I am looking into the purchase of a 2013 LR4 HSE LUX. If you read all the ratings and reviews, you would think that Land Rover is the worst vehicle you could purchase. So I thought I would reach out to the people who know them best. The people who own them. Are the Land Rovers really this unreliable, or do they get a bad rep from people who just don't pay attention to proper service and care for a vehicle?

Also, any tips on service and things you can keep an eye on to keep the Land Rover in top shape.

Thanks for any help, looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

 

It generally boils down to lack of care or ignoring maintenance schedules. If you maintain it, and take care of problems as they arise, then you will be fine.

We have 2 LR3 and both are fantastic. They need attention but lets be real both are 12+ years old with over 150k miles of service. One is a street queen the other is a Daily Driver, tow vehicle and off road adventure toy.

The LR4 has a different problem set than the LR3 but its not unmanageable. Keep the oil changes at 5k max interval and Keep an eye on the cooling system. Those are the big two for the LR4. Other than that take care of the maintenance and it will take care of you.

 

Thank you for the response, it’s been taken care of and is Perfect condition. All the reviews were making me worry a bit. But the more I read from people who actually own them and maintain them, seem to love them.

 

Army is spot on.

One advantage to buying an older vehicle like this is that by now most, if not all, issues are known. And you can find solutions to the vast majority in the forums. No Rover is ever perfectly taken care of by an average Joe, even it its been maintained by a good Rover dealer. There may be a few small surprises for you. And its really best if you are mechanically capable of doing the repairs on your own. It can save money the most obvious way, labor. But if you are mechanically inclined it can save you money by better isolating issues yourself versus a shop having it for an hour and shooting blind. As the owner, you will know it better.

As for reliability, I will say that compared to my BMW the Rover is a saint. But compared to the Benz I had, the Rover is a problem child. But I seriously hate my BMW.... Anyway, its a matter of markets when it comes to reputation. First, Rover does have quality issues buried in their past and for some reason that reputation carried on far longer than it should. But the LR3 on up are pretty dang good machines less a few "what were they thinking" designs (paint inside a diff? sunroof drains that will clearly clog?). Then you have the buyers market. Used BMWs seem to go to kids or people wanting a fast car - car people. They generally know a bit about cars so when there is a problem they have a better understanding as to why. A Rover, I think many buy it for the name badge and dont have a keen understanding of mechanics. So when there are issues, they get mad, etc... Couple that with that latent reputation on quality and its amplified artificially.

So I say if you want a Rover, get one. You will be happy I am sure, but be prepared to spend a little more on average than any vehicle you had before. A preventative maintenance goes a long way.

 

So I did it, we purchased the LR4 yesterday and love it. Comfortable, rides great, everything’s smooth. Then last night when we parked her for the night. I get a wiff of coolant as I get out of the vehicle. Any suggestions on where to start looking for the most common leaks. I’m really hoping it’s just a small leak somewhere or maybe even the water pump. I haven’t noticed any puddles under the vehicle. I didn’t notice the smell when we test drove the vehicle and I was around it quite a bit once we got back from the test drive. This has me a little nervous since I don’t want to be putting a head gasket on a vehicle I just purchased. Thank you for your help. Looking forwards to your response.

 

The smell of coolant can easily be caused by spillage from some sort of service. First, what color is in the expansion tank? Green is not ideal and not all coolants are comparable. Mixing certain wrong colors can cause the death of a vehicle as it will gel up. But you can not go by colors alone, some you can mix. Second, which engine? Need more details. Also you may want to start a new thread to get more responses as this is now a diagnostic issue not a new car inquiry.