Thread: D3 MY09 SE - Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Byte

All, no decisions have been made yet on which model to choose, as I have been having endless discussions with the wife on her concerns about buying second hand Landys with the horror stories she is always hearing from repair costs and that the modern Landys (D3, D4) are in Workshops alot of the time..

She wants to get a new vehicle with a warranty, and hence I have spent the last 2 weeks sussing out the new BT-50 and STX 550 utes.


Byte

Byte,

Get your lovely wife to spend some time searching through this forum as there is a lot of even handed discussion about the reliability and serviceability of the D3 & D4.

The reliability issues are generally tossed around by those who have not driven them or has a mates friends sister-in-laws cousin who owned one that had a few problems.

Sure there are issues and the odd one is a lemon that causes the owner some real issues but every model has that. The much loved and "bullet proof" Nissan Patrol 3.0lt turbo diesel has a well know issue with the engine blowing up and being unrepairable. The most recent Land Cruiser's have had major issues with excess oil use and even the good old Camry had a global recall.

I have had my D3 for over 3 yr now, done 60,000 km mostly city driving but been up to the Vic High Country, numerous day trips around Lithgow, Newnes up to Stockton blah blah and never had even a hint of a problem.

I get mine serviced by an independent mechanic and the cost of service is literally half that of a dealer and i think i get a better job.

Many on this site have vehicles with over 150,000 km and if well services and with the high Km vehicle the transmission fluids changed, most seem to report pretty reliable service from their vehicles.

Granted that parts are not cheap and you need to be aware of that but most can now be sourced over the net and delivered to you in a few days at big savings.

The BT50 & STX 550 are so different from a D3 or D4 that they are not in the same game. Probably great vehicles in their own right but honestly drive one then the other and there will be no comparison.

If you can get your hands on a sub 3 yr old vehicle and secure the extended warranty you will have a vehicle with a factory warranty.

Anyway your call but I get a little bit annoyed with people trotting out the unreliable tag for these when that is really not the case now days.

Good luck with your decision making either way.

George

Thansk George.

I'll ask the lovely wife to read that post, and get her opinion.

RE:extended warranty - what differences exist between this warranty and the standard new car waranty?

Byte

Byte
I don't know if it has changed as I bought the extended warranty with the car new a couple of years ago but at at that time it was exactly as per the 3 year LR warranty.
As for reliability, we have an 09 D3 TDV6, not a lot of K's (30,000) & so far not 1 reliability problem. Where we live most of those K's have been hard yards with 5 kids, a ton of trailer & lots of gravel, rocks & mud.
As for rear A/C, definitely get it if you can, cools the whole car in no time & can be controlled via the front climate control as it can use an average temp of the front sides for the back.
The DVD system is great if you have kids & the stereo rocks.
The D3 is a relaxed comfortable drive with great off road capability, put the boot in & it can even be a bit of fun.
I have always been a dual cab fan - until I bought a D3.
My Missus saw a D3 once at night in a motel car park when we were thinking about a new car, she said "I want one of those." So what choice did I have?
Jonesfam

Thanks Jonesfam :-)

Sounds like you hit a home run! Lucky Ba...tard!

Anyway, I had a chat to the local dealer today and he said that you can only obtain extended warranties with cars that are purchased from dealerships and not from private sale.

Can anyone confirm this?

Also, we test drove a D3 tonight, and the wife thought there was a bit more roll during turning compared to our V8 D1 1995 model. She wanted me to ask this question on this forum about this roll, and is it normal?

Byte

I have a D1 and a D3...I use the D1 as my daily driver but there is no comparison between the two.

The D3 has the best steering lock of any vehicle I've driven (of that size anyway).

My neighbour is a diesel mechanic and he is complaining (well not really cause he has to fix them) about the Hiluxs burning through injectors after 100K.

We did 15000km thru your outback this winter and the D3 never missed beat.

Graeme
NZ

What ever you do - give the STZ 550 a WIDE berth...

If you decide to go Dual Cab - VW Amarok

Byte

You can a car privately that already has the extended factory warranty.

Regards

Chuck

Osolo - why is a steering lock significant, and why do you use your D1 for daily driving instead of the newer D3?

Tombie - why give the stx550 a wide berth?

Chuck - Sorry, we are chasing a vehicle with less kms.

All, it looks like we are back in the market for a cheaper D3 4.0L petrol with minimal kms.

i know i have stated i wanted a tdv6 - but it won't happen.

the car will be used mainly by the wife for city driving, so i guess high torque requirements will not really needed. i will be using it to tow a 1.2t boat sometimes and a bike trailer.

And, i can always chip the 4.0L later for greater torque if needed..

i think this is the only way i get to 'land' a D3 in my driveway :-)


Byte