Long term cost of ownership :Discover 4 vs Prado

[discolandinaus]

I am new to this forum. I have spend quite a lot of time in this forum and I found it very useful. Thanks to all. Recently me and my wife decided that that we need to look for an SUV. We test drove both the Prado and Discovery 4 and the interior, drive comfort of the disco is exceptional. Also I could felt that disco was very quiet as compared to Prado.

1) Everything looks perfect in the disco and I was more inclined towards a used disco 4 till I found an advertisement in carsales of a used discovery 4 where the owner has mentioned that he had a recent service with some replacement which costed him 3000k for a vehicle which has run less than 50k. I know that there are a couple of service locations for D4 in Melbourne other than authorised ones. Can somebody put some lights on how much they cost for the major and minor service (A, B C service.). The landrover guy told me that their service cost around $850.

2) I would like to know how much I would require to maintain the discovery 4, i mean other than normal service? What are the things which requires replacement(Example in prado it is said that the fuel injector has to be replaced)


3) For 50k, I have seen a couple of advertisements of 2009 to 2011 model Discovery 4 with around 70 to 100,000km. My question is what kind of maintaince can I expect from this kind of vehicle and how much does it cost.



Thanks!

[nat_89]

Welcome to the forum and your dead right they are an awesome car and far superior to a Prado (i came from a 150 Prado). Now as for servicing cant help you to much there as mine is under the corporate program which is free servicing but i believe at LR its about $530 a service.

Now that seems rich but put it in perspective, the D4s get serviced every 25000kms thats 2.5 times more than a Prado so your servicing costs will be relatively close when you take that into account.

As you've probably read they are a great vehicle and have minimal problems although the brake switch does give some trouble with age but if your half mechanical I'm sure you will probably be able to fix the odd issue or two that arise.

Ive only had my new D4 for 10 months and 30000kms so i cant comment on the long term issues but just from reading on this forum they appear to be super reliable and really a great car.

As everyone says they just give you a grin from ear to ear each drive they are an amazing car and you won't be disappointed.

[discolandinaus]

Thanks for your response. Yes Toyota needs servicing every 10k. I also read about corporate plans in the forum. However, my budget is $50 to max $55k. I believe the new discovery 4 will cost around $79k. I was told that demo vehicle is available for $72k.

$500 service is fine, however I am just worried with the ongoing cost of a used disco which has run around 50 to 80k km.

Thanks again.

[coolum]

Put into perspective - Costs running any SUV are all relative (from one brand to another) and when buying second hand you are purchasing some level of maintenance. The $$ difference between brands at the SUV level really boils down to the same - expensive.


Big tyres, big batteries, gallons of oil, buckets of fuel when compared to a prius. So it then boils down to 'a lot', or 'a bit more' for what I want.


Depreciation alone is significant and you'll probably loose more in resale than it costs to run anyway ...assuming you don't have a major engine or box failure in the meantime.


Now that you've driven a D4, imagine buying a Prado and every time you see a D4 drive past you'll be thinking how much more that lucky person is enjoying the trip.


Its OK for those who don't know the difference - they console themselves with a 'brand war slogan' in one form or another.


Every mile you travel in a D3 D4, on road or off, you'll know it doesn't get any better than this - Apart from maybe a FFRR.


But you are lucky you can choose.

[RobA]

A very interesting discussion for me given we have ordered our first D4 and will be selling one of our 150 Prado along the way. As a tour operator and 4WD trainer and owner of an off-road camper trailer that we tow all over Australia the choice has been easy and challenging.

In the first instance I don't think it's fair to compare a D4 to a Prado, more appropriate to put it alongside an LC200. It will always depend on personal needs but for us we found the Prado underpowered when towing, albeit a chip fixed that but then there is that cost amongst others. So D4 with better finish, performance and comfort on and off-road at a lower price than a LC200 made it an easy choice in that sense.

Yes there are special items in a D4 such as the jesus box that keeps all four legs of the air suspension operating correctly. But that gets replaced at around 70000km I think and is around $1500 or thereabouts. But Prado and LC200 in some models also have air suspension on the rear and that requires a similar maintenance regime

So I am not bagging the Prado we have operated Toyota 4WD for 20 years and will continue to do so but I have to say I am really looking forward to the D4 arriving as my early Christmas present

I hope this commentary helps with your decision but our requirements are focussed on outback touring and towing so may be different from yours

Regards

Rob

[101RRS]

Can we stop calling then SUVs - they are 4wds. Yes I appreciate the battle against this Americanism has probably been lost but there is no reason to reinforce its use.

I have a RRS bought when it had 38,000km and now 91,000km. I don't know about the Prado but my brother has a 10MY Hilux so same basic vehicle as a Prado underneath - it also has about 90,000km on it and has certainly cost a little bit more to maintain and had a few more issues (a few replacement steering columns) than my RRS.

So I would say that there is nothing to fear with a used D4 as long as the usual pre purchase checks are done.

Garry

[Grant052]

Well said Garry, and oh BTW, can we PLEASE stop calling them "trucks"? I don't drive a "truck", my Disco 3 (and D4s and RRS's) are all extremely capable off-road, comfortable cars. They do not have the characteristics of a truck nor do they drive like a truck (unlike the Land Cruisers and Patrols, hmmm, going to cop some flak over that aren't I?) so please desist, we don't drive "trucks"!

[101RRS]

Well said Garry, and oh BTW, can we PLEASE stop calling them "trucks"? I don't drive a "truck", my Disco 3 (and D4s and RRS's) are all extremely capable off-road, comfortable cars.

I agree with respect to D3s etc but I do have a big truck and a little truck and they are referred to as such

Big Truck and Little Truck together

[dazray]

I drove a LC200 Sahara the other day. It drove really nicely and was very comfortable. The only 2 things I really wanted that the LC200 had was standard 18" wheels and 135 ltr tank.
Things I didn't like was the third row seats don't fold flat into floor and unless your 5 your knees are around your ears in the third row.
And of course I love the air suspension in my D4.
If the D4 had 18" rims and a larger capacity tank say at least 100 ltrs as standard, it would be the perfect 4wd for me..
I know you can get GOE rims, but then that is another $2750 + rubber for a set of 5.

[101RRS]

I drove a LC200 Sahara the other day. It drove really nicely and was very comfortable.

My other brother also has a LC200 Sahara bought new in March this year - it has already has its front suspension replaced as the springs had sagged - he could have had them replaced under warranty but went for aftermarket springs which are better but have still settled a bit. Otherwise is going well - he pulled out the rear seats as they take up too much room even when folded. With his 3rd seats in place my RRS has more room inside. The D3/D4 seems smaller on the outside and is much larger on the inside.

So all cars have their issues.

Garry