I am looking for all the free advice you all are willing to give! The 2004 Discovery is my DREAM auto, but I need to know how much this will really set me back. I am in Nebraska and have been seeing them around 21-23K for those with 30,000 or less miles. I will mainly be driving the kids back and forth which isnot a lot of miles, but I want the option to take it for a summer trip. Now I am reading about premium gas? How much more maitenance is involved and how many miles can I put on a Discovery? Thanks!

 

I've only had my '02 Disco II for a few months. I dove in head first without doing a lot of research and boy was it a wake up call when I started plunking thousands of dollars into her. Short answer - Yes, they are hellishly expensive to fuel and repair. It's certainly not like a Toyota you fuel for 75k then, just maybe look into preventative maintanence. They're a funky beast if you're new to them. They're seemingly designed for long expedition treks...with a 300 mile tank range. Hmm..... But, they are cool as heck. I love mine, but it really is not an inexpensive vehicle.

 

If I am looking at an '04 with under 30,000 miles, with remaining warranty am I more protected? How many miles did yours have on it when you purchased?

 

The 04's are great Discos, most of the bugs worked out of them and yes, they have to run on premium gas. You can always buy an extended warranty to cover yourself for up to thru 100,000 miles. Overall maintance is not bad at all, and with a warranty you would be in great shape.
Good luck, and welcome to the group.
Mike

 

FYI I bought my wife an '04 DiscoII about a month ago with 38K miles and have already been in to have warranty work done once. The ABS module had to be replaced (got a 'abs' light on the dash), the rt rear window regulator, and a lock actuator I think. I'm ready to plop down my $2700 for an extended warranty in about 9 months, cheap insurance in this case I think! Something tells me that this car won't be as reliable as an '82 Benz 300D my buddy has with 640K miles

 

Is the 7-seater specific to a certain model? Can someone break down the basic differences in the '04 models? How much do you think I should pay for an '04 with about 30,000 or less miles? I am seeing the 22-23K range. Thanks~

 

Prices vary a lot depending on where you're located, so that's a tough question to answer. I'd say look for a certified one, and try to negotiate an extended warranty into the price. Most of the later model discovery's were pretty good, but you have to assume the worst just to be safe. Also, as with any used car, there's a reason it got traded in.