Replace my Disco 3 with what?

Juggler

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
Had my Disco 3 for four years and spent quite a bit on it so far this year, with the promise of more spending to come by the sound of it so looking to change, I originally thought Disco 4 but hear a lot of people are having problems with engines on these so I'm wary to say the least...

So what's out there without breaking the bank, definitely not looking new, max 20k (including the value of my Disco..) Don't like the look of the Mercs or BMW, Audi Q7 maybe? VW?

It's a shame, I'd have another LR as I love ours but I'm not prepared to buy another money pit..

Alternatively, I'm considering selling the LR & our current family car and buy a nice big estate as all I really need a 4x4 for these days is towing the caravan, and buy an older 4x4 which can sit in the shed most of the time.
I'm beginning to think this is the way to be honest...
 

H200GT

Member
Location
NORTH WALES
Most people who have had D3's have upgraded to D4's which are much better reliability wise.

Disco's have a tendency to get their drivers hooked, almost anyone I know who has had a disco, seem to want another, even if they have been terrible cars to own. Dad had a D3 money pit, traded it for a shogun, but with in 12 moths was back in a D4, nothing else compares he says. Over the years he has owned over half a dozen discos, from memory 200tdi, 2 x 300tdi, 2 x TD5's, D3 and now a D4
 

RobFZS

Member
Chopped ours in for a new shogun, Shogun pulls trailer well enough and doesn't try and kill you like a D3 occasionally did.
 

Beowulf

Member
Location
Scotland
With only £20k to spend you are best off avoiding anything from Land Rover. Brilliant cars, but potentially ruinous once they get older (as you have discovered).

Audi Q7 might be a good shout, but again anything in budget at £20k is going to be getting on a bit and with plenty of miles on it.

I think big estate car is probably your best bet.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
£20k should buy a six year old Q7 with 60k on the clock or a 2.5 year old top spec auto CR-V with all the options and 25k miles on the clock with a three year warranty from the end of its original three year warranty. Both these would easily handle a fairly large caravan and one of them will probably cost nothing but servicing for years.

Neither are Discovery, but at least one of them is reliable and available used with a factory warranty. If you really must have the Discovery experience, there is only one vehicle for you. Another Discovery.
 
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Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
Land cruiser.

Audi or Merc both cost a bomb to maintain.

Land Cruiser drives like a big truck in comparison with the others, but it will be reliable on average. Yes, the Audi and Mercedes will cost a lot to maintain long term, although scheduled service costs for both is quite reasonable. Be aware that both brand's dealers are more likely than most to uplift the service invoice by charging extra for unnecessary parts and services. One dealer actually charges £50 per wheel extra on top of advertised service cost for removing and reattaching each road wheel for changing brake pads and discs, which probably didn't need changing in the first place.
 

idgni

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Armagh
vw touareg v6 tdi, most underrated jeep about, they pull like a horse, will pull 3 ton + no problem. Put proper tyres on them and they go anywhere you want
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
Did I read on here recently that someone lost £20k in depreciation with first year on a new Disco..?
Stick £15,000+ worth of extras on a fairly basic model and you could easily lose that much on a Disco or any other similar car. These are the ones to look for if buying used.
When buying new it pays to buy the spec you fancy, even if a high spec one, and add only the most desirable optional extras, because the extras tend to depreciate heavily, even to the extent of being worth nothing extra to the used market after only two or three years.
 

Mursal

Member
Q5 or even a 3 will hold their value better than a 7, but probably depends on area.
ML as mentioned, but they are only average in build quality.

Audi A4 if going estate
Just keep away from the basic autobox shed loads of them in the auctions, not a good sign.
 

Juggler

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
Most people who have had D3's have upgraded to D4's which are much better reliability wise.

Disco's have a tendency to get their drivers hooked, almost anyone I know who has had a disco, seem to want another, even if they have been terrible cars to own. Dad had a D3 money pit, traded it for a shogun, but with in 12 moths was back in a D4, nothing else compares he says. Over the years he has owned over half a dozen discos, from memory 200tdi, 2 x 300tdi, 2 x TD5's, D3 and now a D4
Yes I can relate to that, we have had 3 x TD5's and 1 x D3 with an L200 in between...
There doesn't seem to be anything quite like them but I'm very nervous of whatever I buy being a ticking time bomb.
My Dad's got a D3 too, a manual one.. probably the only one they made..
 

Juggler

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
vw touareg v6 tdi, most underrated jeep about, they pull like a horse, will pull 3 ton + no problem. Put proper tyres on them and they go anywhere you want
Been looking at these, you can get 10 or 12 year old ones with about 90k for 5 to 6 k, that would do as a low use 4x4 if I go down the estate car route. Any idea what to look out for on these?
 

Beowulf

Member
Location
Scotland
Did I read on here recently that someone lost £20k in depreciation with first year on a new Disco..?

That would be me.

Stick £15,000+ worth of extras on a fairly basic model and you could easily lose that much on a Disco or any other similar car.

This. Getting busy with the options list adds little or no value when you want rid.
 
Land Cruiser drives like a big truck in comparison with the others, but it will be reliable on average. Yes, the Audi and Mercedes will cost a lot to maintain long term, although scheduled service costs for both is quite reasonable. Be aware that both brand's dealers are more likely than most to uplift the service invoice by charging extra for unnecessary parts and services. One dealer actually charges £50 per wheel extra on top of advertised service cost for removing and reattaching each road wheel for changing brake pads and discs, which probably didn't need changing in the first place.

What's the smaller Toyota vehicle called, I get the two confused.
 

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