Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
My '60 plate XS
So having done lots of viewing, I committed to a 60-plate D4 XS from Guy Salmon, Stockport today; the car is strong money, but is a one owner car and has had a lot of prep work to bring it up to an excellent standard... They have preparation bills for over £3k inc. a full service and new discs / pads all round so I'm hoping that with warranty cover as well, we won't have many unplanned costs in 2015...
They are taking my 997 in part exchange and made me a great offer for it, so whilst very, very sad to see that go, they have eased the financial pain of parting with it.
I only hope the D4 is more reliable than the BMW V8 engined FFRR we had a few years ago; we loved everything about that car except the amount of times it had to visit the dealer for something else to be replaced.
I should be picking it up next week and will no doubt be looking at mods like the remote FBH retrofit in due course. Once back in Surrey, I suspect my Wife will take ownership and I'll be relegated to our V60
Great site by the way - it's already proved a very helpful resource during my search
Last edited by Ian Donkin on 1st Jan 2015 5:49 pm. Edited 1 time in total
12th Dec 2014 10:22 pm
marsie
Member Since: 28 Feb 2010
Location: Sheffieldish
Posts: 1807
Nice one, get some pics up when you get it . I have owned most types of landrover from 200tdi discoveries, defenders, series 2a, upto D3s, FFRR vogue SE and RRS TDV8 HST but my D4 xs is the best allrounder upto now. I am sure you will be very happy
PaulPrevious Discos
1989 200tdi 3dr
1994 300tdi ES
1995 3.9 ES (x3)
2000 4.0 adventurer
2001 4.0 ES
2005 D3 HSE (zambesi silver)
2007 D3 SE (Lugano teal)
2011 D4 XS (Baltic Blue)
2008 D3 HSE PREMIUM (buckingham blue)
2009 D4 XS (Nara bronze)
2006 D3 Metropolis (Java Black)
2012my D4 HSE (indus silver)
2013 D4 XS (Firenze red)
Current 2017 D5 first edition (silicone silver)
16th Dec 2014 9:46 pm
Ian Donkin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
Thanks Paul - it's all agreed for the end of the week; my sales contact had been on a few days leave until today and on the face of it, progress had been slow in her absence.
The L322 FFRR experience (reliability aside) was brilliant and we're hoping for good things this time around - at the weekend we popped into a local dealers with the kids and crawled all over one to recheck our thoughts and it only served to confirm we are doing the right thing.
Only a few more sleeps now...
16th Dec 2014 10:07 pm
Beancounter_74
Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 131
Good luck with your ownership
Took delivery of a 10 plate HSE ++spec last week with my GF. Having both had RRS' and FFRR's I have to say so far the Disco4 seems a very nice place to be. 8)
17th Dec 2014 12:08 am
fisherman
Member Since: 16 Jan 2007
Location: Hornchurch Essex
Posts: 1789
I owned a D3 for just short of 8 years and with 3 kids it was the perfect choice and a fantastic family car. I now have a D4 since mid October and this is proving to be just as good and then some.
Enjoy your new Christmas present. FFRR 2017 4.4SDV8 Autobiography. Cost so much I must be mad!
D4 HSE 2012 Like a second wife, more expensive but goes better! I almost cried this time!
D3 HSE 2006 (Almost 8 years together, true love)
Land Cruiser VX 1994 11 years together, wife cried when I p/ex'd for my D3
Swapped from a D2 I'd had for ten years to my D4 in June and I still have a big grin whenever I drive it (which is as often as I can )
I was worried at first going to an automatic for the first time but have no regrets. I know a lot on here say the 8-speed is much better than the 6-speed but to me the 6-speed seems great.
Having all the gadgets has been great fun and the heated seats have been a joy the last week or two
The drop in fuel prices has also helped to make driving it so much fun Morris Dancers: Drinkers with A Dance Problem
17th Dec 2014 1:45 pm
Ian Donkin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
So we have it (photo's to follow)...
A good first 200 mile drive albeit I'm going to need to RTFM to fully work out the Nav (as in where is my dynamic routing option to take account of traffic, how do I swap between paired phones and I don't want it to change to motorway view every time I join a motorway); it also needs a map upgrade as 2010 is rather too outdated.
The speedo needle is not illuminated (allegedly fixed pre collection, but clearly not permanently) so I suspect a new instrument cluster will be needed and under braking (brand new discs and pads all-round), there is a knock from the front when on uneven surfaces, so I need to get the suspension bushes checked out ASAP before they start claiming 'wear and tear'. Interestingly the bushes weren't an advisory on the pre-sale MOT and it's only done 57,000 miles, but it needs to be right.
I'm sure a little bit of coding (Geoff?) will help give us some more features (voice control, timed heat, off-road mapping and the vehicle display on the nav), and overall I don't feel too bad swapping a 997 for it...
Here starts our journey of discovery!
20th Dec 2014 8:15 am
geoff.
