Was going through some finance stuff and was curious about our car expenses so ran the numbers and found it mildly interesting. This is everything, including car insurance, but not gas or original purchase.

Some other notes...
1. This is just me working on them. Never have taken a vehicle to a mechanic before.
2. I do amortize the cost of a new tool among them. So a new $15 socket would add $5 to each of the three accounts.
3. Some of this also represents stockpiling some rare parts from junkyards. I have 5 pairs of glass Disco headlights for example.
4. Special vehicle-specific tools are also captured here, like the Nanocom for example is just a Disco expense.

 

I have some build sheets that high but that includes labor, although I probably pay a lot less for a Disco than most, so theres that.

 

Yeah, it feels like a lot staring at the one number 7 years later, but it was definitely related to major projects. 2019 was me baselining this new Disco, and 2022 was a huge head gasket job that morphed into a low key engine restoration, and 2025 was a full suspension rebuild.

Like most car things, some years are more chill than others.

 

I added mine up the other day including purchase price but not gas or insurance I'm into it 20k CDN over 6 years and 70k kilometers, that Includes off road mods too like rock sliders and a new lift kit. So I think I'm doing alright

 

2022 was a tough year for the disco. I think my biggest check was $1800 to pin my cylinder liners. Mostly a few hundred bucks hear and there. I do it all myself. The rear quarter frame was $400 i think, that was another $100 in misc parts maybe.

 

Brandon, offsetting what you've spent on parts is the entertainment and educational value of all you've done, plus your Rover kept you away from the crack and the ******.

 

Everyone arrives at the game differently with a different backgroun, mindset and requirements. The forum is full of people who show up as newbs (myself included) and grow in their knowledge and ability over the ownership journey. Some initially throw parts and $ at it because they don't have a better frame of reference or they need more reliability than those of us who have them as 2nd, 3rd, or Nth vehicles. Its not a game of how long can I go on the OEM bit before it leaves me stranded or cost me money for everyone, but it is for some. When you are maintaining a fleet you have to much more judicious on what gets replaced (the thermostat is non-negotiable) versus might as well while I am in there. I've found OEM suspension almost never NEEDS replacing even though I have trucks with aftermarket everything. I wind up inheriting a lot of parts when I buy them, amazing how many people give up 100 yards from the finish line.

 

For how long you’ve had the machine and all you’ve done to it, I’d say that number is exceptional.

A couple points of reference:

- Ordered my Jeep to spec in ‘12 and paid $35k. Interest was absurd and I think paid under $1k (less actually) in interest over 5 years (thus why I never paid it off early). I’ve probably got around $10k in modifications in it in over 14 years. If you take that let’s call it $50k over 14 years, then that adds up to ~$300 a month to own that car. Now I’m not adding in fuel or some other stuff, but I’d say that’s pretty darn good. You are WAY ahead of those numbers.

- Probably my worst decision in some ways was the S4. That was substantially more expensive, but I’ve not modified it in any way, and other than oil, I’ve just put a few sets of tires on it and a second set of wheels for winters when we lived in Euroville. The interest rate on that loan was still ridiculous by today’s standard, and now that it is long paid for, and for what it’s still worth, I’m in a similar cost category.

- On Discos, I’ve either hit a home run, or made not the best of choices in terms of acquisition cost. But based on never using a shop- except for GBR until I got up to speed on the platform- if i add all the ones I’ve had/have, I’m still in a better boat than a new car payment.

Back when I was heavy into track/autocrossing, I had the loose rule that I didn’t want to spend more than what I viewed as a car payment each month in repairs/modifications. With the exception of a few big ones here and there, I’ve kept to that logic over the years. People in the Audi community always gave me a hard time for not “tuning” or other such nonsense that machine. Darn thing is plenty fast and already has all the hotrod goodies out of the box. I safely and legally topped in out in Germany and didn’t think I needed a few more MPH at the risk of harming reliability.

Yes my Discos are toys now, but I like not having to trust anyone else to do work, and as I’ve got options, I’ll drive something else and let something sit until I figure it out. And when you have resources like this forum, the RAVE and general google fu, the D2 is not a bad value proposition at all- regardless of what the bobble heads say. You guys have seen my silly thread and the ups and downs, and I’m really finding it hard to get everything the D2 has and still be able to fix them cheap and easy.

 

Such a fun perspective to read haha, appreciate you sharing all that! And something it seems like you have going on that we are too is the idea that we keep cars for a long time. We're in our late 30s and unless we get into a collision, these will be the cars we own forever more. Makes spending a bit more on nicer parts, or being more thorough about while-I'm-in-there repairs, or stockpiling headlights at a junkyard all the more justifiable. At some point most everything gets sorted and the spending curve flattens. That's the L322 story right now.

Anyway, at the end of all this, the one thing I'm most thankful for is, like you said, this forum, RAVE, and nice tools.

 

The one downside of the L322 is some of the electronics. The boss had a blown L320 and now is in a blown L494 Autobiography. The L320 was by and large pretty darn easy to work on and I was impressed at how robust it was when I did things like control arms. I only had to do one airbag in it and even that wasn’t too bad at all. I had to do an alternator too, but wasn’t the end of the world. Where it punched us in the head and why she eventually sold it was a gremlin that came up ONLY in winter time that you’d be driving down the road and suddenly the infotainment, HVAC, and other functions stopped working and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree.

The problem is that even with a Gap tool, a number of electronic stuff needed to be programmed by dealer only equipment. Cost adds up there super quick as they are useless. We did parts throwing and racked up a few grand and never resolved it. And this is why I didn’t get a new Defender and have doubled down on the D2. I have a fast car. I have a heavily modified 4x4. But I can fix ANYTHING on the D2, and I love it for that. The boss doesn’t necessarily like to bounce between cars like I do, thus why she gets the new hotness. I’ve long said the S4 will be my last new car, and any new (to me) sports car will be of the P car variety and probably old enough that again it will sit until I can fix it. If I’m really honest I’m addicted to some of the tech in the S4 like adaptive cruise, but by and large the D2 is just fine as a commuter, economy aside. Strangely, the S4 is our economy car in the fleet. Riddle me that one…