Possible new owner has some questions

[Blixem]

Hi all,

New member to forum. I am looking at getting an LR3.

I have seen a 2006 LR3 V8 with about 120,000km's for sale. My questions revolve around aftermarket warranties.
1) Would you suggest I get one?
2) What company would you suggest?
3) What should I expect to pay? The dealer is asking for +-$5k for a 3yr warranty.

Thanks
Mike

[mepham55]

Welcome to the forum Mike,

I bought my 2006 LR3 privately 2 years ago for $15,000 with 130,000km's on the clock. It has been super reliable, the only thing it has needed was new front suspension arms and tires (common on this vehicle). The only other repair I've done is replace the front coolant pipe as it was weeping coolant. Its a great vehicle and has taken my family on some great trips so far.
I would say avoid extended warranties pretty much on anything you buy! They rarely pay off. If your not comfortable with the dealers description of the vehicle, get a mechanic you trust to go over it. Not sure where your located but the service department here at Victoria Landrover has been excellent with repairs and fair priced.
These trucks are getting very affordable to buy used, so make sure you hunt around. It took me about 4 months to find mine.

Matt

[sdillen]

When I bought my wife her 2009 BMW E90 earlier this year, I read through the aftermarket warranty the dealer was pitching and when I considered the most probable things things that could go wrong with the car and matched those with the exclusions listed in the policy, there was pretty much a direct correlation.

In short, I don't think the warranties are worth buying. Having said that, I DID buy BCAA shortly after I bought my Disco 2.

[Blixem]

Hi Matt and Steve, Thanks for the responses.

Funny thing, i am actually thinking of trading my e90 330i for the LR3. It is quite a change moving from a sports sedan to a big heavy SUV.

[Crs]

I agree with the other posters. Most 'full warranties' are full of exclusions or payout limits. As they said, get it very thoroughly checked out first, then squirrel away that warranty money in a rainy day fund against any future repairs.

An LR3 is a beautiful but heavy beast. Make sure to check the brakes and suspension. They see a lot of hard use. Also, as with any new car, check all the electric gizmos.

And ENJOY!

[scraig]

I also agree with the above posters – something catastrophic would have to go wrong to justify $5K or about 1/3 to 1/4 of the purchase price. I have a 2008 with about 100K kms on the clock (owned since 20K kms) and although I did have the rear diff replaced under warranty, it has been a very reliable vehicle. I have spent $1,400 on a Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) repair but that’s it so I would not have seen value with an extended warranty. From what I understand, LR3’s are prone to EPB, Suspension compressors faults and front suspension arms as previously described – all of which repairs may amount to less than $5K though.

[Crs]

Totally agree with Scraig. I was at a social with a number of the Richmond JLR techs, and Scraig summed up the issues they were finding very well. As an aside, the Range Rover Sport is essentially the same vehicle with a different body, so any problems and solutions will be very similar. (That's the RRS Mk One, the new (2014) model is totally different.)

This is not to say you WILL get a bunch of problems, but every car has it's weaknesses so it's nice to know where to look when issues arise.

[Blixem]

Thanks for all the responses.

Now, what about an LR4? Since they are soo similar, should I expect similar possible issues?

[scraig]

Probably. But they are equally as cool: