Disco 4 buying advice

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Originally Posted by Steve86

Hi All,
Wife & I have been working through what to replace our unfortunately written off Pajero with as the new family car. A late model Disco 4 is ahead of the competition for both practicality & capability.


Reading through various forums / reviews it seems that reliability is hit & miss for both low & high mileage models. Given the model is now several years old & there are few examples available with under 100k on the clock I’m wondering if a higher km, lower cost model might be the way to go.

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IMHO...
*I think that one at the car yard is a bit over priced with 200K.
*Buy the newest year model with the lowest km's you can find.
*In the ideal world one with low km's and serviced every 10K, the 24K servicing is crap regardless of what people will tell you.
*There are still some very low km's D4 3.0lt around you just need to look hard and expect to pay premium dollars, but still way cheaper than a used same year model Land Cruiser 200 series.
*Its a better 4x4 on road and off road than a 200 series.

*D4 3.0lt I say are no less prone to failure than a D3 but with less options to repair.
*Consider new 3.0lt engines pretty well unavailable now and just to get one landed in Australia is likely to cost round $30K (then there is labour to fit)
*A used engine will cost round 10 - 15K if you can find one.
*Inlet manifolds are prone to failure.
*Oil coolers are prone to failure.
*electronic park brakes are prone to failure and are no better than old D3 models.

If you find a good one, then initially your service costs are:
*engine service, driveline fluids changed, auto serviced.
*timing belts AND top coolant outlet change.
*If a 2015/2016 with round or under 80K get the top coolant outlet changed.
*If its had the timing belts changed by a dealer then get the top coolant outlet changed.
*front lower control arms are a common item (anything with independent front end).

A D4 3.0lt would be the last Land Rover model I would ever buy (besides a new Defender).
From the newer vehicles I see the build quality hasnt got any better.

I see plenty of D4 models with good to really good service history that are into the 290K plus and some or none of the above have failed.

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Originally Posted by Steve86

Cheers for the feedback all.

Didn't know about the OSH service - very handy to have access to. Will have to do some more research on service schedules.

Also need to read into bullbars & see if that's a potential issue.


Many Thanks,
Steve

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I saw today the local LR Dealer in Hobart with a white MY14 D4 HSE with 100,000 klms asking $69900 !!!!
WHO said that LR's depreciate........??!!! [bigsmile][bigwhistle]

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Originally Posted by Discodicky

I saw today the local LR Dealer in Hobart with a white MY14 D4 HSE with 100,000 klms asking $69900 !!!!
WHO said that LR's depreciate........??!!! [bigsmile][bigwhistle]

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Asking price is not the sale price. I’d suggest they’re being opportunist but good luck to them though.

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Originally Posted by Steve86

My other option is going all out on a low km model & trying to get an extended warranty, are they worth looking at? Example car - carsales.com.au
I’d prefer to keep the budget to $60k, but could stretch it a bit further for the right car.

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I'd get the lowest Ks one you can find and get an LR extended warranty - that's what we did.

NB, that car with 200K on it is way overpriced and there are plenty around, including in WA, that have half the Ks for the same or less money. I attached links to a couple of them.

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Originally Posted by Discodicky

Was mentioned earlier that service periods listed every 23,000 klms. But Noooo, change engine oil/filter every 10-12,000 max and use correct oil.
My TDV6 clocked 160,000 yesterday and in that time has had brakes (obviously!) timing belts (I did them early due to age, not klms), and the centre water outlet which is a MUST do anywhere between 100 and 120,00 klms. Not expensive to do, but this outlet is made of two sections glued together (!) and around that time it tends to fall apart and you'll lose all your coolant. Mostly, they show a telltale coolant leak/stain for some time leading up to the failure, so it shouldn't catch people unawares.

Auto should be serviced max 90,000 ish and sooner if towing.

Superb vehicle!!

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Seems that LR haven't done themselves any favours with the longer servicing periods. I think focus will have to be on service records. Sounds like finding one under 90,000 km would let me ensure services for are done correctly.

