Whether or not if I will become a Disco owner, I have to say you guys are such great community. that will take into consideration when it comes to my purchase decision.

I'm no handy man, but I can handle oil change, brakes replacement (not rotors tho) myself. However, the guy mentioned coolant leaks, manifold, sensors...etc...all kind of stuffs that need to be replaced periodically. He didn't say $2,500 per year is a MUST, but he said that's the average I should budget for.

 

Theres where the confusion is/was, you said that he said it would average $2500 per year in preventative maintenice.
Those things he mentioned are repairs, and still high unless a shop does all the work.
The most common coolant leaks are the throttle body heater ~%50 DIY and 30 min.
And head gaskets, ~$500 DIY and a long weekend DIY, $1500-2000 if a shop does it.
IF you buy a Disco keep in mind that the more miles on it the more stuff that has already been replaced, headgaskets tend to go bad in the 70-90,000 mile range.
The cranks sensor ($65 30min DIY) in the 80-90,000 mile range.
SO if you buy a truck with 90,000+ miles you should be good on those things for a few years.
I would stay away from the self leveling suspension (SLS) because when it has problems it can be a huge headache and the repairs can range from cheap to half the price of what you paid for the truck.
And the miles at which the SLS goes bad varies from low to anytime it wants.
There is a spring conversion kit out there to dump the SLS and switch to coil springs for $250 or so, half a day DIY.

Doing brakes on a DII is so easy you can do rotors too.
The only thing that might be a issue for you is the front driveshaft, it needs to have the grease fittings at the double cardon joint.
Do a search on the forum and you will find tons of info on it.
Take your time and find the right truck for you, try to get one with records and a one or two owner, you dont want one thats been passed around like a unwanted dog.

When looking do not be afraid to come on here and ask questions and post a link to the sale ad if you can so we can look at it and give our opinions too.

I realize you are in Canada and that prices are higher and sorry I dont know the miles to kilometers conversion.
But a Disco is a Disco, they are all the same no matter where they were sold.

 

I'm new to the game so take it for what it's worth, I would think at the age and milage truck you are looking at it could quite easily cost you $1-2k to get the truck to were you only have to worry about "normal maintenance" oil changes an what nots.

 

I think what he was trying to tell me is he can forsee where problems are going to happen (eg. when there are symtoms that stuffs are going to break) and he will prevent them by replacing them before the thing breaks. Maybe he should use the term "preventative repair"?


Will do!

No worries, I go on US sites all the time, and I have the miles vs kms all figured out with an online calculator. However, yes, we do pay more here. An average 2004 SE7 is between CAD13000 to CAD 16000.

 

"Preventative repair" means my house payment is coming due and the shop was slow this month so I need more money and I'm going to use your money to make my house payment by selling you parts you dont need.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Nobody can predict when a part is about to fail, there is a known life expectancy of a part, but your part "A" and my part "A" will still fail at different ages/miles/times.

 

It seems that with most people you should, for preventative reasons, expect to pay some decent cash in the first year. You don't have to do all of the preventative maintenance. It might be likely that nothing serious will happen for a while after you buy it. But it can go a long way for you in the future. My truck is now in the best shape it's ever been after I've decided to seriously take care of and upgrade my Discovery as best I can.

If you decide to get one I would at least get the transmission serviced, driveshaft rebuilt, and spark plugs changed shortly after purchasing. Because unless you've got the records you won't have any idea of the last time it was serviced. Also they say the pink coolant is corrosive so you might want to change it to Peak(green).

 

Alright, here is one I'm looking at in town:

Price: CAD 15,500
Exterior Color: Dark Grey
Interior Color: Black
Mileage: approx. 65,000km = 40,389 miles
Model: SE7 (7 Seats)
Other Features: The car comes with No ACE nor Rear Air Suspension, which he claimed trouble making features.
Never went offroad
New Tires were put on at 55,000km
New battery
I'm totally satisfied with the above...PLUS he is the first and only owner of this vehicle. I'm planning to go take a look at it sometime this week.

The only drawback is that the car has 5 small dents on the hood from the hail storm last year. If I end up getting the car, can I just get an autobody shop to fix them like a regular vehicle? or an Aluminum body needs a different or complicated type of body work?

Also, I doubt that he has done any work on the car, how much approx. will I be spending on the vehicle shortly after I purchase it?

 

Looks like its a decent deal, you can probably go down a little on price. Here in California, Discos sell for more than some other parts of the country. You did mention early on you are the only source of income for your family. I hope you have spare cars at home, you never know when you will need a backup. We love our Disco, but sometimes we have to stand back and ask ourselves "is this what we really want?". Good luck to whatever decision you make. Regarding the dents, if you plan on wheeling, the dents are minor compared to scratches I have received on the trails.

 

Yes, single income and family with kids. This is why I have been struggling with this decision for over a year. I have dropped this idea numerous times just because of the horrible stories I read online as well as the fact that this doesn't seem to be the family's best interest at this time.

I have to admit that this is ridiculous, but I seriously won't be taking the Disco for off-roading, at least not within the next few years. I want a Disco simply because of the fact that this is always my childhood dream to own a Land Rover myself, and the Disco is my favourite styling.

We do have a second vehicle, at home, but it's a VW, which doesn't guarantee us anything in terms of reliability either.

 

I would say if you can afford the purchase price and still have about 1500 saved or at least at your disposal within a few months go for it. I have had my 2002 for a year and some change and I have only had to replace the fuel pump (300 usd) and the belt including idler pulley (80 usd). Preventative wise, I have done plugs, wires, maf, o2 sensors (front) all totaling about 600 usd. I also put ome 2" lift on it. So considering that my first year was expensive due to 60k service and I still spent around 2500 including lift oil changes, coolant flushes and all that I think you will be all-right. I think a big thing is you have to be willing to work on it yourself. I am not experienced at all when it comes to mechanics and I have done all the above with help from RAVE, a service manual you can download for free and help from here. Good luck on your choice.