New Buyer - Advice Re Sydney Appraisal

[Strop]

Hi all,

I am new here but I am sure that I can get the advice I need.

I am looking at buying my first 4WD and it looks like it is going to be a Discovery 3 or 4. As it is my first I am looking at the mid market ground in case things go pear shape with liking 4W Drives. Budget around $30K. Want to use if with a camper trailer. So as others looking at low km Disco 3 or High km Disco 4. I have found couple I am interested in. One in Sydney but as I don't live there I am unable to pop around and have a look myself so I have decided I need to get it inspected. Private sale so being as careful as I can be.

The car is located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney so I am after a recommendation as to where I might make arrangements to have an honest and thorough inspection undertaken. I would probably get any repairs needed done there before I brought it home also. The car has done around 175,000 km and the owner has not indicated that the timing belts have been changed so I am assuming that they have not been. I am also assuming that there has been little service of the gearbox either, though car not used off road or for towing (no towbar) - just HWY miles. Also a bit concerned about the Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valves and the air suspension compressor. I know that the front lower control arms and rack ends might need replacing as well with that number of kms. Forums are great resources of potential bad news. That adds up to a lot of $$$$ now and in the next 50,000K

I have been advised that MOST of the servicing has been done by Artarmon Land Rover - not sure what kind of work they do but any feedback would be appreciated.

I would also like any feedback on the quality of Land Rover Service at either Tamworth or Coffs Harbour if anyone has experience there.

Thanks all

Laurie

[eddomak]

Hi Laurie,

Welcome to the forum, and hopefully we can welcome you as LR owner soon.

Graeme Cooper is in St Peters (20 minutes from the Eastern suburbs) and is a trusted independant LR specialist and is often recommended.
If you want to head north to Artarmon, Cremorne Prestige (located in Artarmon, 25 minutes from the Eastern Suburbs) is also well trusted and used by members here.

I have used both and am happy.

Regards,
Edwin.

[Strop]

Thank you,

Contacted Graeme Cooper and $275 for a pre purchase inspection. Now to try and convince the seller to give up their car for half a day.

Didn't want to go to Artarmon as I think that is where it has been serviced previously and might be biased in their evaluation :-)

Not entirely relevant to this thread but a quick question if anyone else reads here.

Does the Discovery 4 come with a built in towing system requiring that you just have to buy the part that attaches to the vehicle?
Either the LR one (plough) or the Mitch Hitch?
Do both of these units then come with the tow ball attachment?

Trying to come to terms with a car I have never been in and don't know anyone who has one.

Thanks

Laurie

[letherm]

Thank you,

Contacted Graeme Cooper and $275 for a pre purchase inspection. Now to try and convince the seller to give up their car for half a day.

Didn't want to go to Artarmon as I think that is where it has been serviced previously and might be biased in their evaluation :-)

Not entirely relevant to this thread but a quick question if anyone else reads here.

Does the Discovery 4 come with a built in towing system requiring that you just have to buy the part that attaches to the vehicle?
Either the LR one (plough) or the Mitch Hitch?
Do both of these units then come with the tow ball attachment?

Trying to come to terms with a car I have never been in and don't know anyone who has one.

Thanks

Laurie

Hi Laurie and welcome

They come with the tow bar as standard but the actual hitch is a bit of a lottery. Some dealers supplied them with the new car and some didn't. Get Graeme to confirm it if you're worried and ask the seller about it. Most people don't have the hitch in for day to day running. I keep mine behind the 2nd row of seats in the foot well for the 3rd row which I have flattened down for more cargo space.

martin

[eddomak]

Thank you,

Contacted Graeme Cooper and $275 for a pre purchase inspection. Now to try and convince the seller to give up their car for half a day.

Didn't want to go to Artarmon as I think that is where it has been serviced previously and might be biased in their evaluation :-)

There is a dealer (Alto) in Artarmon, and their servicing department is in St Leonards.
Cremorne Prestige is independent of them, so you would be safe going there.

Does the Discovery 4 come with a built in towing system requiring that you just have to buy the part that attaches to the vehicle?
Either the LR one (plough) or the Mitch Hitch?

What may not be immediately clear from Letherm's post is that there are several parts to the factory LR towing system:
1) a vertical hole in the car to accept....
2) ... "the plough" (2 versions of basically the same thing, but the D4 one offers better ground clearance and you can remove the spare with the this in place on the D4 version), which plugs in and ends in a square hitch
3) a hitch which ends in a tongue (where you can attach a tow ball or the towing attachment of your choice

All cars have #1.
As Letherm said, some dealers neglected to include #2. There is a compartment for it to fit into in the back of the car when not in use.
# 3 was always an additional purchase, sometime LR, otherwise aftermarket.
Ask the seller if they have #2, and/or #3.

On a slightly related note, if you need a recovery point, then all cars come with the recovery loop that is located above the tow hitch (in the centre of the rear bumper once the plastic cover is removed).

