Update

I thought I would update my readers on my life without the Land Rover Discovery 3. I must say everytime I drive past a Discovery 3 I secretly mutter under my breath "... poor people" - meaning the owners of the Disco 3 although I could also be referring to the management of Land Rover!

For those of you who are not familiar with my story, I was one of the first owners of a Discovery 3 in the UK and after it broke down on me with an electrical melt-down: I managed to get Land Rover to replace it with a build 2 vehicle. That also suffered the same ailments as the first one with 400 miles on the clock and after fielding dozens and dozens of emails from drivers in a similar position I decided to take back my money and return the Discovery to Land Rover. So ended my relationship with that wonderful brand that was at least 15 years old. Anyway, I was well rid of the people at Land Rover and the vehicle.

I still receive a couple of emails a week from people in a similar position asking for help. The site still attracts 300 viewers a week and I have a number of emails from people thanking me from saving them from the perils of Land Rover Discovery 3 ownership: they have opted for the competitors products. In fact, I have used this website's clout to replace a Disco 3 in New York - so it looks like the quality is a US problem too - wake up FORD!

In a competitor review, I decided (almost a year ago) to wait for the Audi Q7 which arrives in 6 weeks time - I am terribly excited. In the meantime, I purchased an Audi A6 Avant - which I have to say is the best car I have ever driven. Its comfortable, spacious and above all I have not had a stitch of trouble from it. I hope that the Q7 can follow in its footsteps.

In fact, I have been so impressed with the Audi build quality, customer service experience and overall brand - we are buying an A3 Sportback for my wife.

I am busy putting together a blog to share with you my experiences of the Q7 - you can find it at www.q7blog.com

Remember: DO NOT PURCHASE a Land Rover Discovery 3 - you will live to regret it if you have a similar experience to me as countless other owners have too.

Comments

[Donald Sythe]

Hi There,

Have to say I have had a Disco 3 HSE for a year now and it is absolutely the best car I have ever had. It is great off road, looks fantastic and is very comfortable. No reliability problems either.

[Evan]

I've owned a Discovery 3 TDV6 S (base model, coil suspension) for 8 months and I am currently living in Costa Rica where road conditions are horrendous.I opted for the coil suspension because I did not trust the Delphi air suspension, especially when it will be subjected to constant abuse. The car has been rather enjoyable; however, it has given me a few problems. Initially, the traction control light would come up after 30kms of driving but this problem was fixed. Since then, I've had some small problems with the interior (squeaks and rattles) which have also been fixed. I realized that in a small country like this, getting parts and having to wait for repairs is a great pain and I am glad that I went for the simple stock model which has not given me any more problems with the hardware. My main criticism would be for the interior materials which is somewhat cheap, especially compared to my father's BMW X5. I will use this car only for on-road driving (pot-holed ridden roads that is) so I haven't any use for the Terrain Response gizmo, but I would warn others that the coil suspension would be horrible off-road, due to its independent suspension and low ground clearance. In this country, the Discovery 3 was priced very competitively when I bought it. It was being sold at the same price as the new Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota Prado; however, it has since risen in price due to its popularity.

[Alexander Field]

Ive been living now in Santiago de Chile for little over 6 years and in that time I have gone through many a Landy, old and new!
six monts ago my wife and I purchaced a Disco 3 after selling our fantastic 1999 Disco! Well as with all the previous Landies I was impressed with its capabilities and comfort, however, its rather Plain and Unfinished looks drove us to repurchace a 1999 Disco and sell the D3! ...yes yes yes! the Interior of the D3 is rather nice and more 'This Century'! but, Style is style!

[Ramon de Vargas]

But there are problems with every car. Bought a new Audi Avant A4. Among many other things gear box went after 400 miles. Assorted lights on the dash have been going off like lights on a Christmas tree ever since. Audi service is woeful.

I can match your LR experience tale by tale with similar Audi poor quality and hopeless customer service.

[John Fisher]

What a load of tosh, haven't you people not got anything better to do. I have an 06 Discovery 3 and it is Brilliant, the best car I have ever owned.

[RDL]

I'm from Guatemala, in Central America, and i`m interested in buy a Discovery D3, but i'm not to sure after reading this comments, plz someone give me more info about the fails in this model.

[John Baran]

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the Disco 3,l have had one for 18 months now and it beats the Range Rover sport and l cannot fault it so far?

John B from New Zealand

[Pete Jeffs]

Solid German build quality. Don't make me laugh. I am switching to a Discovery 3 after having got shot of an Audi Q7 with blistering paint (same problem that forced me to get rid of the A4 Avant and the A6 they replaced it with) and a Mercedes R Class (many repeat problems with engine mgt systems and window rattles).

[Pete Jeffs]

Solid German build quality. Don't make me laugh. I am switching to a Discovery 3 after having got shot of an Audi Q7 with blistering paint (same problem that forced me to get rid of the A4 Avant and the A6 they replaced it with) and a Mercedes R Class (many repeat problems with engine mgt systems and window rattles).

[Paul]

Had many Rovers, they kept breaking down but still love them. Bought a new Range Rover ... and guess what, it broke down on numerous occasions so I traded it for an A6, a fantastic but boring car. I had it a year thinking range Rover must have got their act together so I got a another Rover. Guess what ? It was in the garage more than on the road. I had it over a year and ended up selling it back to the garage. I lost a packet. Then the Q7 came along. I know have one of these and guess what .... well it hasn't broken down but I've had a nation of problems with it. At least with Land Rover the customer service is reasonably good, ok they can't fix the problem half the time but at least they listen. Audi's response - nothing wrong with the vehicle even though it seems to run in the wrong gear half the time, the sunroof won't go down, the parking sensors go wild, the heat warmers try and burn you, the TV just doens't work properly, the telephone bluetooth jams, the tow hitch carries European spec. electric's, the rear heating is rubbish, there's a vibration on the steering wheel ..... I could go on ... o, my dogs too (retrievers) can't even sit up properly in the bad as the boots too high. The range rover too is far superior on the rough. Me, I can't wait to get back to a rover ...

if your going to tow buy a truck

[Working Class with No Idle Time on Hand]

Please Website Administrator, be a man and post my comment since you are selectively only including those negative remarks posted by old farts with nothing more to do than posting negative remarks about a truly great vehicle - Dico 3!

[Bruce Jarrett]

Gidday there, I've owned Land Rovers for over 40 years. The best one I had was a near new 1972 SWB Safari. Absolutely economic and reliable.
In 2004 we brought a new Disco 2 TD5. And we had a continuing saga of
breakdowns. There is nothing more embarasing than sitting on the side of the road with the tow truck preparing to winch you aboard (again). We had bits of high tech gear come adrift from the chassis, the exhaust fall off, turbo gear come adrift, the car just stopping in the middle of the road. Strewth what a lemon.
However Land Rover did come to the party and extend the warranty 3 more years and give us a significant cash reimbursement.
We love the brand and have had some great times in the vehicles.
Land Rover did co