Hello,

I am requesting advice from the Land Rover community. I am new to purchasing a Land Rover Discovery 1 of my own, and wanted to check with the community before I do.

I am currently looking at a 1998 Land Rover Discovery 1, with 182,000 miles. Interior and exterior look to be in good shape. However, the current owner did say the vehicle has been garage kept most of the time and has been maintained (i.e. oil changes) throughout the years of ownership. The CarFax report was mostly clean with an accident listed (most likely a fender-bender). They are asking about $4500.

Being new to Land Rover:

• What should I look for with this year and model?
• Any mechanical issues I should be aware of?
• Any known issues with this year and model?
• What type of ongoing maintenance should be expected?
• Are the miles to high?
• Is the asking price to high?
• Anything else that I may have missed?

I have also included pictures with this post. Thanks in advance for your help in answering these questions.

-EB

 

Very well cared for & great looking 98 LSE D1 there!

 

If it runs and drives reasonably well, buy it. The only thing that puts me off a little bit is the evidence of tampering with the dash binnacle. Perhaps that was just a light bulb but many owners pull the ABS light and deactivate the system because they don't want to fix it properly (which is actually fairly easy).

Separately, bring a code reader to make sure that light has not also been pulled.

 

Thanks Best4x4 and WaltNYC!

Regarding some of the areas I was told to check - driveshaft, head gasket, leaks...are these common problems with the 1998 Land Rover Discovery I? Are there other areas I should look for when inspecting?

In the photo of the front undercarriage, I see what looks like a leak\seepage, are these expected, should they be of concern?

Also, what is expected with regards to maintenance for these models?

Thanks again! I really appreciate the help!

-EB

 

Just my 2 cents - if I was approaching the vehicle and I saw the owner had spent some nice coin on those michelin tires I would say maybe they kept it up
next i would ask to see the maint. info they had on the car and where it had been serviced
next i would ask (maybe a small deposit) if i could take it to a good LR shop to have an inspection so you might know what you are dealing with (at least many things) - that will help the seller and yourself know what the current situation is and an oppty to negotiate off the items (have them check sunroofs for leaking too)

Good luck - I remember that color on the LSE - that model was the most loaded

 

It may need head gaskets, it may not. Using a test kit for exhaust gasses in the coolant MAY help rule it out...but they are notoriously not reliable. I would probably plan to replace the head gaskets in all cases unless it had been done recently. A re-core of the radiator, fan clutch, and thermostat and thorough flush of the cooling system would also be on the list.

Any number of things can go wrong in a 22 yr old vehicle. With regard to Land Rovers.... if it doesn't leak/seep at least a little, it is probably empty!

 

So did the sale happen?

 

Holy smokes, that’s a real nice color.