My 06 has a foot in the grave and am looking for another LR3. Came across one locally and am a little gun shy and looking for opinions on it.

So it's high miles at 185k, but most of the motor has been rebuilt. Valves, head gasket, timing chain, guide and tensioner, water pump and thermostat. From what I've been told it was all done at once.

I'm thinking either timing **** the bed or the coolant dumped and roasted it.

Body and interior are as clean as you can expect. No damage except dash cracks

I'm liking the prospect because the motor has the problem areas fixed and it's an HD. I'm worried by the miles and any potential damage lurking in the motor.

Let's hear your thoughts

 

I'm in a very similar situation as you, where I am looking to purchase another LR3. I blew the head gasket on my 05 a few years ago. The car ran fine for a while, but lately the symptoms are getting worse. I looked into getting it repaired and got quotes from three different places, two that specialize in Land Rovers and one that specializes in Jaguars. All three recommended replacing the engine rather than repairing it. Those recommendations basically came from the line of thinking that a lot more can go wrong by taking the engine apart and putting it back together compared with just replacing the engine.

Was the repair done by a reputable shop or was it done by the previous owner? If you are purchasing from a dealer, perhaps you can get a warranty with the purchase? A one year warranty would buy you enough time to see if any issues arise from the repair job.

If it were me, I would pass on this one. If you are only looking locally, your options are perhaps limited during these crazy used car times, but looking further out, you can definitely find one with lower miles, HD, and no prior head gasket repair. I found one in Reno that I believe is HD and has 115k miles. PM me if you want the details.

 

No thoughts to spare for the transmission or the differentials? Those are some expensive parts and can be totally cooked if they didn't have their proper maintenance done.