Thread: Discovery 4 - to buy or not to buy?

Originally Posted by Barnie

Hi all. Have just joined here now as we are considering purchasing a 2014/MY15 Discovery with approx 47K on the odometer. One owner, have checked service history etc and it presents well and also has an extended 3 year warranty after the normall warranty.

This vehicle would be a tow vehicle for our caravan.

Our concerns surround reliability and ease and cost of servicing. I might add that in 2012 we ordered, but did not proceed with, a disco 4 6 speed because again we became a little concerned about reliability.

In 2010 I bought my current car a D3 Sep 07 build MY08 with 47,000km. Now with 157,000km.

Something to do with the steering column / rack was done under warranty.

Have used an Indy since warranty finished.

Stuck with scheduled oil changes.

Replaced top turbo hose.

Replaced battery once.

Still with original alternator and compressor. I did a service kit this year on compressor.

Have replaced LCAs once. Due again now.

Had rear tailgate mechanism replaced around 80,000k.

Extended warranty was not worth it.

Have done gearbox flush, now due again.

Have done pads and discs twice. Last one just recently.

Have replaced diff and transfer box oils a few times.

A rear door lock failed. Replaced DIY

A rear seatbelt failed.

Did timing belt at scheduled 7yr time. Replaced water pump and a few plastic bits at that time.

Check alignment periodically with no real problems.

Car has never faulted or stopped or given me a warning light ever. I would not know the first thing about reading fault codes.

Have done lots of country miles and a 8800km return trip to Melbourne last year. The car eats kms and uses little fuel.

This is probably the Kiss of Death but I'm pretty happy with it.

Saving for a mid life suspension rebuild but nothing seems wrong with it.

Well worth a bit of TLC on the regular maintenance side. Lots you can do yourself with great information online.

D4 must be bulletproof by now in the main.

Richard

Many thanks Richard.

Extended warranty is through Allianz and apparently is quite good and covers a lot. Including transport etc.

Wishing you continued driving enjoyment with your Disco. Providing assistance to others, like myself, and extolling your vehicles virtues I'm sure will not be a kiss of death for you.

Hopefully I might hear from some D4 owners as well as we really must make a decision on this vehicle.

Originally Posted by Barnie

Many thanks Richard.



Extended warranty is through Allianz and apparently is quite good and covers a lot. Including transport etc.



Wishing you continued driving enjoyment with your Disco. Providing assistance to others, like myself, and extolling your vehicles virtues I'm sure will not be a kiss of death for you.



Hopefully I might hear from some D4 owners as well as we really must make a decision on this vehicle.

I bought the Allianz 3 yr. It paid partially for the LCAs and rear tailgate but other than peace of mind it cost more than these repairs would have. No complaints about the product.

It's been said before and I agree to put that money into proactive servicing including gearbox flush and your risk of a major problem is very low. (I know you are getting it with the car)

Don't say the B word mate. It's worse than the R word. In Rover ownership there are some words just better not said aloud. I have a Disco 1 with over 300,000k on the clock (short runs, towing etc) and all original drive train, motor, diff, axles, drive shafts etc... But you won't hear me saying it is R or B.. Or RnB 😂

I have now done around 14000 km towing a 2.8t van & I can only really compare against my old D2. There are some distinct advantages a D4 has even against other marques.

When a trailer is connected, the car recognises this & changes the way it operates. For example, reversing cameras & sensors are turned off & gearbox shift points are changed.

The 8 speed gearbox - "a gear for every occasion." Does not seem to get hot ever. The torque converter locks in every gear so keeps oil temperatures down.

Air suspension for easy hooking up & 'negates the need for WDH'. It's not allowed anyway according to the manual. According to the manual you can also load the car to max & then put 150kg on the ball.

Trailer assist program built into the car to help lose the wobbles if they occur. I have not had the occasion to test the system.

The car electrical system happily charges the caravan batteries by keeping the voltage up as long as the batteries will take charge.

The towing experience is just so different to anything else I have towed with. The D4 does it so well that it actually borders on boring if that makes sense.

Originally Posted by ozscott

Don't say the B word mate. It's worse than the R word. In Rover ownership there are some words just better not said aloud. I have a Disco 1 with over 300,000k on the clock (short runs, towing etc) and all original drive train, motor, diff, axles, drive shafts etc... But you won't hear me saying it is R or B.. Or RnB

I can say I was absolutely crapping myself when I bought it! I fear saying all's good but I do think the bad problems are rare and largely what the market hears. There's a few machinery sayings I swear by including "if it's got (those girl lumps at the front) or wheels it will give you problems" but prefer "it's made not born" but heck even humans have glitches!

Been said before but really frustrating that Land Rovers still have a reputation of being unreliable. They really aren't any less reliable than any other marque.
There was nothing unreliable about the now 11 year old D3 and yet the D1 and D2 still seem to be haunting us.
They differ very little from most other 4x4 on the market right now seeing as they've all headed for traction control and independent suspension, with that comes sensors.

Other than being the most comfortable, best value and most flexible for use of course thanks to air suspension. Not to mention being pioneers in the often copied terrain response system which is so far ahead of competitors, they'll never catch up.

Parts are expensive, but what decent 4x4 has cheap parts??

In fact the Ford Ranger has worse reliability problems than a Discovery 4 from what I've heard. Something about failing transmissions?

Have to add, I nearly didn't buy one because of these rumours. Glad I ignored them and went with the advice of people who have actually owned one.

Good on you PerthDisco. They are a great vehicle and the best tow vehicle out there (before the truly crazy categories of Dodge Ram etc). Cheers