Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
USA & buying a higher mileage V8 Disco 3 - any advice?
I'm looking to move to the US and SWMBO and I are in fundamental disagreement about what to buy. Oddly enough, it turns out after a long discussion tonight she's adamant that we get another Discovery, whereas for me the costs of owning a UK-built car in the US seems to be akin to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Could anyone here offer any experience of running a 100K+ miles D3 in the US with the petrol engine? I'm very familiar with D3s and D4s, but have only ever owned diesels. How well do the petrol engined 2006-9 cars stand up to high mileage and for the money they command ($10-14k) do they make sense, or should I be looking at a US vehicle like a Ford Explorer, etc?
Any advice on US D3s gratefully received.
Thanks. PAGODA
3rd Apr 2016 9:29 pm
Mogwyth
Member Since: 03 Oct 2014
Location: Pwllheli
Posts: 3976
V8 engines are pretty bombproof, so as long as the service record is there, should be an issue, otherwise thing everything is the same money pit!==================================
05 D3 HSE V8 4.4
04 MG TF 135
03 MG TF 115 Cool Blue Edition
02 MG TF 160
00 Hymer B564 Lionheart
1971 Series III 109
i agree with the comments above - traded mine in for a D4 at 156k miles, precipitated by impending gearbox big bucks. Engines are bulletproof, only issues I had were the normal gripes.
Find a good local indy wherever you are based. Test drive an explorer but I reckon you'll want the D3...'80 109 Stage 1 V8 - still going strong!
'13 LR4 HSE - HD pack (sold)
'11 LR4 HSE - HD Pack (sold)
'07 LR3 V8 SE (sold)
Ex '85 110 County V8 (left in Oz)
4th Apr 2016 1:58 am
thorgal
Member Since: 26 Nov 2008
Location: on the east side
Posts: 544
Re: USA & buying a higher mileage V8 Disco 3 - any advice?
pagoda wrote:
I'm looking to move to the US and SWMBO and I are in fundamental disagreement about what to buy. Oddly enough, it turns out after a long discussion tonight she's adamant that we get another Discovery, whereas for me the costs of owning a UK-built car in the US seems to be akin to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Could anyone here offer any experience of running a 100K+ miles D3 in the US with the petrol engine? I'm very familiar with D3s and D4s, but have only ever owned diesels. How well do the petrol engined 2006-9 cars stand up to high mileage and for the money they command ($10-14k) do they make sense, or should I be looking at a US vehicle like a Ford Explorer, etc?
Any advice on US D3s gratefully received.
Thanks.
Almost 185 000 miles on mine with no problems.
4th Apr 2016 10:38 am
HappyEater
Member Since: 25 Jun 2014
Location: Ontario
Posts: 23
How handy are you with the spanners? - as the most difficult thing seems (in Canada) to be getting a good garage who will work on them. Parts, either from the UK, US or Canada are not that expensive. The US is a big place so work out how close you will be to an established main dealer - as you are more likely to find a collection of indies nearby.
I have had an LR3 for two years - I have replaced the EAS Compressor, Front wheel bearings/hubs, Brake Pads front and rear, Coolant expansion tank, cleaned the throttle body, engine oil change in that time. I purchased most of the stuff from the UK and got it sent over. Have a look at the site sponsors website.
I use the guides on here and a quick search on You-tube to gather the instructions for doing the work. The best thing about North America is tools are cheap - I know have more sockets sets, Torque wrenches etc than I would ever have in the UK!
Ours is a 130k miles 08 SE. Don't limit the search to just HSE - must haves for me were sunroofs/cruise control/leather and nearly every SE I looked at was speced up to HSE level. In our budget I was looking at 05/06 HSE and 07/08 SEs - in the end we went with condition.
I looked at stuff like Escalades, Suburbans etc - they all rode like barges, and GMC Arcadias - nice but no room. The only other option was a truck F150, Ram etc but we really wanted the 7 seats!
The best thing about the whole experience has been the engine - the V8 feels great and gives the 3 a bit more get up and go. I like the car so much I am thinking of taking it back to the UK next year as Discovery 3 V8 seem in short supply in the UK.
