The only significant diff I can see is the diff (yes, I crack myself up). Locking rear diff or not. The other interior stuff I don't really care about. Any other mechanical differences?

Test drove an LR3 today. '06, 102K miles, nice shape. It started throwing up a few lights during the test drive. Looks like the LR3 3 amigos issue. The truck also lowered itself all the way down (or close). Some quick research shows it could be a few things.

Told the guy I'd pay to get a pre-sales inspection and we could talk once we know what it needed to get fixed. Maybe defective height sensor? Maybe something more serious...

History: currently have a Disco that needs head gaskets. Was going to get it fixed, but decided it's better economy to move to an LR3.

 

Did the errors occur while braking / stop and go traffic. The most common would be brake light switch and / or non OEM bulbs, or blown bulbs.

Head Gaskets-- no, I wouldn't necessarily pay a premium for a vehicle with blown head gaskets, but I might consider a purchase.

I wasn't fully following your post exactly... maybe you can clarify what you are asking?

 

Edited post for clarity - that was very confusing. My bad for writing it while half asleep.

Really asking about the viability of a used LR3 with 3-amigos lights showing up and the air suspension going low while driving. The errors showed up while driving 60 mph - no brakes.

 

There is no performance difference between SE/HSE. It's all creature comforts and many of those were options on the SE anyway.

I read your original post and since you do not want to spend money (no one does!), you might look around for a V6, simply becasue it will still perform better than your Disco and they go for less on the used market than the V8's and have been just as reliable as far as I can gather from this forum.

There are lots of LR3's out there, so I would not rush to buy one with known issues unless you are looking to save money on the purchase and fix those issues yourself.

Is this "guy" the private owner, or a car lot?

 

Private owner. Only reason I'm interested is the relatively low miles and overall condition of the car. Whatever fixes it needs would come off the purchase price. I'm trying to get him to take it to the dealer for diagnosis.

Great idea on the 6 cyl. Would be happy to have one. Not sure I've ever seen one for sale in my area, but will keep looking.

 

Yeah you can get a locking rear diff on an SE as well, although that is likely even more rare than the HD package already is.

Also, just to bust your chops a bit and help you speak "our language"....3 Amigos is a Disco thing. We don't call it that over here. Partly because that name's been taken and also because, if I remember the symptoms correctly, it's more like a Christmas tree or pinball machine effect than those three lit icons. Luckily, the solution on the LR3 is generally less expensive or at least more diagnosable than the 3 Amigos of the Discovery.

Brake lights (bulbs or switch; cheap), bad battery, height sensor, wheel angle sensor...or ultimately it could be a compressor. You can probably get all those things replaced, at the dealer even, for less than it would cost to get the 3 Amigos fixed on a Disco. ...and as I understand it, the 3 Amigos can be caused by a few different things so it's not a straight-forward diagnosis.

Sorry if I rambled...

 

No rambling - appreciate it. I saw this referred to as an LR3 3-amigos on another forum so I (wrongly) assumed that's what it was called. In this case it was 3 solid lights and one chime. I'm reading about potential causes - could it also be an air leak?

Kinda funny that a bad bulb or switch could cause that much trouble.

 

Well if it is a private seller then definately take it to the dealer and get the full repair costs and negotiate the price based on it being fixed. It's better to pay fair book value for a known fixed vehicle than to pay less for it as-is and find out repairs were much more than you guesstimated!

He is not going to be able to sell it to anyone else until he fixes it anyway, so he may as well work with you since you are willing to work with him. Good luck!

 

Exactly. I'm being more than reasonable on helping him get the car there and get around while they have it.

Got some other tips here for must-check items (differentials, parking brake, passenger carpet, etc).

 

So I walked away from the LR3 I was looking at but bought another one: '06 with 87K miles. Green Oval looked it over and pronounced it "very nice." Needs and alternator and lower control arms. May do the alt myself, will absolutely have Green Oval do the control arms. Truck is in excellent shape inside and out.

I just drove it home from Green Oval. Over 30 MPH I'm noticing very light scraping/whining kind of sound that I associate with a bad bearing. No idea where it's coming from. It's a drive train noise and not an engine (increases with speed, not RPMs). Will take a look tomorrow when I can see. May have the wife take a listen tonight. It also sounds like a center-of-the car noise rather than a wheel, so that's more concerning.

EDIT: Wife drove it while I crawled around to locate the noise. Sounds like significant rear differential noise to me. Could be a wheel bearing, but it seems to be centered and is louder when going uphill than down.

This is a nice driving truck. Very different from a Disco, but just quirky enough to remind you it's a Rover. The V8 in this thing has much more low end than the old Buick-block engine in the Disco. The air suspension is very much nicer on bumpy roads and curves.

Also need to figure out what to do with my poor old Disco that needs head gaskets. May put it in the garage and contemplate doing the work myself.