'96 Discovery SD daily driver?
#12
#13
Actually, I wanted a FJ Cruiser but the prices are out of sight, so I started looking at the Discovery more closely and since I see it every day, I started researching it. From what I've gathered, it's a very capable car off road with possibly a lot of issues and, no, I don't intend to do any major off roading but just like knowing that it wouldn't get stuck if I took it on remote roads.
#15
#17
Actually, I wanted a FJ Cruiser but the prices are out of sight, so I started looking at the Discovery more closely and since I see it every day, I started researching it. From what I've gathered, it's a very capable car off road with possibly a lot of issues and, no, I don't intend to do any major off roading but just like knowing that it wouldn't get stuck if I took it on remote roads.
1) The actual issues the car has
2) The issues that existed before the car sat for (?) long
3) The issues the owner knows about
4) The issues the owner tells you about
Speaking as hypocritically as I possibly can, don't do it. If you're not going to do serious off-roading, a Honda Civic will get you from one end of a dirt road to the other end. If you haven't worked extensively on cars in the past, there are things wrong with that truck that you can't even imagine. Things are broken and worn out that you don't even know exist, and all of those will be things to fix especially for a daily driver. I know this may sound condescending but I'm speaking from experience. There were things wrong with my first Disco that I didn't even know could go wrong, and unless you're a mechanic by trade or have an unhealthy obsession with old 4x4s (most people on here), you're going to be in the same boat.
Land Rovers are an addiction and once you're in the game, it seems you're in it for life. If you can bear to buy a semi-capable 4x4 and just admire Land Rovers from afar, do it. I wish I had.
#18
Don't do it. From the issues you describe, I wouldn't pay more than $1000 for that truck, especially because it has been sitting, meaning there are things that have happened due to disuse which the owner probably doesn't even know about. Someone else mentioned that there are known issues and unknown issues. I'd take it a step further, each of these being a subgroup of the previous one:
1) The actual issues the car has
2) The issues that existed before the car sat for (?) long
3) The issues the owner knows about
4) The issues the owner tells you about
Speaking as hypocritically as I possibly can, don't do it. If you're not going to do serious off-roading, a Honda Civic will get you from one end of a dirt road to the other end. If you haven't worked extensively on cars in the past, there are things wrong with that truck that you can't even imagine. Things are broken and worn out that you don't even know exist, and all of those will be things to fix especially for a daily driver. I know this may sound condescending but I'm speaking from experience. There were things wrong with my first Disco that I didn't even know could go wrong, and unless you're a mechanic by trade or have an unhealthy obsession with old 4x4s (most people on here), you're going to be in the same boat.
Land Rovers are an addiction and once you're in the game, it seems you're in it for life. If you can bear to buy a semi-capable 4x4 and just admire Land Rovers from afar, do it. I wish I had.
1) The actual issues the car has
2) The issues that existed before the car sat for (?) long
3) The issues the owner knows about
4) The issues the owner tells you about
Speaking as hypocritically as I possibly can, don't do it. If you're not going to do serious off-roading, a Honda Civic will get you from one end of a dirt road to the other end. If you haven't worked extensively on cars in the past, there are things wrong with that truck that you can't even imagine. Things are broken and worn out that you don't even know exist, and all of those will be things to fix especially for a daily driver. I know this may sound condescending but I'm speaking from experience. There were things wrong with my first Disco that I didn't even know could go wrong, and unless you're a mechanic by trade or have an unhealthy obsession with old 4x4s (most people on here), you're going to be in the same boat.
Land Rovers are an addiction and once you're in the game, it seems you're in it for life. If you can bear to buy a semi-capable 4x4 and just admire Land Rovers from afar, do it. I wish I had.
Thanks again for the advice, everyone. I certainly don't want to buy it and regret it for as long as I own it.
#20
I pass by a deep red 98 Disco twice a day. It's the most perfect Disco I've seen, it's from Northern California. After six years of passing by it I just met the owner at a gas station we both where at. We talked for over an hour and he allowed me to look it over. He has taken exceptional care of it inside and out and had over $10K into keeping it looking and running perfect because like you he is not mechanically inclined. Only once had it rained on his day, the starter quit. So you and I have something in common, we have an eye for the unusual and the exceptional. If the sellers Father is onboard with helping to get it going then I'd say give it a try, what do you have to loose? Just one thing, when and if it works out that he can fix it keep a second car around until your positive its time to drop down to the Disco. You have this forum to back you up.