Hello all - happy to be here. I am in need of a new 7-seater SUV for my family, and have recently become intrigued by the Disco V. Having never owned a Land Rover before, I thought I'd start here with some initial research. I would only be purchasing a used/CPO model, so I am curious about service given LR's less than stellar reputation for reliability. The closest dealer is 100 miles away. Am I crazy for even considering it at this point? Should I call off the search before it even gets started?

For what it's worth, whatever the new vehicle ends up being, it will be my wife's DD for various kid hauling duties.

Thanks.

 

Unless it still has factory warranty, stay away from the dealer.

1.Try and locate the nearest Rover guru/mechanic if things get bad.
2. Are you handy? change oil? do maintenance? change brakes?
3 I've learned its a love hate, keeping maintenance up is key.

I have had:
2002 D2
2005 LR3 - off road beast
2008 RR HSE fatty - wifes
current 2017 D5 TD6 HSE LUX - by far my favorite out of all - off road super beast

Good luck! let us know your choice!

 

100 miles is a long way to go for warranty work. And you will need warranty work. From just software upgrades to miscellaneous nits.

 

I really like my D5, and it's been really reliable with only 2 trips to the dealer in a year and a half. My Denver dealer does a great job. If your only dealer isn't a good one, you'll not be happy. And I don't think I'd buy any vehicle from any manufacturer if the only dealer was 100 miles away. If you buy a 2017 CPO your warranty will likely run out in another year or so, after that you shouldn't need the dealer if you can find a good mechanic that knows Land Rover and has the right computer equipment to service it. Any non warranty service at the dealer will be very expensive if you can't do it yourself.

 

Your point about the CPO warranty running out within a year or so is well taken. To earlier comments - I am handy enough and used to work on my vehicles quite a bit, but honestly now am at the point where life's priorities have shifted (i.e. four active kids, two working professionals, etc.) and usually default to a dealer/indy to have necessary service completed on our vehicles. Hence my concerns about jumping into the LR market with no local point of contact for service.

 

I would ask how “into” cars you are.
If you see them as practical, reliable family transport then I wouldn’t suggest any LR product. That’s not to say they’re as bad as the internet commenters would have you believe as they’re unlikely to leave you stranded but gadgets may randomly stop working or develop an annoying rattle. Out of warranty all these things will be extremely expensive to fix.
However this is the price for driving something far more interesting, stylish and better to drive than say a Toyota Land Cruiser which will be more reliable (but not as bulletproof as again internet commenters suggest, I’ve had friends who own them have to replace electric windows, AC compressors, alternators, starters, fuel pumps, injectors, turbos and even out entire new engines in although the latter was 12 years old with 130k on the clock, but still).
You need a good dealer to go with the warranty and who will supply you with a loaner if it’s your daily driver. The same applies to an independent shop, if they need to wait 2-4 weeks for a part (or longer I’d say a replacement windshield) will they provide you with a loaner to use?
So whether you should buy one would depend why you want it, how dependent you will be on it, how tolerant you are of minor ****les and if you have cash available to fix these things out of warranty because everything is expensive.

 

ive owned 4 Land Rover products. DONT EVEN think about comparing them to a land cruiser. I’m sure someone out there has had trouble with a land cruise but that is an outlier and you know it.

 

There are more outliers than you think. That’s why Toyota service depts are not ghost towns and parts distribution is continuous.
But of course I don’t compare the reliability and quality of a LR to a Toyota, they are on opposite ends of the spectrum. However the internet would have you believe you are guaranteed continuous major problem with any LR vehicle (not true) and you are guaranteed a flawless will work for decades and hundreds of thousands of mikes without skipping a beat experience with a Land Cruiser but that isn’t true either.
You are many times more likely to have something go wrong with an LR vs a LC but that’s all it is, statistical odds. Anyone considering buying an LR or. Toyota needs to understand that (is chances are at least some minor things will go wrong).

 

A used D5? 100 miles away?

Have you considered any other SUV’s? Looked/researched any? Why the D5 over say an LC or even a Highlander for example?

 

The problem with the Highlander is zero room in the 3rd row (its good for children under the age of 8, but not any taller). I really wanted one but with three children and one wanting to sit on their own in the back. it just wasnt an option .... even the Lexus 350 RX L was just toocramped in the 3rd row for my 13 year old. Only the Disco had decent room. I was hugely dissapointed with the Land Cruiser, the roominess wasnt that great and its incredibly dated and plasticy, even the platinum version was just cheap inside and the same price as the baseline Disco!!!