I'm currently an owner of a Freelander 2 but I'm planning on trading that in for a '05 Reg D3 HSE Auto at 31K miles. What are the things that I should be on the lookout for when viewing the vehicle? I'm doing a test drive this Thursday.
All I know about the car is that it is a purely London vehicle and hasn't really been on the other side of the M25 so would a D3 living in the city most of its life have any problems?
Your help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Nick
7th Apr 2010 12:53 am
MacLeod 313
Member Since: 18 Apr 2008
Location: away
Posts: 10723
Just service schedule really, if it ain't gone outside the M25 then for 31k on it's mileage is great, but still needs 5 stamps on the service book. Service schedule is every 15k or 12months and the MY05's have had/required a few enhancements to the ECU's to perfect the machine.
Can't see a problem with anything else, some might say the EGR's might be clogged, but a quick blast will either sort or highlight.
Good luck and enjoy
7th Apr 2010 4:00 am
dsd1036
Member Since: 27 Feb 2010
Location: Surrey
Posts: 2692
Hi,
I was a little nervous too! i only recently got my 05 D3, higher mileage 60K than yours but it had all the stamps,drives pretty well,so far very happy!
As others may say EGR valves could be clogged but hey not really the end of the world if they are - just blank em off!
Thats my next step,mine are ok but i think by blanking it helps mpg.
rgds
DSD
7th Apr 2010 5:28 am
Dave T
Member Since: 03 Jul 2009
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 6910
I have an 05 S with 68K on now, had the usual EGRs done 6 months ago and a few worn bushes (which I would imagine would be ok at 30K), but apart from that and a couple of minor other bits it has generally been ok. I suppose it is just luck of the draw.
The only things to look for really would be worn brake pads and discs if it has been in stop/start traffic all the time, and definately a service every year.Joined the BMWX5 45e group
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Ok, it seems to be alright then! I'll be checking for the five service stamps and will try out them brakes. Just a question - how do you clean out the EGR valves?
Oh and looking at the car yesterday, there are a number of light scratches caused by 'apparently' fingernail marks and most likely just a key rubbing against the paint. Hopefully the dealer would polish them out but are there any detailing places around London that I can get the car's paintwork back to ship-shape?
The EGR valves don't really 'clog up', but instead wear out or corrode due to the harsh environment they work in. So it's either replace with a new valve or fit a couple of blanking plates (pre MY07).
Some pictures of the valve here...http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic29853.htmlPreviously:
2005 D3 2.7 TDV6 S
1984 90 2.25 Petrol CSW
1992 90 200TDi Hard Top
1995 Discovery ES 300TDi
2003 90 TD5 Truck Cab
I bit the bullet today... Got a buckingham blue '05 Reg HSE Auto with 31k miles on the clock with a trade in of my Freelander 2. Comes with everything I would want except the telephone. Thanks to Jeremy from Lookers Park Royal for being so patient with me, and helping me through all the way. Luckily none of those EGR valve problems and hopefully everything would be done up as promised!
Expected delivery next Thursday! Just before I go for my LRE on a Freelander 2... lol...
Cheers,
Nick
8th Apr 2010 8:56 pm
IainC
Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 123
Was looking at 05 HSE's myself... so far the few I've seen with lower mileage aren't in what you'd class as mint condition (covered in scratches, etc)... did see one that was absolutely mint though (one owner, etc) but it has 110k+ on the clock... have read a few things on here where people said higher mileage isn't an issue, but are there any things that do start to need attention at this kind of mileage?
I'm not too sure myself, but coming from an engineer's view, the only two factors that come into play with reliability of these kinds of vehicles are:
1) The mileage done - I'm still new to this forum but I can say that I've seen here that somebody has a D3 that's done over 300k miles and is still going strong!
2) The TYPE of mileage done - Would you rather have a 100k+ motorway muncher or one that has done 10k offroad all its life? I do think that offroading does stress the components out a bit more than onroad driving so it might have an effect on the vehicle.
3) Age - I'm not too sure about age because it really comes down to how well the vehicle's been kept.
I was just lucky to find this HSE as it only just popped up two days ago. I suggest go for a lower mileage one, especially those that are below 60k miles, if it goes above 100k, just make sure they've done that big service. Also if you read some of the replies above, I've learnt that one of these with full service history is usually the ideal one.
I've been promised that the scratches on the HSE that I've just purchased are going to be removed so I'll be expecting that. I think my only advice here is to bring the car out for a test drive until you are happy - I test drove this car twice before I was happy. And scrutinize the car!
hi ,also looking to buy ,and also in london,i saw your hse on land rover site ,what did you think of your exp with lookers,park royal,as i am going to go the same route as you dealers etc tried looking at autotrader etc but you pay nearly the same as dealers ,so good luck with yours . hope to buy very soon
8th Apr 2010 9:50 pm
IainC
Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 123
nickmak wrote:
I was just lucky to find this HSE as it only just popped up two days ago. I suggest go for a lower mileage one, especially those that are below 60k miles, if it goes above 100k, just make sure they've done that big service. Also if you read some of the replies above, I've learnt that one of these with full service history is usually the ideal one.
I've been promised that the scratches on the HSE that I've just purchased are going to be removed so I'll be expecting that. I think my only advice here is to bring the car out for a test drive until you are happy - I test drove this car twice before I was happy. And scrutinize the car!
Well that was the thing... the big service was going to be done as part of the sale "deal". Basically, compared with the others in the area, it seems to be ~£5-6k cheaper, albeit with 50-60k more miles than the others.
hi ,also looking to buy ,and also in london,i saw your hse on land rover site ,what did you think of your exp with lookers,park royal,as i am going to go the same route as you dealers etc tried looking at autotrader etc but you pay nearly the same as dealers ,so good luck with yours . hope to buy very soon
I was very impressed with the level of service at Lookers Park Royal. I went in last Friday and Jeremy introduced himself, took the S they had on the forecourt for a test drive, but didn't like it. Thought about the 56 Reg HSE but was too expensive. I told Jeremy that I would come back if they had something there.
On Tuesday I saw they had the HSE that I just purchased at a reasonable price, so I gave Jeremy a call. Went down to see it, but he told me I can't drive it yet because the car hadn't been checked up. So he told me he'd call me Thursday in the morning. At 9:30 he called me and told me the car was ready. Jeremy was extremely patient with me while I checked the car out. There were a few niggles but I was promised they'd be sorted by the time I collected it. He included GAP, Tyre insurance and the paint protection as part of the deal. Got an extra LRE ticket from him and I think I got it at a reasonable discount.
Lookers Park Royal are excellent in their service, but asking for a better price is like squeezing blood from a stone. I guess you get what you pay for!
I guess end of the day as long as you're a happy bunny that's the name of the game...
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