Looked at an 06 Zambezi silver LR3 - 167k on the clock - V8 engine. Price is $2k

Current owner has owned 2 years, purchased from family friend who owned it for three year prior. Truck is a southern truck with no signs of rust.


The bad:

1. Wet passenger floorboard - like soaking wet - truck has been sitting so likely a sunroof drain and not a ac drain issue. Current owner indicates it is a new problem.
2. Current owner says the truck has lit up with error messages in the past and gone in to limp mode. He removed module and put in bowl of rice for a few days. I drove the truck 20 minutes, hwy speeds - no issues.
3. Current owner says parking brake engaged at highway speeds, he found the connector and dis-connected and truck drives fine.
4. Parking sensor light is flashing - owner has not attempted troubleshooting.
5. Dash cover is cracked on passenger side
6. Broken tailgate cable on drivers side
7. TPS sensor light came on during our test drive
8. Both A-pillars have cloth de-laminating - pass side is the worst
9. Roof mounted DVD give error message when disc loaded

The good:

1. New Battery
2. New Tires
3. Body/Paint seems in good condition for the age
4. Drives smooth with no audible issues like clunks, hoof beats, or differential whine

Before I list my questions, my relevant background:

• Have bought and sold 9 DII's, currently have 4 in the stable (mine, wifes, daughters, off-road)
• 30 yr gearhead mechanical engineer - do all my own work on trucks - have delphi software for computer troublshooting
• Have never owned an LR3

My questions thus far are:

1. DIfficulty, source and cost of dash cover replacement
2. I have read e-brake threads, any thoughts on the described conditions?
3. Difficulty troubleshooting parking sensors?
4. TPS sensor difficulty?
5. Long term issues from wet floor and/or related wet module faults?
6. Relative value at the current price?
7. Typical market value if all issues are resolved?

Advice appreciated as I am considering this purchase.

 

I would by one of the dash covers if it bothers you and just lay it on top. To replace the pad as I recall is dash removal costly and a pain in the butt.

Depends on what has failed in the Parking brake

Gap tool makes most troubleshooting a breeze

The wet floor is either the sunroof drain or water ingress through the a pillar. Both are easy fixes. Also to protect the wore look in the floor channel I drilled a few small drain holes to be in the safe side.

Seems like a fair price for a running driving LR3. Parts alone would net your money back from the engine trans and diffs

 

Doesn't sound like much of a project and a normal non enthusiast owned DD LR3 with that many miles.

 

Agree the issues are workable and the price is relatively low. On the water ingress: the root cause has been discussed. Either way, it is a good idea to go through and dry out all the wiring and connectors. The effects of that, are "$hit goes bonkers" inexplicably because wires are all crusted up connections lost and wires are loose.

 

How’s the paint and interior? $2k sounds like a steal, until you put 6-8k into it and a ton of hours of your time!. I’d be worried about other maintenance items: control arms, compressor etc. however, you’ll know what you have in the end.
Take care of the obvious issues and it should be worth 6k or more. Might be hard to sell with the miles. Didn’t mention if it was an HSE, but has DVD, so likely is.
There may be corrosion in the wires along the door jamb. Worth checking out and drying it real well. Control modules are easy to find if needed.
There are some good online parts websites that are well below MSRP. Parts are plentiful on eBay...

For reference, I bought a V6 SE with blown motor for $1500. Have probably $9k into it now with all of the issues, but I needed keys/remotes, A Arms and a radiator too. A lot of that was the motor and labor to install. Wouldn’t buy a cheap fixer again to be honest....once a beater, always a beater.

 

Should have read your post better about interior and paint.

Dash can come out in about 3 hours, and is straightforward, but new is about $900 and just about all used are cracked.
Might be worth having the dealer do an inspection and read codes. If you are definitely going to buy, get a Gap Diagnostics IIDTOOL. Never mind, just saw you have the Delphi, not sure how that is with the newer Rovers. Sounds like you know what you’re doing...


Looked on Craigslist, nothing under $6k here in SoCal....

I keep thinking things: check to see if it will go into sport mode by moving the shifter to the left. Should manually shift. Sometimes water intrusion will corrode the contacts and short out the controller. $230 or so for new shifter.
The e-brake control could be due to the same thing...corrosion.

I really like the ride and the LR3 are really good off road! On second thought, I’d probably buy it! There’s a certain happiness that comes from fixing a Rover!

 

The parking brake issue is concerning. The module is quite expensive and the repair would be about the cost of the truck. I don't know what you can disconnect without triggering the parking brake error light on the dashboard (hopefully they didn't gut the shoes and cables), but I do know some states test the brake during inspection and it might need it to pass depending on where you live. Try to see what exactly was done and if it's easily reversible.

 

Drains in the roof get clogged and leak into cabin..look at that.Happened twice on ours

 

Females in my house outvoted me on purchase - apparently I can't have more than one project truck at a time posted the for sale link in the classifieds section.

I am curious on the ebrake though as my daughter thinks she wants an LR3- looks like the actuators go for around $150 on ebay - so what gets so expensive? I have see the parts under the disc - looks like normal drum brake setup.

 

Dang, I was afraid you might pass and I’d be tempted.....maybe I was subconsciously telling you it was junk!