Discovery 3?? Good or Bad??

[maybelateron]

1 hour ago, HuntingHicap said:

They tow a dream but if they are not scrupulously maintained and not thrashed are expensive to run. For that money a TD5 Discovery 2, tows well, you can pick up for around a grand, and have money spare to fix it.  Basically a Defender with comfier seats.

 

1 hour ago, Ian C said:

Steer clear of old D3 they had the 2.7 v6 and had crank issues along with many electrical gremlins, all Discos out of warranty have the potential to be money pits but a good late D2 is a much better bet. Consider a land cruiser or shogun as well .

I am on my second Disco 2 TD5. I regularly tow up to 3.5 tons, and it does it very well, and this is without a remap. Both mine have been auto. Less electrical gremlins than a Disco 3 or 4, and the TD5 is pretty bullet proof, especially compared to the TDV6's liking for shoving a con rod through the block or snapping the crank. I have had two air bags fail, but was able to limp home slowly, cost of replacing them (with new bags) was minimal. Need to check chassis before buying, have had my 04 reg repaired on one rear leg, otherwise sound underneath.

[Big J]

I've recently bought a V10 Touareg. One owner vehicle, 102k, £5k. Spent just under £1200 getting every last little thing done on it (including a couple of bits of corrosion and getting it wax oiled). A little bit on top of that to get it remapped too. I've not had a chance to tow with it yet, but I'm fairly certain it could tow several 3.5t trailers rather than just one! It's actually never in it's life towed. I will pop it's cherry in that regard  

 

We had a Disco 4 a while back. It was an expensive thing in terms of repairs. I'm sure that the V10 will sting me similarly, but at least I'll have a V10. I honestly don't think any hill would ever slow it down with 3.5t behind it. 

[arboriculturist]

11 minutes ago, Big J said:

I've recently bought a V10 Touareg. One owner vehicle, 102k, £5k. Spent just under £1200 getting every last little thing done on it (including a couple of bits of corrosion and getting it wax oiled). A little bit on top of that to get it remapped too. I've not had a chance to tow with it yet, but I'm fairly certain it could tow several 3.5t trailers rather than just one! It's actually never in it's life towed. I will pop it's cherry in that regard  

 

We had a Disco 4 a while back. It was an expensive thing in terms of repairs. I'm sure that the V10 will sting me similarly, but at least I'll have a V10. I honestly don't think any hill would ever slow it down with 3.5t behind it. 

Some may remember one towing a Boeing 747, I think they are around 140-50 tonnes !

 

[Big J]

10 minutes ago, arboriculturist said:

Some may remember one towing a Boeing 747, I think they are around 140-50 tonnes !

 

I think that that was on 5th Gear. 

I think we can all agreed that big, fairly cheap 4x4s for towing heavy always end up costing a bit in repairs. I like to think that a VW is better engineered in the first instance than a Landrover, and the V10 is an addictive thing. It's such a shame that that wave of engineering innovation in the early to mid 2000s with large displacement diesels and petrols died a death. I've been getting 27-28mpg from it on the first 1 1/4 tanks. That's no worse than the Disco 4 I had, but I've an extra 120bhp. 

 

Imagine a V10 with a modern 8 speed auto. That would be magical.

[mowingjamie]

18 hours ago, Big J said:

I think that that was on 5th Gear. 

I think we can all agreed that big, fairly cheap 4x4s for towing heavy always end up costing a bit in repairs. I like to think that a VW is better engineered in the first instance than a Landrover, and the V10 is an addictive thing. It's such a shame that that wave of engineering innovation in the early to mid 2000s with large displacement diesels and petrols died a death. I've been getting 27-28mpg from it on the first 1 1/4 tanks. That's no worse than the Disco 4 I had, but I've an extra 120bhp. 

 

Imagine a V10 with a modern 8 speed auto. That would be magical.

Cheers for the replays do far, Seen a 3.0l toyota landcruiser on ebay, I think the age was 1998. What's these like at towing? Doesn't look like it has much hp for towing? Cant find the towing capacity on line either, 2800kg or 3500kg?? 

[Baldbloke]

I've recently bought a V10 Touareg. One owner vehicle, 102k, £5k. Spent just under £1200 getting every last little thing done on it (including a couple of bits of corrosion and getting it wax oiled). A little bit on top of that to get it remapped too. I've not had a chance to tow with it yet, but I'm fairly certain it could tow several 3.5t trailers rather than just one! It's actually never in it's life towed. I will pop it's cherry in that regard [emoji3] 

 

We had a Disco 4 a while back. It was an expensive thing in terms of repairs. I'm sure that the V10 will sting me similarly, but at least I'll have a V10. I honestly don't think any hill would ever slow it down with 3.5t behind it. 

 

Went to buy/look at a V10 Touareg a couple of weeks ago but the steering was dodgy so walked away. Tried the smaller V6 from the same garage and that had fuelling issues so no sale. I really liked the V 10 and would have bought it had the steering been better.

 

I have a 300Tdi defender, an early 3.9 Disco, and an early V6 RR Vouge. I’ve just got rid of a Freelander 2. The only one worth having is the old Defender and the V8 Disco. The rest are trouble, to the extent that LRs reputation for reliability is a bit of a joke.

[Baldbloke]

Cheers for the replays do far, Seen a 3.0l toyota landcruiser on ebay, I think the age was 1998. What's these like at towing? Doesn't look like it has much hp for towing? Cant find the towing capacity on line either, 2800kg or 3500kg?? 

Land cruiser is a good towing vehicle[emoji1303] 3.5 tonnes[emoji1303]

 

Toyota Land Cruiser - Towing Capacity & Weight Limit Information

WWW.TOWINGCAPACITY.CO.UK

[mowingjamie]

4 minutes ago, Baldbloke said:

Land cruiser is a good towing vehicle 3.5 tonnes

 

 

Toyota Land Cruiser - Towing Capacity & Weight Limit Information

WWW.TOWINGCAPACITY.CO.UK

But is that age 1998 and being a 3.0l classed as a Colorado?? So 2800kg??

[Big J]

1 hour ago, Baldbloke said:

 

Went to buy/look at a V10 Touareg a couple of weeks ago but the steering was dodgy so walked away. Tried the smaller V6 from the same garage and that had fuelling issues so no sale. I really liked the V 10 and would have bought it had the steering been better.

 

I have a 300Tdi defender, an early 3.9 Disco, and an early V6 RR Vouge. I’ve just got rid of a Freelander 2. The only one worth having is the old Defender and the V8 Disco. The rest are trouble, to the extent that LRs reputation for reliability is a bit of a joke.

I like to think that if you can find a good one, it's as sensible a proposition as any £5-7k 4x4. It's finding one that is lowish in miles and has history that is the issue. I'm up to Aviemore in it on the 2nd, so that'll be the test - 560 miles in each direction!

[Big J]

1 hour ago, mowingjamie said:

Cheers for the replays do far, Seen a 3.0l toyota landcruiser on ebay, I think the age was 1998. What's these like at towing? Doesn't look like it has much hp for towing? Cant find the towing capacity on line either, 2800kg or 3500kg?? 

It'll be 2800kg. Only the Landcruiser Amazons tow 3500kg. The Amazons have a cracking reputation and hold their value very well. I would have gone for one if not for the fact that a) it's extremely hilly around here and 200bhp on a vehicle as heavy as a LC with a 3500kg trailer isn't going to be much fun on the 1 in 4 hills and b) I needed to scratch the V10 itch! ?