worried about reliability?

[goofyMD]

HI,
I’m new to this forum. I need a new suv with three rows for my wife. We recently drove the LR3 and love it. It is a great vehicle. It has everything on our wish list. But (you knew this was coming) I’m very worried about reliability. Land Rover ranked 2nd to last in the 05 J.D. Power dependability survey (barley above Kia). I think since FORD took over some of the problems should improve, but I don’t want my new LR3 to be in the shop constantly. Can anyone reassure me on this point? thanks

 

[grommet]

Though I've never had any problems with my early build LR3, I doubt anyone can honestly reassure you on reliability. The platform is too new and there isn't a lot of history. Well, other than being a Land Rover. If the car is "in the shop constantly", lemon law will resolve that.

If rock-solid reliability is more important to you than off-road ability or utility, it's probably best to shop elsewhere for peace of mind.

 

[a990dna]

Good advice. I was also considering a new LR3 until this week... a friend took delivery on an HSE back in January. I've been patiently waiting to see how he does with it and the reliability/dealer-support factor.

I'm extremely impressed with the LR3.... but after he experienced a few problems, most recent with the air-suspension deflating and won't re-inflate to its normal setting is disturbing to me... especially after being told by the dealer it will take two (2) weeks to get to it. The excuse was their service bays are full and have too many new car preps to attend to.

$60K for treatment like that? ... the dealer network is far and few between and it will just get worse as the LR3's start stacking up at the dealers. I'm moving on to greener pastures ... I don't have the time or the money to help Ford or LR build a quality product---unless of course they want to put me on their payroll.

I'm sure in time this will be a great vehicle ... just not on my time.

 

[GadgetRick]

Always a good question to ask yourself (about reliability). As has been pointed out, the LR3 is a totally new platform so nobody can really tell you how reliable it will be. Also, because it's a new platform, there's a decent chance there will be some problems which will be fixed in next year's (and subsequent year's) model. Unfortunately, this is a fact of life with vehicles.

However, depending on what kinds of problems you may (or may not have), if you have a good dealer to support you it may not be a huge issue. I had a Freelander from Land Rover Paramus (NJ) and only had a couple of problems. They ALWAYS took care of me and I was not terribly inconenienced. I recently bought a Disco from them because of this. The front right tire has a tear in the sidewall I didn't notice when I picked it up. I mentioned it to them and they're going to replace the tire without any questions. Good service IMO.

Anyway, if reliability is your main concern then a Rover may not be the best for you. Not that they've been terribly unreliable but you can expect the possibilty of a few more problems. They may be minor problems but they're problems.

If, however, you want one of the best offroad vehicles in the world (and a damn fine truck), then give a Rover a shot.

For what it's worth, if you check around at other Rover sites like this, I don't think you'll see a lot of complaints about problems with Rovers in general and LR3s in particular. I find this amazing because, typically, when you check out sites like these you'll find a lot of complaints. People are more apt to complain about something than to praise something. I just don't see a lot of complaints from Rover owners.

Good luck with your decision.

The Rickster

 

[goofyMD]

I agree that if reliability was my MAIN concern I'll look elsewhere, but it's not. I love everything else about the car and I don't think there anything else on the market that comes close. I just don't want to be driving the chevy cavilar that Hertz gives me telling people what a wonderful LR3 I have in the shop.

I have bought several first year cars (including the nissan 350Z when it was still a concept car) so I've taken risks before. I do think Ricks thought that If there were lots of problems they would show up on forum like this is true (especisally after being out for a year.)

 

[mtnyeti]

My two cents on the whole reliability issue is this. I've had my SE for about 6 months now and have had very few "minor" issues. Two of which seem to be normal for the vehicle; loud OEM tires (Goodyear HP... a horrible tire anyway) and what seems to be a slight shudder in the steering while making hard turns at very slow speeds. Other than that the vehicle starts every time and takes me where I need to go when I want to go. Before the LR3 I had a 2004 Discovery II and seemed to have more issues with that in the first few months of ownership than the LR3. As mentioned before it's a new platform and some will have issues but for the most part it seems to be doing well. I agree with Rick in that people seem to love to complain about the vehicle, I'll say I love the ride and off road capability of the LR3. Nothing on the market matches the technical advancements the LR3 has; the navigation system and terrain response is truly amazing. I've had nothing but compliments from friends and am constantly stopped in the parking lot and questioned about the LR3. All in all it's a great vehicle which unfortunately is having a few issues in its infancy.

 

[texas911]

I have the shudder to, what's the deal on that? Has anyone gotten it fixed. I thought it was the tires but checked the tire pressure and it was spot on.

 

[ronprx]

2,500 miles and running great...knock on wood. Have had it in for minor things such as DVD feedback which was fixed right away as well as a tail light that was missing the white reverse portion...other than that and a bit shotty customer service...the car is geat.

 

[fbaer]

I took delivery of my HSE on Dec 23rd, and have just under 6000 miles on it so far. There have only been 2 issues with the truck, the first being the radio and nav systems stopped working / locked up. It reset itself automatically when I turned the car off for a few minutes. Based upon reading this forum, by turning the key to on and letting it cycle through the system check before starting this will not happen, and it has not repeated itself.

The only other issue I have is that the drivers window needs to be adjusted a little bit. (These type of issues can happen on any new car)

The longest trip I have taken is from Minneapolis to Chicago, and the LR3 was amazing on the road. All in all I absolutely love the truck and am glad I bought it.

 

[GadgetRick]

I guess your first question should be more about your Rover dealer. Have you dealt with them before? How did you feel about them when you dealt with them (if you have)? How has your friend felt about how they treated him/her? I've heard great stories about Rover dealers (mine is VERY good) and bad stories. If you're spending that kind of change you should get treated well (IMO).

Also, does your Rover dealer give you Rovers as loaner cars? That's something I sort of require (obviously, mine does). I figure I paid enough money for mine and I shouldn't be inconvenienced with driving a tiny rental car when mine is getting serviced. My Saab dealer has always just given me Saab loaners. Only makes sense. Besides, part of the reason I went ahead and upgraded to the Disco from the Freelander was the last time I had a loaner from my dealer. Had it over Memorial Day Weekend because they were swamped and couldn't get my service (regular service, btw) done in time. So I drove the Disco they gave me for about 400 miles so I knew it would be comfortable for me. So loaning Rovers is a good business decision.

I would also possibly wait for the 06 LR3 to come out. You're only a few short months away now and I'm guessing they'll have fixed many of the minor problems people have complained about. If you can wait you might be better off doing that. Besides, if you still want the 05 you might get a deal on a leftover at that point.

If you really like the LR3 then I'd say don't let the reliability scare you. They have seemed to be solid trucks. As with any vehicle you always have the possibility of getting one of the vehicles which experiences problems. If you have a good Rover dealer they should take care of you properly should you wind up with one of those trucks.

The Rickster