SD_S2K

Go to the two sites I mentioned. Read about current and long term ownership, costs, etc

Come back and tell me what you find.

Land Rover is widely considered a flashy upscale vehicle that will have severe problems after a few years. We call this "documented evidence"...

I am assuming Raptor is looking to buy a reliable, comfortable and affordable vehicle he will keep for a significant amount of time. "Appeal and style" are surface qualities that a younger person looks for first. They are important, sure, but not main reasons for buying a vehicle for the long term. If they were I would have a Carrera4 in my garage and not an s2000. (and don't get me wrong, I am 28, so appeal and style are important to me)

The Rover is not an ideal choice. I assume, because of a compilation of these reasons, that is why the OP does not have a LR on his short list.

S2KANDRE

Agree with you on the VW dealerships.

xdavieexx

Its only fair they treat you like a king after you've bent over and have them give it to you hard.

NFRS2kSi

I wouldn't go w/ japanese SUV, the car just don't have the torque to pull the weight. With the price will be paid, I would go w/ European luxery vehicle. Such as MB ML or Audi Q7

dirtypwntang

1) I've read the sites and many others. I considered buying one myself for a long time, but couldn't justify buying ANY SUV for my lifestyle. The whole "come back and tell me what you find" power-trip really isn't necessary.

2) "Widely considered a flashy upscale vehicle that will have severe problems after a few years"? Define "widely considered". Sounds more like a typical "American = piece of crap" argument here. I see it this way: the car has REAL SUV capabilities. The more they equip the car to do, the more that CAN and WILL break over time. And besides, the MDX isn't guaranteed to be more reliable because it's an Acura. All cars do have problems in their lifetimes, though I'll admit the LR3 is probably more likely to have multiple problems. But here I go back to my statement about dealer service. While I was back in highschool, my employer and mentor had a Range Rover which was about 7k miles out of warranty. The electronics in the car started acting up (more specifically, the electronically-controlled air suspension was acting absolutely nuts), and he asked if I could please take it in to the dealer for him (side note: not the most exciting thing to do, but when you're in high-school, driving a Range Rover is kind of neat). 7k miles out of warranty, Land Rover took the car in, strapped me into a loaner Discovery, and had me on my way in less than 10 minutes. Final charge? $0. They "granted" a courtesy repair stating that the car was "close enough" to warranty for them to honor it. I've never dealt with an Acura dealer, but I've dealt with Lexus (of Glendale) and Honda (Goudy-Alhambra, Colonial-Glendale, Airport-Marina, Miller, Robertson) and can definitely say that neither has ever come CLOSE to offering that kind of superb service. Every single time, they looked for any excuse possible to deny me warranty service. I had to argue with Lexus for 30 minutes for them to give me a free loaner IS when the navigation in my mother's RX randomly stopped working less than a year into her purchase.

So while expected maintenance costs may be higher for the LR3, you really ARE paying for a better overall package. Of course "better" is defined by what I value, and I respect that you have your own values. For me personally, reliability isn't an issue because I try to switch cars every other year, but I do understand that for many people it's a big concern.

I simply suggested the LR3 because the OP didn't state exactly what he was looking for in an SUV. That said, I just find it a little unfair and a bit rude that you impose your own beliefs on what an SUV should be (the OP never stated exactly what he's looking for, you did that for him) and try so hard to "shut me down" on mine. To me, a non-offroading, weak-4WD SUV like the RX is "junk", but I respect that others value the car's other features.

Try being a little more humble and a lot more open-minded, it doesn't hurt. I'm done here.

LostMotion

She's just looking for a big car. The RX fits the bill nicely. The MDX is a little more capable, but still it's just a big car.

dirtypwntang

Given that extra info, I'd have to agree that the MDX is probably the best choice then. To me honestly, it is EXACTLY that: a BIG car that (at least in my mind) doesn't fit the SUV bill.

I'd go with the MDX over the RX300 if she doesn't need the Lexus brand name and "luxury". It's far more "unique" too.

SD_S2K

amen and end of story.


*and to answer your big diatribe at the end of the first page = you are too concerned with your own 1 experience with the Rover. Anyone can be lucky and get a car that never has an issue for the life of ownership. Sure, those exist. I know 2 guys with 5 series Beemers that are both over 100k in mileage with no issues. But for every one of them I know 10 guys whose BMW's broke to shit after 100k miles or less.

You need to look at the experiences of many and not just your own. That is where you are at fault. Your experience was for 1, 2 years? That is NOT normal for a period of ownership. Your average buyer has his vehicle for 5-7 years.

That's all I was trying to get at.

LostMotion

Ok no more thread jack.

dirtypwntang

I fully understand that many others probably did have trouble with their Rovers, I do not doubt that fact. But as I said, all cars can and do act up at one point or another, and I already agreed that the Rover is probably more prone to doing so than the MDX. But as I said, I think that the initial inconvenience of a car problem is outweighed by the "plusses" of owning a Land Rover. Don't get me wrong, it's devastating when you have car problems. Absolutely kills your whole day, week, month, you name it. But when my car acts up (as my S2000, and all other previous cars have), it's comforting to know that the dealer will take care of me. I was utterly disappointed when my S2000 started making terrible clicking noises from the rear suspension, and Santa Monica Honda's service rep literally argued with me and asked me (in an absolutely ridiculous tone of voice): "I don't hear a thing. Tell me: do YOU hear something right NOW??" I ended up driving him back to the dealership, dropping him off, then driving right out of there. Honda World of Downey wasn't much better, but they did agree to take the car in, and they eventually fixed the problem.

Read my post, I'm not arguing with any of your points. This is where humility comes into play. Some of us can share opinions without trying to be "the man". Others have to be utterly defensive and try their best to shoot down everybody else for no good reason.

All I was saying is that you calling the LR3 "junk" isn't exactly justified.