Land Rover for the wife...

[UNCC_99XJ]

My uncle is a master mechanic for Land Rover. Let's put it this way - he refuses to own one, but recognizes that he's got great job security in being an LR mechanic.

I was just going to say, my old man used to be a mechanic for Land Rover several years ago. Let me say that he always had a good amount of work to do.

The only reason he left that place was he didn't agree with the way they did business. They were all about getting the vehicle out ASAP with out properly diagnosing and fixing it (guess that's how they keep their business going?), and they often reprimanded my him for trying to do the job right the first time.

 

[xjtrailrider]

Get her to test drive a new JK, we have had our 2 door Sahara for a year now and it has been nothing less than awesome! The ONLY warranty issue we have had is with the hard top leaking and the dealer has gone out of their way to fix the issue.

My wife gets 20mpg lifetime average and we just recently took a 1500 mile round trip and got 22.5 average. Her JK is geared 3.73 from the factory and has the D-44 rear w/LS. She also got the MyGiG nav, satelite radio and dual tops with it and absolutely loves her Jeep! If you have a family go for the 4-door.

 

[Grant]

Search must be broken, here is a thread from a few years ago, http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=66833

My comments from that thread are pasted below. ( I still have the Disco, it is now approaching 170K miles, and the only repair since the last thread NOT mentioned below was a $50 brake light switch). I could only wish US vehicles were as reliable, easy to work on, and as capable off road as the Disco.


I've owned a 1998 Discovery since new.

Seems like a lot of the haters on this thread have NO actual experience with one. Or are complete idiots - wiper blades only available from a dealer, c'mon turn in your drivers licence - you are too stoopid to drive.

Nice dig at the power Crash

I've towed an XJ from CO to the Rubicon behind the Landy, I could not tow the Landy behind the XJ across town, let alone across country. If a LR can tow an XJ from Denver to the Eisenhower Tunnel it can handle most any load, anywhere.

For mild to medium trails I'd take a Land Rover over an XJ anytime, they are more capable given equal driver ability. CO Fest 2004 stands as an example.

The Landy just past 120K miles. I have had every service done as scheduled at the dealer - the Landy is one vehicle I do not service myself, though it is easy enough to do. The dealer in Denver (Denver East) is the best dealer experience I have encountered, any vehicle, any dealer, anywhere.

Items replaced in 120K miles, not under service schedule.

Alternator - once at 90K miles, once at 95K miles - the second replacement was due to a bad alternator bearing, my fault for buying generic rather than LR brand. 2nd alternator was covered under Carquest warranty.

Radiator - pierced by road debris at 70K miles, removed, repaired, replaced.

Items replaced as needed

Brake pads at 60K and again recently

Shocks at 115K

Wiper blades every year - while the dealer blades MAY cost over $40, 17" and 18" blades can be bought at your local parts store for $7.

Bad LR faults

High cost when new - the LR3's are $50K - crazy price for ANY SUV

Parts cost - can be high. And there are not as many LR's in junk yards. But be smart - don't order parts for a 98 LR Discovery, order parts for a 68 Buick V8 (same motor, same parts number, different price)

Lack of shop monkeys - break down in a small town, and the local mechanic will be hesitant to work on them furrin cars.

Aftermarket parts - not as plentiful or cheap when compared to domestic SUV's.

Aluminum body panels - great for saving weight, terrible when you need to repair them. Some bodyshops will not work on LR's.

Ergonomics - designed by the British as a right hand drive. Some very unusual quirks as a result. I'm 6'2" and no matter how I adjust the wheel/seat I can never see the top of the speedo, or the light indicating the headlights are on bright. Stop lights can be difficult to see under the windshield header (easier to watch the reflection in the hood)

Summary

Without doubt I would buy another LR Discovery. But given that LR's usually last hundreds of thousands of miles I doubt I will be facing that decision soon.

HTH

 

[Grant]

Brakes only last a few thousand miles and cost about $1500 to get new pads and rotors - at the dealer, which is rediculous. .

Please post which dealer you work for.

I want to warn all LR enthusiasts to avoid any dealer who cons their customers into believing the brakes only last a few thousand miles. Total and utter BS.

Unless by few thousand you actually mean - Brakes only last 50K plus miles like most other makes.

 

[Kittrell]

Rovers are just like Audi's in the maintenance department. Everyone runs around saying, yeah, its a great car, but the maintenance costs make it not worth it. It's all total BS. If you keep up on general maintenance, which is not expensive, they last forever. Best buddy is a ex Rover Mechanic, who has nothing bad to say about them, and we both drive A4s.

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

1. Buy cheap rover

2. Swap in LS1, 1 ton axles, etc.

Profit?

 

[Grant]

1. Buy cheap rover

2. Swap in LS1, 1 ton axles, etc.

Profit?

Probably not a lot, if any, profit.

