Land Rover Discovery

http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/

You dont ‘need’ a 4×4 just because you live in a snowy part of the world. My previous 3 series with winter tyres on coped perfectly in the snowy pennines and never had issues going up 25% gradients.

How much weight did you have in the boot?

Had 5 discos but never owned one over 4 years old always from new or nearly new. Truly brilliant vehicle for mile munching, outstanding off road (and I use it for that), great load lugger. Best Landrover by a country mile for practical use. You cannot get away from the the expense though, however if you have the nerve and a good local Independant Landrover garage you can keep a disco going for a while. I’d not have one 10 years old, get a Shogun instead it’s solid and simple.

I live in a part of the world where a 4×4 is pretty mandatory

Interested in what part of the world you live in as I live in a remote hilly area of the highlands and cope with an estate car on winter tyres.

Still got a 55 Plate Disco(70k) bought it 11 months old, apart from service costs only had to replace rubber bushes and a service kit on the compressor last year, been an absolute joy to own, let me down big time two years ago in the highlands 300 miles from home, cut out would not start, ended up in a indy garage where they changed half a dozen bits they thought it was , half way home cut out again, bit of research after limping home pointed at the battery being replaced at 7 year old as it drops voltage as it ages, probably wasted £500 in Scotland, bingo right as rain never missed a beat since!!Wife has a 55 plate Shogun ,bought in 2006 bit agricultural compared to the Disco but absolutely bullet proof ,shes had two prior to that, none ever had a problem. I use a Navara at work drinks diesel like its going out of fashion, but I am a touch heavy footed.

Get an R or S Reg series one Disco with 100,000 on the clock and enjoy 100,000 more miles of joy with it 🙂 7 seats, great tow vehicle, fast enough on real roads, better off road, bargain priced parts, what more could you need 😀

Then sell it for most of what you paid for it 😉

crosshair – Member 
Get an R or S Reg series one Disco with 100,000 on the clock and enjoy 100,000 more miles of joy with it 7 seats, great tow vehicle, fast enough on real roads, better off road, bargain priced parts, what more could you need Then sell it for most of what you paid for it 

Mines R reg – 170, 000 miles, been to France, Spain, Bosnia and to the Sahara twice – it’s terribly unreliable and awful on long journeys 🙂

Mines R reg – 170, 000 miles, been to France, Spain, Bosnia and to the Sahara twice – it’s terribly unreliable and awful on long journeys

Those black lines you see on the map aren’t boundary marks or paths, they’re oil stains left by LandRovers. 😆

Sigh, get a Land Cruiser, the Japanese Range Rover lol

I own a Discover3 S 2006. Previously owned Defenders (200TDi, 300TDi, TD5) and a DiscoveryII Landmark with all the bells and whistles. The basic discovery 3 I have is the best of all of these cars, by a long way. The ride with all four wheels being air suspended is awesome. It’s very practical but underpowered compared to my neighbours 2016 Discovery4.

I love my Discovery 3. BUT, I tow trailers with a plated weight of 3500kg as part of my job. Would I have one by personal choice? Only if I could afford it and it’s the high running costs that could put me off.

It’s great for the family though. 7 seats that are so easy to configure, roof rack and tow bar mean that lugging all our bikes, boards camping kit etc is a doddle. I have even slept in it with my 8 and 9 year old – it’s massive inside and the load area is flat.

However, If we go on long journeys I take our E-Class – It just munches miles effortlessly. That’s not to say that the Discovery doesn’t, but I just try to keep the mileage down and hence keep the running costs down. However we’re taking the Discovery skiing this year as last year the Mercedes was awful in the snow…

Should YOU buy one? If you can afford the running costs and you have a decent independent garage near by then YES! Get one that has got a good service history.

Don’t be put off by the autos. In my opinion, they’re a better drive. We had a Discovery II for 7 years (until but got written off) that towed big trailers for a living, was our main car, took us biking to the Albs, Wales etc and that was an auto – the auto gearbox never missed a beat. It had 140 000 on the clock when it had a head on with an X-Type…

I intend to run my Discovery 3 for as long as I can (7-10 years) and then buy a second hand Discovery 5. The Discovery 4 isn’t different enough to warrant a change for me.

