Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6565
D4 TDV6 HSE MY2010
I got a few days ago a Discovery 4 TDV6 HSE MY2010 with 153500 km on it. The general condition of the car, being 7 years old, is quite good. It's been driven far away in sunny Italy - somewhere near Florence based on the service history - rather than than on dark, snowy and salty road conditions here up north in Scandinavia. The only negative so far has been that they sure smoke more in Italy than what we do so this one, too, has a bit of an odor.
The paint scheme, Stornoway Grey, is in good condition with a few scratches that I think can easily be fixed, interior leathers seem to have been taken car of, too. The previous owner must have added some kind of window tint to darken the passenger and back compartments, it's mostly okay. Tires are Kumho summer ones and have all their surface left, so they're brand new.
Component wise the engine seems to run good, response from turbo is immediate, transmission shows no problems (knock on wood). The battery seems to supply juice well, too, both in idle and with all features enabled. Brake fluid was clear and the boiling point was tested to be 259 C. Engine coolant fluid was ok too and had a freeze point of -35 C - good enough for southern Finland. Engine oil seemed ok, too, in consistency and color. Suspension, brake pads, etc. are all in order and up to expectations. Serpentine belt seemed to have been changed recently, looked quite new.
That being said, there are a few things that I need to get around to do to get it all shipshape.
Things I *know* I *need* to do:
1. get IIDTool BT - general consensus seems to be it is the most cost-effective one. Why a diagnostic tool doesn't come with the car I don't know ...... 8)
2. Fix both keys, the existing ones are shedding the top rubber layer and it seems LR052882 will fix that once and for all.
3. Take it into the indy shop for next (early) service. While there is a service book and it seems to have been serviced by two different LR shops in Italy always on time there are no mentions of any changing of components. Only markings are whether the service was A or B, odometer, signature and shop's stamp. Perhaps that's the way they do it over there, over here the mechanic would have written "xxx replaced", etc.
4. Take a look at the webasto
It didn't come with a remote so I'm not sure whether it's setup for remoting at all or whether it works only through the menus. Haven't had time to determine which is which.
Things I *must* to do:
1. Replace rear license plate lights - they seem to be premanently off (got a notice during inspection)
The government insists.
2. Align the forward fog lights higher - they got a notice during inspection. Probably change the bulbs too, they looked really yellowish like lights tend to go when they're old
The government insists on this, too.
3. Set DRL Scandinavia
Noticed (inspection didn't) that with lights set to automatic position during daytime the car doesn't have any lights on. IIDTool seems to be able to help me out with this, too.
4. Replace the hood alarm, switch & latch assembly as the alarm has been going off reliably unreliably every now and then after locking, part LR065340 seems to be the one suggested
The neighbors will probably appreciate me better after this...
5. Attempt to get rid of the last traces of smoking in the car
Things I've so far done:
- had several jars with vinegar in the vehicle over night, it worked a bit
- wiped the leather parts with leather treatment/disinfection solution and treated with wax
- wiped the vinyl/plastic parts with disinfection solution
- wiped all glass surfaces with disinfection solution for car windows
- triggered a Sonax AC Cleaner in the car, worked surprisingly well
Next up is ozone treatment.
6. Get another set of wheels and winter tires with studs.
As for friction vs. studs - I'm firmly in the latter camp. Probably Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 SUV ones, not sure what the actual difference is with those and HKP8 but as a consumer I've been taught that a larger number is significantly better. Right?
As for wheels, the prices for LR alloy wheels are astronomic. Perhaps fleabay will help. It is a problem only come November and there is plenty to spend money on before that in the car...
Things I *want* to do:
1. add some kind of side steps
Since the car is half of the year covered by snow and ice I was wondering whether getting the flat ones (OEM) is a smart thing to do as I assume they would just start collecting snow and ice and prevent opening of doors OR whether it would be better to get tubing, like Bearmach BA4523, which seems to have a space between the car and the step. Does anyone else have experience with snowier climates and side steps?
2. add door sills to protect the car from the kids shoes
They seem to like "the big off-road mobile" more than the Volvo they regularly sit in...
3. Rust-proof the bottom
In Finland we use salt quite heavily on the roads in the winter and it would be a shame to let the car go to crap after all this time.
4. Fix a few scratches in the paint and add some kind of nanocoating to protect the paint afterwards, in Finland there does seem to be a bunch of different brands and techniques.
