used car hunt...

[jjvd21]

The Ford ESP is totally separate from Land Rover and has nothing to do with the previous ownership. Just so happens that Ford ESP covers the same parts as the Land Rover extended (including air suspension). I'm sure Ford ESP is available for other cars as well. There should be numerous threads on it with more info. If I were you I'd try to find an '06. Keep in mind the LR4 comes out in a month or so and this may or may not push prices down on used LR3's.

 

[mustbeaudi]

IMHO, LR4 reveal won't change used LR3 market. $4 gas, yes. Cheap LR4 leases would do it ($500), but there's no more cheap money as LR found in '06. LR3 prices are up from last year. For under 20, he's looking at 05 retail. Even 06 SE is tight at 20 these days. I agree, 06 would be better, though.

 

[beantmt]

Found an 06 LR3 with 21000 miles. It seriously looks like a brand new car inside and out. It has been in a minor accident that shows on carfax. No airbag deployment, no structural damage, but dealer doesn't know exactly what happened. 17 months left on warranty. They want $23,700.. I am really tempted! Any opinions? It's black on black

 

[Mhaise57]

I used to be a Jeep person. I have owned Wranglers, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and the Dreadful Commander. The jeep Commander is by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. As far as reliability my 05 LR3 SE with 73,000 miles has seen the service department less than the Commander did with 10,000 miles. I snapped the rear axle and the gas mileage was atrocious. The wrangler and pre 2005 grand Cherokees where great. There is just something about Land Rovers that no other SUV can compete with. I can honestly say that I will never not own a Land Rover. It can somewhat become an obsession. Where are you located?

 

[mustbeaudi]

Is it CPO? Get an INDEPENDENT inspection by a local, reputable, high end import body shop to tell you the extent of the damage, that is if you lack the expertise and confidence to discover it yourself. The selling dealer will lie to you about everything, including minor body damage that they can't find. Any good used car buyer for a franchised dealer has a paint gauge that reveals all.
TIRES - better be NEW and NOT GOODYEAR for that money. Or, tell them to swap the new GYs on this car with another used car's wheels that still need tires and then buy you another brand of tire for your car instead (they have to buy a set for the other car, so why not?).

 

[beantmt]

It's not CPO, but it does have the remaining warranty. I am planning on taking it to a body shop on Monday to see what has been replaced on the vehicle. I will also take it to a mechanic. The tires look quite new. They are Goodyear Wranglers... Is that bad? I told him I was willing to buy for that price if the auto body and mechanic inspections checked out.

 

[beantmt]

The dealer is a very small "auto finder"-type operation. They look for good deals on imports and keep a really small inventory. No mechanics or auto body people there to check for me... Not that I could
necessarily trust them anyway.

 

[beantmt]

The car is in fantastic shape, though. They could have rolled the odometer back to 0 and told me it was a brand new car and I would have believed them--no exaggeration; it's in beautiful shape. We have several of these little import dealerships around here, I've never heard anything bad about them. This place had a couple of BMWs, a Mercedes, and this LR3. They were all parked inside.

Sorry for the multiple posts.. We have been out looking at vehicles and I was replying from me phone I'm back home now.

 

[mustbeaudi]

GY are the svck, as the younger set posts it. Really bad, but it is what it is and you'll replace later. Full size or temp spare (most likely)? BTW, any car can be cleaned up pretty if done right, so you're right to inspect.

 

[beantmt]

So I have definitely narrowed it down to the Jeep Commander or the LR3. I actually have found both a Commander and an LR3 that I would be willing to buy.

The Commander is an Black '06 Limited with the 5.7L Hemi engine. It has 34k miles, navigation, and a rear entertainment. Despite being at a major dealership, the inside is a little dirty. It's not terrible, but it's obvious that whoever had it wasn't worried about taking too much care of the inside. The outside looks quite nice. The door has a minor scratch (that might buff out) and the rear bumper has some small nicks that have been painted over. There is some minor rust on the welds underneath the car and around the center of the rear axle. (Is this something to worry about?). It has some pretty new, nice tires and a 2" lift. It has no warranty. I think I could get them down to $20k.

The LR3 is described above.

I need to decided by Monday :\