My wife has always wanted a Discovery. I, being the "house mechanic" & "financial planner", am skeptical b/c these don't necessarily have the best reputation for reliability and cost to maintain. And, to be completely honest, that is the goal if I buy her another vehicle. I'd like it to be reliable and last at least 150k miles (which she drives 10k year, so a 100k old D2 would last at least 5 years). I just finished reading through the first 28 pages on the Discovery forum - anything that seemed topical for maintaince, reparing, etc. From what I've gathered - it's a crapshoot. I know if I buy one, that right off the bat I have to change wires, plugs, all fluids, etc - I do all of that on all my cars anyway so that I have a baseline. I also realize that the front driveshaft has to be rebuilt - okay, no big deal. From there, it seems sketchy. I don't mind the valve cover gaskets and seeing how I'm doing wires anyway, it makes sense (oddly enough, I've never said that about any other vehicle before). I do however mind the head gasket. What is the likelihood of this? 20%, 40%, 60%?!? Anything else I'm missing?

Also, since I'm here, I'd like to pick some brains. Who has the highest, non-rebuilt motor on here? How long will the tranny last? What axles are under these?

Realistically, it's between this and a (dun, dun, dun) Grand Cherokee. (sorry, had to add the dramatic effect b/c I'm sure all of you LR guys are tired of hearing GC). Anyway, Jeep has my full confidence. I currently own two Cherokees (XJ - NOT Grand). One is my beater trail rig w/ 167k and the other is my wife's current DD w/ 113k. My cousin has one w/ 158k and my brother has one w/ 191k. All run super strong - great oil pressure and are dirt cheap to maintain. The 4.0 inline 6 w/ AW4 tranny is basically bullitproof. There are countless combos out there w/ over 200k and some over 300k and still going strong. So, naturally, if I went GC, I'd go w/ the straight 6 b/c frankly, I don't trust the V8's to last 200k.

So, honestly, without bias, could you recommend a D2 w/ 100k to a guy to trust for his wife's DD?

 

Are you looking for a D1 or D2? There is a differance. I think the D1 is cheaper to repair as they designed to be worked on in the field.
My 1997 has 170k and is all original. I just replaced the alternator for $185 and it was original.
As with any vehicle everything is a crap shoot. If you dont want it to break then dont drive it.
We put 20k on our trk since April and we put a new alternator and wheel bearings. So unplanned repairs cost us $385.
We get 20+ mpg on the highway and we dont even bother checking city mpg, it gets to much idle time.
The front driveshaft only needs to be rebuilt on a D2 and only when the u-joints go bad.
My wife drives ours with our 2 month old son and 6 year old daughter everyday.
So to answer your question, yes you can trust a Land Rover as a daily driver.

 

D2.

I don't mind alternators, starters, etc. I'm more or less worried about major, 25% of the vehicles worth repairs (such as head gasket, transmission, etc). Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the wearable "bolt-ons", but I don't want to replace them every few months, although i doubt that would ever be an issue.

As a side note, the alternator looks like a fairly easy replace - right on top, but how bad is a starter? I've changed some that are a piece of cake (Jeep) and others that are a PITA (chevy w/ the stupid shims).

 

Have not done a starter. But the alt only took me 30 min from the time I opened the hood until I closed it again.

 

I have a 99 D2 with 126,000 miles on it (had it since new).Beforegetting on this forum, I thought that it was the most unreliable vehicle on the planet. I hadhead gasket problems, starter problems, suspension problems, abs problems, sunroof problems, door lock problems, cd player problems, oxygen sensor problems, oil leak problems, brake problems...... all sorts of cr*p that ran me thousands of dollars because only the dealer would take a land rover (its hard to find an independent shop around me that will work on a LR). However, since beingon here, I have ran the truck from 90,000 to 126,000 miles and have had only about 500 in repair costs.
My best advice is to make sure that the truck has documents regarding its maintanence history and make sure that the head gaskets have been replaced (if it has around 100,000 miles). On the D2s its not a matter of whether but rather when will the head gaskets will go.
Lastly I do love the truck and i would recomend. Hope that helps.

 

Been driving Jeeps for the last 22 years, YJs, XJs, TJs and ZJs until last july when I sold my last modified TJ, 7 months after getting my 2000 D2. All I can say, is if all you want is to get from point A to point B safely, then by all means get a Jeep.

If you want to do it in style and would like a vehicle that you don't see at every street corner, then do consider a Discovery. But, as every british vehicles ever produced, they demand constant monitering. Forget about opening the hood only when it's time for an oil change, like you're most likely doing now.

The first year of ownwership will cost you at least a few grand, maybe moredepending on how **** you are about leaks. Most people sell their Discos when the 'to do ' list is too long and they are sick of putting money in it. But once this is done, you can really start enjoying it. No Jeep out there, has the driving position and feel of solidness that these things have. But then again, no Jeep out there will only get you 10-12 m.p.g in winter traffic rusheither. My father drives aZJ with quadratrac andthe 4.7L V8 in the same traffic conditions, and he gets around 14-15 m.p.g

As already specified, it's not a mather of'if', it's more a mather of'when' the head gaskets will fail. So if you can get a low mileage Disco whose HG hasrecently been done, that's definitelyaplus.

Search it well, and good luck

 

Well, I appreciate the honesty. Yeah, with my wife driving an XJ right now, all we basically have to do is keep gas in it.

As much as I know she'd love a D2 (and only b/c of appearance and status - she'd never let it go offroad - doesn't want scratches, dents, etc), so I really don't see it as being an ideal vehicle for us at this time. We've finally setup a 'budget' this year and are focusing on paying off her student loans and doctor bills, so it'd definitely hurt our progress if I have to 'budget' in several thousand dollars for repairs this year. From everything else I've seen - valve covers, wires, fluids, etc - it doesn't seem that expensive. The head gasket is what worries me. I've never been that far into an engine before, but am sure I'm capable - I've setup gears before and that's a real PITA. What are the costs if done at home and if having a shop perform the job? How long would it take the average home mechanic w/ basic air tools and hand tools to do in his garage?

 

I just completed the valve cover gasket job about two weeks ago. While in there I did the requisite Magnecor wires, Bosch plugs, and intake manifold gasket. I have never before done any major maintenance on a vehicle but consider myself able to read the Rave CD guide, have a decent set of tools and the generous Disco Mike who graciously took my phone calls. I don't know how much more it would have been to take the heads off but I know the instructions are in the Rave and feel I could have handled it if necessary. I would have had to find a shop to resurface the heads and clean the crap off of them but I'll see how that goes in the future if required. I also rebuilt the driveshaft myself which was a pain because of the center ball. It is still very tight although I am positive no needle bearing were lost and the whole thing is greased.

Good luck!

 

Definately get a 04' discovery. a discovery will last an easy 225k+ miles if you just take it in for your scheduled service.

 

Expect $300-$400 for a complete kitto do it yourself, afew hundredsmore if it has overheated and the heads need resurfacing and you decide to do a valve job and change the rockers.and about $1300.00 to have an indy shop do it for you. And almost double that amount if you bring it to the dealer.

All in all, it's quoted to be a 10 hour job that can be done in around 8. But I had mine done. You have to know your limits