Are low mileage(< 100k) d1s or d1s with service records about impossible to find now? I’ve been searching for a few months now in Ca now and no luck. People generally want $5-6k for a 4 owner truck with 150k+ miles serviced 1x a year at jiffy lube. Replacement engine with 20k+ miles and now you’re looking at over $10k. (This is all especially true for d2s)

Is it like this everywhere or a california bubble?
I’ve gotten in touch with a few great owners selling really high mileage but seemingly cared for cars - is that the best bet in 2020 to own a non beater d1?

I’m ready to own my first disco but might be late to the party. What would you pay for a decent d1 today? What does a decent 25 year old car even look like.

 

Any LR D1 with under 100K on the odometer = I don't even bother with. IMHO and experience any LR with under 100K these days has just been sitting and then someone decided to sell it. I prefer LR's with 150K or more on them. That shows it's been well cared for and maintained IMHO. Anyone can get a LR D1/D2 to 100K with little to no maintenance.

The good deals on decent RRC/D1's = are almost totally gone these days. Most in that market are rust buckets in need of some serious TLC. Good clean examples will be in the 8K to 13K range from what I've seen here lately. I got myself a superb 95 D1 that no one would touch and it was on CL on/off for nearly 6 months. I decided to go look at it, and it's a 2 owner TX truck with not a spot of rust on it. Interior/Exterior is nearly mint. The 3.9L V8 ran good, but it had an awful sound to it once warmed up. I bought it and put about 3.6K worth of work into that 3.9L V8. It now runs flawless and I will not be letting it go!!!! I had a mint 98 LSE 50th Edition (true 50th vs just a 98 with the window stickers). I was a fool and sold it, and soon I regretted it. It took more nearly 5 years to track down another near flawless D1 so it's not going anywhere!

I've seen a few decent examples for around 3-4K up near Portland & Seattle, but you are going to certainly pay for what you get. Make sure it's not a rust bucket, and go from there. The Holy Grail of D1's seem to be a 99 SD with no sunroofs. If you're lucky you can find one with the original cloth seats vs Leather, and without sunroofs that's 2 less things to worry about.

 

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but yes, they are all gone into the hands of enthusiast like us or in the junkyards. You will likely only find one worth owning on an auction site or through an online forum like this one. Im the second owner of mine and it came from California 5 years ago. The back story on how I got it is remarkable but to long to share here. Let’s just say I looked for years and had to do some major Sherlock Holmes stuff to get it.

1998 LE w/89k miles...bone stock...service records galore...wanna make me an offer?

 

I found a 1 owner no. Cali car - had about 70k miles on it - zero rust and kept original - on the surface a minter - it is a 96 SD auto - no sun roofs - cloth interior - manual seats - had a full kit except the safari roof - as stated above it had set a lot so I had to go thru it bow to stern - from fluids battery tires exhaust hoses brakes and all the usual maint. bits - interior/exterior were excellent but it required a lot of mechanics that had been neglected from lack of use - I paid $8k and put in $5k plus - my point is even if you find an excellent example - unless its kept by an enthusiast you will probably find a fair bit of maint. needed to get one in tip-top - - this is mine below

this is a link to the last real clean one I saw for sale - think it sold couple of months ago - think it was advertised for about $18K

https://www.carcaveusa.com/inventory...covery/737390/

 

@disco96sd @stillruns What sort of maintenance did you put into such low mileage discos?
Outside of just owning a clean example, do you both feel the lower miles mattered too much in the driving & maintenance experience?

It makes a lot of sense that a higher mileage car has faced a lot of the big problems already and was never sitting around.
@Best4x4 That's reassuring because I think i'm going to be an old man if I keep waiting for a lower mileage d1.

@zuke the 15 hours to Denver is looking better and better, if I'm not too late that is.

 

The previous owner of mine had it serviced regularly at a dealer and owned an extended warranty plan through a third party company. It never had any major issues because it appeared to be an older lady who drove it minimally. I had the fluids changed when I took possession just because I wanted to. I also replaced the spark plugs, wires, battery, serpentine belt, coolant reservoir, hood release cable, all things that any 20 year old vehicle would need anyway. Got new tires. Everyone here on the forum has saved me thousands. Best4x4 is some sort of wizard who can diagnose a problem while sleeping.

Lower miles mean everything when buying a used car regarding monetary value. Take mine and one identical to it and put them side by side. One has 89k miles and the other has 189k miles. The value will always be to the one with lower miles even if they are equally paired inside and out. If you find one with higher miles that has been well maintained correctly, correctly being KEY, it will be a great investment. If you find one with low miles that has sat for years, replace the usual checklist items and it will likely be a gem. These trucks aren’t bringing Defender money so that’s good for buyers. But, they are hard to find in good shape anymore. Mine is not a daily driver FYI. It gets driven on the weekend and that’s it. I keep fresh gas in it and Drive Ms Daisy. I’ve been an enthusiast for two decades ever since my first one. Land Rover owners love the heritage, the story, and all the headaches that come with ownership. It’s just part of it. No different than one who owns a vintage muscle car or a Ferrari.

They still pop up here and there so keep looking. If you find one though, comb it over and ask everyone here questions before buying it. You don’t want to get duped by a sucker salesman.

 

Haha Stillrun, just to many years of LR's under my belt I guess. LR's have common issues and whenever I look at any vehicle LR or whatever I start by looking underneath it and working my way up.

Lower mileage might mean more $$$ down the road, but I don't buy a LR to flip it, I buy it to own it and enjoy it. Also the mileage thing kinda varies per state. For example I live in TX so 100k would be considered super low miles on a 95 LR lol. My 95 has 153k, now if you live in a much smaller state then yes you could find a lower mileage vehicle.

I've sold a few LR's in my day locally and mileage was never an issue. I've sold em to LR enthusiast and once they saw the condition of the LR it was oh wow thanks for the awesome LR. I always got what I was asking lol.

Whatever you buy if it has a crazy aftermarket stereo/entertainment system or a third party alarm either run as fast as you can from it or be prepared to be repairing/replacing the entire electrical harness. I can't count how many LR's I've worked on with that and oh lord they could burst into flames at any moment or leave ya dead on the side of the road.

 

Rubber bits are certainly suspect on older cars from warm dry climates that have set a while - hoses belts wires suspension bits - all fluids - wheel bearings/seals - tires - battery - always an electric relay or two

You will go thru it hit most of the stuff and after a few months of ownership probably add to the punch list until you are on top of it all and then it starts all over again over the months and years of ownership

 

A truly garage kept & dealer serviced = very big plus. You don't need all service history, but getting an idea what it had done it's past helps.

My 97 RR Vitesse had all the history since 12 miles on it. One of the service tickets had me truly laughing. It stated customer dropped off vehicle for an oil change, brake job, and tires rotated. Then the second page stated customer picked up RR, turned right out of the dealership, and the RF tire fell off!!!! Stated damaged hub, RF fender damaged, rim damaged, tire slashed, and lower bumper spoiler damaged. Customer was issued a loaner. Then page 3 was the $$$$ the dealership paid for the damages.

Then my 97 XD had a service note saying to many oil leaks to count haha. Gotta love some of those tech filled lines!

 

Took your advice and contacted some higher mileage owners. Found a seemingly great 140k mile 99 d2 - might be time to jump to the d2 threads. Oh to find a car with records that detailed!