Thread: Why I love my D3, and why I drive a Landy

Today’s instalment……..

Why I love my D3……

I love the fact that when you get behind the wheel, you feel about two inches taller and the only things bigger are F250s and Trucks…… I dare say driving a Land Rover becomes part of yoru identity...... Brad Pitt and George Clooney can only dream of feeling this good (insert permagrin here)

I love the fact that my D3 is the only local one in the small town I now live in….. (holidaying Queenslanders excluded)

I love the fact that it is the only Land Rover on site in amongst a sea of Prados and HiLuxes…….

Cheers for today

DS

For today’s instalment on why I love my D3/Land Rover I am going to borrow a post from another thread:

Is it true that D3 TDV6 can catch fire?

Thanks Nomad9!

“For me this incident was a one off, I wouldn't have said this was a regular thing. All vehicles have their problems some more serious than others. I had a 200 Nissan Patrol for about five years living under the cloud that the 2000 ZD30 engine was going to blow up. I maintained my Patrol with regular preventative maintenance, I chipped it , I towed with it, had bigger tyres etc plus it was close to it's load limit with all the gadgets and gizmos, never missed a beat from the day I bought it until I sold it, great vehicle. My D3 is the same, great vehicle, when mine toasted itself I searched forums, I made contact with LR in the UK trying to find out if this was a regular thing. Nothing alarming came back from anywhere, to be honest this is the first time I've heard about the fuel pump issue, will I be selling mine tomorrow because of this? No I won't, the pros far out weigh the cons. Didn't get to be 4WD of the year for eva by being overpriced and unreliable did it.
On forums you will find the majority of people have got problems or who have had problems, you will also find people who've got a genuine interest in helping people. Some forums I've been on look at suspension and tyres and lift kits and how far you can push something until it breaks. This LR forum for me has been great, the majority of assistance and comments have been of a constructive nature which sits well with me, the comaradary (spelling) is 100% fits with the marque.
If you update buy wisely, look to the forum for assistance, if you do get into strife I'm sure someone out there in Land Rover land can and will help you.”

There are a few points made in this post (you need to read the entire thread above for context) that are some key reasons as to why I love my Landy

The first being that the D3 (and the D4 is fast following) is the most awarded 4x4 on the market, and there is a certain ownership pride that comes with that…. But the key issue here is that it took some serious balls on the part of Land Rover to take the D2, and the years of, call it what you will, under the skin that made it a true Land Rover and start with a clean slate. What they came up with was the D3, which not only changed the minds of the motoring fraternity with respect to Land Rover, but kept all of us skeptics (in our D2s at the time, and shaking our heads at the independently sprung, computerised, behemoth that was presented to us) true to the marque, at the same time winning over countless new converts. All of this in addition to producing one of the best 4x4s of all time. I dare say, they managed to please all the people….. I love my D3!

Another point Nomad makes is about the people that drive Land Rovers, both here in the forum, and out there on and off the road. I have not met a true Land Rover driver (RRS pimp mobiles excluded) that wouldn’t drop everything to help another. Land Rover drivers are special people, why I am not sure…. Perhaps brought together by adversity J, but they are! I love the fact that Safari Barbie considers us Land Rover people, and I love what that makes us…… I love my Landy!

And last for today, the point about buying wisely….. I have said this before, but dollar for dollar, rand for rand, pound for pound, wherever you are spending your money, you can’t beat a Land Rover for value, you just get so much more vehicle for your money…. A few years ago in South Africa, a mate of mine bought a 2nd hand Prado, at about the same time I bought my 2nd hand D2. He paid a 25% premium for an older, higher mileage vehicle. A year later he sold it because he couldn’t live with it. I had my D2 until we left a year later and could not have been happier with it. The point here is, if you remove the “only buy Toyota or you will have trouble” blinkers, do a bit of research, make use of these forums and the countless people out there who are willing to help, and as a result buy wisely, you will not go wrong with a Land Rover and will have years of happy motoring and 4x4ing with it. Not to mention the smug permagrin every time you overtake a Prado…….. I love my Landy.

That’s it for today folks, let me know when you get sick of my ramblings and I will stop.

DS

Originally Posted by DiscoSaffa

I have not met a true Land Rover driver (RRS pimp mobiles excluded) that wouldn’t drop everything to help another.

DS

I shall certainly try not to morph into said sunglassed drug-smuggling pimp-dressed RRS driver when the time arrives

Cheers,

Gordon

Originally Posted by gghaggis

I shall certainly try not to morph into said sunglassed drug-smuggling pimp-dressed RRS driver when the time arrives

Cheers,

Gordon

Never forgetting the tinted windows (this is forgivable) and 23 inch chromed wheels.......

