[sy2767]

With winter consuming 5 months minimum here i have been thinking of getting a used Land Rover LR3 instead of a 335i (yes i have thought of a 335xi) as my next family vehicle. Any one with experience of ownership or friends - family?

[JamesM3M5]

How many in the "family?"

[Slow_335i]

Sounds like a horrible idea, have friend that had one and well it was in service more then he drove it. (forget the model he had) is personally do an x5 or ml Mercedes

[MPower10s]

i have an 06 LR3 HSE with 93k miles and have had it since new. the engine is bullet proof, nothing has ever gone wrong. this car has stood the test of time! hope to keep it for another couple years too

[Spin55]

have hade range rover sport drove for 8 months i wasnt thrilled with it but everyone i knew loved it. Im just now much of a suv guy. Not many problems with it only down side was finding a dealer to work on it or getting parts as they closed many land rover dealerships otherwise great off road nice ride turns as well as a suv could still love the thick wood steering wheel

[JC316]

I'm going to have to agree with Slow. When I used to have a LR it was out if commission ALOT. I'm not sure about now, but in the past, people in the LR forums joked that you should either have a lot of money, a lot if time, or be a level II mechanic before you considered buying a LR. Other than that and poor gas mileage.... I really liked it. Lots of storage space and plenty of power.

[Pinarello Rider]

Regularly on the bottom of list for repairs. If you can stomach all that (expect WORSE than your 335), the interiors are absolutely gorgeous - the Brits are good at that. But the Brits also did the wiring...

[335_MI6]

My range rover hasnt really gave me that many problems

[JUSTIN335]

I traded my lr3 in for my current 335. It was an extremely comfortable car and surprisingly powerful. The only thing I absolutely HATED about it was the body roll. I know it's a big ol suv but going around any bend slightly too fast made it seem like It was going to flip. And I'm not comparing it to an sport car either, that car was very tippy. My sister had a range rover sport which I loved since it was significantly faster and had almost no body roll when compared to the lr3.
Since your considering a 335 I assume you don't need 7 seats, so a used sport (or maybe even an x5?) would seem like a good option. And as for reliability, my lr3 was one dealer visit away from being a lemon

[sy2767]

I test drove a 2006 4.4 x5 and hated it! As for my family, just myself and my 3 yr old and wife. Fell in love with the LR3 after watching Top Gear and the episode where Jeremy drove it to the top of a mountain in Scotland. lol. The winters here are horrible and i want the best for my family....

[hipnotic]

i have a land rover 1998 series II with 92000 miles on it. It had its problems but I have to say it isn't that bad of a vehicle. It is really made for offroading so the street driving is not superb compared to getting an x5 or m class.

[Eights-n-Aces]

Originally Posted by Pinarello Rider

Regularly on the bottom of list for repairs. If you can stomach all that (expect WORSE than your 335), the interiors are absolutely gorgeous - the Brits are good at that. But the Brits also did the wiring...

What he said. They are horrible on reliability. My brother bought one and it was a huge mistake. I think their are better SUVs that are cheaper and more reliable.

[shanecarmaster1]

Just got rid of my Range Rover Sport for a new 750Li and haven't looked back or even remembered I did it. I kicked myself for suffering through the ownership of that car since 2005. I do have to say one thing - it never had any problems.

[Braxo]

I replaced my 2005 LR3 V8 for my current 2011 328xi. The reasons I switched was because I prefer peace of mind with a warranty (LR3 had a late in service and they carry a 5-year, 50,000, replaced it at that point).

I believe I was lucky with the LR3, I never had an issue with it what-so-ever. The only thing I worried about was the air-shocks that adjust the suspension breaking, a lot of people complain about that on the message boards

That said, I'm in Buffalo so we do get decent winters and I do wish I went with a new LR4 or waited for the Evoque before I switched to a car. The BMW is my first car and I determined I prefer SUVs/Jeeps.

[wrickem]

You'll be ahead of the game since you're getting a LR3. My Range Rover and Land Rover were always in the shop for something or other, and they always gave me a LR3 as a loaner. I loved both of them, but there was always something or other needing fixing. Good luck.

[anerbe]

Originally Posted by sy2767

I test drove a 2006 4.4 x5 and hated it! As for my family, just myself and my 3 yr old and wife. Fell in love with the LR3 after watching Top Gear and the episode where Jeremy drove it to the top of a mountain in Scotland. lol. The winters here are horrible and i want the best for my family....

