What next after my D3

[theh33d]

Morning Folks

First off, sorry for the long post.

I currently own a V6 petrol D3 which I've now owned for 7+ years with very little concerns or issues, she is currently sitting at 208,000kms.
I will be in a position later this year to possibly change/upgrade the old girl to something with similar capability but I'm not 100% sure which way to go. I placed a post on this matter some time back and received some good feed back and I'm looking for some more info from this forum.

So my obvious choice would be to go down the D4 route or possible a D5 but not 100% sure on this. Budget would be the main driver here.

My question really is.... how bad are the diesel variants of these great machines. I'm on this forum on a regular basis and follow a couple of groups on FB and as always the negatives are always highlighted (crank, crossover pipe, etc) how often are there major engine failures on the D3/D4 in a percentage ratio to vehicles currently on the road. I don't want to go down the whole 2.7 vs 3.0 as this has been beaten to death, I'm basically queuing if anyone has worked out that in relation to volumes of vehicles sold the old D3/D4 aren't as unreliable/time bomb's as highlighted.
I know that a lot of the issues mainly come from poor servicing but some are just done to back luck. I have a guy at work who has a D3 diesel with 390,000kms and isn't maintained to a standard that I would keep it at but it's still running with no real major issues.

Because of the uncertainty of the reliability of the D3/D4 I've also looked at alternative vehicles (Prado, MUX, etc) but they just don't excite me were as when I look at the old D3 it still stands out to me. I'm looking for my next vehicle purchase to last me at least as many years as my current D3 and longer if possible.

So, my loaded question is, what are the key items to be concerned about as for example if I went down the D4 route with vehicles around the 100,000km mark and increasing say every 25,000kms yearly. What have owners witnessed (crank issues, turbos, oil leaks, etc) I know every vehicle will be different due to their use (school run, country driving, towing) but if a general observation by owners on what they have seen would be helpful.

I have also thought about just running my old D3 until it becomes financially unviable to do so. but I would have to spend some founds on the old girl to keep her in good spirits (New air struts, new tyres, head liner, etc)
I haven't seen any real issues high lighted on the V6 petrol varients and wanted to know of high milage owners and what they have come across during their ownership.

As always thanks for your support.

[loanrangie]

208k is just run in and if you keep up the maintenance another 100k is easily achievable, i too look at D4's but not sure i want the extra headaches for not a lot of gain. You will always see more failure posts on any forum as the ones that arent having problems just carry on.

[DieselLSE]

The problem you face is that even the youngest D4 is seven years old and is well and truly a used car. So, all you will really be doing is "upgrading" to a new set of maintenance issues. If you are happy with your D3, keep it.
As for exploding engines? I dunno, my D4 has not skipped a beat for over a decade and 180,000km now. The only potential issue I have had was a failing upper tailgate switch which I caught early and replaced. Mind you, I'm heavy on preventative maintenance and replacing parts towards the end of their expected life (but before they show signs of failing or actually fail). The car has done a number of trips including three Simpson Desert crossings and a few Vic Alps trips. Probably do the Anne Beadell Highway this year. Probably just as likely to be hit by a meteorite or falling tree branch as have the engine disintegrate.

[DiscoDB]

208K for a D3 is low kms but if you are happy with the running costs of the V6 petrol but want to upgrade then I would keep your eye out for a lowish km V8 D4.

[SimmAus]

I too have asked this question (re my D4…now on 199k)
As posted above, D4s are now getting on, so you’re buying into maintenance anyway. Don’t think anyone has reliable stats on exploding TDV / SDV engines, but generally these do cause more headache than the petrol versions, but nothing that I’m concerned about.

My solution is to read these type of posts, get the D4 washed nicely and keep my maintenance schedule up…

It’s a heart vs head decision

[discomatt69]

These days the D3 and D4 are so near worthless on the used car market and new cars are so expensive with none of them being any better or without some pretty major issues, along with the fact the the newer the car the more crap they have to fail and have a life span of 10 to12 years, why not keep the old one, save the 50-100k on any decent “upgrade” , invest the savings and have a slush fund for repairs
This is where I have landed for now with my D4 because what to upgrade to is a near impossible question to answer, Defender, 300, Grenadier or Everest all on the list of possible replacements, all have inherent flaws, all around 100 to150k all would need fitting out and mods for touring
Then I have something that would in reality be no better than the D4 and in some aspects not as good, the 100k saved will pay for a lot of maintenance and if worse case hits I will put a diesel V8 in the D4 to have the ultimate tourer

[DieselLSE]

I've reached the same position as discomatt69. If the Defender had a similar tailgate arrangement as the D4, then I would see it as the logical successor. I'm no engineer, but there has to be a better solution to diesel particulates than setting fire to the exhaust pipe and the surrounding countryside (and potentially destroying your engine in the process). And the D4 was so well conceived that it actually has some advantages, like all seats folding down flat (and easy to remove); easy to modify (think dual batteries, EAS emergency bypass, fitting accessories like UHF radios and aerials, Mitch Hitch, solar panels and wiring to the cabin etc). The satnav and media input are dated, but there are various solutions to that although I haven't bothered yet. And the daft things about the D4 (like dumb spare wheel position, 19" wheels, battery drain when camping etc.) are easily remedied.
I'm really hoping the D4 remains as the last 4WD I'll need. And if I need to recover the front seats or replace the engine (TDV8 sounds good!) then so be it.
When we can use an electric car as a home battery bank, we will get one and use that around town, leaving the D4 just for trips, so that should help extend its life.

[RANDLOVER]

208k is just run in and if you keep up the maintenance another 100k is easily achievable, i too look at D4's but not sure i want the extra headaches for not a lot of gain. You will always see more failure posts on any forum as the ones that arent having problems just carry on.

I too have a D3 and bought it as I thought it was a major technological leap over the D2 I had, and I don't think anything has made such a leap since, except for maybe electric cars if they can get similar range and refuelling speeds.