Complete Noob Looking for Buying Advice - Land Rover Forums

CellarDoor · #1 08-01-2011, 02:22 PM

I'll admit it up front that I'm a complete noob when it comes to LR and RR but they have always caught my eye. My parents own an '05 LR3 and I fell in love with it so when we recently started looking for an SUV the LR's were at the top of my list.

Our budget is under 19k and while looking for cheap disco's I found an '03 Range Rover HSE for 18k with 94k miles and in pretty good shape. We're going to test drive it tonight and wanted to see if anyone had any advice on what to think about when getting into the LR/RR world.

My background is in Jeeps and offroading so I have a full shop and the ability to strip a car to pieces and get it running again. So mechanical work doesn't phase me much (which I hear is good on RR!).

I guess my question is: Is an '03 HSE a RR I can buy and while giving it TLC get another 100k of miles out of it? We're really looking for a long term auto here not just buy and sell in a couple years.

Any advice/comments would be appreciated. Also any comparison in terms of cost to maintain vs. a disco II or LR3 would be awesome!

Thanks everyone!

hilltoppersx · #2 08-01-2011, 02:45 PM

I think it depends on what you plan on doing with the truck? the LR3 and the D2's are completely different animals. If you do plan on heading off-road I would get a low mileage 2004 D2 for $8000 or less and get yourself steel front and rear bumpers, diff guards, sliders and a 2 or 3 inch lift. keep in mind headgasket failures are between 80k-120k normally.

read this thread What to look for when buying a Land Rover Discovery

The LR3 is also very capable but your base is more expensive so you will hit your price cap quicker when shopping for goodies.

CellarDoor · #3 08-01-2011, 03:06 PM

Thanks for the quick reply!

I forgot to mention the main use, it will mainly be an urban vehicle(we live in downtown of a major city) that takes treks to the mtns. for snowboarding etc. As it'll be our only vehicle I doubt the wife will allow me to offroad it quite yet.

I like that the 04 discos are cheaper by a bit but the RR just has so many creature comforts.

So in terms of reliability is the RR going to be more to handle than the LR3 or a Disco II. Disco II's here in the Northwest are running 11-13k for a lower mile version so the RR is about 4-5k more in price. the LR3's are around par with the '03 RR so it'd be at the top of our price range.

I like the idea of a DiscoII just to have some left over funds for repairs goodies etc. but the RR is just so damn sexy!

Thanks a ton!

hilltoppersx · #4 08-01-2011, 03:20 PM

if i were you i would go with an LR3

CellarDoor · #5 08-01-2011, 05:49 PM

Thanks for the advice!

After reading it I looked for an LR3 and found one locally here we're going to look at. Only 18,500 and 65k miles on an '05. definitely the best price in the area I've seen.

Going to test drive tonight and I'll keep you guys updated. May have a new member here soon enough!