98% of the time you won’t regret buying it, but it’s that one week of the year when it’s up on ramps that you will curse, empty out your wallet and hate it!

“Get an R or S Reg series one Disco with 100,000 on the clock and enjoy 100,000 more miles of joy with it 7 seats”

Is that one thats had the body mounts , the boot floor, inner wings front and rear and the sills replaced already – or one thats just waiting for mr mot man to say it needs doing ?

and frankly it couldnt be any further away from a disco 3(i just scrapped a series 1 disco) – a disco 3 is as close to a range rover as youll get without buying one…..infact dont they share chassis with the sport ?

A mate had one a while ago, one of the most impressive things was the hill descent button, happily went down a very steep lane near Lambourn that was covered in snow and ice.

It went wrong a lot though, he chopped it in and got a Volvo XC90 which used to eat tyres.

Thanks all – most helpful and only 2 people questioned why I was after a 4×4.

Will take a look at the xc90 as seems to be a sensible alternative, guess not as big though.

Unfortunately it needs to be LHD as a fair bit cheaper to pick up 4×4’s in the UK – especially with the current exchange rate.

We have an XC90 and its been ok. Probably £500 per year average on upkeep + servicing costs + £500 on road tax. It is 10 years old. Its a bit agricultural compared with the Disco but lovely on long journeys. Size wise I’d say its about the same as the Disco if not a bit better in the shape of the boot. Disco’s is much boxier but I’m constantly amazed by how much stuff goes in the back of the Volvo. Ours has done 115k miles so not massive and apparently it should do twice that but well may be Trigger’s broom by then! The four wheel drive system isn’t anyway near as sophisticated as the Disco but manages ok (never been stuck anywhere). I would get another one if thats recommendation of sorts. My BiL had a Disco and he was always telling me of expensive fixes required although thats my only reference.

Thanks Gavin – seems most people know someone who’s got one that costs them a fortune…

Definitely not looking for a luxury car – just a big 4 wheel drive box that won’t cost a fortune to buy (and then run).

If it’s not your main vehicle and more of a renovation work horse come minibus, why not get a Defender 110? It’s more utilitarian but a lot simpler and universally understood by garages.

Had Disco 3 Auto as a work vehicle for towing and crew shifting and it is way better than any of the Discos before, nice to travel in. Can’t give an opinion on costs, we just abused it for 6 hard months of the year and the boss renewed them when MoT came round (~80k, mostly towing full weight, flat out).

I’ve been wondering about a Discovery 3 myself. Maybe I’ll get a Pathfinder though.
My neighbour works for an independent Landrover garage and drives a D2 which may
tell you something.
I’ll ask him about them anyway.

My neighbour has a 110 defender which is great fun but not really all that big inside for big vehicle and not very comfortable for 7. We often have friends / family to stay so the option of 7 is good but currently involves lugging the extra 2 seats out of the garage and sticking them in the T5 which is a bit of a faff – I know, middle class problems and all that…

Bottom line, if your criteria is something that won’t cost a fortune to run, I’d say look at something else.

I’ve had two of them. Leased one to see if I liked them and then bought one new in 2009 with the intention of running it as long as I can. It’s still going strong.

If you’re handy with a spanner (and can type disco3.co.uk into a web browser) you can save a lot of money in dealership labour costs. Much of the work on the suspension and running gear can be done by anyone with a trolley jack, some stands and the right tools. You will probably need to overhaul the suspension and at least one wheel bearing anywhere between 60 and 100k miles. It really varies on the car. Some people get lucky. Lots of reports of torque converters needing reconditioning at that age too. Starting to worry about mine.

Even if you can do a lot of the work yourself, owning one will still more expensive than a normal car.

For me it’s worth it (at least I kid myself it is), as it’s probably the best car I’ve ever had with respect to versatility and practicality. Cars that I’ve also liked a lot were a ’97 Mondeo Estate and a ’01 Audi AllRoad.