That's assuming all repairs stay minimal and are spread out. However, one major failure, say engine or trans, and this will be several hundred dollars...all at once.

And since you say you're not a mechanic or mechanically inclined...you would be paying for the repairs. Plus, do you have any where to work on it at college...even if you did start doing mechanical?

In essence...one major breakdown/issue and you could have yourself a vehicle that's worth it's weight in scrap. Head gaskets are a very common issue on these things, just cruise CL and you will find plenty with overheating issues. Yes, any vehicle could give you similar issues...but these are known problem areas with these rigs...especially, if the previous owner neglected the cooling system.

Don't mean to come off negative...it's just that these rigs make a much better second vehicle or hobby/project. Sure, they can be a daily drivers...but the newest discovery is 13 years old and unless you have access to reliable help, for making repairs, and borrowing power, to come up with a substantial amount of money for a major repair...IMO...this vehicle isn't for a college kid. Discovery's can be a lot of fun to own, if you go into them understanding the pitfalls...and enjoy wrenching on them once in a while.

Stay the course at school and get one of these after you've started your career.

Brian.

 

Here's the way I see it about DIIs... if you aren't either very mechanically inclinded or a good learner and willing to learn to fix this truck it isnt for you. Paying someone to fix it will bankrupt you even though most repairs are relatively easy on these trucks.

 

Hey carpartner I am in the same boat with you. Just graduated, and looking for a new ride. Hopefully a D2 or RRC.

Subscribed!

 

Thanks for all your feedback, guys. You definitely brought up some good points about the ownership of D2.

I am not a mechanic; however, I usually get massive discounts on labor by repairing my current daily driver at my friend's shop. For instance, a year ago my A/C Compressor went out; the dealership quoted me at $1200 while the independent shop quoted me at $600. Ended up paying $140 for a 6 hour job by 2 mechanics at my friend's place (FYI: compressor in my car is buried deep, have to remove a bunch of parts to get access to it).

So the labor itself won't cost me much; it would mostly be just the parts, which I can obtain also very cheaply at local junkyard.

My current daily driver (07 Ford FiveHundred) is money pit; the car has ~140k miles and needs about 3k in repairs to make it a normal vehicle (hail damage, ripped seats, bad heater core, freon leak, coolant leak, bad throttle valve, bad EGR - and list goes on).

In a fashion, my current car is the symbol of my failings as a person LOL.

Been working hard for a year, saved up for a 10k car; but just unsure of what I want. I think I will start looking for D2s on sale in my area, getting PPIs and we'll go from there.

 

Look for a D1/D2 in the 5k or less price range. You should be able to find a decent LR, but make sure you check for rust, and since you're new to LR's maybe take it to your friends shop or take it and have it inspected before you buy it.

For 10K you are in LR3 territory which are awesome vehicles but a totally different beast. My 06 HSE is awesome and I recommend them as well, but once again if you don't work on them yourself it's gonna cost ya.

 

Buy one that is not working for $500. Get a turner Long block, with gas flowed cylinder heads, upgraded cam, and see what your buddy will charge you. You may end up less than 10k. Do an inline thermostat, and electric fans, heck throw on some headers with high flow cats and a Borla exhaust.

Maybe your buddy can get you there in budget if you help.

 

Focus on school, enjoy your time their, chase girls.

Dump the Ford money put and pick up a 200k mile Honda/Toyota/Nissan etc off CL.
Get into your career and get settled into it, then pick up a D2, they will still be around.
The money you've saved by then, then dump handfuls into a D2 project and keep another one on the road.

Daily driver for a non mechanic, or even mechanically inclined college student that takes long road trips?
Most definitely not.
Spend the time now researching and learning from the info on this site.
Build one later, - come and tell us all about it, we would love to hear the details !

 

In my opinion the D2 is the best discovery of them all. It is old enough to wrench on easily and new enough to have most modern creature comforts. Plus they are easy and a lot of fun to modify.

The biggest problem is the reliability. The key to land rover maintenance is staying on top of things and fixing issues before they become problems. Some discoverys are in better shape than others, so its all about patience finding the the right one. You will thank yourself later.

As for me, last year I was lucky enough to find an 04' model in tremendous shape with a new set of A/T tires for 5K. I am a High School student and I saved to buy it as my first car. So far the reliability has been impeccable and what has gone wrong I have fixed myself. REGULAR MAINTENANCE. I can't stress it enough.

If you are looking to go off roading, The 04' model is preferable because its the only model that comes from the factory with a center diff lock. Older models can have this added aftermarket. In 2003 Land Rover facelifted it with a new bumper, grill and headlights as well as different tail lights and a larger engine. (The original 4.0 was upsized to a 4.6)

As for pricing, You shouldn't really pay more than ~5000 for any discovery out there. Even the newest ones are still 13 year old land rovers. You said that you had a budget around 8-10K so I recommend finding the best rover you can for 4-5K and using some of what you have left to fix all of it's issues. You can even start on modifying it for the trail if thats what you're into. Also, just about every land rover on the market has a sagging headliner. I redid mine almost as soon as I bought it for $150 (headlinerexpress.com for the material). Also if you listen to music, I highly reccomend the GROM BT3 bluetooth adapter from grom audio. Its the best solution for playing music in a discovery.

Anyway, I've rambled enough if you buy a discovery you wont regret it. I love mine to death.





The richlands in western North Carolina

 

^
That's a really sick truck. Thanks for all the information. BTW, what set of tires are you running?


I found one on sale in my town; it's not D2 but it's cheap. Is it a lemon though?
https://lubbock.craigslist.org/cto/6177385977.html

My guy at the shop said it's 1k for compete new paint.

 

That's a solid piece of advice right there. I have 1 more year in school (6 classes left yay!) and I am done with it. #OffshoreDrillingInternCrew