22nd Aug 2005, 07:50

I agree! I bought mine used at 40.00 km. A great family car (my kid's love it too). Warranty ran out a year ago and it is now costing me a fortune.

What a shame.

24th Oct 2005, 12:16

Hi I purchased a 2002 TD5 drove great, when on holiday driving through France 4th gear (auto) started shuddering, car only covered 26000, silly niggles or disaster? depends if covered under extended Landrover Approved Warranty.

14th Jul 2006, 06:30

Australian owner - early 1999 TD5 Auto/7. Purchased at approx 105,000 km in apparently excellent order. Have never abused the vehicle and replace oil and filters each 5000-8,000 km. After replacing sagged front springs, failed rear airbags with springs & supplementary air bags, completely renovating the auto, replacing radiator, viscous fan assy, thermostat and shock dampers plus fitting a transfer case lock, I am very much poorer even after using after market components. The ABS shuttle valve still immobilises the ABS, Traction Control and Hill Descent functions permanently (a common problem and clearly a design fault which LR ignores). Fortunately, any capable driver does not rely on these in any case.

Land Rover have made their vehicles far too complex and will not stand by their product failures. Component costs are prohibitive and critical parts are often restricted to dealerships only - eg the ABS Shuttle Valve (approx $300) can be replaced on my model; however, Land Rover prefers to quote some $6,000 to replace the entire ABS hydraulic unit and charges ridiculous 'prestige' hourly rates.

Now at 176,000 km, it is a fine machine, but not much real improvement over my old 1973 Range Roverwhich still provided sterling service at age 30. Most recent problem is a blown head gasket due hose failure plus possible head replacement (aluminium). Of course, LR quotes approx $10,000 for a new head, but others can do the whole job for about $3,000. Would never buy another Rover product, but, having spent much money to date, will persevere for the forseeable future. Note for other auto owners - the Sprag Clutch which failed in my ZF gearbox is identical to that used in small auto sedans!!!

25th Aug 2006, 13:23

During a period of unemployment two years ago I took a temporary job loading vehicles onto car carriers (boats) at Southampton docks.

One day we had a car park full of brand new Discoveries to load (about 100 in total). I was staggered to find that many Discoveries were virtually undriveable straight from the production line. I can remember one which was unable to climb the metal ramp into the car carrier because the engine was not working correctly (eventually I had to select low range).

I asked the team leader about the build of Land Rovers (while he was attaching jump leads to one which wouldn't start). Apparently, the faults are expected to be rectified during the pre-delivery inspection. Land Rover apparently don't consider making the cars correctly first time is necessary.

I pity the people employed in Land-Rover dealerships.

5th Mar 2007, 13:31

I purchased a new 99'from the dealer and it is the worst truck I have ever owned. The first week of ownership I had to return to the dealer because the gas filler door would not open. That should have been my first clue this purchase was a mistake. Two weeks later (first rainstorm) the windscreen had a severe leak. Back to the dealer again. A visit to the dealer was common place with this piece of junk. The doors do not work, the rear hatch has not opened in a year. I have more leaks and spills with this so-called 4x4 that I have a good mind to just torch it. This weekend coolant was leaking from somewhere and after careful inspection I could not find the problem. Concerned over the leak the first thing I did this morning was re-inspect the truck. I found no problem, started the rover and the radio does not work! It's stuck on one station. The volume can't be lowered! This is insane!

8th Mar 2007, 14:55

I Have a 99 TD5 LandRover Discovery.last year going from Geelong to Adelaide the motor started dropping back to an idle early in the trip, this would happen 20 times in 100ks.The engine could be reset by turning the motor off and restarting, I kept looking for the dealer in the next town. and was surprised to find no LR dealers between Geelong and Adelaide. I hiccupped into Adelaide after a nightmare trip towing a large caravan, turning the key off as I rolled through busy intersections to reset the electrics. I called the RAC road side assist. They couldn't fix it, so pointed me to the local LR dealer, These people found oil had got into the injection wiring loom, dried it out, charged me $630.00 and away I went, OK for 1 day, then it developed again, miles to the north of Adelaide. I put up with it for 3 days. Back in Geelong, wanting to steer clear of LR dealers, they had already given me the wrong radio code. I went to my local 2 man garage, they know nothing about these vehicles, but they soon found a broken wire in that injection loom, charged me $140, its been good now for 12 months. Now the rear right air spring is leaking at 140,000 ks. My next caravaning vehicle won't be a LandRover.

15th Mar 2009, 19:06

Well, I had 1994 300 TDI with 200k miles on the clock.

I have to say, it was most enjoyable track I ever had.

It had some problems with cooling system, but I found the cure pretty fast. Apart from this - not a single problem.

I bought it just to check by myself if it is good for me, as I heard a lots of different opinions, both negative and positive. I would say, you buy that track if you are ready to get your hands dirty. When I sold it, it was really sad day.

Right now I am looking to buy another Discovery, just found an "Adventurer", which never been used off-road and has been well maintained.

The Discovery is not track for everyone, it has own character, which has to be taken in account.

Previously, I owned a Patrol, Pajero, LC70, but the Discovery - is what I like most.

12th Jul 2009, 04:35

Don't be ruled by other peoples thoughts; they're great cars with a lot of character, look after them and they will look after you. THINK outside the square!... Toyota, Nissan...blah blah..blah.

16th Aug 2009, 15:52

I've had a Discovery 300 TDI 'S' auto for just over 5 years. Bought second hand at auction in Herefordshire for a touch over £5000.

Had 52000 on the clock when I got it and have not serviced it or changed the oil since then. It's only let me down once when a low tension lead came off the starter motor - repaired by crimping the spade connector with pliers and pushing it back on.

Also the tailgate latch stopped working from the outside - bought a tiny spring like something out of a ballpoint, for 3 quid on ebay, and spent a fiddly hour or so fitting it - perfect! Other than that it's only had new tyres and an exhaust - which was really cheap, I thought.

It's been great to own and drive and I'll probably replace it with a Td5 when it finally bites the dust - or I might even splash out and service it and keep it for another couple of years!

23rd Aug 2009, 21:22

I bought a 1999 TD5 auto with just 5,000km on the clock. It was quite frugal on diesel, but what a problem to keep the thing working!!

Flashing gearbox lights, that LR said could be fixed by shutting down the engine, removing the key, locking and unlocking the doors and restart!! I had to do that most days!! Suspension warning light sometimes flashed requiring the same process. This worked until the key stopped working!

Just out of warranty, went in for 60,000km service. Dealership rang to say that the car needed a new water pump - $895 plus fitting, and also oil leak from the back of engine.

Every service had recall items including A/C, ABS, various bits of plumbing, electrics - the list goes on.

Easily the worst car that I have ever owned, yes, worse than an SD1 Rover!!! Now have Toyota LandCruiser and it just works. No gimmicks, just a fantastically engineered workhorse. It has everything that I need and nothing that I do not need - perfect!!

I shall NEVER own a Land Rover again, not even if it was given to me!!

24th Aug 2009, 14:36

Land Rovers are nice looking, and when they are running, they're fairly capable off-road. But reliable they are not.

25th May 2010, 04:49

The Land Rover Discovery TD300 was the best one to have. It will still be running a long time after all the TD5s have all been scrapped.

I own a 2 door V8 x2 TD300s. Never had to repair, just weld up once in a while, but I fix TD5s on a daily basis with bills over 500 quite often.

Take this as a thought if you are thinking of buying a TD5!!!