[Strop]

Thank you for that.

I thought I had my head around the D4 model specs but the more I look at ads the more confused I get. Looking for a D4 SDV6 SE. Been looking at 2011 models and I thought they came wth 3 litre twin turbo, electric seats, individual arm rests and 19" wheels. As do all the SDV6 models since their introduction. These are the most obvious things to differentiate from TdV model.

I thought the TdV had 18" wheels, manual seats, no individual armrests and 2.7 litre single turbo motor.

As I said I am getting very confused. Am I missing something? Or did it change 2011 to 2012?

Laurie

[DieselLSE]

Strop, I've just been through a similar D4 selection/buying process except that I was prepared to buy a new/demo vehicle until I learned about the DPF (diesel particulate filter) that was fitted to most recent (2014 to 2017), some earlier (c2012 to 2013) and most earlier (c2010 to 2012) or thereabouts D4s. The advice I received was to look for a non DPF vehicle with less than 60,000km.

What I'm suggesting is that you need to come up with your own list of requirements. This forum is brilliant and helped me immensely with establishing my criteria and subsequently with what accessories to add and what spares to carry. I've had my car for four weeks now and am still setting it up (already fitted a winch and bullbar).

FWIW my priorities (apart from good condition and service record) were:
1. Non DPF
2. Light exterior colour (for hot climate trips)
3. Light interior (not black)
4. Less than 60,000km

I would have liked an e-diff and power seats and perhaps a sunroof, but was happy to settle for an exceptionally good local late 2013 build car (seriously, was literally around the corner!) with rear aircon (not needed as I've removed the third row seating and two of the second row seats) bi-xenon lights, sat nav with reverse camera (but this could be standard for all I know) 11 speaker sound (I think this was a slight upgrade from standard), towing setup and with new tyres, battery and recent service and 42,000kms. Paid $58k. Probably a high price, but cheaper than new/demo and the car drives like new without any squeeks or rattles etc. I'm very happy with it. I was expecting that white would be my only choice, but this car was Ipanema Sand which is a sort of light silver with a bit of a green tinge.

If I may make a suggestion, have as your top priority a less than 100,000km car that you can verify has driven country miles and has not worked hard by either towing or 4WDriving. A&B Automatics advised that they have serviced gearboxes up to 120,000km that were fine, but they stressed that the gearboxes hadn't worked hard. My plan is to service the box at 60,000km and thereafter every 30,000 (along with diffs) and engine every 10,000km. I keep my cars a long time.

I would suggest a second priority would be a non-DPF vehicle (cow's **** isn't really good for engines) and I would put all other options (e-diff, colour, power seats, towing pack, etc.) on a "nice to have" list.

Good luck.

Thank you for that.

I thought I had my head around the D4 model specs but the more I look at ads the more confused I get. Looking for a D4 SDV6 SE. Been looking at 2011 models and I thought they came wth 3 litre twin turbo, electric seats, individual arm rests and 19" wheels. As do all the SDV6 models since their introduction. These are the most obvious things to differentiate from TdV model.

I thought the TdV had 18" wheels, manual seats, no individual armrests and 2.7 litre single turbo motor.

As I said I am getting very confused. Am I missing something? Or did it change 2011 to 2012?

Laurie

[letherm]

I would have liked an e-diff and power seats and perhaps a sunroof, but was happy to settle for an exceptionally good local late 2013 build car (seriously, was literally around the corner!) with rear aircon (not needed as I've removed the third row seating and two of the second row seats) bi-xenon lights, sat nav with reverse camera (but this could be standard for all I know) 11 speaker sound (I think this was a slight upgrade from standard), towing setup and with new tyres, battery and recent service and 42,000kms.

Is your's an HSE? I bought a new NOV 2013 D4 HSE and the equipment you mentioned was pretty much the same. As far as the e-diff is concerned, from about 2013 on, the software changes make an e-diff a nice to have as the standard terrain response became extremely capable and e-diff became necessary only if you are doing very serious off road stuff. It can still make a difference but is no longer a deal breaker. It cost about $1000 at the time so if available I would have taken it but I took floor stock instead of waiting for a car to be made with the e-diff.

HTH,
Martin

[DieselLSE]

>Is your's an HSE?

No. it's an SDV6 I think. Has leather seats (hundreds of 'em!). Well, 7. Now has three. But manual adjustment which I can live with. I assume it's a sort of base model. I know it cost $97k new in December 2013. I understand the options included were towing pack, rear aircon, 11 or 13 speaker HK upgrade, satnav with rear camera. It doesn't have power fold mirrors, sunroof and the keyless entry. But I think the keyless entry was in the last of the D4 upgrades in early 2014.

I take your point on the e-diff and I had been advised of that. But I prefer having front and rear diff locks as an emergency escape provision!

[Strop]

Ok, now about to read about DPF.

Yes, I have a list but I am now putting

BE PATIENT IT WILL COME ALONG

at the top of it

Thanks