Member Since: 23 Sep 2017
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 6
A few introductory questions!
Hi,
I've just singed up for the site and hope to become a fairly active member.
I'm currently planning to buy a disco 3/4 in the next few weeks/months for a trip I am beginning to plan.
Last summer I drove an old Skoda Fabia to Mongolia and back, and I have to say it wasn't the most comfortable of rides. I'm looking at planning a similar scale adventure for next summer and would rather do it in something a bit more suited for those times when the tarmac runs out.
I had always wanted a Defender 110, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get one in decent condition for my budget.
I am mainly looking at a 3 or 4, due to them being just tad bit bigger than the 1 or 2s.
Aside from attempting to get an overladen fabia through a few dried riverbeds and dirt tracks, the only other time I have been offroading was when I did an experience at Bovey Castle in a 2010 Defender 110 (which was great!). I'd ideally love to grab the car and then I can spend the next 10 months or so taking around the country getting some experience and enjoying the car. Salisbury Plain is only down the road so I'd love to find some people to explore that with!
Basically, after all of this, I have a few questions.
1. Which car should I buy?
2. Manual or Automatic? There are a lot more autos available on AutoTrader, but how do they hold up off road?
3. Does anyone know of any groups in the Hampshire area that wouldn't mind me tagging along?
4. Anything else you think I should know?
23rd Sep 2017 1:13 pm
Felstmiester
Member Since: 12 Dec 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 211
Comfort wise I would definitely not go for a defender for a start.
Budget would depend on if you go for a 3 or 4 but for what your talking about a disco is ideal. I personally wouldn't go for a manual. I'm sure an auto is more than capable for what your going to throw at it.
Just for the record. When we brought our disco I went for a diesel due to the fact it was for the wife and the fact she does short journeys 10 times a day lol. Shopping, running kids to school etc. If I had my way I would of without a doubt gone for a petrol v8. It's all down to what your doing with it and how deep your pockets are I suppose.
As for off roading I couldn't help you as I'm nowhere near you.
23rd Sep 2017 3:03 pm
Landroverfan1
Member Since: 10 Dec 2015
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 275
Great choice of vehicle for such a trip. We ran a 3 for a while, including a few trips across Europe and now use a D4 for all our needs, including the annual Euro trip. Both are very comfortable, plenty of room for any kit you may want to take and superb for any off roading you might care to venture on.
The D4 is, IMHO, more refined than the D3 but not by much, and the 3 is still an absolutely superb vehicle.
However you should consider that a Defender is less complicated to fix, should you breakdown in the middle of nowhere. Others on this site, I’m sure would disagree but there are a lot more electrics, etc to fix on a Disco.
23rd Sep 2017 3:24 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72775
Autobox is suuuuuuuuuperb off-road. Used mine in virtually all conditions and with the right booties on it was virtually unstoppable.
A few gratuitious pics:
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and my personal fave
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23rd Sep 2017 3:45 pm
Purple1995
Member Since: 23 Sep 2017
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 6
Thanks! I'll have to go have a look at the auto, and the photos look great!
Would the petrol be a better choice for outside of Europe? When we were the far side of Russia many stations had all the grades of petrol but not necessary diesel. Does anyone have any experience of this?
23rd Sep 2017 4:23 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72775
V8s are certainly more reliable but obviously thirstier & shorter range, plus most places in Euroland have a hefty differential between diesel & petrol to the detriment of petrol drinkers.
23rd Sep 2017 4:32 pm
Felstmiester
Member Since: 12 Dec 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 211
Just my view. I think the pros of a v8 petrol over time would be far greater that the diesel. Reliability, performance are the main factor. On top of that you've got a simpler engine to work on or repair when something goes wrong. Comparing mpg between the two. Yes the diesel will throw a few more miles but when you look at the bigger picture there really isn't a lot in it when you compare prices of diesel vs petrol.
23rd Sep 2017 4:46 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72775
I agree, they seem a lot less problematic. But having done a Pyrenees offroading trip that had a V8 in our group everything was ending up being plannned around his totally crap range.
23rd Sep 2017 4:50 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6567
I had a D4 TDV6 MY10 for a little while and it is slightly more blinged up (= modern) than a D3. I did approx 11.5 L/100km driving mixed city/highway with it.
That being said - I love the D3 V8 Petrol I currently have. It seems to be optimized for 60 - 90 km/h driving and if you can keep it there you’ll be somewhere around 12.5 - 13.5 L/100 km. As I drive the same distances and routes I did with the D4 this is a fairly scientific comparison... if you end up constantly stopping and starting your consumption will be somewhere closer to 20 L/100 km. The default tank is 75 liters I think......
Technically the V8 is a straight forward and a quite reliable engine. In USA the LR3s seem to be doing well over 300000 km with no reports of catastrophic engine failure. It doesn’t have a belt either but a chain. If you’re getting an used one you will probably need to check and replace the PCV (easy to do, cheap to do too) but I think that is pretty much it for things that can really screw up the engine. There are no turbos, intercoolers, etc. that can break. You’ll probably need to replace the spark plugs if they haven’t been replaced.
I’ve never driven a LR with manual transmission but I have driven Toyota Land Cruisers in the desert... ithe D3/D4 automatic transmission is quite good. I’m not sure if one can even get a V8 with manual.
