Looking at an 06 LR3, help needed

[hhalimi]

Going to take a look at tow 06 LR3's today. One with the V8 engine and sunroofs and another base model with V6 engine and heated leather seats and no sunroof. V8 has 80k miles and is priced at 15990, but they said no reasonable offer will be declined (Ford Dealer) . V6 is privetly owned 2ed owner 77k miles at 14000 firm. I need to know what should I look for when I am there so I don't miss anything major and also which one is better to get if conditions are equal? I heard alot of problems with sunroofs leaking.
Will appreciate any comments/help.
Regards

 

[joecool509]

Stay away from the v6. It has no business with a v6 in it.

 

[Houm_WA]

Agree about the V6.

Go look at the V8. Test drive it. Listen for any whining sounds, really at any speed, that could indicate a differential going bad. Idle along at 5 mph and sharply tap the brake pedal. If you hear (and feel) a knock, the bushings are bad. Test the Electronic Park Brake rigorously...the actuators are crap. Test the airsuspension thoroughly as well. Make sure the back hatch works.

Finally, for the sunroof, there are two things you can do:

1. Remove the air vent on the passenger side and the foam rubber you'll find just behind the vent grate. There is a little rubber one-way valve in there that is the terminus of the sunroof drain. Check to see that it's been snipped. If it is snipped then the sunroof will probably be fine.

2. You can poor water directly into the sunroof drains up top and make sure that it leads to 4 pools of water behind each tire. Maybe the dealer can help you perform this check.

I'm sure someone else will chime in with more free advice before too long.

 

[hhalimi]

Thank you very much for great advice

Thank you very much for great advice. I was actually leaning towards the V6, but will go and look at the V8, it is actually raining vigorously here so will see if any water is coming from behind the tires. What do you guys think about the price? and at 80K mile would I be able to get any decent extended warranty?

Thanks again

 

[joecool509]

Price looks good if there is no major damage. There is a guy in the UK that has 440k miles on his lr3 so these vehicles have a lot in them. Extended warranty is suggested. The suspension compressor alone is 600$. You may be able to work that into the deal.

I love my LR3 for family hauling and off road. Feel very confident in bad weather.

Check the tires too. If the alignment isnt done by the dealer they will eat through tires. Get the VIN to a dealer to check on recall work as well 05 and 6 had a few more.

 

[hhalimi]

Unfortunately it was a scam

Unfortunately I fell for an old dealer's scam, they advertise a car with good price you get there and they tell you I just sold it, but I have other cars. I called this guy just before I left home and he knew that it was an hour drive but he still did it to me. Over the past couple of weeks, this was third time that some body wasted 2-3 hours of my day. twice private sellers, who lied about specific questions that I asked about condition of the car and now again today. I am now thinking about a new base model wrangler, which is within my budget. Buying a used car at a good price doesn't seem to be very easy.

I thank every body here for the great input.

 

[manbehindbeard]

Hate to say this, but if you want an LR3 a Wrangler isn't going to come close.
If you're looking for something that goes off road well, then a Wrangler is great. But if you're looking for something that's comfortable while you're on road too, you need to be patient on the LR3. Not to mention the whole being able to haul 5 (7 depending on the options in an 05/06) grown-ass men comfortably.
I waited almost 2 months for my LR dealer to find me an LR3 that met my requirements for price and mileage with a warranty. After having it for the better part of a year I can safely say it was well worth it.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[hhalimi]

Land Rover Dealer

I agree, land Rover is in a different league. The Used Car Inventory of the closest Land Rover Dealer is any thing but Land Rover, except for few Range Rovers. I guess these are mostly trade ins. I will give them a visit and see if they could find me one. Winter is coming and my current car is not very good in snow so I have to get a winter car fast.
I had a discovery which gave me some grief at the end but I liked it any way. It became too unreliable and got rid of it. I felt sorry for the girl who baught it and kept pointing all the problems I had with the car but she still baught it. She was the first one who called and I was amazed how many calls I got for that car, which I thought I might need to take to junk yard.

 

[cbboard]

i have an 05 LR3 that i've had for 6 years now and have put about 85k miles on it. it has been a great truck, but it is somewhat "temperamental." we also have an '03 D2, which we are selling as we have a new 2012 wrangler on order. with the new engine/interior the wrangler is much more livable on a daily basis than it used to be. personally, i would consider the new wrangler rather than a used LR3. the new interior is just as nice if not nicer than the LR3's. it has the same HP now and slightly better MPG. it doesn't need premium gas. it also has a warranty. there is also an incredible aftermarket part selection for the jeep compared to almost nothing for the LR3. on another note, the LR3's air suspension is super comfy, but can be unreliable. either way, they are both fun trucks. they just serve a bit different purposes.

 

[hhalimi]

LR3 vs Wrangler

I am a wanna be OFF-Roader and the car will likely spent most of its life on the street, but you never know, I got stuck few times in a rear wheel drive Blazer, one of those time was a little hairy and I needed help of multiple people to get me out and once a small wrangler pulled me out since that time I never bought a rearwheel drive truck. Between me and my wife we had a 4runner sport edition V8, which was full time AWD with Xreas suspension and the best SUV I owned. I sold it dirt chap with only 20k miles when gas came close to $5 few years ago and that was a big mistake. My wife got a new 2011 4runner, which drives completely different very "TRUCKY", even though she doesn't think so. Used sport eddition 4runners are some what overpriced and I am hoping that the LR3 will be like a laxerious version of my V8 4runner.