Bracechenko
Member Since: 29 Jun 2021
Location: Cardiff
Posts: 177
  
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| My 1st D3 - A year of ownership (Warts and all!) |
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Hey folks - I'm coming up to a year of ownership of my D3 which is the 1st LR that I've ever owned so I thought it would be a good time to write up my experience so far and share the good, the bad and the ugly! 
The Car & Purchase
It's a 2007 D3 TDV6 GS spec and I bought it on 142k miles. Stornaway grey. Bodywork excellent condition, chassis with very little surface rust for the age and I bought it with a new MOT, brand new Grabber tyres and the car had just had new discs and pads fitted.
No service history whatsoever which of course was a worry but it was fairly priced at £4,200 so I took the gamble that if there were no major horrors hiding then it was worth it. Also, I really loved the look of it, proper chunky and off-road look with those tyres plus it had a few nice extras with updated grill, wind deflectors etc.
I did as much research online as possible and built up a checklist to run through before purchase. This included checking all of the electrics, suspension, EPB, brake line recall along with the usual checks for any car....everything worked as it should and I had a good impression overall that it had been looked after. The tensioner pulley was new so that had been taken care of also.
I'd always wanted a Discovery as I love the look of them and wanted something big and heavy to tow our caravan. I've towed at 100% capacity with our old CRV petrol for a few years and it's hard work. I wanted to experience a rig where the van was well within the car's capacity which also allows us to get a bigger van as planned because our family has grown. Towing with the D3 has been everything I'd hoped it would be....it's so easy and reassuringly solid. Makes me realise how close to the edge I'd been with the CRV.
The Bad Bits
(I've remedied all of these bad bits - I'll explain what I found at the end)
It drove like a bit of a dog! I'd never driven one before but the turbo lag was unreal and the throttle response was hideous. I just assumed that this was the nature of a 2.7 tonne diesel car of that age but I was surprised. However, no scary smoke and it did pull fine through the revs when on boost and as I had no other reference I just accepted it as a 'D3' thing.
However, driving it home on the motorway I realised that it must have a fault of some description. From 50mph, if I put on quarter throttle to get to 60mph the car would just bog down and actually slow down before eventually (and I mean about 10 seconds) decide to spool up and accelerate. To remedy it, I had to put half or more throttle which kicked it into life by dropping a cog and whooshing forward. Not great but I suspected a dodgy MAF.
One of the major issues I found made me quickly  my pants! I was driving with the caravan on the back taking my son away for a bit last summer (a month after purchasing it) and I suddenly lost brakes as I slowed towards a roundabout. I had to stamp on the pedal to get the whole rig stopped and it was proper scary. The servo assistance just disappeared! It then came back and thankfully I was only a couple of miles away from the site but I drove those miles so tentatively and constantly having to test whether I had brakes or not with my 5 year old son in the back. If there were any downhills in that last stretch I think I would have had to park up....I was so relieved to get to the site and switch it off.
The last bad bit was that my temp gauge developed an intermittent fault and kept dropping to cold even though I knew the engine was warm. When this happened, the engine would idle high and also the gearbox wouldn't select 6th unless really prodded. Turned out to be a faulty oil temp sensor which was a cheap and easy fix and the car drives so much better now too.
The Good Bits
The looks, just love the look on it! It's such a beast and it makes me smile when I see it and drive it. I had a lovely 3 year old C-Class Merc before and even though that's a nice car, I never loved it. I love my D3 and know I'll forever be skint because I'm hooked!
The towing capability. As already mentioned, it's the main reason to buy the car and it absolutely delivers. Our van is 1,500kgs MTPLM and the D3 just manages that with ease. The car is stable, level and has plenty of torque to get up to speed fully loaded and with the van on the back. No more screaming the nuts off the CRV V-TEC trying to get up to speed.
The practicality...you'll all know this but the boot size, the split tailgate, the cabin space when all the seats are folded down is really impressive and it swallows up the family, luggage, food and bikes all inside the cabin when going away...love that. The 7 seats has been great too and has come in handy on a few occasions now.
The faults, the fixes and what have I spent!
OK, so here's the list of issues, remedies, costs and also the preventative stuff that I've laid down...
Preventative & Upgrades:
- Cambelt change £650
- Full Service £300
- Gearbox oil flush and replace £285
- Diff & Transfer Oils £160
- Compressor Software Update £20
- BAS Re-Map £385
SUB-TOTAL - £1,415
Faults & Repairs:
- Replace brake vacuum pump & servo £1,020 
- Aircon tested and re-gassed £102
- Wheel bearing replaced (and a few others bits) £272
- Water & Oil temp sensors £55
SUB-TOTAL - £1,449
All Costs:
- Initial Purchase £4,200
- Preventative £1,415
- Faults & Repairs £1,449
GRAND-TOTAL = £7,064
Summary
The horrendous fuelling/throttle issue I explained above was essentially due to the air intake plenum not being seated correctly as it goes down into the engine bay. It's a poor design but an easy mistake to make if you're not paying attention when re-fitting. Also, replacing the oil temp sensor improved the drivability a lot as the car's ECU was clearly getting all sorts of readings meaning the fuel/air mixture was all over the place.
I've spent £7k on this car all in now, I'd hoped it would have been £6k but the brake issue really hurt. However, what I have is a very well sorted D3 which drives absolutely perfectly. I am reassured that the cambelt is new, all of the oils and filters have been replaced and at least the brake vacuum issue shouldn't be an issue in the life of ownership for me either. It's hopefully been given a new lease of life and I love owning and driving it.
The BAS remap is excellent and the car pulls as much as I ever need. I plan to use the car for our family trips and to tow everything we need too and it's easily capable of doing so. If I can get 5 solid years out of it then great and hoping to do more.
I know that these cars are getting on now and have a lot that can go wrong so I'm under no illusion that there won't be more bills to come but I am at least hopeful that I've done all that I can to avoid any major disasters that would take it off the road for good.....only time will tell!
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 1st Jun 2022 11:56 am |
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pwheeldon
Member Since: 15 Jan 2020
Location: West Yorks
Posts: 1445
 