As someone else told me before I got the V8 - it will put a permanent smile on your face except when filling it up
Edit: not to make the V8 sound like there are no problems over the TDV6 - you will need to go through your new vehicle with a comb, have an acceptance checklist (hint: search the forums) to go through the car before buying. If going on a trip to Siberia or Mongolia and back - check (and fix) suspension, wishbones, bushes, MAP, MAF, throttle body, brakes, most likely change all fluids, etc. The suggested transmission fluid probably contains unicorn tears and pixie gold dust judging by the price. Usually on used cars a lot of things haven’t been done that should have after 7-10 years of ownership so sometimes brake fluid lines that were supposed to be done around 6 years are still originals, same with the battery. A lot of weird faults on D3 are root causes by a weak battery. If the battery looks like it is an original or a charger claims it is weak it most likely makes sense to replace it.
You will most likely need a nice OBD2 reader. I and probably a lot of others here can vouch for IID
tool to look at vendor specific codes but there are others as well.
Before buying you should probably spend a month or so reading either D3 or D4 specific forums and older threads. Consider it an investment in understanding what you’re getting into and potentially acquiring.
Figure out a budget - if you’re a DIY kind of a guy quite a lot can be done on the cheaper side. If you aren’t, some things will cost an arm and leg when taking it into the shop.
Not sure where you’re actually going but sparing is probably going to be a real problem if you’re going outside of civilization. When I was in the desert the most reliable sparing supply chain was for Chevy Suburbans and Toyota Land Cruisers. Pretty much everyone had some spares for them even in smaller villages.
23rd Sep 2017 5:16 pm
Purple1995
Member Since: 23 Sep 2017
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 6
Hi Guys,
Thanks for all your comments and I really take them all on board.
I will certainly consider the V8 and the auto now!
I'll read through a load of the posts of the this forum and a few buying guides before going any further, but I definitely think it is the car for me. I went and had a look around one yesterday, which was my first time really getting up close and personal with them and I really liked what I saw.
So thanks again, and if anyone else has any tips please share them!
Edit:
What trim do you suggest getting? I think XS is the lowest I'd go for the cruise control, but are the other extras worth it?
24th Sep 2017 6:57 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6567
On trim - I looked at SE and HSE because they tend to be popular up here - SE is most common I think. S can be found, too, but I don’t think XS would be available. We have something called LCV which is two seats up front, no second row (and on older cars this was ensured by welding the 2nd row seat mounting points shut.....) with only a wooden cargo floor all the way to the back of the vehicle. This model wasn’t registered as a car but as a cargo van and had significantly lower tax.
Here, locally, a SE almost always tends to have cloth while HSE has leather seats. HSEs tend not to have a sunroof (I guess this is probably optional). This doesn’t seem to be true in other places such as Germany where SE vehicles are very highly specced and are probably very close to HSE in terms of features while HSEs have sunroofs as a general rule. YMMV.
There used to be a few different levels of leather - on the D4 I had black leathers without perforations while on the D3 I have something which is called Alpaca leather with perforations in a beige color. I do like the latter more. Of course someone else made the choice a long time ago.
My 2005 has adaptive xenons which are nice, there are also regular xenons of course. The LR integrated sat nav is quite - I mean quite outdated - and you probably don’t want to buy newer DVDs (~200 eur, final update for Western Europe is from 2012) if you have a map disc from 2005 like I do. I’m investigating whether I could get rid of the box easily (under the seat) and replace the old screen with a Garmin or something else instead.
There are a few things to remember on the high end trims: if the CD player is a 6 disc one and/or you get one with a “Harman/Kardon Logic 7” system it pretty much means you cannot retrofit a aftermarket 2DIN stereo system/navigator/etc. as the whole car’s electronics are built around a head unit and there is a multimode fiber ring between all the entertainment components. There are a few guys who have done the work by moving the head unit under a seat but it isn’t an easy job, 1-2 threads on it in the D3 in-car electronics forum. Seems mostly to apply to HSEs only. If yours is a SE or S it should be possible to replace it with an aftermarket one. OTOH the opposite applies if you want to fit a LR BT module - you must have the fiber optic ring (MOST bus). Stay away from the LR aftermarket BT module, it is not worth even this sentence.
24th Sep 2017 8:38 pm
Purple1995
Member Since: 23 Sep 2017
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 6
Oh wow, thanks that is really interesting to know.
In this case I would definitely look at getting a lower spec one then! I would really be wanting to put a double din in if I could.
If I get a low spec such as the SE/GS would I be able to buy the Harman/Kardons, cruise control and heated seats and retrofit them?
24th Sep 2017 8:53 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 11 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6567
All SEs and HSEs I looked at here had cruise control so I’m not sure whether that can be retrofitted or not. Ditto for heated seats and windscreen - they seem to be on all since there is a thing called winter up here
I think both are part of something which at least up here and in Germany has been called “winter pack” and included also heated mirrors and heated washers.... I think. Pull the VIN off the car you want to buy and lookup what it had configured from the factory. You can do this either by logging in to JLR TOPIx (google it, you need to register but you do not need to pay anything for this particular thing) or by utilizing a random VIN decoding service on the internet at your own risk.
Search the forums.
Pretty sure it doesn’t make sense to retrofit a HK Logic 7 system. You’re probably going to be happier with a nice 2DIN Alpine/Kenwood/... + amp (if you need it) + new speakers if the existing ones aren’t good enough or blown.
24th Sep 2017 9:41 pm
Purple1995
Member Since: 23 Sep 2017
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 6
Awesome, thanks for the help!
I'll definitely stick to the lower trim then, I'll have to investigate cruise control and heated seats some more.
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- I mean quite outdated - and you probably don’t want to buy newer DVDs (~200 eur, final update for Western Europe is from 2012) if you have a map disc from 2005 like I do. I’m investigating whether I could get rid of the box easily (under the seat) and replace the old screen with a Garmin or something else instead.
