I’m new to the world of Discovery Series 2 (and Land Rover in general), but have been doing a lot of research, and have convinced myself I’d like to jump in.

I’ve been reviewing Craigslist, and noticed there is a dispersed price distribution into two clumps.

Those in “okay” condition, mediocre photos, etc are $3k-$6k.

Those in “excellent” condition, great photos, service records, recent repairs, and an owner who sounds very confident are $9k-$15k.

I guess I’m just looking for any thoughts or inputs on this topic, specifically — does it ever make sense to pay $10k+ for a vehicle with KBB of half that? What specifically would make that so?

My instinct is to try my luck with something under $5k that a mechanic determines nothing major is wrong. But that also could take a long time to find.

Thanks in advance!

(ps, these are SF Bay located vehicles)

 

Owning a Disco is typically not a cheap endeavor. If you're trying to do this on the cheaper side then my advice would be to find something in the middle that your mechanic approves of. If you aren't a mechanic yourself, or at least mechanically inclined, then you will be paying your mechanic to do lots of things that a $3-$6k truck will need as part of baselining it.

Going through the cooling system, brakes, driveshaft(s), getting the suspension up to date, sunroof drain problems, window lifts or door locks, PCV mod, Option B, things of this nature will be issues to consider right away, and likely things that will have been already done to an enthusiast owned high dollar truck.

Or, a super low mileage truck at the top of the pricing tier will hopefully not be ready have these systems fail. Regardless, you should make yourself familiar with all those scenarios so you know what to look for. Your mechanic should be as well, you do not want to pay for him to get educated on your truck/dime. This is critical, things can get very expensive quickly.

I'm not trying to talk you out of one of these trucks, they're great, reliable trucks, once you've done everything to make them so. There's a reason the KBB isn't higher and yet certain trucks are double that index.

 

Thanks for the reply!

I think that makes sense. $5k+$5k in repairs = $10k. But if you can do the repairs yourself, maybe $7k. Either way, $10k isn't unreasonable if everything is fixed and well-maintained.

I don't have a lot of experience with car mechanics, but I have the patience, and am hoping to learn.

In my research, the number I've come up with for repair & maintenance expenses (using a good shop) is $250/1000mi. So if I buy at $10k, drive 50k over the next ten years (second car), my total costs should be around $22k. If I learn some mechanics, maybe a bit less.

 

You have the perfect attitude. Do not expect to skate through this on the cheap or you will suffer accordingly, one way or the other. If you're expecting to take some pain then it makes all the little victories that much more enjoyable. These trucks are not hard to work on and there's so much info here that all you need is some resourcefulness and a willingness to follow advice. There aren't very many special tools required and even a novice with a little bit of mechanical aptitude can make one of these a reliable daily driver. The one thing you may not have considered is do you have enough driveway space for this hobby. If you get bit like some of us you'll wake up one day with more than one out there.

 

These are great cars to learn to work on as they are fairly simple and even the electronics are relatively basic (especially by modern car standards). They don't require many if any specialty tools which is a huge bonus. If willing to do some work yourself my preference is to go on the cheaper side if there are good service records and not 15 owners. Regardless of price point I would replace the whole cooling system (hoses, radiator, switch to the inline t-stat mod), PCV mod, go ahead and replace the idler pulleys and serpentine belt, upgrade front driveshaft, check battery and alternator and clean up terminals and grounds while at it, and check diff, trans and t-case fluids. That will give you a solid baseline on the car and doesn't cost a fortune and isn't much more than weekend of work or so. The radiator would be the hardest part of that and it's more annoying than anything (I have found that pulling the battery box makes the pass side a million times easier to work on). A standard socket set would be more than adequate to complete all that work.

I've had idler pulley's and heater core hoses explode and it's never fun to get stranded or having to rescue the wife in a snow storm/fix it on the side of the road..

 

Review and number of the YouTube videos by Atlantic British, it's a company that sells LR ports and they have videos showing the installation of many of these parts.

Like others have stated, Discoveries are not that hard to work on, but they are not common and have quirks that make mechanics unfamiliar will the vehicles have difficulty. If you don't have access to a mechanic familiar with Discoveries, you'll have to do even more work yourself.

Many useful mods can be done with no mechanical background and simple tools, so you can ease yourself into it. Seriously, the PCV mod costs less than $10 and can be done by anyone, yet it can greatly improve vehicle performance and reliability. There's a wealth of knowledge available now to help with vehicle mods and maintenance.

 

If I had to do it again, I would try to get one with a blown engine which is otherwise in good condition and does not have too many miles. Add a new engine for $10k and replace the front drive shaft (it was probably never serviced or replaced). Cooling system should be refreshed too (radiator, hoses, thermostat), but this is not too expensive.

 

Most I've spent = $5500.00 on a used D1/D2, but honestly out of all the used CL/FB MP LR's I've bought the most I ever put into them $$$ wise was off road accessories, new tires, and maybe a full brake job. I just knew what I was looking at, and if it wasn't up to my standards = I walked away.

My nearly mint Kalahari = was on/off being for sale for nearly a year (never could catch the guy's # before he'd take the ad down). It never sold due to high miles on it. However it was mechanically flawless and dealer serviced. Mileage means nothing if it's been well maintained and taken care of! I handed the man his $$$$ and ran. He actually contacted me about 2 months ago inquiring about buying it back. I kindly said no thanks lol.

#1 thing if you aren't LR savy take it to someone who is for a PPI, best 50-100.00 you'll spend. #2 if the seller seems ignorant, or you find oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid bottles littering the cargo area = RUN!!! #3 if it has an aftermarket alarm, dvd headrest, or a crazy stereo = walk away as it's probably an electronic nightmare. If you lift the hood and find duct tape or zip ties holding things together = walk away as that shows no one has taken the time to do the job right.

I can't tell you how many LR's I've inquired about and I judged it's condition via just the phone, text, or emails. Sure some I still went out to see, but I've walked away from plenty confirming what I'd already suspected.

For a clean 99-04 D2 with maybe some paint fade, few plastic bits needed replaced, but mechanically sound I'd say $5,500.00 to $9,000.00 as prices have gone up slightly for clean running examples. There are some low price diamonds in the rough out there no doubt but you've gotta make the choice of buy low and wrench on a project, or spend a bit more, and jump into it, and go!

 

get the best one you can afford. No matter what, you will be putting more $ into it......

 

plenty of good Disco 2's going for $30K now

the right D1 breaking $50K

the right Defender 90 going for $150k

the right Defender 110 going for $200K