Hello, Land Rover enthusiats I need help! My wife has always dreamed of driving a 1999 White Land Rover Discover 1 and I finally came across one for $1750 and has 140k on the odometer. Here are the problems it has: pinhole leak in radiator, leaky power stearing, the right cat is going bad (i dont know what this means), and the driver side seat switch is broken. However, there might be more wrong with it that he just isn't telling me though, so i keep that in mind. Therefore, my question is this: should I purchase this car or pass? Specific questions I should ask when looking at the car? or things I should specifically look at under the hood? any help would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to be taken for a fool. I was gonna go check out the car today so thanks in advance for the advice.

 

Best thing would be to take it to a shop that is familiar with Land Rovers and have them give it a once over. If the seller won't let you do that, walk away! There are a lot of little things that can go wrong by 140K miles and it takes someone who knows what to look for to see them.

I had mine looked over about a year after I bought it and found out about a lot of those little things. I was able to fix them myself and save a bunch of money. Now I have a great running Disco 1 ..except for one more oil leak by right front tire... but that is scheduled to be fixed soon. Just have to keep adding oil to the swivel ball for now.

 

From what I've seen (and I have no idea where you are located) $1750 sounds a little high to me. I'm not trying to scare you but these machines are a challenge to even seasoned mechanics. Parts are, although not scare, don't expect your local auto parts store to have everything sitting on the shelf. New OEM parts are expensive. The land rovers do have an alluring quality, no doubt. I think there are probably at least a couple of types of people that buy them. Those that don't mind paying to keep them going and have deep pockets; those that realize they can be chore to maintain but don't mind doing so and are creative about it; and third, those that get one and after a short time decide that they are just too much work, or they can't afford to keep paying someone to keep it going. It all depends on which person you are. There is a lot of information on here about the common items that go bad and when. I haven't had mine very long but I look forward to developing a relationship with mine. It sounds crazy but I really do think that some cars have a soul and personality including these. Just do your homework; maybe have some one take a look at it for you and don't be afraid to lowball the offer; your average person isn't jumping at the chance to buy one of these. I'd start at $1250 and go from there; you might be surprised at the outcome.

 

Not a challenge for seasoned mechanics, honestly they're very simple. Do you require smog testing/certification in your area?

 

True, not too much of a challenge for experienced mechanics. Perhaps what I should've said was that they can be somewhat maintenance intensive. OP admittedly is not a mechanic.

 

ANY 16 year old vehicle is going to need items addressed even when driven 8750 miles a year. I don't read where the OP admitted not being a mechanic..... or mechanical.