A friend was trying to find out about LR3s since his company does a lot of work off-road. So he asked me about LR3s, and I was out, kabisa. Did not have any idea about them and their kind of problems. Since YouTube is a saviour on such matters, I found myself there and landed on this ka-video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWKdJ1rAljg
It highlights the challenges with LR3s, but after watching, I decided to check around for any counter-videos. Not before landing on one of those long-ass comments that just discourage you totally from trying to purchase an LR3. Any of you that has any experiences with the Disco3?
Pls, if you find the comment too long to read, just offer your comment if you can or move along. Thank you. Here’s the comment:
GorillaProduction382 years ago (edited)
Only three? I’m laughing out loud. 22 years ago there was a Camel cigarettes TV advert showing a guy who took his LR Defender and drove it all the way to a mountain top, through deep jungle forest, over huge rocks, crossing water rapids and falls, shit, it was hell and when he reached his destination he built a fire, made his coffee and popped a Camel, no filter. How cool was that guy! I was only 18 and I couldn’t afford a Land Rover but sure as hell I had enough money to buy my first pack of cigarettes. Naturally, a Camel no filter.
In my imagination I was exactly that guy so I’ve ignored the obvious, that in fact I was an idiot kid with a pair of ass cracked jeans ready to do something stupid. 19 years later I was doing 100 miles/h with my beautiful Java Black Land Rover Discovery 3 (first owner - me!) on a German highway enjoying my favourite Depeche Mode album. “Violator” of course!. I was just about to light a cigarette, the 230 millionth one since the advert, the moment when I heard a “poof” followed immediately by a distant kick under my feet and 0.2 seconds later my engine went completely silent.
There were only 4 dramatic characters in that late evening, waiting for something to happen on that particular section of German highway: a cricket, the rain which was about to start, my deceased beautiful car and I… My odometer was indicating 155.000 km and the engine was “kaputt” according to the German road assistance, which came to my rescue two hours later after my call for help.- “Diese Scheiße auto hat einen französisch Motor!!!” (this shitty car has a French engine) melodiously yelled at me in German the petite blond engineer while grabbing his phone to call for a huge ass towing truck to remove my pile of inert metal junk. Waiting for the cavalry, I played dumb and I asked him what does he mean by “kaputt” and his answer was more specific this time: -“der sechste Zilinder ist fest” (the sixth cylinder is tied, blocked) because the stupid engine is made by PSA, France.
“Nothing good comes out of their hands” he said to me, this engine in particular, and I should listen to him because he knows better for I’m the third one (that year) with a broken LR engine who called for his help… Fuck me! French??? His repulsion towards my car’s engine was so viral that I began immediately to hate it as much as him. This was indeed a heavy blow to both my analytical and emotional “inner me”. How was that possible? I bought a LR but my profoundly British 4x4 was in fact “un voiture Francaise quatre x quatre”. I was literally stunned. Lord Nelson’s admiral ship propelled by Napoleon’s engine"… WTF! I tried to remember all the LR brochures and I couldn’t recall reading anything about a French “je ne sais quoi” in the bloody British lineage of my off roader. The thought that I was driving a fucking undercover Renault made my jaw drop and my balls fall off…C’est la vie!..
Hours after, at LR dealership in Wurtzburg they confirmed the problem and as a consolation, they informed me that actually I was their eighth customer with the same problem: “Le” infamous 2.7 litres V6 TDI …Anyfuck, 12000 Euros later I was smoking my 240 millionth cigarette lost in thoughts with a demented smile on my face, dreaming about what am I gonna say to my dealer back home. Well, I told him an earful. He dared to insult me by telling me that it was my fault but after numerous phone calls in GB he refunded me 4500 Euros… What a cunt!. This year I went to him and told him I wanna buy a Range Rover.
He was absolutely excited, I had coffee, water, tea, coffee again and we sat and we went through all the details, configurations, packages and what not building for hours the new car on his computer. Next day I went to Porsche and I called him that I bought my wife a Porsche Cayenne S. Fuck you very much! Land Rover problems? Let me think…Not many, only few: CD player (repaired), 2.7l V6 engine (replaced on my expense), air compressor (replaced), front drive train (noisy and too fuckin’ expensive to replace), front plastic grill (paint was pealing-repainted twice), hood sensor switch (replaced), broken driving lights lenses replaced twice (no matter how you try to protect them they will eventually crack), 4 windshields (like fine china and they will crack at the smallest pebble), broken trunk door latch and button, aluminium ornaments on my door steps both are lost due to God’s will (no explanation), front towing hook plastic cover also lost (in snow), bizarre phone to bluetooth behaviour, ashtray remained open cannot be pushed back (it was never used), the key has a sensitive rubber case which could be easily punctured by a woman’s nail (expensive to replace), torque converter replaced (on my expense), main computer funky attitude (fixed if you turn off the engine!!!) spare tire hitch tangled and replaced… and the list goes on and on and on. My car is sold now but I still have two words for LAND ROVER Head Office: ffffff… Huge disappointment!!! My current 4x4 is a 1991 US 2.5l Jeep Wrangler YJ. Less comfort, less space but no bloody computers, no French engine and no fucking headaches. Got a problem? No problem because (and this is extremely important) you can SEE it and you can cheaply FIX it in minutes.