Hello,
I'm brand new to the Land Rover family. My wife and I traded our 2004 Honda Pilot for an 05 LR3 SE with 54K miles. It's like a new truck. I don't think the previous owner ever touched the dirt. He had all scheduled maintenance performed and took care of the recalls. We've been driving around town for about 2 weeks and so far we love it. This is the first used vehicle I've purchased in 20+ years and frankly some of the reviews and reliability ratings scare me. The Honda dealer we bought it from gave us a 100K or 2 year power train warranty that will cover major engine and transmission.

First question: Does anyone recommend an extend warranty (3 years or 36K miles)? It will cost me between $2,200 - $2,800 with a $250 deductible.

Second question: The dealer told us that it was out of alignment and they moved replaced the worst two tires and put the front ones on the rear. The tires are exactly the same size but a different brand and slightly different tread patter. At 55 - 65 mph we get a slight vibration that is most noticeable from the second row. You can feel a slight vibration in the steering wheel and by putting your hand on the center console. If you speed up to 70+ it smoothes the ride. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dean
Mesa, AZ

 

I only run the same tires on all 4 wheels. check forum before you get new tires. Stock GYs are junk. I am just over 50k on mine. repairs can be pricy so you may want to look at an ext warranty alot of guys were getting one thru Ford. I don't know much about that. Congrats on your purchase.

 

First answer:

If you're not handy with a wrench in your hand or know your way around Land Rovers, I would recommend the extended warranty. Repairs done at the dealer after warranty can be very expensive, even for the smallest thing. Parts are expensive and labor charges can run very high as well.


Second answer:

drz preety much answered it already. I will make the asumption that the tires you had on it when you bought it were the Goodyear Wrangler HP, which are factory tires for the LR3. They are quite possibly the worse tires you can put on that truck. The vibration you are feeling on the LR3 is more than likely caused by the 2 GY HPs the dealer left on there, not by the fact that you are running different tires. Hopefully you have 18" wheels on your SE. If you do, the choices for great tires is wide and very affordable. There is a lot of information in these treads about LR3 tires, but almost any choice you make outside of those HP tires will improve the quality of the ride by leaps and bounds.

 

http://blog.nextstepdesigns.com/?p=46

Spend some time reading on this link. surf around on Nathans web site it is full of good info

 

If the GY HPs are on the rear that would explain why the vibration is felt stronger in the second row. I would find a pair of tires of the same brand and size as the dealer put on the front to replace your rear tires. Matching tread is always prefer, at least on road, for four wheel drive vehicles.

When reading reliability reports make sure you pay close attention to the things that are factored in to that rating. I haven't done much research on the LR3 but I know the Discovery's reliability rating got marked down due to excess wind noise. Apparently people who drive vehicle with the aerodynamics of a brick at 70 don't want it to sound a like a brick traveling at 70 mph. My LR has never left me stranded even when there was a problem with it which tells me all I need to know about its reliability.

 

I'm looking into a headrest DVD system but I want to keep the stock look with the handles. Does anyone have some advise?

 

http://forums.landroverworld.org/showthread.php?t=14166
this should help