But a whole load of fun I would bet.

 

[WayneXJ]

Landcruiser>Land Rover

 

[igotanxj]

Land Rovers suck

Please post which dealer you work for.

I want to warn all LR enthusiasts to avoid any dealer who cons their customers into believing the brakes only last a few thousand miles. Total and utter BS.

Unless by few thousand you actually mean - Brakes only last 50K plus miles like most other makes.

Rosenthal Jaguar / Land Rover in Tysons Corner VA, about 30 minutes from DC. It's the #1 dealership in sales and service in the country. The labor rate is $115 an hour. Its a very expensive area with a lot of Land Rover and Jag owners in the area. Obviously the prices are going to be different in different parts of the country.
I should have been more specific about the brakes. Nobody said anything about conning customers into believing brakes only last that long. What are we gonna do? Take off the brakes and take them to a grinder, then show the customer how low they are?? Comon now. If its below 3mm we strongly advice the customer to change them, above that we tell the customer the measurements on our inspection sheets and give a copy to the customer. In my experience, which was seeing about 5 land rovers per day, the least life I have seen brakes last is 12,000 miles. The most I have ever seen is about 40,000 miles, with the majority lasting about 15-20k. And the fronts and rears usually wear at the same and we always change rotors with the pads. See what I mean about brakes? This area is also pretty populated, we have the 5th worst traffic in the nation, so you could imagine theres a lot of stop and go. On the other hand, I also work on Jags whos brakes last 40-60k miles in the exact same conditions. Clear?

Congratulations, your disco hasn't given you any problems, its rare. Just because your Disco hasn't had any major problems doesn't mean none of them do, because they certainly have their fare share of problems! At the same time, just becuase a lot of them do, doesn't mean all of them do.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, but being that I see a larger portion of the land rover population on the road than you do, I would say have a little more background on the subject.

I have never seen a car company who just can't get it right. The air compressors in the new Range Rovers and LR3s love to go bad. Im not talking about after 10 years and 150k miles either. Brand new, they already had a TSB about replacing air suspension compressors with a new model. Then another TSB came out again with a new model of air compressor. It took them 9, yes, NINE air compressors to finally get it right. The front suspension on LR3s were messed up too. Aparently, they didnt take into account that rubber bushings settle on the controls arms and throw the alignment off wack. So, customers were coming in with 20,000 miles on their brand new LR3 with all 4 tires worn to the belts. Think 4 20 inch michelin SUV tires are pricey? There are constantly new reflashes that we are supposed to do to a lof of the modules every time they come into the dealership, most of the time without the customer knowing. Transmissions shift funny, check engine lights come on radomly with some garblegoop meaningless code, air suspensions fault lights come on, ABS lights come on, all which needs to be reflashed with a new program....then reflashed again.. and again. The LR2s had all kinds of problems right from the factory as well. Luckily, the engines are Jag engines now, so they don't have many problems anymore. Before that, they had BMW engines in the Range Rovers and the old 50s design Buick motor with crappy fuel injection slapped on top in the Discos and Defenders. I know this stuff is not normal, I worked at a Lincoln Mercury dealer also, and there was nothing at all like this. I mean really, don't try to hint that Land Rovers are good cars. They're not.


BTW Heres a pretty little graph if you think im making this up.

Odly enough, Land Rover has one of the highest brand loyalty ratings becuase of the "pristige" of owning a LR., and still a lot of people want a Land Rover. Most owners seem to be in denial that their brand just really isn't good. I've talked to customers who swear they never have any problems with their LR, but their 100 page service record says otherwise. It just goes to show you what a companies image can do for their sales.

[/rant]

 

[Silver60th]

As far as the aforementioned posts...the LR Discovery may be great, but the freelander is utter crap (or rather it's engine is)

http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1285 to back up what I said. This happened to my boss.

I'm wondering if a freelander body might be a wonderful candidate for a swap? You can pick them up cheap with a broke motor haha

 

[capthook]

You guys are frickin' nuts. Love my DII's, I've had 2 thus far. No comparison to a D90 ; obviously -- but you can mod them and enjoy them for years to come.

I agree w/ almost everything igotanjx says about LR ownership : The ABS modulators are crap, Traction Control is BS (you need to mod your truck with a locker) ; Engine is weak for a v8 that gets (15 mpg, not 12) but whatever. To each their own, because I've proven her worthy. She eats trails for breakfast, and gas too.