What did you hate about the 06X5? If its the driving dynamics, LR3 is ten times worse and any SUV will not be for you. You may want to look into a larger wagon (535xi).

Friend had an LR3 for a while. It has the absolute worst road trip manners. Like a brick, the thing has a lot of wind noise on the highway, you feel any changes in the wind and it has a ton of roll.

From an off road/towing standpoint, the car is a beast.

[RoundelM3]

The 2003 Land Rover Freeloader (or whatever it was called) that my ex-wife bought was the absolute worst vehicle I have ever experienced. It literally started falling apart after a year, and the dealership experience was dismal, to say the least. An example: at 24,000 miles, the front brakes were completely gone, the rotors could not be turned and needed replacement, and the dealer wanted $750.00 to do the job, which they later "discounted" to $550.00. I would never, ever make the mistake of purchasing anything from Land Rover again.

[NoMods]

wait till you break down in the LR, they still have the poorest rankings in reliabilty - just look at JD Power...sadly BMW isn't the best either.

[richpike]

Under BMW and Ford's ownership, the Land Rover's reliability improved immensely. We had a LR3 prior to our current Range Rover and never had a problem with it. Our current RR has only had one issue in the year we've owned it and it was minor. They are known for electrical gremlins (e.g. sometimes our side mirror sticks down after reversing), but nothing that would have ever left us remotely stranded.

The pluses of the LR3 IMO are the fantastic ride, the air suspension (great for little kiddos climbing in and out), they are unstoppable in snow/off road (we run winter tires on our RR and I'm pretty sure I could drive through anything in it - the LR3 was similar once we put new tires on it). Tons of space. And I personally love the styling. There is also a very tight community of LR owners - our dealer is fantastic, we have done a couple of the offroad events and they were a blast, every LR3/Disco owner you pass will wave to you, etc. and people will ask you about the car frequently.

The minuses - poor handling (but about what I would expect for a 6000lb SUV) - our Touareg we had before would run circles around an LR3. Ate brakes (but they are super easy to do yourself if you are inclined). And I felt the interior was a little lacking for the money (the new LR4's is fantastic though). And while I love driving the RR (my wife mainly drives it), it isn't nearly as fun to drive as the 335 :-). But you can't beat an LR3/4/RR for kid hauling, driving in the mountains or long road trips.

In general, we loved our LR3 an would highly recommend them. We'll probably go back to a LR4 from our RR once our kiddos are bigger and we need the third row. The Rovers to stay away from are the older Discos, Freelanders, LR2s, etc. The new LR3/4s, RR and RRS are much better built.

-Rich

[Bunkei]

hmm .. buying a USED Land Rover will be risky. I saw that are some makes that are excluded from extended warranties (service plans), which included Land Rover.

[MPower10s]

Originally Posted by anerbe

What did you hate about the 06X5? If its the driving dynamics, LR3 is ten times worse and any SUV will not be for you. You may want to look into a larger wagon (535xi).

Friend had an LR3 for a while. It has the absolute worst road trip manners. Like a brick, the thing has a lot of wind noise on the highway, you feel any changes in the wind and it has a ton of roll.

From an off road/towing standpoint, the car is a beast.

haha really? i cruise at 85-95 on the highway and the thing is silent, hardly any wind noise and the air suspension soaks up any road imperfections.

the car rides like a dream because it has two chassis' - a unibody, and a traditional frame - Land Rover calls it the IBF or integrated body frame

the V8 isn't as powerful as i'd like it to be in city drive but on the highway it comes into its own

[richpike]

Originally Posted by MPower10s

haha really? i cruise at 85-95 on the highway and the thing is silent, hardly any wind noise and the air suspension soaks up any road imperfections.

the car rides like a dream because it has two chassis' - a unibody, and a traditional frame - Land Rover calls it the IBF or integrated body frame

the V8 isn't as powerful as i'd like it to be in city drive but on the highway it comes into its own

I totally second this - it was a fantastic highway cruiser for us. Super quiet, road beautifully and we would even see upwards of 20mpg going to Breckenridge and back to Colorado Springs. I would highly recommend getting the V8 if you do get one though - the V6 is pretty barebones and doesn't get much better gas mileage than the V8. We did an SE V8 with lighting package (a must IMO - the xenons are fantastic), cold weather (loved the heated windshield, although it took a little getting used to at night as it refracts the light some) and Nav (pretty good Nav for something developed in 2005).

-Rich