The Rover-Landers of BC

Hi Bellagio,

You're not the only one who's gotten the last minute jitters about your purchase. However, in my opinion — and experience — any vehicle has its problems. The Land Rover, properly maintained and problems dealt with promptly when they occur, doesn't seem to me to have any higher maintenance than other vehicles.

You didn't mention off-roading the truck but longer highway trips. If you add off-roading to the formula, you could then expect to increase your problems as the rattles, bumps and general abuse of off-roading does accelerate the aging process of any vehicle, thus requiring repairs that may not be due for several hundred thousand kilometers to show up at a much lesser mileage.

Again, this could be said about any vehicle, not just the Land Rover. So if you're buying used, try and find out as much as possible about the vehicles history. Has it been dealer serviced since new? Are all the dealer maintenance cycles completed? Are all the warranty recalls done? If this is the case, then you should have a reliable truck on your hands. In any case, buy an extended warrant for as long a period as you can afford, preferably one from the dealer, not a 3rd party company.

As far as service goes, I too live a fair ways from the dealer, about 400 km. I do my own work, with an independent Land Rover mechanic or two in the wings for when I need a knowledgeable answer. I have my own OBDII scanner, so when something goes awry I can get the codes and call the mechanic. He then gives me the repair procedure and ships the parts. This would be similar to what yo would do with a good local repair shop. The only thing I've found deficient to this is there are certain codes, those for ABS or the transmission, for example, that require a higher level of software to be plugged in to them to make changes, erase codes, etc. and you either need the dealer or a very focused Land Rover independent technician for that. If you find one of these, you're in luck.

On the flip side, being 4 hours from the dealer does have its benefits... When I'm in a situation where I MUST have a dealer repair, such as my windshield replacement last year, I arranged an appointment and the sales department was more than happy to give me a brand new LR3 for the day while the repair was being done.

Land Rovers are well put together trucks, not without their gremlins, but I'm certain you'll have a great experience with ownership. In many cases your experience with Land Rover will turn you from an owner into an enthusiast, and this only happens when a customer is truly satisfied with their purchase.

Dave

I can only comment on the Discovery II. The rotors seem to last for 2 sets of pads, and cost around $120 apiece, with pads costing about $80. I would imagine LR3 parts are similar, but I don't know for certain. I do know that the dealers charge a huge amount more for brake jobs than the independents do, in my experience.

D

Hey Bellagio,
I think Dave has given you good advice here. Regarding brake rotors I have had better experience. Front rotors seemed to last well over three pad changes without even the need to turn the rotors and the rears were more along the lines of Dave's experience. Squeeling rear pads have been more of an irritant even when dealer serviced. Over all vehicle ownership satisfaction for me has been high but as Dave says, they are not without their gremlins. On the other hand my buddies with fords and chevy's and the almighty toyota's have shared some horror stories with me. The bottom line is that most of us who stick with Landrover are apologists for the marque and will always enjoy our rovers with their shortcomings. A sympathetic spouse is a must for Landrover ownership. :wink:
Bill

Bellagio,
I have a 1st build '05 LR3 HSE. I have had a few issues as is to be expected with a brand new design. More importantly, however, I have found great support when I visit the dealer to have things serviced. And with a vehicle that has such expensive parts and service this cannot be stressed enough. I have had mine serviced by both Cowell LR and MCL Motors (the 2 local Vancouver area dealerships) and have been happy with the quality of both.

Now I do take mine off road. And occationally I run it hard over fairly challenging obsticles. I have the HD package (lockers), a winch that has almost been used, Goodyear MT/R tires along with recently installed Rover Specialty rock sliders. Even with all that kit you have to accept that things will break from time to time (Mine is in the shop as I write this so we will see how "satisfied I am after this most recent service/repair). When things go wrong you will want a good dealer so my advice is to buy the LR3 and take it out and explore, get it dirty, push its limits and your own and when things go wrong you have a great dealer network to get you back on the road with a minimum of grief.