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My D3 Died!!!!!!!! (she's back!)
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hernan1304
Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 378
 
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Thanks for the reply Gareth... Unfortunately I think that would be a battle that I'd be destined to lose as most insurance companies here don't provide offroad coverage. There's only two that I know of and neither works with LR. In fact, when I first went to look at the D3, the salesman actually told me that I wouldn't be able to get offroad insurance in the UAE (trying to push his insurance on me...).
Maybe it's for the best anyway, temperature is in the low-to-mid 40s consistently these days and I don't want to go out and overheat ANOTHER Land Rover..  (Would be classic though, to have one in the shop for overheating and then overheat the loaner while I'm at it...)
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 Thu Jun 05 2008 11:25am |
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hasagerkirk
Joined: 16 Mar 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 7
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Great News re the new engine.
As expected good support from the LR Service department. I only have good experiences with the service guys.
As for the sales, banks and insurance companies all located at the dealers - is a completely different story - life/business for them is simply toooo easy in the UAE - the customers are walking tru' the door in hordes....They just don't need to do anything extra!!
Which company are you insured with?
Cheers!
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 5:25am |
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paynetec
Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 50
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AxA premier for me!
Not sure about Al Tayer Motors, I'm having an epic trying to get the 1500Dhs off my expo roofrack that they agreed when i purchased it as it was damaged in transit. The keep offering me 1500dhs worth of credit on accessories or service! Its not as if they dont have a massive 'mark up' to play with. The price works out at about £1000 which is significantly more that the Uk price (I think?).
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 7:19am |
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hernan1304
Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 378
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I have AXA too - offroad cover + Oman, free recovery (including offroad recovery), and agency repairs for 2 years and can be extended to 3. Much better than whatever they were offering at the LR dealership, and it ended up costing a bit less too!
One thing to be VERY careful with is the "capacity" of your car - we realized just recently that our policy said the capacity of our D3 was 5 people, which means that if we ever had an accident with more than 5 people in the car (not too difficult on a 7 seater car), we would be officially "overloaded" which would void our liability coverage for everyone!!  We called AXA and they sent us an amendment, so no worries now. But it IS annoying that Al Tayer didn't make sure to communicate the fact that the vehicle has 7 seats when they sent the information to the insurance. Just make sure your policy says 6+1 (passengers+driver), and NOT 4+1 as ours used to.
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 8:26am |
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hasagerkirk
Joined: 16 Mar 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 7
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I do have AXA insurance as well - the seem to give you the least troubles when you actually need the cover.
7 Seats is OK - but I have never heard about off-road cover - and I'm on my 3rd 4x4!
Will check that out tomorrow.
Thanks guys.
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 8:48am |
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paynetec
Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 50
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Yep make sure you have the off road cover and recovery, think they might have made it optional on the 'motor perfect' policy. Go for the premium its all inclusive and a better policy generally.
Also check with your lender/bank, most of the biggies HSBC/LTSB can get you a really good discount with AxA. 
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 1:19pm |
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Bill Wright
Joined: 03 Nov 2007
Location: Mid- Devon
Posts: 528
 
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Yes Paynetec - your exped roof rack is about triple the price of the same item from TLO at Yeovil. Some mark up eh? D3 TDV6 S 06/56 Silver
Honda Pan European 2005
Last edited by Bill Wright on Sun Jun 08 2008 3:26am; edited 1 time in total
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 1:25pm |
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paynetec
Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 50
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Cheers Bill that makes me feel much better, I'm off to drive a better bargin from the tight bastidges! 
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 2:16pm |
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hernan1304
Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 378
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Yes I've already argued with them about prices in the past and was told there's nothing they can do about it... On the plus side, we do pay a lot less for our D3s than they cost in the UK, costs a lot less to insure it, and fuel is a lot cheaper, so more expensive accessories are the price we pay I guess....
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| Fri Jun 06 2008 3:54pm |
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DiscoStu
Joined: 09 Apr 2006
Location: Essex
Posts: 6764
 
