Hey folks, It's been a while since I've posted.

I used to own a rusty 96' R380 SE7. It was rusty but ran well. I shouldn't have sold it!

I'm back in the market for a D1 or D2 (preferably D1) and found one locally. I went to drive it and inspect it today. I am by no means an expert, but I took a list of about 40 things to look at that I gathered from the forum and YouTube videos. I'd appreciate your feedback on what I found.

The Disco in question is a 1998 LE in Beluga Black, Auto, with 150k on the odo, has a Terra Firma lift kit with BF Ko2's (looks awesome, rides even better). It lived in entire life in California, then Las Vegas briefly. Looks like the same owner had it most of it's life. It has records of regular oil changes, and the bigger services are noted on the CarFax from the dealer.

- Zero Rust, anywhere. It's pretty spotless, although it seems to have an undercoat of sorts applied. No noticeable corrosion in the normal spots
- The body is in excellent shape, no signs of poor repair work, bad paint work etc..
- Drivetrain looks good visually, and operates normally (CDL, low range, etc.). There is good bit of oil seepage around the bottom of the motor and the transfer case, but I would consider it a normal amount for a Rover V8.
- HG either must have been addressed, or the coolant has been changed. There is some dirt inside the coolant reservoir, but the fluid looks newish.
- Upper Radiator hose has normal amount of pressure while cold, while running, and after shutting off the engine. Indicating the HG is 'probably' in good shape.
- Transmission - a little clunky shifting from Drive to Reverse. Just one "thunk" when it engages. Normal?
- Transmission - shifts pretty well, but seems to jump around a little in low range. Can't decide what gear it wants to use.
- CDL and Low range works better than any Disco 1 I've driven (about 3 total). Engages smoothly and easily, light comes on, you feel it working in a tight turn.
- Motor: No idle skip, idles perfectly in P and D. Revs through the rev range smoothly.
- Motor: No tick on start up, or after warm. I should have taken a video. It's really smooth. No belt squeak, nothing.
- Suspension: Lift kit from Atlantic British, properly installed, ride quality is solid. No noticeable noises from the suspension over bumps, under hard braking or cornering.
- Brakes: THIS is my concern. Spongy Brake pedal. It appears to have had the master cylinder replaced (Dealer selling it has service records) but the brakes are very lathargic and the pedal is spongy. I don't think I could hit the brakes hard enough to engage ABS. What does this sound like to you? Brake lines possible? Pads and rotors are worn, but have more enough pad life that they shouldn't be too bad.

Here's the big one. The price. The dealer selling it wants (prepare yourself) $12,800. Which is out of the question, even if it is perfect.

Given my inspection, my only concern is 1) Trans "Thunk" and 2) spongy brakes. No other noticeable mechanical issues (Did about a 30 minute test drive).

I will have the local IR Land Rover shop inspect it as well, but wanted thoughts on what those issues could possibly be. If I buy it, this will be my daily. I'm not afraid of doing a good bit of DIY and have enough budget to spend $1800sh a year at a shop to do the stuff I don't want to.

 

I was super lucky to find my 95 D1 at the end of 2019 for 2950.00 and it has been worth EVERY penny. I purchased a 97 XD the year before and I love it to death, but she is sadly a rust bucket. It will need a donor body one day if it is going to live on. Working on it is a huge PITA as a 5min job takes 2.5hr due to rusty fasteners usually.

When I saw the 95 D1 I found out an older gentleman from TX owned it and it never ever left the Austin/San Antonio area. The body/frame are 100% mint without a spec of rust anywhere. I paid 2950.00 on the spot even though the engine had a knock to it once warmed up. I took it over to my buddies shop just north of Austin where we discovered piston #5 was physically damaged (someone in it's past had dropped a bolt into the engine, and just replaced the head vs repair the damaged piston). We replaced the piston/rings, and did HG job and she is as good as new. The interior/exterior is near perfect for 25 years old (had to be have been garage kept).

My point is the 95 D1 is in such excellent shape I personally would have paid 8-10k for it. At first that sounds completely nuts, but when you factor in, engine work, transmission work, paint, body work, frame replacement, labor, or other things that would need repaired/replaced to get a 1K D1 to be perfect it adds up quickly. D1/D2's were 30-40K vehicles easy back in the day.

I've seen people buy a 500.00 wonder fall in love with it, and end up spending 10 times that just to get it back onto the road and it took several years vs finding a good one and just paying for it and instantly getting to enjoy it.

