ihscouts,

I'm just trying to keep expectations where "if" something goes wrong after he gets the truck home he does not throw in the towel in a few months. In the 12 years I've been buying, selling and building Rovers. I have lost count of the number of people that come into the Rover community because Rovers are cheap and then 2-6 months later they are selling their truck for 1/2 of what they paid for it because it started to nickle and dime them to death. Whether you've had good luck with your truck or not does not mean that all trucks will be that way.

Yeah sure he could buy a truck and drive it for years and never have anything go wrong with it. I've had almost no mechanical repairs on any of the Rovers I've owned. But I'm picky about what I buy. I bought my Current DI in 2006, I never did anything to it mechanical except tune-ups and fluid changes until last year (@148k). When everything just decided to start going at once. Until last month at SAE, the truck never once refused to start or left me stranded regardless of how hard I drove it on the trail. But all that aside, I know with in the next 6-12 months I'll need a new engine and new steering box and probably a few other things.

I think Mark G, was a bit extreme in his list of items to fix. But it does not hurt to have some money set aside for when things do happen. It's a DII with 150k on the clock DII's are known for head gasket failures. If it's not had one done it will probably need one at some point. Even if you do that yourself it's $800-900 to do it right and probably close to 2k if you pay someone to do it.

There are a ton of neglected trucks out there. So if you're going to buy one it pays to be picky. Doing your homework up front and paying a little extra for a well maintained truck could save you a lot of $ in the long run.

 

There it is, there it is, the truth.

I'm not trying to start anything here but I definitely don't want these trucks painted with too broad a brush stroke. Some of us have skills in the audience.

 

Again... to all of those that added to the thread, thank you! I have gone and done it... spend the $$ and got a 2002 DII with 150K miles, but mechanically it was ok. The biggest deal was a front driveshaft. Which btw is getting changed out right now. Total cost of the vehicle was 2700.00, I know there are small items that will need to be looked after, but I will do those over the next little bit.
I wanted to say thank you to all of you for the advice / experience offered... it helped me make an informed decision - I will not be able to say "I didn't know" I will look forward to being a part of the Rover community and getting tons of fun and enjoyment from our Disco.

 

Well I'm currently having fun in the DII forum so be my guest and join in the fun too. If you look after the motor it should live long enough to see 200k +. Good price for an 02 in your market. Front driveshafts are the largest bane of the DII, so your already in the "know" of owning a LR. Many more common failures to ensue. Enjoy.