D3 for sale

[Didge]

There's a D3 for sale for a reasonable price on the forum. I'm quite interested as I'm getting to be an old fart (54) and my old 96 110 is a bit of hard work on the blacktop, however every time I get in her, I sort of feel something special is happening. Help talk me out of it (the D3 that is) :)

[Disco Muppet]

Don't buy it, they're crap off-road, they always breakdown, leak oil, terrible land rover reliability, soccer mum car latte sipping lyrca wearing school kid taxi.
Buy a 200 series land cruiser instead.
:p :angel:

[isuzutoo-eh]

Tek-screwed and pop riveted accessories suit a Defender, they'd look thoroughly naff on a D3!

[mools]

Do what you want. But don't start your moaning in this section once you have the D3. I believe there is a whole other section for that but I wouldn't know much about it.
Personally I thought they were for pensioners, not the middle aged :D. One life and all that.
I can see where you're coming from because they are starting to get to be very reasonable in price. There must be a real good reason for that though eh? When I bought my last defender I considered a D3 (too expensive at the time), with hind sight I'm bloody glad I didn't though. By the time you either realise you made a mistake or the thing had cost you so much your sick of it defenders will have gone and it'll be hard to get back in a good one.

Oh, and you might want to start waving at Toyotas. That way you can get used to being ignored by the majority of Defender drivers :D.

Good luck whichever way you play it.

[Didge]

Oh, thank you gents! I'm all yours :) :) :)
You've confirmed all my concerns, mind you DM!! The ones I've seen off road are ok but I don't play soccer, refuse to learn ****ing Italian to order a coffee, only wear lycra when acting in pornos and a Toymota 200??? seriously?? Oh, ok I don't really wear lycra, ..................nor act in pornos ........ only cos I don't know anyone who can get me a part :)
Mark, you've seen the quality of my welding and accessorising on the 110! - do you really think it would suit a D3? No? Me either :) phew. more suited to farm equipment eh?
Mools - slap me across the face mate! I've got absolutely no answers for all you've said - blluuurrgh! What was I thinking???????
I reckon it would've cost me about $7k to downgrade to the D3 (btw I don't have that sitting around in a bank account) but if I gradually spent that on the old 110 I think I'd be a happy camper. I think I've just gotta learn to not let people push me along faster than is comfortable on the highway. Thankyou again gents - I can sleep well tonight :)
cheers gerald

[sheerluck]

DO IT!!!

That way you never have to wear muddy boots again, you're permitted to shave, and you're allowed to drink coffee rather than your own urine.

Passengers won't get out looking for 2 new kidneys on the black market, and that sore patch on your right elbow where it constantly rubs on the door? That will heal at last. AND you'll never ruin a pair of jeans again.

[Deefa]

At least your feet wont get wet in the rain. and you can carry on a conversation without shouting.

But no more of that great Defender comradely and that feeling that you are driving a car that dosent age like all the rest. IE a d3 is thought of as the old model now, Defenders are just defenders pretty well. My neighbour cant pick a 84 county from a new one!

[TerryO]

Actually Didge I reckon your right and you shouldn't buy a D3 ...you would hate yourself.

Why? because it would show you that for so long you have driven a piece of rattly leaky (slow) doggy doo instead of owning and enjoying the classiest most capable Land Rover ever made. ...:angel:

You know the old saying ...ignorance is bliss. ...;)

[Wicks89]

Get the D3 and I'll buy your deefer. Promise I'll take care of it.....:twisted::twisted::twisted:

[Didge]

Haha Terry, yeah I've been checking out prices of 2.7 litre diesel engines cos some guy on here in Gladstone is selling a D3 for $6000. I think I'd like both. I know the old fender is slow, noisy and leaks like a sieve but it does still bring a smile to my face every time I get in it. I don't think I can really afford a good one with low mileage and the cost of repairs is a real concern and yes, I know they are capable off road and a couple of weeks ago I saw a D4 in action and it was simply awesome. It crawled over difficult terrain like a spider; no wheel spin, no drama, nothing - sensational and when we were on the blacktop, I was nearly flat out in the 110, wrestling it along the county road and the D4 was loping along behind me without a worry in the world.
Wicks, there are much better fenders out there than mine :)

[TerryO]

I may know where a 2.7 is, you would need to get it checked out but it was for sale last time(a while ago) I knew for around 3k

[Didge]

Ooh am very interested subject to the condition of the rest of the D3. He reckons it's all good except for the motor so I've asked about the gearbox, electronics etc and will do a quick check on ballpark prices to get it installed and up and running so will get back to you asap once I know whether its worth the bother. Thanks for thinking of it for me. Would you believe my older brother wanted a d3 or d4 but reckoned he couldn't afford either in diesel so he went out and paid $33k for a volvo xc 90; boggles the mind :)

[TerryO]

Personally if I was anyone looking for an affordable D3 I would buy a V8 petrol, they go forever, service costs are very low compared to the diesel and they go like stink. Seriously older diesels are a worry even if you know their service history.