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Nice write up. I'm in the process of getting my D3 right, so I can completely understand! Discovery 4 GS 2009 Auto Stornoway Grey
Discovery 3 s 2005 Auto Bonatti Grey Gone
Discovery 3 SE 2005 Manual Zambezi Silver Gone
Range Rover Sport HSE 2006 Black
Aston Martin DB7 VV
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| 1st Jun 2022 4:08 pm |
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NCC-1031
Member Since: 30 Jan 2019
Location: Clanfield, Hampshire
Posts: 373
 
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Great write up. Well done
One question. Did you get the oil pump changed with the cam belts?
Steve
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| 1st Jun 2022 4:27 pm |
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Bracechenko
Member Since: 29 Jun 2021
Location: Cardiff
Posts: 177
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No I didn't 
I'm sensing that i should have then!?
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| 1st Jun 2022 4:57 pm |
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NCC-1031
Member Since: 30 Jan 2019
Location: Clanfield, Hampshire
Posts: 373
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Same boat.  .
I have a warranty from motor easy. Just in case.
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| 1st Jun 2022 5:18 pm |
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lynalldiscovery
Member Since: 22 Dec 2009
Location: Maidstone
Posts: 7274
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7yrs 8k parts only.
Work on 1k parts only a year and you wont be to far out.
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| 1st Jun 2022 7:33 pm |
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Bracechenko
Member Since: 29 Jun 2021
Location: Cardiff
Posts: 177
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NCC-1031 wrote:Same boat. .
I have a warranty from motor easy. Just in case.
Took a quick look and couldn't get an online quote so may give them a call to see what sort of quote they can offer
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| 6th Jun 2022 8:59 am |
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Motolab
Member Since: 18 Oct 2019
Location: Sleen
Posts: 1815
 
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Bracechenko wrote:No I didn't
I'm sensing that i should have then!?
Yes you should!
at least if it hasn’t the newer stronger model fitted, but i tend to think that on these engines a fresh pump every 65k miles is not a bad idea.. after i have seen 3 different engines from the inside at the crank.. oil presure is not very well after even a little wear of the pump..
Insurance is more expensive than good maintenance imho… at least for me in the past 38 years Best regards
Harold
Always looking for Pre '55's & Pre war British Motorcycles! knowing or having one for sale? PM please. I visit the UK 6 times a year
Ps. I edit my texts quite often, english is not my native language, so I will edit My “typo’s” etc. 
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| 6th Jun 2022 10:20 am |
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