Good news! Also, bad news!

"BJ" (benjamin-bignell) 01/10/2015 at 22:15 • Filed to: land rover, lr3, out of the frying pan into the fire

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The fever has broken! That's right, I no longer have Disco fever and can move on with my life!

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I went to see a nice-looking 2004 Land Rover Discover this morning, and it was, quite honestly, underwhelming. It's a much smaller vehicle than I imagined, the interior is more snug-fitting than I expected, and the combination of odd, strangely-placed buttons, flimsy doors, and overall British-ness of the truck left me underwhelmed.

(The truck I saw has been in Quebec its entire life and was showing the results of the ferocious, salty winters we have here. There was a bit of rust showing up everywhere and the undercarriage was a real horror show.)

I'm not terribly disappointed, because it wasn't a realistic choice for the reliable family transportation I need, but it was an eye-opening experience.

And now for the bad news ...

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I test drove a 2005 Land Rover LR3 in pretty good condition and it was absolutely amazing . Low kms, clean paint, working air suspension, and it spent half of its life in the Canadian Prairies where road salt is pretty much non-existant. It was luxurious. It was smooth. It had power and comfort and 7 seats and so much class...

It's a beautiful machine, but the maintenance records are basically non-existent. 18-inch winter tires will cost me a fortune. Good Land Rover garages aren't exactly growing on trees.

le sigh... I've still got some other 4x4s to look at (4Runners mostly) but I think I know how this is going to end.

Jedidiah > BJ 01/10/2015 at 22:31

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Maybe a Jeep Wagoneer is the vehicle you're looking for?

Heinously unreliably, comfortable, and classic 4wd suv.

Parts are infinitely more common and affordable than a LR; they never changed sheetmetal from 63 to 91.

BJ > Jedidiah 01/10/2015 at 22:36

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Ha! Not a bad idea, but they're non-existant here in Eastern Canada, having gone - I assume - off to the great rust bucket in the sky.

Jedidiah > BJ 01/10/2015 at 22:40

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It is unforunate; large flat untreated sheet metal tends to disintegrate. I've been on a wishlisting splurge for classic suvs recently.

HammerheadFistpunch > BJ 01/10/2015 at 22:54

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If you are looking at LR3 money, surely you are looking at 100 series money too.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > BJ 01/10/2015 at 23:39

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"... life in the Canadian Prairies where road salt is pretty much non-existant."

As someone who lives in the Canadian prairies, I beg to differ. Yes, not as bad as Ontario for salt, but we definitely still use it.:

Cé hé sin > BJ 01/11/2015 at 05:18

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Google, Google...but the LR3 as it's called over there is still a Discovery!

You're not better yet.

Disco Mk3:

LR3

BJ > Cé hé sin 01/11/2015 at 07:14

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Shhh... You'll burst my bubble!

I know it's still a Discovery but it's not at all the same vehicle.

BJ > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2015 at 07:19

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Strangely, no. The 100 was only sold here as a Lexus and if you find one for less than 12k it's a sad, beat-up affair that should probably be euthanized.

(Nationwide on Autotrader there are 2 LX470 for sale for 15k or less. One is 15k and 5000 kms from me, the other is being sold as-is from a street corner lot with true mileage unknown for 10k.)

An LR3 here starts a bit under 9k and they tend to be in good condition. A strange state of affairs.

BJ > BaconSandwich is tasty. 01/11/2015 at 07:22

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Yes, you're right, but relatively speaking the road salt a southern Alberta car sees is a drop in ocean compared to what a Quebec car suffers through annually.

(I grew up near Edmonton and have been in Montreal for 8 years now.)

BJ > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2015 at 07:29

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To be fair, however, a 15k Land Cruiser/LX would probably cost me less over 10 years than the Land Rover. Over 5 years - a more realistic timeframe - the difference might be a wash. It's hard to say...

BJ > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2015 at 07:45

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Correction - the LR3 starts at around 7500 out here. That's what, 10% of the new value? So tempting!