Hi all,

I am in the market for a 2nd vehicle. It will mainly be used for my wife to do her errands as a stay at home Mom and for family day trips on the weekend. Occasionally we will go on longer trips with it to Nova Scotia from Ontario to see her parents or siblings.

We both love the look of the LR3 and came very close once to buying one but got cold feet and backed out. Is there any advice you can offer us when we go look at a used one from a dealer? Any telltale signs of proper routine maintenance that was done or rather maintenance that was not done or neglected?

I have read that there was a lot of things on the LR3 that the warranty took care of like from bushings and rear wiper arms that corroded. Most if not all things were taken care of by the dealer or credited to the user by Rover Canada.

We really want to own one and i am not afraid of doing fluid changes myself after seeing it done or having someone walk me through it first. I am apprehensive of buying one based on the negative feedback some people have of Rovers but am I analysing this too much. After all every manufacturer has a few nasty points that put people off and those same points don't even phase other people. I really don't want ot be left high and dry miles from home because of some stupid engine glitch that can't be fixed with a screwdriver adjustment. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Brian.

 

The engine glitch that can get you is the capacitor for the ignition system, some change them at every tuneup. Attached is the maintenace list, you'll see that someone could say it was current on maintenance and coolant hasn't been touched for 120,000; while a D2 was speced to change colant every 30K. IMHO fluids should eb changed on a more agressive schedule. The front differential holds 22 ounces of fluid, about 1/2 of a D1. Both are splash lubricated. The LR3 weighs more, and has more horsepower. Waiting a long time to change the fluid in that $2200 part seems like a good way to enrich the dealer.

 

2.5 Years Ago I made the jump.

Like you I was apprehensive - especially after reading the many horror stories. But after driving one I could not resist.

I'll tell you what no one will.

I purchased a 2005 LR3 HSE with 89K kms. The original owner drove the vehicle primarily to a winter ski location so it was in remarkable condition. Looked like new inside and out.

In order to protect myself I arranged to have the vehicle inspected before buying by the LR Dealer where it was originally purchased. I paid $300 to have a complete mechanical inspection. Other than needing new tires it was given a clean bill of health.

About 2 months after purchasing the vehicle the problems began. So far I have invested a little over $10,000.00. This includes 4 Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow tires ( approx. $1600.00 ) which I highly recommend.

What others won't tell you is that my experience is not unique. These are extremely complicated vehicles and expensive to maintain. Especially if you are not able to perform some of the repairs yourself.

At about 80K kilometres most of the front suspension will need replacing. The spark plug coil packs will also start failing. Don't let them do one at a time. If you buy the vehicle do all at same time including the capacitor pack.

You will need a new battery.

You will need to replace front anti-roll bar rubbers / bushings.

Rear sway bar shims need replacing.

Camshaft/rocker engine set gaskets will need replacing.

Lower steering column replacement. Begins to knock.

The MASS filter will need replacing. Don't fall for the "you can clean it" solution.

The Thermostat will need replacing.

The drain tubes for the sun roof will need replacing. They all leak and can cause serious electrical damage.

The suspension height sensors ( 4 ) will begin to fail. The front and rear valve blocks will begin to fail as it reaches 90,000-120,000kms. So will the air compressor.

Eventually the 4 air springs will need replacing.

This all said - I still love the vehicle. It is remarkable on road and off. Nothing like it.

However, if you are not in a position where you can afford to make these repairs I would avoid buying.

Good luck.

 

...now go back and change all instances of the word "will" to "may" in his post above, and his advice is spot on.

 

I used to believe "may" but have come to discover that "will" more accurately describes reality. May have to replace is rare and the exception. It seems that there is a reluctance to state the true reality of what it costs to own a LR. More often than not the frustrations owners experience are a result of LR service reps. not recommending suitable maintenance strategies. Most individuals that buy new do not sell their vehicle because of the cost to maintain. They sell it because they are frustrated by the time it consumes, having to repeatedly take the vehicle back for service. In many cases the number of return service trips could be reduced if the appropriate preventative measures were taken.

This all said. I love my LR3. But I also have a very realistic understanding of what is takes to own this vehicle. I also take steps to replace parts before their known life end.

 

I concur.

Within the past 15 months, I bought 3 different LR3 vehicles, and drove two of them over 1000 miles back home. The suggestion is that they were working when sold.............

One Engine, two Trannies, Steering racks, Front end everything, Electrical Everything. The bastards were in the shop and into my bank account so much so that they became a focal point of our lives, rather than just cars.

I sold the last one yesterday, and the poor chap is taking it on a 2500 mile journey today. While I fix all flaws on all of my things (excepting self), I wouldn't cross town in a LR3 for fear of another christmas tree light starting to glow.

I'm 65, have owned over 120 vehicles, 20 cycles, 2 planes, 12 boats and pretty much understand equipment and their R&M. We spent over $30,000 in the past year and a half on these pieces of crap. English technology at it's very worst...and that includes the Lucas saga.

Yes, our other two cars are Jags. 2004 and 2008 VDP. Both of them run and drive wonderfully.

LR3.....stay far away from unless you have a third car and a fourth bank account.

