I'm looking at a high mileage Disco II, 1999.
It has 250K on it - is this an anomaly or normal for a cared for Disco?

This would be my first Rover, read a bunch on them, and ownership seems dependent on "if you get one that's well cared for".
I'm assuming this one has, since it's made it to this mileage.


Its well sorted for off road use - I use is as a daily driver (not commuter), and for vacation road trips and light wheeling.
Has CDL, grease-able front and rear shafts, Old man EMU 1.5" lift
Front oil leaks, maybe pan? Rear main looks dry, weeping at the transfer case.
Paint is "off road" pinstripes/scratches
Interior - everything works, but it shows it's mileage
Owner seems like a good guy with capabilities for the maintenance he's put into it.
$9,000

Get it, or run away?
This pic makes is look $5,000 nicer than it is.

 

9k is way more than I'd pay, with the mileage I'd say it's a $5k truck. It does have some desirable parts on it, the roof rack and bumper are both highly sought after.

 

Yeah at $5k Its a done deal for me too. Don't forget the CA premium. Everything costs more here!
I think the parts that make this one interesting are:
Suspension
Front bumper
Winch
Ladder
Step
Lights
Roof Rack
Stock Steel wheels (from England!)
Honestly though, I don't really care if it has the "rare roof rack" or not. You can buy a front runner rack and put it on...

 

You can still buy the SD racks, any full rack is pricey. The bumper is really the only thing that would make me pause (far and away the best bumper for a d2 imo and no longer in production). Odds are suspension will need to be replaced, I would replace all cooling hoses, inline stat, radiator, water pump and front main seal (probably where the oil is leaking from) regardless of price paid or maintenance records..none of that is super costly but great piece of mind. Lights look cool but probably don't put off enough light to make a huge difference, ladders are cheap and depending on the winch it might be junk anyways or still require servicing regardless. Remind me to sell either of mine in CA if I ever decide to lol though CO prices are going up as well.

 

Ha, how funny. I live in Monterey and emailed the guy about where he got the wheels. He had them imported from the UK. They're OEM LR steelies for the D2. Pretty compelling truck based on the ad.

 

My daily has 250k on it, it was well taken care of. Runs like a top, gets 17mpg. My offroad truck has 220k on it, also runs like a top and gets 17 mpg.

What do you know about the ownership history? I have had more Disco than anyone else on the forum, all with mileage above 100k. I probably know more about the failure points and average failure mileage than even dealer techs as they almost never see trucks with the kind of mileage I see.

Moving parts wear out, things that don't move, not so much. Axles and transfer cases are probably good for 500k it they have been kept full of lube. I was told by a factory ZF rep at the BMW factory in SC that the trans is good for 400k, but there is the known occasional front pump issue, usually on the 4HP22's in the 99-02's.

You can search some of my post where I made a list of items that will eventually wear out no matter what you do, dc motor brushes in the door locks, starter go first, door window motors around 250k.

If the engine oil was changed regularly the normal wear surfaces in the engine will have minimal wear - cylinder walls, rocker shafts, valve guides, piston pins. Of course everything is replaceable. I just rebuilt a 150k mile motor that had no significant wear (it came out of a rusty truck and was the spare shop motor).

That said, $9k seems pretty high for a truck with that mileage.

What would it cost to build a similar truck? Accessory cost, installation cost, all in. Would you rather buy one built or buy a low cost 150k mile one and build it yourself?

 

18+ LR's here and all of mine with the exception of 2 03's I bought when they were new = all had over 100K on them when I got em. My 02 Kalahari with 240K runs better than a new car. Sure it might seep a little here & there, but it is 100% rock solid and everything minus the cruise control still works on it! Mileage is all dependent on how well it was maintained! Highway miles are nothing vs city miles on a vehicle! I personally would never sell my 02 Kalahari as she's a very unique and a rare part of LR's Special Vehicles history, but if I had to sell it I would not ask any less than 15k no matter what.

I also might seem weird, but I pride myself in owning a LR with 150k-200K or more on it! You hardly see any RRC/D1/D2's in my area anyways, and when someone actually stops to talk to me about my older LR's they're usually always shocked at the condition there in and the mileage on them. Then when I tell them I actually wheel them they truly looked shocked. No mall crawlers here!!!

I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure I've talked to the owner of that D2 at one time or another. It looks very familiar.

 

My D2 has 269K miles on the clock and still runs great except for the random misfire I'm getting now. I believe I have that sorted out now. $9K seems way over-priced to me. Half that would be more inline with what I'd pay for that. It is a nice D2 though. I tend to like the higher mileage... just means it's been driven more. If it's been driven than it didn't have any issues. I'd be more concerned with super low mileage vehicle. I tend to think that means it's probably sat because something was wrong with it.

 

234k on mine and it was taken out by a woman high in drugs.

They are pretty tough, resilient trucks, unless a car hits the fire hydrant which gets lodged under your rover and the lady and her car land on your hood.

Truck still runs with the smashed front end but the insurance totalled it.

With that said, buy one with 100k for half the price, fix it up as you go and learn. You'll be miles ahead.

As extinct said, that many miles, everything is going to be breaking soon regardless how well the engine and trans runs.

 

Looks like a great truck from a cool previous owner, however priced a bit high.

My math -- figure this is a 4K truck, add 1.5-2.5K for accessories. 6-6.5K seems a bit more reasonable.