Oh and good luck with the move - enjoy the US.
4th Apr 2016 5:07 pm
pagoda
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
Thanks for the replies, guys. I've had a D3 in the UK (diesel) and it was great, but only had D4s since, so hence am a touch spoiled. I've been looking at D3s in the 80-100k range on the East Coast and they go from anywhere between $9-15k. I'm reasonably happy about the engine, but it's things like corroded brake lines that give me the fear. I assume they last only about 7-10 years on US cars, too.
I'm reasonably comfortable with spanners and working on the vehicles, but time to do it would be the issue, I suspect.PAGODA
5th Apr 2016 6:06 am
JonM1
Member Since: 16 Apr 2016
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 1
Don't know if I can give any advice but I just bought 2 LR3's in the past year and a half. One 2008 w/ 68k miles and a 2006 w/ 113k miles. I can say that I have had to do more to the one with the lower mileage going down the list of all the usual things, control arm bushings, rear diff etc. It fortunately had an extended warranty on it. But neither have had anything in the way of engine issues - knock on wood.
Don't know if there is a UK equivalent to Carfax reports, but I would recommend it. While they are not comprehensive they will give you a good overview. I was looking for a single owner all California/ Southwest LR3 and have not been disappointed. Both of them were serviced only at one dealer and were generally well cared for.
28th Apr 2016 6:09 am
MVLRS
Member Since: 22 May 2016
Location: Dayton, OH
Posts: 1
I'll second the Carfax check - pretty atrocious when you look at tag service history on loads of trucks....A solid Carfax is no guarantee, but you can pretty much guarantee what you'll get if it looks dodgy!
22nd May 2016 11:39 am
djkronik57
Member Since: 03 Nov 2015
Location: Boston
Posts: 34
I think I'm one of the few that has had engine issues with the V8. According to the Land Rover specialized junkyard where I had to pick up a used engine, it isn't all that uncommon either. I'm not entirely sure what happened to mine, but seems like the PCV went bad and either burned a significant portion of the oil, enough to cause catastrophic engine damage, or stressed an already weak bearing/connection to the breaking point. I picked it up with 88k miles, so who knows what happened prior. Engine failed at 95k.
$10k and a month and a half later, I'm running an engine with half the miles of my old one. Moral of the story is, check your oil level often and replace the PCV valve regularly.
26th Jul 2016 2:54 pm
pagoda
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
The PCV valve is an interesting issue. Never heard of that issue before. Is changing the valve part of the servicing schedule for a V8, or is it just your recommendation to change it based on hard-won experience?PAGODA
26th Jul 2016 6:29 pm
djkronik57
Member Since: 03 Nov 2015
Location: Boston
Posts: 34
I don't think it is part of the regular maintenance schedule, but it should be. It's a very cheap part and right on top so it is very easy to change too. General consensus is to replace it every couple years to prevent issue.
When it fails, it can suck oil from the pan into the intake, filling up the intake with oil, which then gets ingested by the engine in large quantities and can cause it to hydro lock or at the very least, burn a lot of oil.
I'm also probably looking at new catalytic converters now as well, as I have a code for efficiency. Best not to ask how much those go for brand new.
26th Jul 2016 7:46 pm
pagoda
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
Ouch! Sorry to hear that. I'll look at the PCV. Don't suppose you have the correct PN for the V8?PAGODA
26th Jul 2016 8:41 pm
djkronik57
Member Since: 03 Nov 2015
Location: Boston
Posts: 34
LR003380. About $60.
27th Jul 2016 8:26 pm
pagoda
Member Since: 13 Aug 2009
Location: Not London Anymore (or the US for that matter)
Posts: 1929
Thanks. One more part to add to my list!PAGODA
27th Jul 2016 9:10 pm
EL-R3
Member Since: 19 Feb 2017
Location: California
Posts: 3
yes, thanks for this advice. Has anyone else replaced the coolant "t" valve?
Much cheaper part but still....
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