Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26779
I love this car, but....
Have you tried to give it a thorough clean yet?
Mine was very dirty, inside and out. Decided that today would be the day to give it its first good cleanup, as it was'nt raining, and it was not too cold.
Took me 4 1/2 hours! The exterior is a big exterior, requiring ladders to wash the roof. The back doors have a seal arrangement that holds a lot of dirt around the rear wheel arch. The brake dust on the wheels took 2 goes with Autoglym wheel cleaner.
The biggest job however, is hoovering out the interior, with the area around and under the second and third row seats taking much time and ingenious use of various bits of tube on the end of the vacuum cleaner!
Very satisfying end result though. The car is now cleaner than the day I got it, because I did find a lot of waste from the manufacture in the nooks and crannies.
Gareth - I was going to post on similar line!! - having washed it yesterday have had to do it all over again - black is difficult, the roof height is even worse than the TD5 & like you I found dirt traps at the rear doors (watch passengers clothes as they get in!) - also, the lower part of the doors have a plastic rub strip & it is impossible to wax the doors without getting it on them as well. There are too many plastic areas that then come up waxy even with wash-and-wax type products, so you end up washing with plain water only!
I had pre-empted the brake problem, having had alloys badly damaged in the past, as soon as it was delievered I coated them with Autoglym's new wheel preserver (can't remember it's name - will check if anyone wants to know) - now I just use a wheel cleaning brush attached to the hose (no chemicals) and wash/brush it off - spectacular results!
30th Jan 2005 8:00 pm
simon
Member Since: 11 Jan 2005
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 18296
I completely sympathise with you here... mine took me an hour just outside and the door seal areas. And yes a ladder for the roof... this time !
Last time I cleaned the car I climbed the rear tyres and held onto the roof rail in order to clean the rear section.
Front section required opening the front doors and carefully avoiding flooding the car with water as I washed the front section.
The ladder this time was a real boon... should be standard fit
Haven't vacuumed inside yet though.
Main problem / quandary I have is this...
Its a brand new car... love it to bits, proud to own it etc etc and want it nice and shiny ALL the time !
Its a Land Rover and should be dirty !
When I travel to London I want to stand out as having country car not a Chelsea Tractor. But then I want a clean shiny car...
What to do ??
-s
30th Jan 2005 8:03 pm
mwillems
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 154
You guys are spoilt! Every time I take mine out for a 10 minute drive I come back with a half-inch thick layer of salt inside every crevice. I live in Ontario and the roads are covered in the stuff. Not cleaning means the salt sits there while I sleep...
I just passed by the carwash but the wait is two hours. Have to try again later!
Michael
30th Jan 2005 8:11 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26779
I have to admit to having a top of the range karcher pressure washer - I use it to clean my old series 2a after off-road trips. This did make easy work of the wheel arches and underside.
That Auto Glym wheel protector sounds interesting, I have not come across this yet. I have always polished the wheels with normal polish which helps - a bit. Whats it called?
What do you use for the leather? I have got some leather cleaner preserver which is good at cleaning, but smells like diesel!! so I have not used it on the new Disco. Is the Autoglym stuff any good, It is very expensive, but is it that good?
Gareth - it's called Autoglym Alloy Wheel Seal (450ml spray can) - don't spray it on the brakes!! - I sprayed it onto a cloth then smeared it on the alloys - did that a couple of times & it seems to work. The Autoglym Leather Cream is also great, nice supple feel, but I haven't yet used it on the Disco3. Like you I use a Karcher pressure washer... great (btw Karcher customer servie are excellent - my unit is 7 yrs old, sprang a leak last week, dismantled it & discovered it was 1 of 3 plastic valve ends on the pump itself; photo'd it, e-mailed Karcher & within a day they had identified the parts & posted all 3 to me (£4 total!!!) - brilliant service, if only LR UK was like that to me!!!!