 

[capthook]

Re: Land Rovers suck

Rosenthal Jaguar / Land Rover in Tysons Corner VA, about 30 minutes from DC. It's the #1 dealership in sales and service in the country. The labor rate is $115 an hour. Its a very expensive area with a lot of Land Rover and Jag owners in the area. Obviously the prices are going to be different in different parts of the country.
I should have been more specific about the brakes. Nobody said anything about conning customers into believing brakes only last that long. What are we gonna do? Take off the brakes and take them to a grinder, then show the customer how low they are?? Comon now. If its below 3mm we strongly advice the customer to change them, above that we tell the customer the measurements on our inspection sheets and give a copy to the customer. In my experience, which was seeing about 5 land rovers per day, the least life I have seen brakes last is 12,000 miles. The most I have ever seen is about 40,000 miles, with the majority lasting about 15-20k. And the fronts and rears usually wear at the same and we always change rotors with the pads. See what I mean about brakes? This area is also pretty populated, we have the 5th worst traffic in the nation, so you could imagine theres a lot of stop and go. On the other hand, I also work on Jags whos brakes last 40-60k miles in the exact same conditions. Clear?

Congratulations, your disco hasn't given you any problems, its rare. Just because your Disco hasn't had any major problems doesn't mean none of them do, because they certainly have their fare share of problems! At the same time, just becuase a lot of them do, doesn't mean all of them do.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, but being that I see a larger portion of the land rover population on the road than you do, I would say have a little more background on the subject.

I have never seen a car company who just can't get it right. The air compressors in the new Range Rovers and LR3s love to go bad. Im not talking about after 10 years and 150k miles either. Brand new, they already had a TSB about replacing air suspension compressors with a new model. Then another TSB came out again with a new model of air compressor. It took them 9, yes, NINE air compressors to finally get it right. The front suspension on LR3s were messed up too. Aparently, they didnt take into account that rubber bushings settle on the controls arms and throw the alignment off wack. So, customers were coming in with 20,000 miles on their brand new LR3 with all 4 tires worn to the belts. Think 4 20 inch michelin SUV tires are pricey? There are constantly new reflashes that we are supposed to do to a lof of the modules every time they come into the dealership, most of the time without the customer knowing. Transmissions shift funny, check engine lights come on radomly with some garblegoop meaningless code, air suspensions fault lights come on, ABS lights come on, all which needs to be reflashed with a new program....then reflashed again.. and again. The LR2s had all kinds of problems right from the factory as well. Luckily, the engines are Jag engines now, so they don't have many problems anymore. Before that, they had BMW engines in the Range Rovers and the old 50s design Buick motor with crappy fuel injection slapped on top in the Discos and Defenders. I know this stuff is not normal, I worked at a Lincoln Mercury dealer also, and there was nothing at all like this. I mean really, don't try to hint that Land Rovers are good cars. They're not.


BTW Heres a pretty little graph if you think im making this up.

Odly enough, Land Rover has one of the highest brand loyalty ratings becuase of the "pristige" of owning a LR., and still a lot of people want a Land Rover. Most owners seem to be in denial that their brand just really isn't good. I've talked to customers who swear they never have any problems with their LR, but their 100 page service record says otherwise. It just goes to show you what a companies image can do for their sales.

[/rant]

It's not the 'prestige' of owning one. In the UK they are mere FORDS, and the British LOVE them. Of course, they have Diesel D90's too (drool!)

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

Re: Land Rovers suck

It's not the 'prestige' of owning one. In the UK they are mere FORDS, and the British LOVE them. Of course, they have Diesel D90's too (drool!)

So did you join just to tell us how great Landys are?

 

[Original_MudButt]

The wife won't drive an XJ though... and shes got a boner.....

Wait... What??:eyes:

 

[tbburg]

Wait... What??:eyes:

Don't ask, don't comment, Just walk,... Away,.... Quietly.


With a minimum of fuss.:shhh:

 

[igotanxj]

Re: Land Rovers suck

It's not the 'prestige' of owning one. In the UK they are mere FORDS, and the British LOVE them. Of course, they have Diesel D90's too (drool!)

I agree that in the UK they are mere Fords, but not here. Just like in germany they sell mercedes benz with cloth seats and roll up windows, but not here. I added the prestige comment because thats what landrover owners tell landrover as a reason they bought it. :rtm:

 

[Ralph]

I think it's all going to come down to which is easier to take; the problems associated with owning a LR or the pain you will have to endure by not getting your wife what she wants.

 

[Ray H]

Is she primarily paying for the vehicle and the maintenance of the vehicle or are you? Theres your answer.

 

[tbburg]

Re: Land Rovers suck

...,In the UK they are mere FORDS,...

"Found On Road Dead"
"Fix Or Repair Daily"


Actually, I'd say buy her the Land Rover. If you get one of the reliable(?) ones, good for you. If it spends all it's time down for repair, you re-sell it to someone else when the missus gets tired of it being in the shop. Buying it used, you won't take a huge depreciation hit.

Either way, you're not the bad guy because she didn't get what she wanted.

 

[o2bgpn]

Land Rover for the wife...

When I saw the title I thought someone was giving you a Land Rover in exchange for your wife. Said to myself, “I gotta read this.” Imagine my disappointment.

Nothing important to add… carry on.