I bought a 98 LSE three years ago for $1500. Did major service, new brakes, rotors, power steering pump etc.. all in put about $8k. trans went out, replaced that and has been running like a champ. little things sure.. window ecu, oxygen sensor. In the last month I've had three people wave me down to talk about the car and how cool it is, it's lifted, with Goodyear Duratracs and in willow green. I've had a 1995 RRC and a 1994 RRC. The disco 1, IMO, is the best combo of all landrovers.. It has the "soft dash" that all RRC brad about, same engine, trans as the defender ( I believe so ), but the engine is more torquey than the RRC 3.9 and 4.2. what color is the one you're looking at?

 

If you have 5 Land Rover's, I would say that you've spent more than $10K. Unless there are five people regularly operating them, that is even one of the more extravagant ways of indulging in the impracticality of old Land Rovers. On the other hand, the combined resale value of 5 is probably better than 1 that's completely sorted.

I would not call Land Rovers "money pits." Land Rovers have, at their heart, a fundamentally sound design and construction. There is an end to the spending. It's just not nearly as low as their resale prices suggest to people unfamiliar with them. It is, I would agree, better than Jeep Wranglers. I don't think Wranglers are bottomless pits either, but I think they're deeper than Discoveries. XJ's are probably not as deep as the Discos, but they don't offer as much in return.

I prefer my Discovery 1 over anything else on the road, but it would not have made it through the last 10 years without a commitment to a substantial budget.

 

I'm not talking purchase prices, I'm talking maintenance cost per year, and the 5 I have are well cared for Bring A Trailer type $$$$$$ but I'm not selling them!

 

I think in terms of TCO over the duration of ownership. I count the purchase price, the repairs, maintenance and parts replacement, consumables (mostly fuel), and the resale value at the end of the ownership period. I would not count upgrades unless comparing it to an alternative where the upgrades were necessary to be comparable.

 

I actually had Maaco do mine and they did a great job. Didn't get the cheapest option and it looks great. They fixed the issues i had with no problem.