I have spent some time researching the Discovery series Land Rover and have found that it is an increddible vehicle but, unfortunatley with many reliability problems. I currently own a hyundai (very reliable, but terrible off-road) and am used to having a car that will not give me any fuss when I go to drive it. The reason I want to purchase a Land Rover is for its incredible off-road ability. I have recently started to participate in a sport called falconry which will require me venture off-road. I figured that if I am going to purchase an off-road vehicle I might as well purchase a Land Rover. I am currently leaning towards a Discovery II of any year and would like some suggestions on purchasing it such as estimated costs per year on maintenance, what I should look at before buying, and what I should replace or glance at after the purchase. I have had friends with land rovers, some think they are great and others hate them. I am not so concerned about it breaking because I do plan on keeping my hyundai and I don't want to get myself into trouble with a car that can't get me some where every day. I plan on driving the the Land Rover when the snow season hits here in Idaho (which has slammed us this year) or on the weekends when I need it for falconry. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott Frank

 

I have taken my 03 DII on multiple 800+ miles trips since I've had it and have yet to have any problem with it.

Can you neglect the basic maintenance on this car? No. But for whatever reason some people have gotten used to 15k mile oil changes.

Would I consider mine reliable? You bet your ***. But as with any auto forum, you'll see more posts about problems than anything else. They have their quirks, but what vehicle doesn't?

If you can, buy a 2004 DII. The last year they made it, the best one they made, and it's still possible to get one under warranty.

 

Would it be better if I got a newer one such as a 2004 or get one with less mileage thats say a year 2001?

 

First of all the Disco's are very good vehicle's. It like any vehicle needs and should have regular maintenance. They do have some small things to look out for. They will leak oil that is a fact. They will be bad on gas another fact. The 03's have an issue with the oil pumps but not all of them. The 03 to 04 has the larger motor which does make some difference depending what you will use it for. You will probably never need this vehicle's full capability off road and it is likely you will not use it for the most part. I have been unable to get it stuck but I don't push the truck to it's limit. I can say she has never let me down. Now if you have some experience with a wrench you can do most of the work that needs to be done yourself. I personally like to do it. But I have always done that with all of my vehicles be they Toyota, Nissan or whatever. If you maintain them regularly they will last a very long time. Having said all this... go out and buy a Disco. You know you want one anyway. Your just looking for someone to say buy it and if something goes wrong you can say. "well they said it was OK" Buy It!!! You will Love It!!!

 

Well I will admit to wanting one really badly. I have found many that I like and are within my price range. There is one problem... Most of them are in NYC or NJ or somewhere that is more than 1000 miles from ID. I am willing to go through with the trip and am rather excited to make the road trip however, I do not want the car to leave me on the side of the road and stranded hehe... So I'am curious as to what to bring on the trip and what problems I may expect incase it does break. I am not really worried about fixing it, I plan on doing a lot of the repairs myself but, its the trip that has me worried. I mean once I have it at home thats a different story, I have all my tools and resources, where if I'm in the middle of an interestate highway 100 miles from the nearest garage then I'm in trouble.

 

One more thing I forgot to mention... Should I purchase an extended warranty?