Alright so I’ve been searching around for a nice used LR3 for awhile.

I found a 2008 Land Rover LR3 HSE with about 160k miles on the clock, it’s listed for about $6500. The differentials have been serviced within the last 4 years (what years were these prone to fail?) the air suspension is in good shape with the compressor being replaced last year. It’s on its second owner and I’m about to take a look at the vehicle today. What are some things I should really check for?

Should the mileage be a scare reliability wise? I’m decently handy (brakes, suspension, oil, and belts). I currently own a w211 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. While that car has been pretty reliable I’m no stranger to electrical gremlins, European engineering quirks and expensive parts. How would it compare maintenance wise?

 

Depends what you want to do with the vehicle but here are a few ideas. I think there were other inspection lists on this forum. Search is your friend.

• depending where you are check for rust underneath. Hard pass if it looks underneath more rusty than the Titanic
• make sure suspension lowers and raises properly. So go to access mode, raise to normal, raise to off-road. Preferably a few times with some waiting in between. Compressor is NOT supposed to run constantly or for forever
• Test both gearboxes not just the high gears (the default), switch to lower, drive around slowly, etc.
• Test gearbox manual shift up and down
• Depending on where you are you might want to make sure that AC and heater and seat warmers work
• bit late but if you have a code reader it can be very educational to pull the codes, many do not reset them so you can get a nice history through that
• engine is not supposed to rattle at start or when shutting it off. If it does the self tensioned chain might be at the end of its useful life. Probably not at 160k miles however.
• take a look at how the engine bay looks in general
  • when was coolant changed last, if the T piece is plastic assume you will need to do something about it. If it is from 2008 it’ll be brittle by now
  • when was brake fluid changed last
  • when was oil changed last and how often has the previous owner done that

As for mileage, if it has been well taken care of 160k miles is nothing for that engine. It’s arguably the best engine for the D3/D4 in terms of reliability and quite low maintenance.

Can’t compare to the merc but by now the D3 and D4 faults are very well known, there are plenty of fixes, videos, instructions, etc. for them. Similarly there is good spare parts availability. It is mostly a nice vehicle to work on.

Good luck.

 

Obviously look for leaks. While idling along at under 5 mph, briskly snap the brake pedal. If there is an audible “clunk” the lower control arm bushings need to be replaced. No big deal, but a negotiation piece to be sure.

honestly if all things check out, that’s a good price. I’d be all over it.