RRC/D1 transmissions are known to clunk pretty loudly from D to R. I've owned probably 8 RRC/D1's in my day and they all clunked vs say a D2 or LR3. The brakes being spongy sounds like air in the lines. Maybe the MC seals at the reservoir leaked at one time and it was never bled properly afterwards. If you have the budget you can slap on Defender front calipers/vented front rotors for more stopping power which is something I would eventually like to add to the 95 of mine.

In older D1's you want to check the front wheels for any play. It could require the swivel ball preload to be adjusted or the front wheel bearings done.

I'm a LR nut and if I had more time & money I would quit my normal job and just do LR's 24/7 (RRC/D1/D2/D90/D110). My inlaws just call my house a car lot, but any petrol head or collector would instantly see I've got a thing for LR's lol.

Good luck and if they won't budge on the price of that D1 I'm sure there is one out there somewhere like my 95 just waiting on you.

 

Best 4x4 - Thanks. I figured as much with the transmission, just due to the driveline design. I had an RRC that made a similar noise, but it was not in nearly as good of shape as this car.

Thanks for the input. My 96' R380 Disco was a rust bucket and tough to work on. I was lucky that mechanically it was actually pretty sound, but it was not worth preserving like this one is.

I talked to the shop that worked on this 98' Discovery for the dealer, and he said he noticed it had some generic brake pads on it (he was installing the lift kit), which would likely give it the sloppy and sluggish brake feel it has now. That being said, I am having that same shop do a PPI.

The truck has hand written service records from the original owner, and according to the car fax was owned by the original owner from 98' to 2019. I crawled under it yesterday, and other than the oil pan area, you could eat off of it. It looked immaculate. The drive shafts looked like they were new, same with the CDL.

My next question:

- With 150k+ original miles, regularly oil change intervals, and way above average service (the 60k dealer service was done at 53k according to the carfax), how long would you expect the Rover V8 to run with proper maintenance?
- I know the late D1's and early D2's tend to be the best as far as manufacturing quality on the motors go (correct me if I'm wrong). I've read about them lasting as long as any other motor. It's entirely possible this truck has had pistons and rings done, HG's etc.. I just don't see it specifically notated in the service history.

I am not willing to pay $12,800. But I think $10-11k is reasonable. I have a $14,000 budget all in for the purchase, insurance, registration, and preliminary maintenance. And with it being a LR would love to have a couple grand left over for any future issues.

Thanks for the response.

 

I've got an 02 D2 with 237K and it runs like a champ. The engines will last if you keep em cool and do regular scheduled maintenance. I recommend 15/40w Rotella oil, green coolant, and a 180F thermostat.

 

The going auction rate for these seems to be between $8-10k, with $12k being a gem. Depending on condition and mileage. Bring aTrailer being the most popular gauge I believe. $12,800 for one with 150k miles and everything else mentioned is absurd. The prices and demand on the D1’s have increased slightly over the years but condition and mileage is everything.

For example, this site sells D1’s but they are shaddddddy. Biggest gripe is they spray coat everything under the trucks so you have no idea what the original condition is. But, the prices on their current D1’s are a quarter of what you found. If you bought from here absolutely ask for current photos and videos if they will supply.

http://www.roverclassic.com/index.ph...nd-rover-stock

 

Not that there are many around here, but they are usually in the 3,00 to 7,000 range with the price dropping if they have problems. the ones I get are usually less than 1,000 and I end up fighting with them for a while

 

The 95 I have is so good mechanically, electrically, and body wise I would not let it go for less than 10K no questions asked. There are a decent amount of D1's out there for sale, but more than likely the body is a rust bucket, or a complete mess. Then you have the mechanical side, electronics, and finally the interior being all there.

RRC's are a thing of the past and D1's are right behind RRC's. D2's are also becoming very popular, but it's the same story with them. Plenty of used examples out there for cheap, but good clean non rusted, and all original = are fetching more and more $$$$.