Member Since: 24 Jan 2010
Location: West kent
Posts: 8531
just give me a shout in the new year ian
20th Dec 2014 8:20 am
Fitzy73
Member Since: 09 Feb 2014
Location: Truro
Posts: 2407
I've owned a 2010 XS for almost 10 months now and love it (apart from the appalling brakes), I too feel as though I paid strong money but it was my first choice colour combination and I didn't want to miss out.
As for the satellite navigation, it doesn't have the dynamic routing (well mine doesn't), but I must say I haven't missed that from my previous car as I found the traffic information it acted on was often out of date.
Living in Cornwall it took a few months of of ownership before venturing far enough to find a motorway and I did find the display change odd, but now quite like it.
Anyway, once your problems are sorted out, I hope you will love it!Andy
20th Dec 2014 8:57 am
Ian Donkin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
Our brakes are exceptional - as they were on the L322 we had!
20th Dec 2014 10:18 am
Ian Donkin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
So an update...
Having collected our 'new' D4 on the 19th and experienced reduced power on the 20th (diagnosed by LR Assistance as a seized turbo switchover valve), we delivered our D4 to Hunters Guildford on Sunday 21st and collected a '14 plate D4 HSE from the Enterprise depot next door.
LR Assist suggested that warranty work was prioritised at dealers in the network, but it was the 24th before we got a call to say the problem had been diagnosed (guess what - the seized turbo switchover valve was faulty) and parts had been ordered. Given I had provided the LR Assist paperwork stating this with the car (and the need for it to be replaced), it baffles me that it took three days to get to this point!
Fast forward to this Monday and the parts still hadn't arrived - due today. I'd mentioned on dropping it off that there were a couple of other issues requiring investigation - the speedo needle illumination isn't working and we have a knock from the front of the car - and whilst these have been noted for checking, nothing has, nor will, be done until the first issue is resolved.
The speedo illumination will be a new instrument cluster for sure, so more parts to order and the suspension knock, who knows. Why they couldn't investigate everything and order all required parts at the same time is beyond me!
At this rate it will be into January before we see our car; the only upside being we have an HSE that someone else is paying for.
Hopefully good news will be with us soon...
30th Dec 2014 10:17 am
Ian Donkin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
A further update this afternoon - warranty work completed and towbar service action carried out; supplying dealers have also agreed to pay for instrument pack and extension of HSE hire by a further day so tomorrow, we should have 'our' D4 back home.
The suspension knock remains outstanding, but I'm told the likely required parts are already on the shelf so can be done within the (short) day too.
Roll on tomorrow!
30th Dec 2014 4:55 pm
Ian Donkin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
And today we are in our own D4, but it needs new lower front wishbones to cure the suspension knock so will be going in again next Friday (9th) for this work.
Thoughts on getting it back and driving home as compared to the '14 model HSE loaner we've had:
The keyless entry on the HSE was excellent
The later infotainment looks much better and it allows you to select / swap connected BT phones
I actually prefer the 6-speed box to the later 8-speed unit
I'm still happy with the decision to buy a D4 and hope this early experience is not a sign of things to come...
Photo's to follow when we get some daylight!
Happy New Year everyone
31st Dec 2014 10:59 pm
Fitzy73
Member Since: 09 Feb 2014
Location: Truro
Posts: 2407
Pleased to hear you now have your D4 back and after the 9th I hope everything is sorted out.
Interesting you prefer the 6 speed box (I have that too), as most people say the 8 speed is a huge improvement and I have always felt I was missing out.Andy
31st Dec 2014 11:12 pm
Ian Donkin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2014
Location: A Yorkshireman in Surrey
Posts: 46
Thanks Andy.
The gearbox thing is just my preference rather than meant to start any debate - the 8-speed under constant throttle acceleration was beautifully smooth and changed gear imperceptibly, but there were occasions where it would change down a gear unexpectedly or on the very rare occasion I was 'pressing on', it could 'pause for thought', change, then go.
I appreciate the transmission sometimes needs to limit engine output to protect itself during shifts and the sequential turbo character of the TD/SDV6 means it has superb flexibility from very low revs - perhaps the torque delivery necessitates occasional self-preservation and it was this I experienced.
It appears that not having so many ratios to choose from reduces this sensation with my particular driving style and it really is no more than a preference.
We've had lots of MB 7-speed auto's, including a LWB R-Class and a GL420CDI (a very rapid and almost car like 4x4) and that gearbox always seemed like a well matched combination, whatever the engine variant.
I only ever used the 8-speed in D; it may be far better in S mode when pressing on (the 8-speed in the F10 BMW 5-series has very different characteristics dependant on mode).
As a footnote, the worst engine/auto combination I've ever experienced when pressing on was a Volvo XC90 D5 loaner that was slow-witted and forever pausing, whilst the most concerning was a VW Touareg TDV6 we had that would in determinedly pause for thought when needing to hurriedly pull out into flowing traffic.
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