Thread: Disco 4 best for touring Aust?

Originally Posted by Discodicky

One other comment re D3/4 service costs. It would seem to me after reading countless stories, that some Dealers and Indies leave a lot to one's desires re unnecessary service work/costs. One which springs to mind is the replacement of front suspension lower control arm bushes. I am amazed that some people are being told theirs need replacing at very low klms and well under 100k. Mine have done 126,000 (2013 D4) and are fine. Sure, heavy offroad and/or rough roads will reduce their life, but.......

Not quite correct,mine were knocking badly at 75 000K.
A mate has a D4 thats knocking at less than 50 000K,hardly ever been off road.

Speak to a good Indy,and you will find out many go at less than 100 000K,even vehicles that don't go off road.

My D4 has been the most expensive vehicle to maintain i have ever had.And its now done around 80 000K.
Its serviced by a good Indy,prices are generally half the dealer,and they do a much better job.
Brakes all round.
Timing belts
Lower control arms.
EAS corner valve
Routine services
Auto flush and pan.

If you can do the work on the vehicle yourself,as some on here do,you will be fine.
If you have to get someone else to do it,then budget for a good few $$$.

As for Toyota,i have said on here previously,we run a fleet of their vans,they will do 300 000K without one repair.Not one van,but many.
Sure they don't have the complications of a 4WD,don't go off road,but they still have a lot that could go wrong.

Originally Posted by scarry

Not quite correct,mine were knocking badly at 75 000K.
A mate has a D4 thats knocking at less than 50 000K,hardly ever been off road.

Speak to a good Indy,and you will find out many go at less than 100 000K,even vehicles that don't go off road.

I agree, they dont last all that long really - I replaced mine recently after 111,000km - but they where gone well before that (couldn't tell you exactly when as I didnt make a note of it)

Originally Posted by INter674

Oh and the lack of lock..well his son was working on a mod to fix that he said.

Kits have been available to fix this for quite some time.

Originally Posted by Larabie

Hi all, I'm just new to AULRO.

My reason for joining is that i love LRs and am wanting to buy one - Disco 4 I'm thinking - to tow a caravan around Australia but I'm concerned about the costs of owning one. They are cheap enough to buy second hand but what are the annual running costs and how reliable are they? At the risk of offending anyone, I'm wondering if i would be better off buying a landcruiser?


Any comments much appreciated.

Just over one year ago we bought a 2016 D4 SDV6 HSE and love it. I researched and compared for months prior to buying it and kept looking until I found one that ticked most of the boxes on my list.
As part of my research I also considered the LC200 but found it was an easy decision to go with the D4 in the end.

I haven’t driven to 200 series so my knowledge is anecdotal but I do know quite a number of guys who own them. The things that put me off the Cruiser were things like suspension upgrades, transmission “locks”, chipping etc which seem to be needed in order to make them as good touring vehicle compared to the D4 which, I have discovered, is eminently capable without modification.

It seems to me that with both vehicles there will be some which have problems and faults that continue to cause angst for their owners but there will be many that go for years without trouble and niggles. As for cost of routine maintenance I doubt there would be much difference. Many people on this forum suggest that prevention is better than a cure and so that is what my approach has been.

The previous owner of my car had already taken it over the Simpson Desert and so had spent some money on light truck Maxxis tyres, UHF radio, and the Traxide dual battery system. It also came with the very desirable option of the electronic locking rear diff. He had only done routine servicing in accordance with LR’s service schedule. Mileage was around 68000km so I felt I had a relatively clean slate from which to start.

The first thing I did was book it in to my local Indy for a full service and complete change of all oils using all genuine parts. They weren’t able to do the transmission oil at that time so we left that out for the time being. this included oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, genuine LR engine oil, transfer case oil and rear diff oil. Brake fluid and coolant were tested and everything else checked. Mileage was 68846km
Cost was $1140.00. I also had a Tow Pro Brake Controller fitted at a cost of $990.

Next service at 75316km was prior to leaving on our annual winter trip north towing our AOR Odyssey camper trailer which weighs around 1.8 tonnes all up. Cost for Oil, oil and air filters and general check at Eastern Ranges Prestige was $520.

