Assistance - Possible new 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE AWD HSE 4dr SUV

[NotMechSmart]

Good evening. I am considering purchasing a 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE
AWD HSE 4dr SUV w/ 29,696 miles. The VIN# is SALCR2BG3GH623979. Ilooked at this vehicle today. From the eye test, test drive, it was gorgeous and eye popping. I was taken back. But as my screen name shows, mechanical I am not.

I have heard good and bad things about the reliability of this vehicle. I would love to hear honest opinions on owning this model. Is it a reliable, cost effective vehicle to own.
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Keith

 

[Rover Range]

The Discovery Sport is reliable.
Most issues are due to lack of maintenance.
Always do oil changes at 5k to 10k miles. Going 21k miles like JLR says, will cause the engine to sludge up.
Maintenance costs will always be higher on European vehicles.

 

[richord]

From my limited experience with my recently acquired 2015 LR4 and based on what I've read online, be ready to spend a lot of money on repairs. IMHO if you're not mechanically inclined, don't buy one of these.

The electricals and electronics are poor quality. On most vehicles these days, those devices will fail even before the mechanics fail (assuming it was well maintained). On mine the Blind Spot Monitoring feature on the passenger's side wasn't working when I got it. The dealer I bought it from noted this. the previous owner had a quote from a Land rover dealer of $3,000 to fix it! The part itself is $1,200.

I bought a used part for $84.00 and spent hours to get it "programmed" to work on my vehicle. Thanks to the help of others, I finally got it working. This is a "simple" example. Both my front cameras are defective. One is noticeable because it has a cracked lens. These cameras are located low down on the front facia where rocks and mud etc. will destroy them. A great design by Land Rover!

I owned a 1987 Land Rover Defender which I rebuilt. I called it a bucket of bolts. But it was a classic! I like the style of the LR4, I would never buy one new but decided that I could do my own repairs it would be fun. Even the dealer cautioned me with his question; "do you understand Land Rovers?". I knew what he meant, buyer beware!

Great off-road vehicles, great looking vehicles but unreliable and costly to repair. Don't read the Consumer Reports on Land Rovers!

I've owned a lot of cars over the years and Land Rover and British cars (now owned by Tata motors) are notoriously unreliable. Fun and great styling but that's only skin deep.

You may be lucky and acquire one that is uncharacteristically reliable.

In spite of my critique, I do enjoy mine. I don't trust it, however. I subscribed to AAA when I bought it, expecting at some point to have it break down on the road.

Good luck!

 

[NotMechSmart]

Richard - Thank you so much. I really appreciate your post and the information that you have given. The vehicle in question, is an absolute gorgeous vehicle inside and out.

From the outside in, this vehicle amazed me. I was expecting to see a vehicle of this age with some minor scratches, indentation, worn spots on the interior. ect. But when I walked around this vehicle and opened all the doors to inspect, it looked like I was walking around a vehicle on a showroom floor. Just perfection.

Then I was able to take the vehicle for a test drive without a sales person. I felt like I was on a cloud. This was the best riding vehicle I have ever sat in. I pulled over into a grocery store parking lot and enabled every safety feature that was on this car. Let me tell you I can't even explain all of them driving back to the dealership, I was ready to write a check in full.

From the eye and field test, it was a done deal. But when something seems too good to be true, it generally is not. After doing a lot of research, getting various opinions on different forums and then your comment just proved that if you don't do your homework, you can end up in a hot mess.

I know my reply is extremely long, but I want to say how much I appreciate the amount of money. You probably save me in fixing this car over the years. My family tends to keep cars until all the wheels fall off.

Again, thank you for your response.