Thread: New to Landrover - Advice please!

Gday , read the comments & opinions and go with your gutt feel and what the wallet dictates , petrol vs diesel ,both have there up and down sides . Anyway a petrol Landrover disco3 is better than no landy at all . Good luck with it and enjoy whatever you get , let us know how it turns out .

I have a statesman with 270,000 ks on the clock that I drive on a lot of big trips (just drove to Sydney, from Melbourne 4 weeks ago and driving back in 4 weeks) and the engine is still tip top (supercharged Petrol V6). It's how they're driven and serviced. With the diesel however there's an old saying, just run in at 100,000 ks, still going at million. I personally wouldn't look past the diesel, especially long trips and towing, all engines hate city driving (stop start)
That's my opinion, good luck with your purchase.

I have been through the same process over the last 6-8 months.

Weighing up the costs of running diesel against V6 or V8 ... looking at what I feel I will use as options against what I think will be important for resale when the time comes.

Many will point out that the V6 and the V8 use similar fuel, The V8 is more expensive for Rego in QLD but the engine has more horses so will not 'work' as hard in comparison .... and against the Diesel the running costs overall can be thought and calculated to be very similar (especially in a second hand vehicle purchase - more so than new vehicle purchase as your coming into the wearout of many components depending on the K's) with repairs and maintanance to the diesel being higher (possibility of turbo rebuild, Diesl pumps etc and the like).

Members here (aulro posts) calculate they seem to outwiegh the weekly fuel bill in most cases...

... then there is always GAS on the V8 to tip the scales as the more ecconomical after the inital 30K kms to 'pay it off' against the offset in fuel bills.

It comes down to personal choice at the end of the day... Drive a couple and see which you prefer ....

I started looking at the S model with the coils thinking that there was less to go wrong ... but after driving an SE with leather and Traction control I decided it was more what I (personally) was after.

I ended up buying a higher K V8 HSE with pretty well all the bells and whistles (leather, Hi sound, Sat Nav, Alpine Roof, Voice cmd etc) and am very happy with the purchase. What a joy to drive... time will tell if my decision was the right one ..

Anyway enjoy the challenge of seeking and securing one of the best vehicles on the road - with your own criteria but make sure you get what you want cos its nearly impossible to retro fit anything (LR options) to it.
Steve

I agree with Craig's reasons for preferring the diesel over the petrol model.

I went from a petrol D3 to a 2.7 D4. The diesel is easier than the petrol to maintain a consistent speed when not using cruise control. It is also better towing than with a petrol model.Won't go back to petrol.

M D3

I personally wouldn't get anything but the diesel for the reasons already outlined, but Ashes post is a bit of a reality check. I suggest you have a drive of both and see what you think. Then think about what sort of usage you expect.

If you are thinking of taking it off-road, range will be an issue with the petrol. You'll struggle on trips any longer than a weekend. If its just on-road and the odd day trip, the petrol will be fine. But be careful, once the bug bites you'll be wanting to do more with it.

As Tombie says, don't be put off by high mileage. Mine's done 125k now and still feels as good as new. Overall condition and service history are the most important things to look for.

Definately stick to the SE spec to get the 7 leather seats and air suspension if you can - its what makes it so good.

Good hunting.

Cheers,
Jon

Agree with Ashes, I went through the same thought process when looking at the petrol v diesel issue when I bought new in 2008. Don't regret the petrol at all for the same reasons. Big test in a few weeks with a Simpson crossing but made easier having a long range tank.
Either way they are both great vehicles Now the 3L - if only I could convince the wife I need one!

Great advice ashes and a lot rings true for me. Most of my use will be short trips with the family at the weekend and towing a box-trailer to and from Bunnings and the tip. I like the idea though of being able to tow a boat (when I get one!) and doing the odd off-road (nothing too severe though).

Given that use, do petrol or diesel engines wear any better than the other?

Also I've been looking at Petrol 2006/2007 D3 with 50-90k on the clock for 35-38k, although I did recently notice that they were both the 4.0l model and not 4.4. Doesn't sound like a lot of difference, but is there?

Hi all, didn't realise there was a page 2! Thanks for everyone chipping-in, I will try both and see what I like the best. Going to see a couple this weekend and will let you know how we go.