Question for owners of high km D4's

[LGM]

Folks,

I purchased my D4 HSE brand spanking new off the showroom floor in 2011, its now coming up to 320,000km on the clock and in its 12th year. Up until D4 I have never held onto a vehicle for so long. The D4 has always been a damned good ride. It has always been serviced to the LR 'arduous duty' cycle by a very, very good LR service agent.

The vehicle has been repaired back to the LR standard if there has been any issue. It has only let me down once when the brake light switch (FoMoCo part) basically collapsed and I had to be towed to the LR service agent for the 15 minute fix. That did not dent my confidence in the vehicle, however, I have wondered what is a reasonable life span for some components etc.

That has got me thinking if I should change out the D4 for something else. For those that have high Km D4's what are you folks thinking re your own vehicle?

So the question is, do I keep the D4 and know that I will at some stage spend a reasonable amount of loot on the D4 or do I change it out? According to my LR service agent my D4 is in really excellent nick!

I am torn between the two to be truthful.

LGM

[DiscoJeffster]

I can’t afford a Defender at this stage so for me, my 2010 3L D4 310,000km will be with me for another few years yet, probably until I can get into a secondhand Defender one day. As you say, they’re such a great and capable vehicle.

[BMKal]

I have a 2011 D4 with the 2.7 diesel. Purchased near new (demo with 1,000km on the clock) from Barbagallo. Was serviced by Barbagallo while I was working down in Perth, and by Goldfields Offroad since then, and is still in "as new" condition. Nowhere near the km's on the clock as yours though - mine has less than 170k on it. Has never let me down. One issue with a transmission / transfer calibration error after driving through some deep water a while back, was fixed by re-calibrating using GAP IID tool. Doubt if I'll be replacing it, but if I do, would either be with another low km D4 or another breed altogether. The only "new" Land Rover that might interest me is the Defender - but it is now well out of my price range.

[Plane Fixer]

I feel the same way about my D4 as it is the most comfortable vehicle I have ever owned. I am almost at 300,000k
It was bought new and I have always looked after it and has only been used on country trips as I do contract work. As I am a believer in preventative maintenance I had done at 270,000 both intake manifolds, oil pump, water pump, belts, oil cooler, coolant inlet manifold and starter.
Previously, due my own fault I had to have an exchange transfer box. The auto is serviced at about 70,000 and I had the mechatronic done at some point.
I changed all bags and shocks at 200,000 and a new Hitachi compressor at 250,000.
That is all I can think of at the moment, they are not a cheap car to run, but for our old bones the comfort and being so nice to drive makes it all worthwhile.

[PerthDisco]

Far happier reading than the ‘my 3.0 engine has blown’ thread.

[rambada]

My D4 is at a miserly 240,000km and still running so sweet. I too have been grazing 'what else' but nothing comes close. We service it regularly and proactively maintain it as our inde recommends.

The radar is watching the Defender (hopefully for used vehicles at a lot cheaper) and 1/2 an eye on the new Ford Everest. In the meantime, my faithful D4 gives me no reason to jump just yet.

[DiscoJeffster]

Well recently I’ve replaced all injectors, rear upper arms, front lower, coolant change, gearbox fluid (triple change with ZF fluid, about to do power steering, also a couple of years back I did all bottom end bearings, all the usual cooling system refresh, plus oil pump etc.

The drivetrain is quite clunky now with a decent on off throttle clunk. I’m told it’s normal for these, probably the front diff, but no interest to resolve from the Indy.

I feel like I’ve “invested” so much I’d better keep it

[Jpdv]

The thing is, if you've got one that isn't a lemon, there's very little else that hits so many sweet spots. I describe it to people as a 'swiss army knife' vehicle. There's very, very little else that will cruise in complete comfort at under 7.5 L/100km, but from stock can get places very few other vehicles can. If you can't fit something in the back, it won't fit in any other vehicle except a ute. And if relatives turn up, 2 or 3 clicks and lifts, and you can seat 7 in fair comfort. All of that, and whilst people like to knock the tech, it makes actually driving it some of the easiest I've ever done. The towing capability is second to none. And that press of a button up/down air suspension is pretty bloody sorted in the later D4s.

This capability/cost equation is why I've come back after a decade away. I paid less for a second hand 2016 vehicle than I would have done to option a landcruiser - and I intend to run it for at least a decade. Nothing comes close at the price point, which makes sensible preventative maintenance good value. There are always bad examples, but you can get that with any marque. It is only the second vehicle I've ever owned where I get a sense of pleasure every single time I go to start it - and the first was a Disco 3 back in the UK.

If it has a catastrophic failure at some point, I'll regretfully bin it if it ain't cost-effective to repair, but until then every time I use it is a pleasure. My target is at least half a million KMs.

[Eric SDV6SE]

I’ve always held onto cars for a decent amount of time and I’m a firm believer in preventative maintenance. My bus is at 221,000km and so far has not really let us down. Yes, a few expensive fixes (both turbos replaced within 12 months of each other) but other than that, the regular service and consumable items.

apart from the new Defender or a late model D4 there is nothing in a comparable spec level out there. Each time I look at cars like the DMax, patrol or LC, they are only now catching up with the tech we have been living with for the past decade.

I am aiming for 500,000km from my D4 but I doubt that without significant investment it will make it, so at one point I have to decide. My eye is drawn to the P400 defender as I have posted before, I think despite all their foibles, the LR marque has my vote.

[shanegtr]

I've got just over 400,000 on my 05 D3. To be honest most of the stuff that still comes up is not new or to be unexpected with the kms. There's all the common faults like soft suspension bushes that come around time and time again. Haven't had to do the wheel bearings again yet - the replacements have all outlived the originals. Probably going to need some front CV's soon as the last one I replaced a boot on was starting to show signs of wear during inspection. So far its doing ok, if anything major goes wrong with it then it will probably get scrapped and at this stage I'd be likely to update it to a newer D4. In all honestly mine only has to last 2 more years until my oldest gets his drivers licence and then I won't need the use of a 3rd row seat every day so that opens other options for vehicles up