I recently bought a 1999 Land Rover Discovery I, I only paid $2400. 148,182 miles, the truck ran perfect for a day and a half, and then started to overheat. My post-purchase inspection came back with this...





I paid the $1,471.00 and pick the truck up on Monday, and I plan on doing the rest over a couple of weeks. I just want your ideas, good idea or bad?

 

i think you can do much of that yourself for WAY less money. $170 to do the thermostat? you can do the thermostat and a couple hoses for less than that on your own. very easy to do, and it would provide you the cooling system flush while your at it.
$95 to replace power steering? go buy the fluid, you can be don in less than 30 minutes, very easy to do.
i'd start with doing a full fluid change, on your own. suspension, and tie rods, and things like that can wait. you may end up wanting a lift that will fix some of that.
focus on fluid changes, and getting the overheating taken care of, then worry about the other stuff. and start to DIY or you'll be broke with a quickness.
jon

 

Did the same person/garage/repair professional do the pre and post inspection? That list is outrageous. And the biggest problem might be a blown head gasket which needs to be addressed before another dime is put into the truck.

Please take a look at the threads started by Eric Tyrell about his newly purchased truck.

specifically...

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...7-disco-43878/
https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...o-uh-oh-43918/

 

Wow! At least you have a nice list to work off of. Did they ever diagnose the overheating problem? Are they just saying you need a t-stat, hoses and fluids to fix that? Did they test for a blown head-gasket?

Good luck with it. You've come to the right place for excellent advice from some very knowledgable people.

 

00a- not worth it
01a- $20
01b- $10
13a- $30
14a- $80 on Amazon
32a- $340 for an HD track and tie rod with tie rod ends from Lucky 8
32b- can't even comprehend
34a- how much does string cost?
35a- $1
41a- $19
42a- $20
46a- $16 for the good synthetic stuff!
46b- amazing!
50a- free from autozone
50b- $16
50c- wtf for?
50d- i just threw up
50e- im banging my head against the wall

i think you need to download the manual for your truck
http://www.landroverresource.com/doc...hop_Manual.pdf

time to learn how to get handy with a wrench or you will be emptying your pockets REAL quick.

 

Scary, I didn't have a pre-purchase inspection... I bought it as is... I figured it would have issues. I have it at a highly recommended service shop. They use only OEM parts, I'm guessing that is why they're so expensive. They wanted me to pay the whole estimate up front, but I told them that I just wanted to have what needed to be fixed right away fixed, and I would have to worry about the rest over a couple of weeks/months... The mechanic stated that the engine over all looked to be in good shape, so I don't believe the head gasket is bad. I posted on here after already having them start with the items that have an asterisk. I plan on doing a lot of the other items myself.

 

Yeah you don't want to follow my adventure. Unless of course you're a freak. Like me

If you feel most comfortable throwing lots of money at it then go ahead and have them do everything it needs and WILL need. Otherwise you can save a little or a LOT of money depending on how much you choose to do yourself. It just requires learning, time, space, and tools.

I chose the latter route. I went from driving my disco for 1.5 days, blown head gasket, and little auto mechanical know-how, to full engine rebuild and upgrades in a tiny garage using these great forums, basic tools, RAVE, and google.

 

I do like having a good list to go off of, anything that I can do with basic tools in my drive way I'll do myself. They didn't say that they actually tested for a blown head gasket, they just said that over all the engine looks pretty good... They told me that once I get the items with the asterisk fixed, with regular maintenance, I should have a pretty sound vehicle. Good to know there is a place I can get regular advice from!

 

The best resource you have is this forum. Like was said before. basic skills needed to do those repairs yourself and save yourself some serious cash.
OEM doesnt mean good. it means you are paying for the land rover name. You will find out very quickly that can mean upt to a 200% markup on parts. DONT DO IT. The OEM manufacturer also sell those same products with out the LR logo and a huge discount.

I am not sure sure buying a Disco is a "Good Deal" unless your happy. You could have paid 15,000 dollars as long as you are happy thats is what counts. if your happy I am happy!

Two weeks ago we traded a 1970 wagoneer for our Disco (Ruby) and I absolutely enjoy driving her and love the little frustrations it gives me with small issues that pop up here and there. AND THEY DO!

With an unlimited check book you can do what ever you want. But most peeps these day dont have that.

You will find Danny, Spike. Savannah and many other on here live eat and breath Land ROver. I get it now. I love it. These guys are huge resources of knowledge. Make sure you seek out friends and owners in your AO (area of operation)

Just be sure to take each day with a smile. Your disco will have problems that other have encountered.

Lots of people here will tell you to SEARCH or DOWNLOAD the RAVE ( i still havent figures out how to use it), its good advice but these forums exists because we all like to talk and rehash old topics. DO NOT be afraid to post an old and beaten subject, its good for everybody to refresh our memories with things we have done in the past.

 

I don't want to throw a lot of money at it all, but I do want to drive it while I learn how to do a lot of it myself. I think that it will be a great hobby over time. I can't wait to get it back on Monday, I'm ready to get started!