Next service was in Darwin at 87021km which included engine oil and all filters and a complete underbody check (we had travelled quite some distance on outback gravel roads including the alternative Savannah Way from Chillagoe Qld across through Burketown and Borroloola to Darwin. Cost was $874. He was an LR specialist and his hourly rate was $160 which was a bit of a surprise, but hey, it was Darwin...

We fitted a new set of 4 tyres back in Queensland at 94100km at a cost of $1485. We are continuing with Maxxis 255/55x19 AT980 and are pretty happy with their performance and wear although there was some evidence of tread chipping.

Once arriving home it was time to attend to a transmission oil service so booked in to A&B Automotive in Dandenong and this was done at 98655km at a cost of $930.

The car is now due for another service which I will get done in the next couple of weeks.

Three warranty issues have been dealt with by Doncaster Land Rover before warranty ran out in March 2019.
The top radiator hose was sliced through by the engine cover which I reported on an earlier thread. This was all rectified
A knock developed in the front of the car which turned out to be the lower control arms which were replaced. While driving in to the dealer to get the control arms replaced the parking brake locked on at a set of traffic lights and so this was checked and was also repaired and parts replaced.
Their service was excellent and all issues were dealt with without any hassles at all.

I’m very happy with my decision and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the D4 for what you want to do.
cheers

David

Originally Posted by Barraman

I’m sure my dental work would be cheaper if I did it myself too !

So you pay your dentist to brush your teeth - just kidding

Seriously though, I certainly accept that the more tech aspects need to be done by a specialist and I do this such as oil pump replacement on a 2.7. As I indicated it is your choice and if you feel comfortable maintaining your vehicle solely by paid mechanics that is great. However my point was that you implied that it is more expensive to maintain a D4 than other vehicles and that is just not the case - if you had a 200 series Sahara as my brother does and you followed the same logic in maintaining that as you do with your D4, then expenses similar to what have experienced would be the norm - fuel is an exception as the 200 series consumes fuel with astonishing ease.

My brother has just taken delivery of his HSV Chev Silverado with its 6.6 litre TDV8 and it gives better fuel consumption than his 200 series in the same conditions. The Sahara is on the market now.

So I was not criticising you maintenance regime - just highlighting that the costs would be similar for other vehicles.

Cheers

Garry

"One which springs to mind is the replacement of front suspension lower control arm bushes. I am amazed that some people are being told theirs need replacing at very low klms and well under 100k"

My D4 has 180,000 km on it - lower control arm bushes have been done once and feel like they need to be done again. It has a shudder coming in under light braking which disappears under heavy braking - which I understand to indicate LCA issues.

Never been off road and minimal dirt roads!

Originally Posted by shanegtr

I agree, they dont last all that long really - I replaced mine recently after 111,000km - but they where gone well before that (couldn't tell you exactly when as I didnt make a note of it)

But they aren't a major,just another nuisance item to add to the list.Not a complete show stopper,such as, say an alternater.
Or a starter motor on a 200 series.

i have wondered how long they last on say a Y62,as a comparison.Or a PAJ,or Prado.I have a brother who hasn't touched the front end on his Prado in 200 000k's of rough NT outback roads.But the starter motor has recently failed.
They aren't even mentioned on any LC sites,so can't be an issue on them,although some use aftermarket suspension components when doing GVM upgrades and lifts,etc.

Originally Posted by 101RRS

So you pay your dentist to brush your teeth - just kidding

fuel is an exception as the 200 series consumes fuel with astonishing ease.

My brother has just taken delivery of his HSV Chev Silverado with its 6.6 litre TDV8 and it gives better fuel consumption than his 200 series in the same conditions. The Sahara is on the market now.



Cheers

Garry

But some forget,fuel consumption isn't everything.
The resale on an LC has always been way better than any LR product,except possibly Defenders.

Have a look at the prices of D3/4 and compare them to same year,same mileage LC200.
There is just no comparison.
Then have a look at what a good LC 100 series brings,an equivalent Discovery is less than half,same year/condition,etc.

There is a reason for these resale prices.Its supply and demand.