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hernan1304 wrote:If the engine got hot enough to melt the head gasket - can I really trust that no other damage was done?
The head gasket didn't melt. When the TDV6/8 and the petrol equivalent overheat, the heads warp. This creates a leak, but isn't a blown gasket. This is why they checked the block and presumably found that it was ok (hadn't been damaged) and wished to supply new heads. As a few of the 'experts' here have pointed out, even gaskets are 'made to measure' for these engines, so a new engine was the way to go
They know everything, this lot  Black Betty is no more  Tunisia 1 2 3 Power by TorqTune
 - Previously Java Black 2006 S "Black Betty"
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| Sun Jun 08 2008 1:28am |
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hernan1304
Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 378
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Thanks The service guy told me that the head had melted so I just went with it.
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| Sun Jun 08 2008 5:09am |
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DiscoStu
Joined: 09 Apr 2006
Location: Essex
Posts: 6764
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They make the walls very thin so that the engine gets hot quickly - this makes it more efficient. The downside is if you get a cooling issue the cylinder heads can't take it, and warp/twist very quickly. Black Betty is no more Tunisia 1 2 3 Power by TorqTune
- Previously Java Black 2006 S "Black Betty"
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| Sun Jun 08 2008 5:18am |
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hernan1304
Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 378
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Well, after 43 days, I am happy to report that I GOT MY D3 BACK YESTERDAY!!! 
The new engine runs beautifully so far! Only issue that I'm a bit about is that they managed to scratch the leading edge of the bonnet and nobody caught it before delivering the car to us. However, when I pointed it out to them the service manager told me that they will be repainting my bonnet free of charge on a priority basis whenever I can get it in, so I guess I can't complain too loudly The good news is that the scratch is superficial so they'll only have to respray the clear coat, meaning no color mismatch. I just hope they get the letters back on properly when they're through...
Some impressions after spending over a month on a FFRR loaner:
- the D3 has a smoother ride and is significantly more quiet (less engine noise, less road noise, similar wind noise)
- D3 controls are more intuitive, even though they do look a bit more utilitarian and unpolished
- D3 feels more manageable to drive size-wise, the FFRR feels massive at all times
Honestly, I can't figure out what it is (other than status symbol) that makes the FFRR worth 1.5x the price. I think if I were offered one or the other for free, I'd take the disco... That said, I will REALLY miss the rearview camera, one-touch rear windows, memory steering wheel, and dimming side mirrors.
The one surprising thing though was to realize how incredibly HEAVY the steering on the D3 is. I'm sure I'll get used to it again, but compared to the FFRR, the D3's steering almost feels unassisted! They put some stupid interior polish on the steering wheel so it's just a bit slippery and I found last night that I was unable to negotiate the mall car park one-handed - needed two hands to move the thing... The advantage of the heavy steering is that there is a much more "connected" feel to the road, but  is it heavy. And I'm not small by any means... It doesn't feel as though the power steering is broken - it's not THAT heavy, but it's kind of like it was to drive my old Cooper S: if you want to steer, put your back into it. Anyone else feel this way?
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| Sun Jul 06 2008 5:52am |
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90 Rangie
Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Location: Central Queensland
Posts: 31
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I do not feel that my steering is heavy at all, in fact feel that it is on the light side. Suggest driving a demo and checking how it feels. Also great to see you have your D3 back, hope you have a better run this time. Do not take life too seriously no one gets out alive anyway!
MY 8.5 Izmir Blue HSE Disco 3, ARB Bullbar, IPF HID spot lights, GME TX3440 all in mic UHF, Tripple batteries (2 x Yellow top aux under bonnet), Prodigy brake control, tinted widows, ARB compressor (under bonnet), Prem sound, Prem Nav, Electronic steering column, Adaptive lights, Center fridge, Active diff, Hybrid TV, Side moulds.
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| Mon Jul 07 2008 12:21am |
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caverD3
Joined: 03 Jul 2006
Location: Sydney
Posts: 1946
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Tyre pressures and thread depth can have an enormous effect on steering effort. Getting there is half the fun
TDV6: Adaptive Headlights, Electronic Rear Diff.ARB Bar.Blaupunkt speakers, JVC powered Subwoofer, Removable Snorkel, Mitchell Bros Tow Hitch.
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| Mon Jul 07 2008 2:42am |
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