That rant over, there's nothing that looks as good sitting in your driveway. So long as it's sitting still, or motoring without issues, it's the very best.

I'll miss the LRs like I miss the hookers and blow in the far east....more trouble than their memories are worth.

 

And to tell you the opposite side of the story - in 51k miles here is what I have replaced:

1. Brakes (normal maintenance, it's a heavy vehicle)
2. Front roll bar bushings
3. A arm bushings
4. Rear hatch actuator (This is a design flaw, they seem to fail every 4-5 years or so, but replacement isn't that hard and the part isn't that expensive)

.... and that's it.

 

Mack73 - You are nearing the time when the larger costs to replace parts will begin. It is not avoidable.

I bought my LR3 from the original owner. I have had it services at the original dealer. I saw all the service records before i purchased. Like you the repairs were mostly due to standard service issues.

What I discovered was that many repairs that should have been done sooner were not. So as a result by the time I took ownership the number of repairs needed were many.

Why were they not addressed sooner?

What I have come to realize is that the dealers are losing their older and experienced technicians. The new technicians although factory trained do not have the depth of knowledge and experience needed to properly service the vehicles. They rely solely on the computer diagnostics. Unfortunately the faults do not occur until it is too late and often the fault is incorrectly diagnosed. Also, the computer does not inform the technicians of needed mechanical issues like worn control arms or sway bar bushings or lower steering column wear.

You need to know how the vehicle should drive and feel as well as the average life of these parts in order to properly maintain the vehicle.

I took my LR3 three times to dealer complaining about knocks in the front suspension before it was corrected. They kept telling me nothing was wrong - even though they went on road tests with me. After researching possible reasons I went back and had them look more carefully. As it turned out many of the front suspension components had significant wear. Once replaced the way the vehicle drove was substantially improved.

Many people are driving LR3's that need parts replaced. They simply are not aware of it and won't be until it finally fails.

If you drive my LR3 it feels tight and not unlike a new vehicle. Pick any other vehicle of the same age and compare how it drives and you will find they are sloppy and loose. Because I have had all the parts in the font and rear suspension that fail replaced it drives like it was intended.

It is not a question of whether your lower control arms will need replacing it is when. You can't avoid this. Your compressor will fail - yours may last longer than most but it will fail.

Even for those that put very little mileage on the vehicle. Age plays as much a part as normal wear and tear.

I am not sure what the resale value is in your area but in Vancouver BC Canada the resale value is quite low. A vehicle that cost 80K can be bought 3-4 years later for half or less. LR Sports are even worse.

The resale value reflects the costs required to perform the necessary work they all need.

Yes you can drive the vehicles long after the date when you should address the replacement of components that are nearing the end of their life but it is not advisable. Most LR'3 and 4's are not adequately serviced. This includes those under warranty and being serviced at authorized LR dealers.

I suspect that LR purposely puts off many needed repairs until after the warranty expires. Few original owners in our area keep their vehicle beyond the warranty period. The larger and more expensive repairs then become the responsibility of the second owner.

As a result the LR has a worse service record than it should. LR is doing itself a disservice by not instructing their technicians on a realistic preventative service plan. If they performed the services needed sooner than later the resale values would increase and the frequency of failures and fault code triggers would be reduced significantly. The overall joy of owning a LR would increase and frustrations would lower.

 

I've had my new/used truck now for 9000 miles closing in on 100,000 miles and I've replaced new front and back rotors and pads, thermostat, one sunroof drain tube, front windshield cowl (covered by insurance) diff oils, engine oil, filters, brake switch, added rock armor 2" lift rods, wiper blades and rear gate struts. All in all its just regular maintenance parts. I've spent about $750 dollars so far on this truck. I also did the work myself, so if your somewhat mechanically inclined you can save thousands of dollars doing the work yourself. I love this truck and its great if you keep up with the preventative maintenance.

 

ghtaylor,

Yes every single part on the car WILL fail eventually. Some will last 30k (brakes), some will last 40-50k (A arm bushings, Anti roll bar bushings, tires), some will last 100k (air compressor, differentials if you were unlucky), engine/tranny who knows. Blah blah.

The thing is, if you are buying a used vehicle, things will fail. It depends where in the cycle you are when you pick up the vehicle. The older it gets, the more you have to replace.

With proper maintenance these will last a very very long time. There is a member in the UK who has over 400,000 miles on his LR3. Yes he's replaced major components but I don't think there is a single vehicle that can make it that far without major repairs.

Yes I agree on the dealer servicing the vehciles need to be a little smarter (I think they simply like to throw parts at it instead of doing a proper diagnosis), there was a recent incident where we had to tell the dealer what to replace as they were simply wrong.

It sounds like you had a bad experience, but if you read all of the message boards (lrrforums, landroverworld, landroversonly, disco3.co.uk) you will find that your experience is not the norm.

I guess what would be interesting to do would be catalog everyone's failures and the associated mileage. That way based on when you buy the car, you have an idea of when certain items will fail. IE, if you know a-arm bushing fail every 40-50k, If you buy a car at 90k, you know you're going to be replacing the a-arms very soon.