5. Change internal reading, floor, etc. lights to LED. Looked like the ones now were again very yellowish and probably originals.
6. Investigate whether it would make sense to put a new window tint as the current one is a bit scratched in some places.
So far the disco3.co.uk forums have provided me with an insane amount of DIY instructions, "what to do if X" and given the confidence to make the purchase. Happy to be part of the collective hive mind here.
13th Aug 2017 9:42 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72774
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6565
The difference in color is quite noticeable
Are those just plug & pr..play or does one need to add some kind of resistor to fool the car?
Thanks for the suggestion!
13th Aug 2017 10:04 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72774
Plug & play, if they don't work just rotate 180deg as they have a polarity. Ive got them in all the internal lights except the one in the top pic (to preserve night vision), plus numberplate & rear puddle lights. The only place I couldn't get them to work was front door puddle lights, they need something with a bit more resistance.
13th Aug 2017 10:11 am
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6565
Good to know - and yes, they ship to Finland .... ka-chingg.
13th Aug 2017 10:22 am
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6565
Sadly the rather short time spent with this nice vehicle will come to an end after it turned out the odometer had been doctored in a quite significant way.
Looking for another one already...
24th Aug 2017 12:49 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72774
That's a shame.
Hopefully you didn't spend much on it before finding out.
24th Aug 2017 12:54 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6565
The best (and most) money spent so far was getting IIDTool BT from GAP Diagnostics.
The evening I got it I sent them a few questions regarding fault codes in general and why would an ECU report different odometer readings. They in turn very politely explained the scenarios when such things could happen and suggested that I should investigate things further and in greater depth.
Very highly recommended.
24th Aug 2017 12:59 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72774
Don't suppose you can return it to Italy?
IID would be good for next purchase, or you'll get most of your money back.
24th Aug 2017 1:02 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6565
It's from a Finnish dealer so the things consumer laws provide like right to cancellation of purchase solve the problem.
GAP does free VIN change to new car for an owner, I checked already...
Last edited by kajtzu on 24th Aug 2017 1:05 pm. Edited 1 time in total
24th Aug 2017 1:04 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72774
24th Aug 2017 1:05 pm
Scott #55
Member Since: 15 Apr 2015
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 1664
What about getting the dealer to fix all the niggles with the car and give you some money back, plus a year's warranty?
If they need to take the car back, they'll have to sell it at a price which reflects its real mileage - simpler all round if you keep it and they compensate you.2014 - D4 2010 HSE Nara Bronze
2012 - FL2 2009 GS Stornoway Grey
2001 - VW Passat Estate Inky Blue
1999 - Ford Mondeo Light Blue
1998 - Rover 25 Red
24th Aug 2017 1:09 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6565
it's an smaller independent dealer so it wouldn't be any kind of LR warranty. Similarly with at least 250k km driven whatever happens next is anyone's guess. I tried to verify the service book and it seems like 70% of the service markings are the imaginary kind after the first few years in it.
I'm happy that the dealer agreed to take the vehicle back without much fuss.
There is plenty of fish in the sea, etc. and I would rather (re-)spend the money on another.
Things I learned is that even if the car is seemingly sound and looks good after kicking the tires for a few hours and vendor independent OBD2 tool, one needs to evaluate everything with suspicion and verify with a model specific tool (IIDTool in this case), attempt to verify service history through LR dealer network, attempt to obtain export papers from another country (in Italy this is surprisingly simple, you fill in a form, pay a few EUR and you get the official records as an email and on screen), etc. lots of detective work involved.
24th Aug 2017 1:21 pm
Scott #55
Member Since: 15 Apr 2015
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 1664
They are fantastic cars. Hope you find one soon.
For info, my MY10 D4 HSE has done 150,000km. I got her at about 78k km and she's had the normal niggles for a car of that age.
I wouldn't change it for anything.2014 - D4 2010 HSE Nara Bronze
2012 - FL2 2009 GS Stornoway Grey
2001 - VW Passat Estate Inky Blue
1999 - Ford Mondeo Light Blue
1998 - Rover 25 Red
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Engine oil seemed ok, too, in consistency and color. Suspension, brake pads, etc. are all in order and up to expectations. Serpentine belt seemed to have been changed recently, looked quite new.
