I Just purchased a 1997 Discovery Saturday 12.4.2012 and everything the guy said about it was a lie. He said the mileage was 150,000 last month. It is actually 165,000 6 years ago, and 209,000 miles on it two years ago. The odometer stop working. It over heats, and i paid too much for it. Can it get any worst. knock on wood. I hope to fix I guess i better get my hands dirty. Should i take it to the mechanic first to get it tested? or cut my loses?


It runs at 30% but after 20 - 30 min. of driving it starts to go up fast It might stay at 80% but after that i stop before it goes into the red. On a cold day it runs all day in the city without running hot. If i drive on interstate it runs hot when i get off on slower roads. Where i live it can get up to 80 degrees on Christmas so ,,,yea it is running hot. I don't drive it because of the over heating but at this point i don't know if i can drive it to the rover shop.


I saw it online and called the owner. It was local and not a long drive. To tell the truth i always wanted a D2 but it looked good and figured for the price it would be fine. It was on the side of the road and if the test drive was good then i would buy it. I really didn't look at it too close and have been shopping for weeks. I was tired and ready to buy. A car fax would have been my saving grace. I figure the miles are at least 230,000.

There is white stuff coming out of the overflow, the heater core is bypassed and motor oil on top of the engine right in front of the water pump. My local mechanic just shakes his head. I will get it tested Monday by a shop that works on rovers. I am a grown man but i am going to cry. I don't have it like that but for the price i paid i could live with putting $600 in her if would fix it.

 

Man that sucks.
I'm going to start you a new thread in the DI section.

 

If by "overheating" you mean anywhere above 50% you are right. The gauges are not real accurate. If you hear a sound like water bubbles in pipes under the dash it could be exhaust gas from a head gasket leak. A $50 test from autoparts store "sniffs" the coolant and changes color.

1. If you need head gaskets, under $500 if you DIY (with some help from a machine shop).

2. There are plenty of other things that can make overheat.

3. Don't dump radiator / block sealer in the engine.

4. Tell us some more details.

2.

 

The good news is that armed with the information on this forum, your Discovery is fairly easy to fix. Search for the Rave manual, look for threads on overheating. (Common for these vehicles.) You'll have that Rover in top shape in no time, don't worry about it.

 

If it made it that many miles, it might not be too bad. I mean, it has to have worked pretty good to get that far. A lot of them get trashed, meltdown, blow a head gasket or drop a liner and they become parts cars long before that because there's nothing about the particular example that's been trashed to make it worth it to keep it going for that far. I mean, if the car looks like it has low miles, then you can't be too unhappy about that.

The part I'm worried about is your idea to take it to a mechanic. If you're concerned about costs and not planning on doing your own work, then you should cut and run now. Either the car is your hobby/project vehicle and you enjoy it or you have enough dough to keep a mechanic on staff, price doesn't bother you, and you just like to keep a Land Rover as a lifestyle accessory.

 

Yep, if you carry your checkbook with a forklift these are affordable vehicles. Most D1's are in a price range where you would probably not want to pay $2400 for head gaskets done by a shop (parts plus 12 hours labor).

 

You shouldn't be worried, the OP asked if they should take it to a mechanic to TEST it...... like block pressure test, compression test....... nowhere did they say they where going to have a mechanic FIX it.

I think they should take it to a mechanic to TEST it since it has approximately 231k on the clock. Then they can make an educated decision to toss in the towel or like the OP said, get their hands dirty.

I love it when members make up stories, keeps me entertained.

 

I think you should get your money back. If it was advertised at 150,000 miles and actually had 209,000 miles then I would consider that a breaching of contract. Did you buy this sight unseen? Why did you go through with the purchase on such a vehicle?

 

Maybe giving the seller notice they'll take this to court might be enough. It's worth a shot. Mechanic would provide them with a written estimate for repair, document for use in court should it come to that. It would give the court an overall picture of the vehicle with the Carfax mileage if that is how the mileage difference was found.

 

Sueing all depends on the judge... If the judge is favorable towards you.. You win...

Most judges will wag their finger at you and say you should have gotten it checked out...A used car is a used car.. All sellers lie to one extent or another...

If you're a DIY'er then get busy.. If not.. I'd get rid of it...
It has the potential to be a good truck again if you're willing to put in the sweat equity... But it sounds like it's going to take a lot of sweat or a lot of money to get it there...If you like it, And you want it, Then it just needs a little TLC to get it going again..

You should fill out your profile. Let us know where you are.. Maybe a sympathetic member would be willing to help you get started in the right direction... I certainly have a compression tester and can show YOU how to use it...

You could also arrange to have it stolen and parked in his living room....

So, Tell us, How much did you pay ? We won't laugh too hard.. Some of us here have gotten what we thought were real bargains and have had to completely rebuild the truck... DAMHIK....I'm afraid I'm just getting started on mine...I have about trippled my purchase price....It will never be worth what I've got in it so I'm going to take it out and have some damn fun with it..

Good Luck

John