I am looking to purchase a Discovery, possibly by this weekend. I have looked at many, narrowed it to 3, havent driven any....yet. I was just wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers of common things to look for that may go wrong, so I dont get myself into a mess. Two of the three are discovery I and one is a series II. I have always had a love of these trucks, but I am also reading a lot of things that can go wrong. Something about 3 amigos? Any help is greatly appreciated. I am elated to finally get myself a discovery but I dont want to have my bubble burst in a day. I would rather know what to expect up front, clear cut.

 

Check out this thread.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=21328

Good luck!

 

First, D!'s and D2's are completely different and if you are not aware of that then you need to get real specific and tell us what you plan on using it for, how mechanical are you, how much are you wanting to spend and do you have a mechanic that can do a pre purchase inspection?

 

Ok, for starters, the ones I am looking at are '96 Discovery I with 150k for $3700, a '96 with 161k for $3500 and an '01 Discovery II with 95k for $3995. I do not have a mechanic with any Land Rover knowledge that I can take with me. I myself am mechanically solid, when it comes to hondas or dirt bikes. I hear the chuckles. I know this is an entirely different animal, so we'll just say that i wont be afraid to grab a wrench and tackle a project. Mainly, I am just looking for transportation right now, my current car was recently stolen. I drive 5 miles to work, and once a week I make a 30 mile trip to my familys for a meal. Thats about the extent of my driving. In the future though, once I know more about the trucks, I definitly want to get into the offroad side of things. But as I said right now I just need transportation. I will be honest and say I dont know a whole lot about these vehicles, just that there is an extreme amout of electronics involved with them. i do know the D1 and D2 are different, but I dont know to what extent.

 

These trucks are easy to work on. DI's are more simple and cheaper to maintain but obviously are older. The great thing is that you can get the entire Land Rover dealer manual called the rave CD for free which makes things very easy to fix. The DII and DI are completely different with very little parts in common. The DII is much more electronic and finicky especially the ABS system.

 

If you need transportation and are considering a Discovery after having experience with a Honda then you're setting yourself up for disapointment. Kind of like dumping a average girl for a really hot girl but then finding out she has an std then getting the std .. well you know what I mean. All I can say is be careful.. and thats for both discos and rovers.

 

If your set on a Disco i would buy the newest model with the least amount of miles, and in the best condition.
I would also suggest that you concentrate on a D2.
You will be fixing things so thats gonna be a part of your ownership experience.
You might have to have an alternate ride if you have to do head gaskets or some other major things

 

X2 on that.

 

buy a honda civic for your commute and family dinner... when you are handy with a wrench and want to off road or get a second vehicle that will make you the baddest **** on the block, buy a Land Rover. Don't buy a used Discovery thinking its going to be a great commuter vehicle without some sort of tune-up that will cost you time and money.

OR

you can go completley against my advice,.. as I did. sold my Honda Civic to buy my Disco made it my daily driver and called in sick when I had to stay home and make up for all the maitnenace that was never done before my ownership.

 

X10 and ditto for me.