Hey guys, I'm looking into possibly getting a 1998 Land Rover and was hoping you guys would help me out with the good and the bad about these trucks. Also what to look for when trying to purchase one. Thanks Edgar

 

Which model Discovery, or Range Rover

 

I was thinking the discovery model.

 

Do you know how many miles or how many owners? Fuel is the biggest cost. Are you looking to drive daily or part time? What are they asking for it and have you seen it in person yet?

 

Check for rust (everywhere). Very common on the discovery 1. This would be a deal breaker as you can find some with little to no rust at all.
Check for leaks on every system that holds fluid. Leaks are also common, but not the end of the world
Check for milky oil and coolant; indication of head gasket failure. Not a deal breaker if you are willing to do the work yourself.
Make sure that the fuel pump was replaced at some point or you will have to do that. Easy to replace.
Newer tires would be a plus as tires are on the expensive side (because it's a truck)
Complete service records are a plus.
And of course, do the usual checks that you would normally do when buying a "regular" used car.

I have never had the number of owners be important on a used vehicle so don't worry about that. On my previous discovery, I was the third owner and it was a solid vehicle. I'm the SEVENTH owner on my current discovery and it's probably one of the best examples that I've seen. Even nicer than my other one.

Mileage is somewhat important, the lower the better. But if the truck has comprehensive service records, mileage becomes less important.

When buying this vehicle, keep in mind that you will either have to work on it yourself, or be willing to pay for a Land Rover specialist to do the work for you. Things will break but it's all manageable.

Good Luck

 

As a relatively new owner myself, I can say that it is pretty easy working on them.
Mechanically underneath it is pretty conventional and make sense, in my opinion.
Electronic-wise, little different than what I was used to but after dickering with it a bit it was also easy enough to figure out.
Worst part imho, GEMS (Generic Engine Management System). Although with the help of member robertf, it is now manageable. He wrote a little program with which you can reset the adaptive values.
If you take the advice of ihscouts and DiscoCam from above and find one that starts and runs ok you are ahead in the game. Mine was "stored" in a lower level garage for 3 years. I still managed to get it started and onto a trailer.
But yeah, gas will probably be your biggest expense. I'm probably driving around 300 +/- miles a week in mine and it costs me around $55ish weekly.

 

98 is a good year. Parts can be had somewhat ridiculously cheap if you know where to look. Locale stores like autozone, advanced auto will not have parts for these trucks. NAPA may have a caliper instock but other wise your gonna order most of your parts.

People who still own these do so b/c they love them and are very helpful on these forums.

Also your stock LR will laugh at your buddies 3" lifted with 33's toyota off road. Ive had others call my truck boring b/c it just goes over everything with little issue.

Good luck.

 

Ya know, you are absolutely right regarding the helpful part. Just joined another forum (Ford Escape) and was kinda dressed down after asking about the parking brake design.

I dig this forum.

 

Yeah this forum is probably the best that I've ever been on.

With regards to gas, this will sometimes catch new owners off guard: you have to use premium gas. For me in CA, that's 91 octane (I know it needs 92, but 91 is the best you can get in California). Right now at around $3.05 a gallon, your gonna pay about $75 for a full tank of gas. Not cheap.

 

Buy mine. It's probably the best one for sale right now.