Thread: D3 Looking to buy, what to look for

Originally Posted by INter674

Perhaps that's why older vehicles like TD42 Patrols with simple industrial engines are selling for more than modern sophisticated D3/d4s half their age!!

If it were that simple then old 300TDI Discovery's would also have higher selling prices but they don't. Land Cruisers and certain model Patrols have always maintained a very high resale value while Discovery's have not.

Originally Posted by garrycol

...and when people come to forums with problems everyone thinks all vehicles have the issues.

Definitely a large element of truth to this! Especially now that the Forum has a fee for use there are many that don't see the point/value so don't join, leaving people with issues who can see a benefit in opening their wallet.

Originally Posted by DeanoH

By "off road" I'm one of a dwindling number who actually take this term to mean actually off road though in reality this term has come to mean different things to different people. For 'off road' work I have an Oka which IMO is the perfect vehicle for my seriously off road needs

"off road" meaning actually off road doesn't really help to clarify at all... There's a variety of different degrees from what special built comp trucks are doing to touring tourists. There's also hardware limitations, such as I've gotten places on my MX bike that very few vehicles would ever manage.

Originally Posted by DeanoH

I'm unsure of the differences between (petrol) D3's over the years. Apart from age/Km's is there important update issues that I should be considering ?

From what I understand none of the petrol motors are Land Rover motors, so it's likely all their further development and improvements would be reliant on the actual engine manufacturers to do so. The D3 V6 petrol is a Ford motor which was used in the Explorer with some timing chain issues but I've heard good things about it's reliability in the D3.

Re the Tdi resale value v eg Patrol and LC..I think they are rated for the engine's simplicity and reliability but suffer from a lack of power and lack of transmission strength and overall size/carrying cspacity is too small. And of course there is the landrover indignity..ie you can't be seen in one off road because as was said to me by a Vic Patrol driver "What did you buy that **** box for"? But I was happy to take that when getting nearly twice the mpg he was getting😎

LR should be ashamed for not recalling and addressing the TDV6 issues. I wrote to them about it and received a total fob off reply. ..saying they test 50 000 componants etc etc and cannot possibly identify all future failures. What!! We are talking about a hugely expensive engine here. LR are dummies when it comes to customer relations. No wonder their car values collapse so rapidly.

It has been refreshing to read this thread.
While it is true that perhaps only a small percentage of D3 suffer engine failure , well perhaps more used ones have transmission failure, not mentioned here, to me it is a question of contingent liability.

IAS

37 defines and specifies the accounting for and disclosure of provisions,

contingent liabilities

, and

contingent

assets. Provisions. A provision is a

liability

of uncertain timing or amount. The

liability

may be a legal obligation or a constructive obligation.

In other words you don't know whether it will happen to you or not, and in D3s case the costs can be astronomical. How do you know when you buy the car whether you will be up for $7-10K in the first year. I recall a thread on here where someone bought a D3 , and it's crank failed on the way home. Ouch.
And why is a D3 not suitable out of the box for Australian conditions, with ridiculous 19 and 20 inch wheels and small tanks. Toyota seems to be able to offer 17 inch wheels on Prado. It's not hard.

So I have reluctantly decided that I cannot buy a D3-D4 as an unexpected cost of thousands of dollars would destroy my yearly pension and SMSF budget. I will have to stick with my D2 until I cannot drive any more or buy something like a Mitsubishi Challenger PB or Nissan R51 pathfinder if the D2 ****s itself.

I cannot buy a Range Rover L322 either as it is almost certain that the transmission will die at 160K or earlier at fabulous cost, which is probably why they are worth nothing. Or maybe the steering column will fail and not be fixable with the drilled hole and oil, cost what $4K?

It is a real pity and PITA that Land Rover decided to screw over its traditional customer base in favour of the Europeans. And what has it ended up with? losses of $500 million because suddenly the Euros don't like diesels.
Regards Philip A

I think the V8s both the 4.4 and 5.0 are Jags

So how about one of these Jag powered beautys.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2010-land-rover-discovery-4-v8-auto-4x4-my10/SSE-AD-5871303/?_ga=2.133421127.819704152.1552607482-811771215.1475978118&_gac=1.55827097.1552607482.CI Lq-MTwr54CFRgbawodI31clQ

Deano

Like the diesels that have a few issues, the petrols also have their issues too - in view of numbers are minor but like the TDV6 can be a pain if you have one with problems.

Yeah but all engines have some issues. If you’re looking to buy a D3, it’s an old car. My advice is to have some budget to fix what needs fixing and a bit more for any unknowns.

Originally Posted by goofyr

Yeah but all engines have some issues. If you’re looking to buy a D3, it’s an old car. My advice is to have some budget to fix what needs fixing and a bit more for any unknowns.

Exactly - so there is nothing all that unusual about the TDV6 issues - people are saying that because of the reported issues with the diesels that people should look at the V8s - well go on the US LR sites and see what issues they are having with the V8s