Thinking LR3...am I crazy

[ThePerchik]

Hi All,

In short, i want to buy an LR4 but its not in our budget, should i get at LR3 or what do you suggest? My budget is 20K at most and i will not be working on the car myself. I am open to non LR3 suggestions.

In long:
We wanted to get an LR4 to replace our Q5 about a year ago, our family double in size due to twins. We loved the car quite a bit and my wife was mad with power in the car. But things played out strangely and we were able to get into a new Q7 for a steal. So here we are happy as can be and we are moving from the city to the suburbs.

So my wife will be commuting about 25 min each way and will drive the Q7 i think. Winters can get a bit nasty and i think the Q7 is a good vehicle for her. She works for schools, so when its really ugly she won't have to commute.

I need to drive about 15 minutes to the train that will take me to the city. I need to be at work hell or high water. I was thinking of getting some small sedan to get to the train and when its nasty, she wont go to work and ill just take the Q7 to work. BUT, a buddy's range rear ended a sedan recenty at 30mph. After seeing him drive off with a broken headlight and the remains of the sedan, i am sure i need to come back to the Land Rovers. Especially at times that I may have the kids in my car on weekends or whatever.

So the predicament. My budget is about $20k or under. The lower the better. I dont think teh LR2 is an option since it is unibody. The LR3 and LR4 are true body and frame trucks. Maybe an older Range Rover Sport? I work long hours, probably about 70 hours a week. I am pretty handy but with two 1 year olds, not sure how much time i will have. I cannot assume i will have time to do work on it myself. So the assumption is I will need to use some dealer or shop.

So the question is: What would you do/buy or what do you suggest that I look at?

Thank you.

 

[Houm_WA]

Not sure why you need body-on-frame to go to the train station.

The LR3 is a tank. It's big, heavy, over-designed in most cases, under-engineered in others. I wouldn't buy one unless you want something you can off-road in and are willing to put in the time and effort to maintain it and "stay ahead of it."

 

[ThePerchik]

Well i am more about the tank than I am about body on frame and offroad i guess. Do you suggest anything else in the LR lineup for the budget, or you suggest looking elsewhere?

 

[Houm_WA]

If it's crash worthiness and safety that you are after in buying a tank, I think that rationale is out-dated. These days with side-impact door beams, airbags, crumple zones and all that....cars are way more safe than they used to be, even with less metal. Plus....it's safer to just NOT crash! Not to be a smart alec but to me buying a car because it's good for crashing is asinine.

It sounds to me like you need a good vehicle for winter, mostly. Pretty much any Land Rover is going to get the same comment from me about maintenance. So if you are cool with the maintenance then the LR3 is going to be great.

As far as looking elsewhere, I'm sure there are myriad of vehicles that will suit your needs...I think you should start by really examining what those needs are. Let your requirements flush out what three or four vehicles will work for you, then go drive them.

soapbox time: I think a lot of people get hung up on a certain make or bodystyle and don't take a broad enough view. When I bought the LR3 I took a good 8 months to buy it. I ordered it; exactly how I wanted it, put a refundable deposit down, then proceeded to test drive every comparable model under the sun save a few. By the time I took delivery I knew that it was the only vehicle that I'd be happy with. Flash forward 9 years; my wife and I just replaced her sedan. I thought I'd end up with a Bimmer or maybe a Cadillac ATS....wound up with an Infiniti Q50S. Brilliant car (if optioned right...think "less is more") and it wasn't even on my radar when we started. I kept on focused on what we needed the car to do...not what the badge was.

Rant over.

Happy hunting.

 

[PaulLR3]

I have to agree with Houm, you don't buy a vehicle based on the chance you will get into an accident. Most newer cars have similar crash protection features.

You have a Q7 to haul the family. It's a great vehicle. We had one too that we loved, until we moved to a town with a drive-on beach and needed real off road ability. (low gear, locking diffs, etc.) We replaced the Q7 with an LR3 because it can haul our family and go through deep sand & snow.

If you need to get to a train station in all weather, I'd get something fun like a used Golf R with all wheel drive or a used A3 or A4 with quattro. If you need more space, consider a good used allroad. Having owned two allroads, it is a heavy, safe vehicle that will go through any on-road conditions. Many allroad owners bought their used allroads from Audi enthusiasts here:
http://forums.quattroworld.com/classifieds-vehicles/msgs/23502.phtml
or this one looks really nice:
http://forums.quattroworld.com/classifieds-vehicles/msgs/23432.phtml


If you need two 3-row vehicles, then I'd go with a used MDX or Pilot. If you don't plan to work on the car yourself, these two usually require very few repairs.

 

[roverman]

It's an almost impossible question for anyone to answer for you.
Get an LR3
Get a Subie Outback
Get a motorcycle and a snowmobile.
What do YOU want?
I don't know where you live, but pretty much any car will get you to a train station. Might need chains or good snow tires. What priorities do you have other than safety? You mentioned price, what about reliability, MPG, roominess, comfort?