Pay the extra and buy the V8.

[Didge]

MMhh, I posted a reply to your comment last night Terry and it disappeared. Anyway, was along the lines of the fact the D4 that was on our recent trip was a petrol job and went like the clappers and was very quiet. I guess you could put one on gas to lower costs (after the gas conversion payback period) and total annual costs are something to consider, especially as I don't do that many miles in my old defender and a d3 would be similar for me.
cheers Gerald

[TerryO]

It's more the point that older diesels in D3's and sometimes even low k ones can be a bit of a worry reliability wise.

Given the D3 you were looking at had a blown up engine belies the point I was trying to make.

The later D4 2.7's so far have been proven to be very good, same with the 3 litre.

[eddy]

Bung a defender 2.4 in it Land Rover Defender 2008 Puma 2.4 TDCI Engine | Engine, Engine Parts & Transmission | Gumtree Australia Gold Coast North - Upper Coomera | 1027498707 (http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/upper-coomera/engine-engine-parts-transmission/land-rover-defender-2008-puma-2-4-tdci-engine/1027498707)

[Didge]

Ooh, Eddy that sounds interesting. I typed out a big reply to Terry just a minute ago and its disappeared again. That suggestion sounds rather good. thankyou - must consider it seriously.
cheers Gerald
all this talk and the damn thing will likely go before I get to look at it. :)

Found my earlier message but given the 2.4tdci motor I might reassess my sentiments below.
Given your advice I think it might be wiser to put if off for a few years, then get hold of a decent D4 to do the big lap with the missus (she's got bad bones so needs some comfort rather than contending with the quirks of a defender). Thanks very much Terry, I was starting to wonder if I was going to be buying myself into a financial hole.
The guy in Gladstone wanted around $6k, then I need to get up there and get it (say $1k), buy an unknown motor ($3-5K - say average $4k), get it put in and commissioned/ calibrated (guessing at $2k) = total of $13K and it also had a problem with the suspension playing up which the LR guys couldn't figure out and I'm guessing that could be up to $2K to sort, so the dollars are starting to get up there for a car that may have other problems likely to manifest themselves as a black hole in my wallet. :)

[TerryO]

Good luck with putting in a different engine, might be fun trying but I bet it would be a waste of time as chances are you would find it hard to get the D3's electronics to recognise and work with such a different engine and power delivery.

Plus a D3 weighs on average 2.5 ton.

[Didge]

Yeah I was wondering about whether it would even fit and then whether the parts in the electronic gadgetry would talk to each other. Was planning on giving Peter Davis of Roving mechanical a call in the morning to see if it was even feasible. I thought it might be too tall for starters and I also thought D3's were 2.7 tonne and as you said the D3 motor is 2.7 litres so I guessed the 2.4 wouldn't be that underpowered (but I don't know anything about the power output of the D3). I think the 2.4 output is relatively low.
cheers gerald

[sheerluck]

I saw a post on Disco3.co.uk over the last couple of days that there was a place in Holland that had managed to stick a 3.0 in a D3, and showed the ad where it was for sale.

I reckon that would be a better proposition than some ratty old Transit engine.

[Didge]

You guys are being like my sensible conscience making me realise that it's probably basically an idea that could go expensively wrong. The ratty old transit engine already goes a lot better than my old 300Tdi (but at least it's been totally reliable to date)

[TerryO]

Unless you just want a project to spend time and money on why bother?

If your going to seriously consider a D3 then just go buy a V8 and don't worry about all the rest of the high maintenance cost bs you get with the diesels. It's always been the case that fuel is the least expensive cost when it comes to owning a vehicle.
There is a HSE V8 in Canberra with a bull bar, sun roof, in pretty good nick, lowish k's for very low 20's and he is struggling to get any bites.

Don't dick around wasting time building an orphan that might not work, just go and check out what's on offer and make a silly offer cause no one out there is spending money.

There is just one trick you need to know with V8's, ask the punter to fit new spark plugs before you buy. Reason if they have been in for 100,000 k's which is not uncommon cause the plugs have a very long life then you might find in the future that they won't come out without wrecking the heads. So get them changed before you buy and change them on a regular basis and all is good.

