Member Since: 09 Nov 2014
Location: North UK
Posts: 67
Returning to D3 Ownership.. wise or mad..
Well I owned a D3 2006 auto 3 years back and sold it as having issues with suspension light and so thought best to bail out. Then bought new Passat GT Estate on PCP and great but missed the D3. Passat going back next week so....... I’ve put a deposit on a D3 late 2006 manual... sourced from a LR Specialist that have maintained it for previous owner and everything that needed doing was done. MOT clear and no advisories for last 3 years and sailed through this week. 120k on the dial. New clutch has been fitted in past. Propshaft being replaced this week and 2nd cambelt and aux belts being done again. Very clean with new discs and pads and tyres in last 6 month..
I need to take it out next week pre signing and paying but I’m sure it’ll be fine. I think it will. It will won’t it! Oh what have I done... no it’ll be great..
And so it’s starts - will it start, what will fail, why didn’t i buy a D4 lol..
Comes with 3 month warranty so I’m fairly relaxed about it. It’ll need to do a 200 mile drive on collection back to mine so that’ll be a good test. If the dash lights up or it overheats etc I’ll be turning it around and driving it straight back..
Any checks I should make when I view it?
9th Nov 2019 7:51 pm
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 14371
Yes, the depth of your wallet. Is it the bottomless type?...... New Defender L663 110 SE (known as Noddy!)
Sold Volvo XC90 R-Design (known as Basil)
Sold - D4 HSE (Known as Gerty)
No longer the Old Buses original owner
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
9th Nov 2019 9:17 pm
GUnit73
Member Since: 09 Nov 2014
Location: North UK
Posts: 67
Lol..
It’s a fine balance... buy a FSH D3 and keep a few grand in the maintenance kitty or spend twice as much on a D4 with 80k miles and not have the kitty..
9th Nov 2019 9:36 pm
Peakwayfarer
Member Since: 25 Apr 2016
Location: Uk
Posts: 434
IF and it’s a bit if, I was going to buy another LR after the crankshaft failed on my 2016 landmark at 20k miles and 2.5 years old, that is exactly what I would do, buy a good d3 or a Freelander and then keep some money in reserve just in case and enjoy driving it, without to much worry about depreciation etc.
I still really miss the Disco and that you could throw all sorts in the back without being too precious but still use it as a smart everyday car, but wasn’t prepared to potentially loose a large chunk of money if the engine failed again, but reckon a good D3 or a Freelander 2 is the best way to go if you want to own a Land Rover nowadays, it’s either that or lease or buy a new one every three years, which is somewhat expensive.
9th Nov 2019 9:53 pm
GUnit73
Member Since: 09 Nov 2014
Location: North UK
Posts: 67
Exactly why I’ve leant towards the D3 for the second time. 3 years with a new car sounds great but on PCP you have to be a bit precious about it or pay the penalties at the end for every mile over your limit, or dings or scrapes.. The D3 equates to 18 months payments on current car. If it lasts beyond that and there is no reason why it can’t as I’ll only do 5-6k per year then it’s good investment.
Thanks for your input. Great points, well made.
9th Nov 2019 11:01 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73069
Peakwayfarer wrote:
but reckon a good D3 ...... is the best way to go.
But how would you recognise a good one? Service history is meaningless, my D3 wanted for nothing and it’s engine failed, others get no end of abuse & lack of servicing and do intergalactic miles. It’s a complete and total lottery.
10th Nov 2019 6:50 am
GUnit73
Member Since: 09 Nov 2014
Location: North UK
Posts: 67
Any car can be a gamble or have unexpected major issues early on as per the D4 referenced above. The quality of the service history, preventative maintenance and MOT history assist in indicating the probability of the/a D3 being a good buy. I’ve seen so many MOT logs where advisories are never done and appear every year, worsening each time before they cause the fail or owners list them privately for sale and hope the buyer doesn’t do their due diligence and check any deeper.
For me I do hope the engine doesn’t fail as that would be pretty catastrophic. I’ll have a kitty held back of £2k to aid any additional maintenance over first 2 years. If it lasts even 20 months The outlay would equate to the depreciation on a newer vehicle so it’s not really an issue if all goes up. The sleepless nights and the long drives where you sit hoping you’ll arrive without seeing the 3 amigos or similar just adds a bit of adrenaline to the trip.
I’ve looked at a dozen D4’s on 77k to 105k on 2010-2013 plates and they are all £11k to £17k... I just can’t believe that they are a better buy at this time as there will also be maintenance costs and bigger bills with new belts etc etc.
Time will tell if buying older but well maintained is wiser or not.. no one really knows.
I know so many people that simply sell their 3 year old cars when tyres or brake discs need doing as they fear the expense and see this as indicative of bigger bills... they then spend an extra £7 to £12k on a new car. Is that a good or bad decision. It’s nice to have a new car but it got to be a bigger outlay but they never see that. They just see that they saved a lot of bills or trouble but the bills surely would’ve been less.. it’s the intrinsic feel good factor of owning a new car and impressing friends that is the driver mostly..
10th Nov 2019 7:17 am
kajtzu
Member Since: 10 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6739
DSL wrote:
Peakwayfarer wrote:
but reckon a good D3 ...... is the best way to go.
But how would you recognise a good one? Service history is meaningless, my D3 wanted for nothing and it’s engine failed, others get no end of abuse & lack of servicing and do intergalactic miles. It’s a complete and total lottery.
People move with petrol, cargo moves with oil
(I’ll get my coat)
10th Nov 2019 7:30 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73069
Gets a big from me, though in my case it’s a teenie weenie 1.3l engine.
Does the job nicely, I’ve even stopped clicking diesel prices at petrol stations.
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up. The sleepless nights and the long drives where you sit hoping you’ll arrive without seeing the 3 amigos or similar just adds a bit of adrenaline to the trip. 
Is that a good or bad decision. It’s nice to have a new car but it got to be a bigger outlay but they never see that. They just see that they saved a lot of bills or trouble but the bills surely would’ve been less.. it’s the intrinsic feel good factor of owning a new car and impressing friends that is the driver mostly.. 
from me, though in my case it’s a teenie weenie 1.3l engine. 
