Find out if buying an unreliable and problematic SUV is as bad as they say
summary
- The Land Rover Discovery (LR3) often has a bad reputation for reliability, but this particular model seems to be in good shape after 17 years.
- The suspension and air conditioning are problem areas to pay attention to, but overall, the car drives well and has a clean interior.
- The VIN number on the windshield is missing, which may raise questions about the car’s history, but it does have a Florida VIN number on the door frame.
In a new episode of The Fast Lane Car YouTube channel, car creators are about to embark on a journey of discovery. Specifically, they will delve into the use of SUVsHe donated it to a charity, and bought it for a small price.
This may not be the best preparation for purchasing a new car, and there is more potential bad news ahead. the land Rover The Discovery – or this generation’s LR3 in the US – has, according to the video, a bad rep in terms of reliability.
Here’s what happens as the team examines the Land Rover to see how bad it is in condition There are many potential problems with the LR3, but there may also be something good about it.
Buying a 2006 Land Rover LR3 sight unseen at auction — and it gets worse
The team located a black 2006 Land Rover LR3, which dropped the Discovery name for this generation in the US but kept the usual name elsewhere. Discos like this have a bad reputation for reliability and running costs, with many online reliability scores making them seem pretty average. But no vehicle is perfect.
Over the course of the video, they pick out the good, the bad and the ugly of this British SUV, and start with the bad. Aside from buying sight unseen – which is risky – his commentary seems collapsed. The suspension system is a weak point in the LR3 as there can be leaks in the air suspension circuit. Andre jokes that another bad decision was buying from Florida, where cars are treated questionably by their owners — a comment fortunately left ambiguous in nature. Unfortunately, the air conditioning is also not working although that is the only malfunction so far.
They explained that this was a model they had previously owned for the channel and later fell in love with, then they saw that this model was cheap and decided to buy. Since only the air conditioning system is not working, they look under the hood and inside the cabin and go for a drive. It’s also a base model with a V6 engine shared with the contemporary Ford Explorer, so it would have produced around 215 horsepower.
How much is a Land Rover LR3 worth in 2023?
Next, the good points. Engine fluids look good and oil looks clean. Activate the air suspension lift system, and with the system running at the highest setting, the bottom of the car shows no rust.
The clean-looking interior is a pleasant surprise too, with the cream trim and upholstery showing the expected wear of 17 years and 63,000 miles.
Everything works, and on the road the car moves and stops well. The only bad point is the air conditioning is not cooling.
There are good things, some bad, and, unfortunately, ugly too: His VIN number was removed from his home at the base of the windshield. This could be due to a number of reasons, including hiding the car’s past to hide damage or criminal activity. It does have a Florida VIN on the door frame though. Overall, this powerful Land Rover SUV shows potential, with the repairable air conditioning system and VIN number the only things that stand out. As for its price, the channel reveals that its auction price is $4,050, from a starting price of $400. If the Land Rover LR3 already had such a bad rep, it looks pretty good after 17 years and the likelihood of it sticking around for a long time after that.
The average value of a Land Rover Discovery 3 (LR3) at auction is around $15,000, with the top-spec HSE in high demand. This price includes the desirable V8 model which also suffers from head gasket failure according to the video. Fast Lane Car notes that a good price for this SUV could be around $5,000 on the used market.
