Hi all; newbie here on the forum and new to Land Rovers, having just bought an LR3 on eBay.

No, haven't seen it yet and hope to get somebody to ship it down to Alabama from Mass. before too long.

In the meantime, somebody suggested that all the salt up in the NE might have caused a good bit of rust on the undercarriage. The LR3 is a 2006 with over 100K miles on it.

What say you guys that live up there...am I about to find a rust-bucket, or do vehicles last a lot longer than that?

yeah, I know I should have asked before now, but we don't deal with rust down here and it was an impulse buy because they look great and we've wanted one for a long time.

Hope to be able to contribute in awhile, but for now I'll be mining knowledge from the experts!

 

anything north of the mason dixon line will have rust. and lots of it. 100k and you are looking at a geniune piece of **** on ebay. better back out now before you find out how much everything will set you back.

 

It's mine now, so we'll see how things work out. Photos are just that, and they show excellent inside and out; along with the AutoCheck. However, the underside is going to be seen for the first time when it gets down here.

If I got a POS, then it goes on the market and I keep the diesel Excursion...but with new tires/brakes and suspension work, it might drive out fine if the rust isn't so bad that it's structural instead of cosmetic.

What are the weak points to look at for rust on them??

 

Buying a complex vehicle that you can't examine or have exammed by mutual choice of mechanic may not be a formula for success. Level of DIY support on an LR3 is somewhat reduced from Discos, as they are newer, more work done by dealers or pro techs, less in the backyard. Good luck. What kind of folding money are you talking for purchase and shipping?

 

You'll be wanting this set of manuals then. Download PDF Land Rover Discovery 3 - LR3 - Workshop Manual | PDFTown.com

 

Thanks for the DIY links; very helpful.

I'll have less than $15K into the truck when it gets here. If it's a bomb, it won't make the top five of hard times we've had in the past 5 years...and if it's a fun truck to have and drive, then I'll take the rough spots with the good ones. I really like the way it looks.

Re: a PPI. Agreed, but at the price and the nearest dealer a ways away, I took the chance. We'll see soon enough what kind of luck I had this time.

I'm not attached to an vehicle I have, so if I need to get it gone, then it will happen. Another point in it's favor is that I don't drive often, far, or hard...so I can keep it in the same or better condition than it came to me in.

What are the weak points that rust kills first on these trucks?

 

OK, assuming that there's going to be significant rusting underneath, and assuming that I want to stop, fix and prevent more of it from forming, what do you think of this plan?

First, get a sponge-blasting outfit to put the LR on a lift and sponge blast as much rust as possible off the under-carriage.

Second, soak the under side with Salt Away a few times.

Finally, undercoat like a banshee.


Thoughts??

 

Would be better to make new post with pictures of the gory details, and I bet you will have lots of help from those that live in the rust belt.

 

Agreed, and I'll do that when it gets down here from Mass. Still trying to get a pickup at the dealers and the shipping broker didn't have much luck this past week.

 

the damage is done. once you need things like control arms and ac lines you have to cut and drill and basically replace everything.