DS I love your installments and if you keep this up LR may put you on their pr payroll.

The funniest thing I have ever seen from a land rover driver was about 11 years ago when I was driving on the beach at Robe. I had left my beloved range rover classic at home because it had broken down and I wasn't interested in fixing it and be faced with the fuel bill generated by the 350 I had under the bonnet. So I hired a rav 4 soft top and had a wonderfull time blasting on top of the sand. Anyway we were driving along the beach and an unfortunate LR driver had managed to get himself bogged in the semi soft sand (as many were doing in their new computer controlled cars). I drove around him a couple of times to see what was going on and stopped to lend a hand and assistance by shovelling some sand away from his axles and sills because he had managed to bury it that much. The hapless LR driver was using one of the little fold up shovels whilst his barbie doll sat on the foot mat on the sand waiting patiently for her man to sort out the problem. With a long handled shovel and tires aired down we quickly had him freed. Barbie doll hops back in the car and lol and behold 10 meters on, he has bogged himself just as bad again by not knowing when to stop using the right foot. We dug him out and got him going again. He was determined not to get bogged again and continued on up the beach and out of sight.... leaving his barbie doll behind. She sure did have a long walk up the beach to where ever they had come from carrying that floor mat.


I might also add that at least when the D3 went up in smoke it was covered by insurance not like that time bomb ticking under the nissan bonnet where you are left high and dry by everyone and importantly Nissan.

.....I have to agree with you all the way (having read the full thread)....having driven 5 Landies in the last 50 years, four of which I owned and the last three being Discos. Locally here, D3 owners all seem to wave ('cept a few soccer mums).
But a little test today in the wet on a round-about involved a vehicle entering the round-about on my left whilst I had already entered. Doing about 25 km/h, I hit the skids, ABS cutting in, relatively new Coopers, and I stopped, my bull bar within an inch of his drivers door. Any lesser vehicle would have resulted in his two right doors being taken out.
Yes, another D3 tragic.
Witness...
LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 - www.drive.com.au

Originally Posted by trobbo

DS I love your installments and if you keep this up LR may put you on their pr payroll.

*sigh* if only I could earn a living doing this!!

Anyway, I am sorry but I have missed a few instalments..... what with moving house towards the end of last week, and month end reporting..... have to work some time I guess.....

I will get the next instalment underway today….. plenty to tell after the weekend I have had! But in the mean time please feel free to jump in with your own stories like trobbo, and rovers1952……. I am not the only one that feels the way I do about Land Rovers, and I know I would love to hear other stories, and I am sure there are more out there that would love to hear em……..

Till later

DS

Right, today’s instalment….. (gonna take advantage of a few spare minutes in my morning)

Why I love my Land Rover. I love it’s ability to make friends…… towards the end of last week I had a training session at work…. You know the kind….. at the beginning you all have to introduce yourself, name, where you from, what are your interests blah blah blah….. offcourse Land Rovers came up under the interest section when I introduced myself. Come the morning tea break, this kicked off two conversations and resulted in making contact with two people I would otherwise never have met….. my favourite was a young guy who has just started work with us and his opening remark was something like, “So mate, you got any other Land Rovers or just the shiny one you drive every day?” made me chuckle……. Love my D3!

As mentioned earlier, we had the pleasure of moving house last week……. Somehow while in transit our goods seem to have expanded, and we had a surplus of furniture etc etc…… no problem, there is a local place that offers storage, and they even have a trailer you can borrow for free, bonus. Friday morning I went along, signed up and picked up the trailer…… not the little box trailer I was expected, but a two ton horsebox type thing…… “no worries” I thought, I drive a D3. That said I was a bit concerned, in that I only drive the V6 petrol……. Anyway I hitched it up (thanks for all the advice from all of you out there!) and off I went…… the vehicle didn’t even feel it, at one point I had to negotiate a right turn across traffic on the Pacific highway, a manoeuvre that requires lightning quick reflexes on the part of the driver and the vehicle, forgot about trailer, saw a gap, took it….. no drama…… I love my D3!

I love the fact that my eldest daughter (all of 2 years and 4 months old) has a relationship with my Land Rover. You should know by now that my Land Rover’s name is Audrey….. My daughter after commenting that Audrey looked funny with a bright orange trailer, was helping me unpack……. At which point she turns to the car and says. “look at me Audrey, I am carrying boxes”. Later in the day, she was paddling in her pool in the garden, and turned to the driveway and said, “look at me Audrey, I’m swimming”…… My family loves my D3!

That's it for today.....

DS