I'm looking for a Land Rover I can put about 10K miles on a year, mostly on normal roads as my daily driver, but with frequent weekend trips on fire/logging roads and the occasional weeklong road trip that may put 1000 miles on the car.

Setting a budget of ~$10,000 for the next 3-5 years including purchase price, and needing a shop to do almost all the work, would you:

[A] Buy a 2003 or 2004 Disco for $3-5K and use the remainder as repair/maintenance budget

The $3-5K and $7-8K ranges are what I'm seeing in general on the West coast for good interior, decently maintained models with 140-180K miles (low end of miles for the LR3, higher end of miles for the Discos). I know the big things to watch out for and to deter me from these models, like an 03 with an unfixed oil problem, or 04 without having its head gaskets done in 50K+ miles, or an LR3 with a shot suspension or LCAs, etc. etc. etc.

 

Well, you are posting in a D2 forum soo.. Go with A.

 

 

 

Hahaha, yeah.. I was debating posting this in BOTH the D2 and LR3 forums to see how the responses differ. I really do prefer the look of the D2 over the LR3. Power, handling, fuel economy, ... don't really care about all that as much.

My one main concern is, for all you D2 owners, if you are going on a 500+ mile trip (lets say highway only) are you ALWAYS subconsciously thinking about what repair shops are where on the route or what parts you should have on hand in your car just in case? I plan to keep whatever car I buy in good working order, but reading these forums you would think that everyone should clear out all the back seats of every model Land Rover and carry a spare engine, transmission, suspension, all fluids, extra seals, tubes, hoses, tape, gum, glue, wrenches, and swiss army knife.

 

I'd say $10K is an very tight budget for what you want to do. If you get a Disco for $2K and you want to get a nice daily driver:

- Replace all cooling system components. From the fan, to the hoses, to the radiator, to the thermostat and so on.
- Replace the head gasket
- Replace water and oil pumps
- Adjust/clean or replace your fuel injectors
- Clean pulleys, replace the belt tensioner, belt
- Take care of the electrical needs: wiring, battery, etc.
- Fix the interior: Headliner, carpet, seat covers, etc.
- Upgrade audio
- Inspect, fix any leaks--gutters, sunroof, air intake plenum
- Get all new fluids
- New suspension
- New bumpers
- New tires
- New driveshafts

This stuff will add up pretty quickly. You will also get a car that is now classic. No stupid app integration. No navigation. No anything that is freaking annoying in modern cars. If the engine goes, you can get a new one.

Thus, I'd still vote D2. If not it, then LR4.

 

@Robert Booth - Thank you for pointing out TriarII's build thread. It fascinates, scares, and entices me and I'm only 5 pages in.

Mr. Choodles: between you, Robert, and TriarII's thread, you've already swayed me to an LR3 for now, but starting a new savings plan to also buy a D2 when I have enough funds (and the mandatory extra driveway space).

 

Good luck! I am not an LR3 owner, but you may want to check about the costs of restoration on that sub-forum. If you want a great stock rig, shoot for an LR4.

 

If you want either one on a $10,000 budget for the next 3 years you're going to have to learn to turn wrenches. Spending $7-8k would be a terrible idea because every used vehicle needs $1000 of work out of the gate. That includes a full maintenence and tune up; all fluids, filters, spark plugs, wires, and coils, as well as any problems that crop up in the first roughly 6 months. I would budget $1500 on top of purchase cost to be safe.

That leaves you with D2s. $10k in 3 years including purchase is do-able. Whoever posted first, I forget, is correct. 03 oil pump issues is a thing of the past. That's not to say oil pump issues are a thing of the past. EVERY Rover V8 suffers from a weak oil pump, and when they crack they cause damage to the front cover which must be replaced; a several hundred dollars part. That is preventative, however. Add your oil pump to the big maintenence you do every 60k miles and you should never have an issue.

It's a really good idea to replace the front driveshaft as soon as you get the truck. You have to create it every time you change the oil. This prevents it from seizing, breaking, and knocking a hole in your transmission. That's a $208 part from Lucky 8, shipped.
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Other than that... Parts are honestly fairly cheap and these things are really easy to work on. Lucky 8 is a good parts source for new parts, Abran and Paul Grant are good sources for used parts; both are on this forum.

This is all dependent on two things, however. Learning to work on it some on your own, and maintaining it to a tee. These trucks can be just as reliable as any Chevy truck out there on the road, but you have to maintain them well. They're can be a bit of a diva if they don't get the attention they believe they deserve. That also means making sure that whatever work gets done gets done well. Not to say I haven't butchered a few jobs, butbut have to learn (through reading this forum and from experience) where you can butcher and where you can't. Not every run of the mill mechanic can (or rather, will) put in the work required on these. If you have a mechanic do all the work then you need to find one very trustworthy.

That's my 2¢. Be patient in your search; the right one will come along. I would look for a really nice clean D2 in the $3500-4000 range. One that has already had head gaskets replaced, has a good set of tires, and if at all possible has a service record. Have it looked over really well by Land Rover specific shop if possible; if not any trusted mechanic. Stay away if it's leaking coolant. They all leak oil. As soon as you get it done the full 60k maintenence including the oil pump and replace the front driveshaft with one from Lucky 8. I'd also recommend an in-line thermostat instead if the factory setup. As I said, budget $1500 for the first 6 months or so for the big maintenence and any other issues that arise.

That's about it! Come here for help as often as you need it and do as much work yourself as possible.

 

From a LR3 perspective 2-3k is not enough for 3 years maintenance. Unless 3k is your yearly budget then you would be ok . Especially if you are doing your own work