I also use Autoglyms standard polish and their Extra Gloss which is like a glass coat over the wax - works well for me, but Autoglym is not cheap!! (then nor is the Disco3!) Their Alloy wheel cleaner is also effective, but I think possibly acidic hence my prevention rather than cure approach!
30th Jan 2005 8:53 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26779
Thanks for that, I'll go and buy the Autoglym stuff next week.
I'll second your recommendation of Karcher. Whilst the product are a little fragile, they do look after their customers. I dropped mine a while back, and the Vario Spray lance sheared off. I got in touch with Karcher, and they got a replacement to me within 48 hours, and then I got a personal email to check that the new bit worked OK! Top marks.
But how do we get through to LR that like Karcher if you are selling a premium product your customers also expect a premium service??!! The effort would be minimal but the return in customer loyalty and satisfaction immense.
30th Jan 2005 9:08 pm
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
I washed mine on Saturday 3 hours, so you guy make me feel better 8) A ladder is a neccessity when you are 5' 4", 6 moves to do the roof, 2 to do the bonnet on access mode!!
31st Jan 2005 9:03 am
Big Al
Member Since: 20 Jan 2005
Location: Wiltshire UK
Posts: 143
If you are short, unlike me who is 6'1", or have better things to do that attempt to wash a D3/D2, which I agree is very time consuming, and not all that easy check out these devices using found at petrol stations called car-washes. Although some don't like 4x4's, or cant accomodate our chariots there are a few which do.
I've found one, of the voice activated chain pull type!!, where as you approach a man asks what wash you want, go for the whole works £7 a bargin!! then he sprays the wheels/windows with anti-bug/tar remover, then power washes wheels and windows again to remove. Then you are guided in a gulley, advisable to lower the clearance to access mode!, and select neutral. Rollars on a guide chain then pull you through the car wash, delight as wax/brushes come up the windscreen/sides etc.... and then the car is blown dry all as you just sit their in comfort with the radio on. So much easier than ladders etc.... and the finish is superb.
I took mine in immedisately after taking my D3 off reoad this weekend and even had mud on the roof. Obviously I allowed most of the mud to fall away from the wheelarches before going out onto the open roads, but the carwash sorted out any further mud stuck underneath.
If you must then get a fix, get a rotary buffer, with an immatulately clean cleaning cloth, some Autogym super resin, and just polish the car to a mirror shine.
Remember though the D3 is a landrover so an alternative would be to keep a modicom of dirt flailing down the sides (it also acts as a deterrent to other car users, a little like dents/scratches to ward off others who might try and cut in front of you), you might not then have the most pristine car in the road, but far more street-cred
31st Jan 2005 4:13 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26779
This is my other car
Before hand washing -
After hand washing -
I think the garage owner would have something to say if I put this through the car wash!! (besides its a soft top)
31st Jan 2005 5:31 pm
Big Al
Member Since: 20 Jan 2005
Location: Wiltshire UK
Posts: 143
Very nice, it wouldn't look right clean though
I remember terrifying a customer in a local garage as I jovially went in to pay, after filling up, and knowing the garage assistant remarked that the car owner who had left a car in the queue for the car-wash must be mad, as it was a soft-top (not a 4x4). To this the guy in the line behind me litterally fell apart, quizzing me about should he do so. I know I certainly wouldn't it's far too much like tempting fate, although there must be some foolhardy people out there with iron balls who do so.
As for putting a soft-top 4x4, especially a LR, certainly not!!! though. I had a NAS Defender 90 in Toronto a couple of years back and it may have had a roof (but I could still see daylight clearly around the doors etc..... you would have had a wash if you put it through a carwash, that is if it fit !!
It was bad enough in the freezing fog/snow, that too came in when the wind was up and although the Defender was up for it, unfornately I'm not.
Now for a more demure lifestyle, a the D3 certainly provides that as I whisk along effortlessly, shrouded in heated leather seats, air con on max and dont even hear the engine. I must be going soft in my "old" age
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