Picked up an '06 LR3 SE dealer loaner

[dugedug]

Talked the wife into getting rid of the ML320 Benz and picking up a dealer loaner '06 LR3 SE 7. We weren't that happy with the Benz and wanted 7 seats. Mechanically it was great once the recalls were completed, albeit a dog in performance. Cosmetically(interior and exterior) it was a mess with pieces falling off and not fitting inside and out. We were also dissapointed to find it only worth half as much as we paid for it after only owning it for 2 years. anyway...


Drove it off the lot with ~13,700 miles at $31.8K. The Rover has the Electronics package (front fogs, headlight washers, steering wheel controls, rear park, HIDs...) , rear air control, and Bluetooth phone.

We've put on 300 miles since Saturday afternoon getting to know it. Haven't had a real chance to get it off road yet but it is on the agenda. I do have a few questions that have come up though that I would like comments on.


First: My Tow Bar is missing. Does this have to be purchased or is is suppose to be supplied with the vehicle so I have something to attach my trailer tongue and ball with?

Second: What setting of the AVC is suppose to be the most dramatic with vehicle speed 9 or 1? I do not notice a difference in volume no matter what level i'm at.

Third: If you have the factory roof rack, do you need the crossbars? I'm looking at adding the rack but dont' want to purchase the crossbars if they are unneeded.

Fourth: Can the dealer remove the second row center headrest? It is really annoying and creates quite the blind spot.

After the first tank of gas it looks like we didn't loose any MPG over the V6 Benz. Around 17 MPG with only 87oct on mostly highway @75MPH.

The only other thing that kind of worried me is that they said they replaced all of the brakes( a co worker with a RR sport said his ate brakes fast). It only had 13700 miles on it when we left the lot. I also noticed the front inner tire treds are worn ever so slightly more than the rest.

 

[toddjb122]

Talked the wife into getting rid of the ML320 Benz and picking up a dealer loaner '06 LR3 SE 7.

nice

First: My Tow Bar is missing. Does this have to be purchased or is is suppose to be supplied with the vehicle so I have something to attach my trailer tongue and ball with?

Yup, if you're talking the receiver hitch, you buy that for about $300 and it plugs right in. Maybe $375...

Second: What setting of the AVC is suppose to be the most dramatic with vehicle speed 9 or 1? I do not notice a difference in volume no matter what level i'm at.

No idea what you mean. Ahhh...maybe that's the voice control volume setting. But I still don't know...I'd guess the higher number is the most dramatic. ?

Third: If you have the factory roof rack, do you need the crossbars? I'm looking at adding the rack but dont' want to purchase the crossbars if they are unneeded.

The factory roof rack is nothing...just these two tracks running on the roof. Can't to anything with it w/o purchasing something. I bought the roof rack from LR3 and all it is, is two cross bars that you attach. Look around, though, as there are lots of rack options to choose from if you don't want cross bars.

Fourth: Can the dealer remove the second row center headrest? It is really annoying and creates quite the blind spot.

You can! Its the 2nd row middle headrest, right? Look very closely and there is a small button on it that let's you pull it all the way out. Then if fits nicely in the 3rd row seat foot wheel (if you have that third row of seats down). More info already posted here if you search for it.

The only other thing that kind of worried me is that they said they replaced all of the brakes( a co worker with a RR sport said his ate brakes fast). It only had 13700 miles on it when we left the lot. I also noticed the front inner tire treds are worn ever so slightly more than the rest.

Brake results vary. Could have been a warranty issue as 13K is pretty early. I got to 42K but everybody here thought I was using a parachute to brake or something.
Have your dealer check the allignment. That is a common problem.

Good luck and enjoy the new truck!

 

[dugedug]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, by AVC I mean the automatic voice control. It's suppose to adjust the volume according to speed (benz had the same thing). But it doesn't appear to work.

I want to get the same rack that is on the G4 LR. I'm just wondering if you have to buy the crossbars for it first or not.

I tried pulling the second row middle out already, maybe i'll have to try a bit more force next time.

 

[roverman]

Re: the seat head rest. There is a very small, hard to spot 'button' that you have to press in, like with a quarter or something. Then you can pull the head rest all the way out. I'm glad you got such a good deal, that gives me ammo when bartering my lease end buy out for my '05 with fewer options and twice the miles...for about the same price.

 

[dugedug]

yeah, I know how to adjust the headrest. I gave it a pretty good pull last night and it didn't come out... I'll just have to try harder tonight.



The lot price on the car was $34,992. After a quick test drive we walked in and I asked what the monthly would be. They came back with $721 @ 4.9% and 60 Mo. I laughed and started packing up our stuff to walk out. They offered one of the other LR3s for around $680 and I continued to pack up. Third offer was 72 Mo. @ 12.9% and I gave them no response. They asked what it would take and I said a $600 car payment at 4.9% & 60 Mo. I told them they weren't giving me crud for our benz (first offer was $13.3K, it's an '02 ML-320 with 77k miles). They said hang on... 15 mintues later they came back and said $601 @ 4.9% & 60 mo. They gave us $14.4K for the Benz and brought the car down to $31,889.

I'm willing to bet that we could have gotten them down even further if I felt like spending more time. But it took them almost 2.5hrs to "wash and fill the tank". Had our 1yr old with us so I was tired.


So this isn't suppose to be included with the car? Manual says it should be in the back in a storage compartment. I have a F250 Super Duty so i'm not hurting for a tow vehicle but I would have thought that this adapter would be part of the vehicle.

 

[bgsntth]

There are actually two buttons. The one that everyone is referring to is opposite the one that sticks out, and is flush with the bracket; which is why you really need a quarter or strong finger nail to push it in. You have to somehow push both buttons while pulling-out the headrest-physical pain and dexterity is required unless you have someone else pull the headrest.

 

[roverman]

Not to mention that there is only a little space between it and the seatbelt tensioner.

 

[jimbiram]

As far as the hitch receiver, I believe it comes with the HD rear end package. Does it have a full size spare?

 

[grommet]

The hitch receiver is not included with any package... at launch, there was a "Tow Package"... but it just gave you the Hitch Receiver stored in the back. ISame as you can buy from parts desk... it's no longer an option.

 

[toddjb122]

That's too bad. That molded foam "case" in the side storage compartment was nice.