Hi guys,

I'm in the market for a car and the LR3 is my main target. It'll be s family hauler, daily driver and sometimes off-roader/overlander.

I'm looking at cars in the $10-$15k range. So mainly I'm finding SE's and HSE's from 05-08 with about 100-12k miles in my area. I'd like to closer to the $10k to have some leftover for inevitable repairs, tires and such.

I like the some of the extra's I get with the HSE, like 3rd row seats, premium sound etc. I read that tire choice for the 19's are limited but I've had Duratracs before and was more than happy with them.

One question I had is all the cars I've looked at look like the suspension is real low. Is that normal if the cars been sitting for a while? Does it just inflate when the car starts?

I have been reading the forums but other than that, I'm open to any tips or suggestions for my search. There's a great independent LR shop nearby so I do plan to have a pre-purchase check.

Thanks
Oz

 

By all means have that pre check. I thought I had a good deal then found that the PO had let it overheat till the heads warped, $7200 later the good deal I got seemed not so good. It was either spend the bucks or have an exceedingly attractive driveway ornament.
Try to find the shop (dealer) that the PO used and check with them. They keep records and the vin will get you through on their computer, they can tell you things the PO won't.
I have no trouble finding tires for 19s. Duratracs were my choice too.

 

>read the sticky at the top of the LR3 section
>get the truck inspected at a LR dealer
>ditto on find the garage/dealer and pull all records. Dealers can find it by VIN and call other dealers to get info faxed over

 

Directly from the pre-purchase checklist sticky:

Low when parked usually means there are air leaks in the system. If not fixed, these can burn out the compressor.

 

I think you may get more bang for your buck from an SE, to be honest. You can get a 7-seat SE, and the sound system may not be that big of a delta, I'm not sure. I don't think I've jammed out in an SE, but my HSE's system is not so great that it cannot be touched by that of the SE.

Mostly just figure out the things that are important to you (seats, rear climate control? Adaptive Headlamps? etc) and find the vehicle that has what you want regardless of badge.

The 19" rims will be a pain for tires but you can always sell them and get some 18s. Many of us, like myself, have both.

 

A large portion of 2006 SE's have almost all the HSE equipment due to a weird issue with the way they kept track of options packages...

Otherwise SE's are great!

 

So what is the diff between SE and HSE if they have the same stuff?

 

They don't necessarily have the same stuff. HSEs generally have more stuff, but a particular SE could be loaded up. There are only a few things that HSEs have that SEs cannot have; and there is another thread on this board that was created last week, coincidentally.

Mostly it's wheels (which can be swapped), the stereo, adaptive headlamps. That may be it...I don't remember. Maybe the seats?

 

Thanks for the tips guys.

I did see the "stickies", the thing I can't tell is if it's "extremely low". They all look pretty low to me, and I've checked looked at about 4 in dealer lots so far. It's probably just my perception. Is there a general baseline as to how long the EAS components last in miles and years ? How expensive is it to get the components repaired/replaced?

As for SE vs HSE, the prices in my areas don't vary too much between the two. And the SE's I've found don't have too many of the extra's. And as long as I can get Duratrac's in the 19's, I'd be fine with that.

I guess once I find the one in the best shape, I probably won't worry too much about which version it is.

Thanks

 

They can be sitting low. Too many variables to answer your question without more data...perhaps the dealers like to park them (and leave them) in Access height. That is pretty low! Go in and ask them...

EAS components...that's another question. The original Hitachi compressors seemed to be good for about 50K but it really varied. Some have been known to last over 150K if properly maintained...and that proper maintenance was not really well understood until later. The 2nd gen of the AMK compressor (so 3rd compressor overall) is supposed to be much better. You can always poke your head under there and see if it's an AMK. The airshocks seem to last...I got 105K out of my front passenger side shock (which always seems to go first) and replaced both fronts. I haven't heard of many (really any) rear shocks failing. Valve blocks sometimes leak, but those are case-by-case.

Do a ton of research and inspecting early and you'll be happy down the road.