an issue for me. Would I like a new car every 4 or 5 years? Sure, provided I don't have to pay for it. I had my last 4WD about 13 years and I fully expect to have this one as long or longer.
3> Both dealers advised against a bull bar saying it will spoil the balance of the car. Is this true?
I bought an alloy bar so it's weight is less than steel. I don't find any handing problems but I've had the bar on since about 2 months after purchase (Nov 2013) so it's hard to tell.
4> Is the car with standard options good for off road, on my todo list I have Fraser, Simpson and Kimberly over the next 5 years. Is rear lock diff a must for the drives I mention since they cant be retro fitted.
From what I've read the rear EDiff is not normally needed for most off road situations. The incremental improvements over the life of the model has made it unnecessary apart from more extreme off roading. That said, I would have personally paid the extra but I wasn't concerned with not having it. If you order a car it's worthwhile but in my case I took an in stock car without the EDiff and didn't have to wait for delivery from the UK.
5> Is TDV6 the right car for my needs?
I am all ears and open to advice , please share links on this forum i should read to make an informed decision about my big spend.
At the bottom of each thread is a search bar "Search AULRO.com ONLY!" Type in what you're interested in and see what comes up.
thanks all. DVV
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