I have an opportunity to buy my Dad's '99 Disco II. Honestly, I'm only considering it because my old '92 Toyota Camry has almost 200k miles on it and it's not going to run forever. The Disco has 94,000 miles.

The Disco is super clean having lived its entire life in San Diego, and was only off road a few hours one day when my Dad went out with the local LR club. Other than that, it's lived it's entire life on the pavement, has been well maintained, and has recent new Pirelli tires, pads and rotors all around. The three dash lights come on intermittently and his independent Rover mechanic found no problems with ABS/ Traction/ Descent functions, but also never got the lights to stay off. I'm thinking he'd sell it to me for between $7k and $8k. Does that sound fair?

Now here's what I'm looking for: My wife and I are fairly new parents with another on the way. We want a vehicle that will be reliable first and foremost. I know that the fuel economy on the LR Disco II is pretty terrible. My Dad says he gets 15mpg highway or in town. I also read that they need Premium unleaded.

I can accept that my gasoline bill will shoot up significantly from what I am paying to run the Camry. Saying that, my commute to work isn't very far. Also, I am mechanically inclined and not afraid to do work myself. (I have a '65 Morris Mini Cooper, so I'm familiar with owning British vehicles) The Rover will however be my primary vehicle, unlike the Mini which only gets 3,000 miles a year put on it.

Other than the gas mileage, I do not want a vehicle that will cost hundreds of dollars several times a year for maintenance. I probably would never have even thought about a Land Rover if I wasn't familiar with my Dad's Disco II and that he was getting ready to sell it. I live here in the Minneapolis area, but the Camry gets along fine in the snow.

I guess I'm torn from a practicality standpoint. Drive the Camry for another 2 or 3 years (cheap, reliable transportation), or sell it now and consider the Disco II?

I'm not rich, so owning a luxury vehicle that is going to milk my wallet is less of a priority than owning a practical and reliable one. However, I do think the Land Rovers are really neat vehicles and I have an affection for British machines. It's the cost of ownership that may steer me away.

Knowing a little more about my needs and concerns, any feedback would be appreciated!

 

If you want, I would be glad to call you, I own a 99 that I wouldn't give up for love nor money, I am also a retired service manager so I can pretty much answer any questions.
Mike
mikeljacobs@comcast.net

 

Thanks Mike! E-mail sent.

 

If I were you I'd keep the Camry and buy the Disco, since the Camry is a 92, it's not like you owe anything on it. It never hurts to have an extra vehicle.

I'd say go for it, 15mpg is better than what I get in my daily driver (2001 F-150 4x4) 13mpg city

 

05LandRover,
My initial goal was to sell the Camry while it is running strong. It's worthless once the next major repair over $1000 happens. I'm not spending more than $500 on it for the rest of its life, and I can feel the struts starting to soften up a bit. Plus I don't want to insure 3 vehicles.

The wife stays at home, so other than driving to her mommy groups, the gym and grocery store, the second car isn't going to get that much use for a few years.

After Disco Mike was kind enough to call me and chat about the Disco II and its plusses and minuses, I feel a lot more confident that I can handle most of the repairs that might come up.

It's hard to say no because the Disco II has to be the best looking SUV on the road today.