 

[bbyer]

Crazy - probably!

You do not purchase a Land Rover primarily to go to the grocery store; well actually the first owner probably did, but that is not you I would think.

About all I can say is that a 3 is not a Jeep or a Toyota or .... but then Royalty and Big Guys do not prance about in much other than Land Rovers; why, who knows, but there must be a reason as they have more money than I so they must be smarter.

About all I can logically say is that there is something fascinating about Rovers that casts a spell and seems to mitigate all the problems.

Land Rover - making Mechanics out of Drivers since 1948.

 

[Houm_WA]

Kim Kardashian has more money than you too, bbyer, but I'd bet you're smarter than her!

 

[revel8or]

I purchased a used LR3 in November/December of last year. It has a few issues: the paint isn't perfect, there's a dime sized ding on the front quarter panel, one of the bolts holding the skid plate on was frozen (which required me to drill it out and retap it for an oil change), it will need brakes soon, and I need to change the diff oil "sooner" as opposed to "later." The tranny fluid along with a swap out of the filter needs to occur as well, but I'll be well ahead of schedule for that.

So, with all of that in mind: Damn, I love this vehicle. It's "tied" with two other previous vehicles in my favorites book: a 1970 Mercedes 250s, and a 1978 Datsun 280z. I've driven several SUV type cars and a couple of Jeeps. I used to hang with a guy who had a Humvee before the H2s came out...I'd consider a Humvee, but the LR3 has a certain refinement that the HV can't come close to.

So, do I use it off road? Only when I visit my brother, who has 100 acres. It's a hoot and goes through everything. Is it a great commuter car? It's awesome, but I wish it had a touch more power. Of course, I've said that about every car that I've owned, so it's not much of a distinction.

So, imho, go test drive one - they're, um, different. If you like it, mine isn't on the market

 

[jwest]

Hi All,

In short, i want to buy an LR4 but its not in our budget, should i get at LR3 or what do you suggest? My budget is 20K at most and i will not be working on the car myself. I am open to non LR3 suggestions.

....

So the assumption is I will need to use some dealer or shop.

So the question is: What would you do/buy or what do you suggest that I look at?

Thank you.

1-Your geographic location is a factor here. If you are inconveniently far from nearest truly knowledgeable Land Rover mechanic, then I'd say no Rover. Even though I love them. Let us know what city you're in.

2-having a $ figure as a purchase price limit is all well and good but much more important is the financial ability to have things fixed without much stress over the costs. The saying goes, and I first heard this from a Land Rover tech, "a cheap Land Rover is still an expensive vehicle when it comes time for repairs". The reference was to how cheap a 2003 Range Rover is to buy now while replacing something as simple as a headlamp unit/housing, will make your head spin if buying the vehicle was a stretch.

3-There is of course an inherent safety margin gained with size and mass. Meaning I'd rather be in the LR3 in an accident than even a wonderfully safe new Volvo wagon. That said, I'd choose a 2008 Volvo over a 2008 Subaru. By the way, those are very good considerations and only in the mid teens $ for purchase at this time depending on engine and options.

4-There is purchase price but then there is long term cost of ownership, if long term is an issue here. By long I mean not just years but more importantly miles and the type of miles. My LR3 has 86,000 or so but 26,000 of that is nearly non-stop trips coast to coast which is not nearly as hard for wear as short-hour long trips. Some vehicles that could work for you will simply cost less to run and maintain.
Some will be easier to service due to being more commonplace.

5-Are you just sort of dreaming of a Land Rover? (It's ok, everyone here did at some point) I really enjoy the 2004 Discovery I also have and it's been 100% reliable since I bought it used in 2006 about 60,000 miles ago. There are WAY fewer systems to fail and there is simply never the crazy "reduced engine power" or "suspension fault, pull off the road now please" message due to an unhappy computer throwing a tantrum.

Considering you will have the Q7 for family trips, etc, I'd suggest either a wagon or an older Land Rover such as the Discovery 2, a Range Rover Classic (up to 1995), or a Toyota Land Cruiser 80 or 100 series. In fact, the Land Cruiser 100 series could be the sweet spot for an actually modern vehicle with far more 4x4 capability than it sounds like you'd need but it's also really quite comfortable and very reliable.

The LC 100 is mid 2000's. I had a 2006 and those are surely still pricing higher than $20k but the earlier years are probably near $20k. The plus is a good bet a $25k LC 100 will cost you less in total over 10 years than a $15k 2005 or 2006 LR3....

I spent $4500 on an extended warranty for the LR3. I've already broken even on repairs in 3 of the 4 years and have 14,000 miles left. It's a love hate thing really.....