In all the years of owning and buying LR's I've either bought em new, pre-owned certified from LR (when they weren't very old), and the I've paid good money for them on CL and got exactly what I as looking for and got to fix a few small things like tires/brakes, or small interior/exterior items (you'll do that on any used vehicle). After that though I instantly got to enjoy them. Now that's not to say I haven't paid next to nothing and got a steal either. Due to having awesome friends that work at an independent LR Shop I was able to purchase a 99 D2 with 102K on it for 1,500.00 and all it needed was a new alternator and battery. It had full service history, and all maintenance was performed. Owner just decided she didn't need an SUV and basically gave it to my friends, and then I bought it from them. Those kinds of deals do not come along everyday. Normally you do get what you pay for. Just always have a PPI done if you don't know what to look for and then within reason try to negotiate with the seller on the issues found during the PPI. If they won't work with you at all = move on.

 

Agreed on all accounts on all the posts since my last one.

The Disco in question is absolutely a solid truck, but I had a PPI done by the local Independent LR shop. He put it on the lift and showed me everything I missed. I was proud of myself for catching most everything.

Ultimately this is a really good truck that has been taken care of. If it was a 5 speed manual, it'd probably be a $12k truck. With what we found during the PPI I don't think I'd pay over $8k for it, and the only reason I would pay that is because it has brand new Terra Firma shocks and BFG's (the latter I would be adding anyway).

What we found (the bad stuff is bolded):

Exterior:
The front bumper is crushed in, looks like from a slow speed impact and half *** repair. Driver's side headlight has moisture in it. Rear fog light is cracked. Otherwise the body is pristine, paint is probably the best I've ever seen on one of these.

Interior:
Front sunroof operates, rear does not. Both seal properly and show no signs of leaking (I'd rather avoid sunroofs all together though). Windows and door locks all work properly, window regulators have been replaced recently. Front seat power controls on the center console work, but are not mounted to the center console, the clips that hold the fixture in are broken.

Everything else operates, all electronics work. Aftermarket stereo (not crazy about it.) with new rear speakers, one of which isn't even fastened in place. Not a good sign.

Under hood:
Very clean, but not suspiciously clean. No active or excessive leaks. No excessive upper radiator hose pressure. Engine sounds great - no ticking, rattles etc.

No milkshake under the oil filler cap. Looks clean.

There is some gunk in the coolant reservoir. It's not floating in the coolant, but it is stuck to the side of the reservoir tank. It's kind of a gritty dirt like substance, no a gooey substance.

Car has record on the radiator of a coolant flush 5k miles ago.

Underneath:

Absolutely no rust anywhere. Not even minor surface corrosion. Frame is spotless, and has not been coated. For this alone it's worth considering...

Needs brakes and pads all around in the next 5k miles or so. Has awful cheap font pads on it - terrible brake feel.

Transfer case is leaking at one of the driveshaft seals. Not bad, but would need to be done asap.

That's about it. Overall it's a super nice truck and has evidence that it was taken good care of for a long time, with a few half *** jobs performed along the way.

Unless they let me take it for $8k I am not a buyer, but going through this process has been very helpful in helping me identify what is a problem, and what isn't. If you ran from every leaking Disco you would never end up with one...

I don't think anything on this truck is a reason to be scared of it, with some new brakes and a transfer case seal I think it'd be good to go. Price is just wrong, and I don't love the black color. Prefer white or green.

Please continue to leave your thoughts. I will be buying a Disco 1 or 2 in the near future and the more knowledge the better.

For those of you offering your trucks for sale, I appreciate it. I am more concerned about the ownership history and service records than I am the cosmetics or the mileage. I do plan to Daily drive the truck so for those of you reaching out, no projects please. I will only buy something from you if you are confident driving it every day in it's current condition, or if it just needs one or two projects completed to be in that state.

Thanks again. Sorry for the novels.

- Andrew

 

Andrew, I found the truck you are looking at. I live South of town and have been by the dealer a few times when I moved here last year. I'm really surprised they are asking that much. I know they have to make some money on it but that is steep for one with that many miles. It says one owner Carfax which is a good thing but that price is not reasonable unfortunately. I would offer what you are wiling to pay, you say $8k, and let them chew on it. I am pretty confident that even at that price they are still making money on it. I don't believe they get many D1's at all so they are likely testing the water with this one. The site says Date in Stock as Jan 1, which if correct means that they have had it for over three months. What is your intended use for the truck? Is this going to be a daily driver?

I have the same year and model in Blue. Mine is completely stock and unmodified. I say this so if you find one and have any questions about whether or not something belongs here or there let me know. Be patient and keep looking. The D1's do pop up but you have to be looking just about every other day to find them.

 

I have a 177k D1 and agree with all the above. This is exactly how I maintain mine.