Thread: PRE-INSPECTION AND TEST DRIVE 2 HAND D4

Hi Declan. I bought one at similar mileage without the gearbox service too. I immediately had it done and I'm not noticing any issues. The fluid came out in very good condition visually. My changes are very smooth and no slippage is noticeable in any gears under power or when towing. I guess if the car has done lots of towing it might have been a different story. In my case, the car was used to drive the owner and guests out of town a hundred kms each day to a hot air balloon launch site. Low revs country driving for the majority of the time, very infrequent towing. He didn't own a caravan or camper etc.

Thanks Discojeffster he has not towed anything heavy with it ( no electric brakes ), and all his driving was long distance as well hence the high km as it is 2011 compliance .
I know I have to get the timing belt and auto transmission first up if I buy it and a service, so up for a few thousand $.

Pre inspection by an LR expert is the go,someone who is very familiar with these vehicles.

Good Luck.

It's priced lower than one with normal kms for a reason. That difference is a contingency as shocks, brakes, bearings, gearbox, diffs, transfer box etc etc etc don't last forever. Plan for worst, hope for best

I bought a 2010 3.0 D4, and haven't looked back. Not as many km as yours (~100k) but did have electric brakes, indicating it was likely used to tow something. Anderson plug on the back leads me to suspect a camping trailer or caravan with power needs.

One thing worth checking or allowing for, is the turbo drain pipe modification. I just had mine corrected yesterday, and the smoke screen I was generating under even moderate acceleration has been completely cured. On hard acceleration I couldn't see the car behind me!
Also had the transmission flushed, and the old girl is smooth as silk now. Wasn't exactly rough to start with of course... All up $2k worth of cleaning/correction, but the peace of mind it bought me is worth much more!

Originally Posted by Declan

I know I have to get the timing belt and auto transmission first up if I buy it and a service, so up for a few thousand $.

If it has had a full service history then the belts should have been done - if it hasnt, then I would think long and hard whether I would be getting this vehicle.

All I can say is that my 2010 D4 has required a huge amount of expenditure at around the mileage you are contemplating. It drives perfectly but all wear items are gradually being replaced since about 200,000km. Everything from the transfer case to the turbos and the inlet manifolds to the turbo pressure pipes and tail shaft has been replaced over the last year or two, not to mention normal items such as LCA's and suspension struts.

My transmission gets serviced every year before each remote trip (about 30,000km intervals) and is going fine so far, unlike most unserviced transmissions that I know of. I am bracing for it to fail as well soon, although there is no sign of trouble and no issues when they pulled the pan off to change the oil a couple of weeks ago! My car has been used for heavy towing before I bought it and lots of towing and remote very rough road touring and off roading since I have had it. Its only use now is as a remote tourer towing 2.2t most trips, so it hasn't had an easy life. Hence, I expect to replace stuff and must preempt any failures where possible. The only reason the transfer case was replaced was because it had some slight movement in the input shaft bearing and we do remote trips. For normal use I wouldn't have worried about it.