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Originally Posted by DazzaTD5

IMHO...
*I think that one at the car yard is a bit over priced with 200K.
*Buy the newest year model with the lowest km's you can find.
*In the ideal world one with low km's and serviced every 10K, the 24K servicing is crap regardless of what people will tell you.
*There are still some very low km's D4 3.0lt around you just need to look hard and expect to pay premium dollars, but still way cheaper than a used same year model Land Cruiser 200 series.
*Its a better 4x4 on road and off road than a 200 series.

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Agreed - Will start with asking for service records & wait for the right one to come up.

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Originally Posted by Arapiles

I'd get the lowest Ks one you can find and get an LR extended warranty - that's what we did.

NB, that car with 200K on it is way overpriced and there are plenty around, including in WA, that have half the Ks for the same or less money. I attached links to a couple of them.

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Yep, have moved away from higher km / lower price angle. Would LR offer an extended warranty on any late model D4 or do they have km limits (i.e. sub 100km)?

I now need to work out if a SDV6 is worth it over the TDV6. Not a lot on the market in WA but looks like sub 100km for a late model SDV is $60-70k & a TDV is $55-$60.

There's an interesting one on gumtree - has been listed since July - I assume he's not bothered shifting on price!
2014 Land Rover Discovery SDV6 HSE | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Wanneroo Area - Darch | 1278427200

So I've started narrowing down D4s to test drive - Looking at newer models & lowest kms

There's a couple that meet our criteria. First one has a bit of a varied service history (services at 15k, 37k, 45k, 68k & 76k) - should I be staying away given there's a couple of 20,000km intervals or getting an independent assessment?
Used 2016 Land Rover Discovery HSE at John Hughes Prestige in Victoria Park, WA

Second is a private sale, haven't asked for history yet & is a couple of years older.
carsales.com.au
No towball - how much would that cost to install?


Cheers,
Steve

The dealer one looks OK, close up of the rear brake shows a deep groove, so needs new pads and rotors - replace as a set (all 4 corners) can use this to drop the price. Have a look at the UK supplier sites rimmerbros.com or advanced factors to see what genuine pads and rotors are worth. I would not be too worried about a single 20000km interval, worth checking the record in detail anyway.

The private sale one also ok, check the service record. These cars all come with factory tow tongue, can be removed and stored inside the car. No need for an aftermarket unit. The reciever is hidden behind a plastic cover in the rear lower bumper.

Happy hunting

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Originally Posted by Eric SDV6SE

The dealer one looks OK, close up of the rear brake shows a deep groove, so needs new pads and rotors - replace as a set (all 4 corners) can use this to drop the price. Have a look at the UK supplier sites rimmerbros.com or advanced factors to see what genuine pads and rotors are worth. I would not be too worried about a single 20000km interval, worth checking the record in detail anyway.

The private sale one also ok, check the service record. These cars all come with factory tow tongue, can be removed and stored inside the car. No need for an aftermarket unit. The reciever is hidden behind a plastic cover in the rear lower bumper.

Happy hunting

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Thanks Eric, Had noticed the grooves on the brakes - thought it odd that they hadn't changed as the cars only just been serviced.

A quick search indicates that could be up to $1000 to replace, I'm good with using that to knock down price. I'm thinking an independent assessment would need to be a condition of purchase.

Didn't realise the D4 comes with the tow tounge as standard.

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Originally Posted by Steve86

Thanks Eric, Had noticed the grooves on the brakes - thought it odd that they hadn't changed as the cars only just been serviced.

A quick search indicates that could be up to $1000 to replace, I'm good with using that to knock down price. I'm thinking an independent assessment would need to be a condition of purchase.

Didn't realise the D4 comes with the tow tounge as standard.

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If they knock 1k off for the brakes you could do it yourself for nearly half that.

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Originally Posted by loanrangie

If they knock 1k off for the brakes you could do it yourself for nearly half that.

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I'd be asking for a bit more off once a check of the service history is done and a full visual inspection