One thing though, when you become a proud D3 owner all your sooky mates in here who still own rattly leaky (slow) cramped Fenders will be seriously jealous of you for seeing the light and buying the best ever bang for your buck, capable, flash Land Rover model ever made. ...:p

[Drover]

One thing though, when you become a proud D3 owner all your sooky mates in here who still own rattly leaky (slow) cramped Fenders will be seriously jealous of you for seeing the light and buying the best ever bang for your buck, capable, flash Land Rover model ever made. ...:p

Yeah...not so much.

Sold my D3 after 3 years, got into a "cramped fender" and was the best move ever.

D3 not so much.....

[herrBlick]

I am also a D3 ship jumper , I must say they are a great car but quite pedestrian , I have great memories but I am enjoying the Defender more and more daily68133

[Didge]

Thanks for the common sense advice Terry. Btw, are you the guy who we bumped into at Maccas when a bunch of us were in Mittagong going to Jellore state forest? Tall and devilishly handsome?? (in a totally movie star way I mean).
I must admit, given your remarks that in my heart I've been thinking that it would be more trouble than its worth and believe me, I've got more house "projects" on hand than I want at the moment. I'm struggling to do anything that resembles leisure and another project is the last thing I need so that's it, I accept your wisdom and advice and funnily enough, I always seem to advocate the same to the young fellas I teach at TAFE, go out and do what you do for a living and pay someone else to do their chosen field, etc.
Also, strangely enough as herrBlick and Drover say, I do like the defender and for some inexplicable reason feel sort of special in it.
:)

[TerryO]

Also, strangely enough as herrBlick and Drover say, I do like the defender and for some inexplicable reason feel sort of special in it.
:)


You guys just like that cosy feeling of being tucked up nice and tight in your vibrating often damp Fenders. ...:angel:

There is nothing wrong in wanting to go slow, so enjoy.

And yes Didge I was at Jellore,, I was the fat (handsome) bastard in the silver D3. ...;)

[Didge]

Ya got me laughing on all fronts there :) I do sincerely thank you though for helping me see right in this dilemma I created for myself. My problem is I want a D3 or 4 and a Deefer but am too tight (can't justify it in my own mind) to go and borrow the money just for an extra plaything :)
I expect we'll see you next time we're at Jellore?

[noogie]

Hey Didge.
Have you considered a rangie?
I'm thinking of getting a 1995 3.9 v8 for the big family trips and keep the deefer for weekend Bush bashing.

They are plenty roomy and very good off road.
Just a thought.

[isuzurover]

Has anyone posted a link to this thread in here yet?
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/185376-d3-engine-jammed-highway.html

[Disco Muppet]

I'll admit it's something to consider but if we all purchased our Land Rovers based on the bad news stories, how many of us would actually own them?
From that thread it would appear that it's hardly a common issue, should that deter people from buying them?

[sheerluck]

I'll admit it's something to consider but if we all purchased our Land Rovers based on the bad news stories, how many of us would actually own them?
From that thread it would appear that it's hardly a common issue, should that deter people from buying them?

Wise words Muppet. The incidences of TDV6 failures that I've read about in the various fora are quite few and far between considering how many vehicles that engine actually has been installed in.

The number of 300tdi overheats and TD5s with shuffling heads and oil pump bolt issues would outnumber the TDV6 failures by quite a way I feel.

[LowRanger]

You guys just like that cosy feeling of being tucked up nice and tight in your vibrating often damp Fenders. ...:angel:

There is nothing wrong in wanting to go slow, so enjoy.

And yes Didge I was at Jellore,, I was the fat (handsome) bastard in the silver D3. ...;)

Wasn't it Jellore that the Discos didn't want to do any of the interesting tracks,and left it to the rattley old Defenders.While the disco owners went off to travel the smooth dirt roads in search of a latte.Hmmmmmmmmmmmm seem to remember that this seems to happen wherever I go,maybe I need to check my deodorant:D

[TerryO]

Wasn't it Jellore that the Discos didn't want to do any of the interesting tracks,and left it to the rattley old Defenders.While the disco owners went off to travel the smooth dirt roads in search of a latte.Hmmmmmmmmmmmm seem to remember that this seems to happen wherever I go,maybe I need to check my deodorant:D

I had an excuse there were ten plus bloody old rattly defenders parked in front of us, all nose to tail on a track 7 feet wide.

If I remember right it took nearly an hour for them to all back out to the main track once you had buggered off across that tiny creek and up that little hill. ....;)

As for coffee ...I'll have a flat white thanks ...:p