rssfrncs wrote:

Hi everyone

I'm new on here but have been lurking for a few months. I'm extremely interested in purchasing a discovery 3 (originally i was set on a mk1 xc90 but they just aren't as inspiring...) - sure not the most logical decision but I can't help finding them so attractive and fun.

I am not an engineer (well i am a software engineer by trade... but not transferable here haha!) so I accept the fact that I will be mainly relying on garages to maintain but I also want to use it as an opportunity to learn basic maintenance. I also accept the fact that these vehicles require pro-active maintenance and it will cost more to run than my current skoda karoq!!!

My plan was to purchase a TDV6 ~2007 for around £4-6k with good service history and receipts showing possibly some of the more expensive works having been recently done whilst keeping an initial repair pot of £6k handy.

I would love to get to know your thoughts on the pot size? I know this isn't an exact science.

Thanks!

Hi there and welcome!

I was in a similar position to you about 3 years ago when I bought mine but took a gamble on a 2007 D3 with no service history! However, it was very clean, no rust other than usual surface rust underneath, everything worked, new tyres/brakes/calipers and was on 142k at the time.

I budgeted for about £1000 a year + usual maintenance and I would say that it's pretty much been about that. I preventatively spent money on new timing belts, service and ATF change along with diff oil changes.

On top of that, I found out that the brake servo was full of oil. Quite scary moment when the assistance on the brake pedal went as I tried to slow down my car with a 1.8t caravan on the back! That cost me about £1k to resolve (there was an early recall for this which was done about 10 years prior but it failed again).

I also then had the compressor start to throw up codes and whilst a handy spanner might be able to have serviced the Hitachi unit...I ended up replacing which I think was about £700 all in. Other than that, lower arms and a small coolant leak which wasn't too costly.

Don't be too put off though. I knew what I was buying and the car was a good price. I bought it at that stage where most of the expensive stuff was coming to it's end of life so I've taken the hit. I'm hopefully passed that stage now so expecting annual bills to start coming down slightly. They are big cars though and demand expensive maintenance but I absolutely love my D3 and wouldn't change it for the world. The capability, the look, the practicality and just a vehicle that can do everything in style.

I've always had the mentality that I'd rather pay to keep an older car on the road than lease a new car for 3 years and start again. People sometimes raise their eyes at my annual bills and then I point out that they're paying £400 a month for a car they don't own!?!

Sensible to get one with good service history and don't be scared to buy one with 140k + so long as all the big stuff is done as you stated. In particular, find out if the oil pump has been replaced for the uprated one...plenty of info on this site if you need to find out more.

Good luck

NJSS wrote:

I entirely agree with M3DPO

+1