Greetings, all, obviously I'm new to the forum here. Quick background - I'm between trucks at the moment. My last rig was a 2005 Ford F-250 Crewcab 4x4 with the V-10 gas motor. Essentially unstoppable but roughly the size of a house. Used it to tow our 29' offshore boat; now the boat is gone, so I sold the truck.

I need a vehicle that can tow a small fishing boat, possibly a snowmobile or two on a trailer (figure max 3500 lbs or so), get me to hunting and fishing properties that are often on two track or similar roads, haul me, the Mrs, 2 kids, and one Labrador Retriever. It may or may not be my daily driver, but we have the CFO's 2008 CTS for "nights on the town".

Given the above, I've been looking at vehicles like Explorers, Expeditions, Tahoes, and the like. However, I do like the idea of something a bit outside the mainstream (1962 MGA in the garage) and saw a Discovery on the road the other day. I've done a bit of reading on the various iterations of the vehicle, and am curious as to which year/model you would recommend? From what I've read here, the 2003 may or may not be a time bomb, so I've somewhat eliminated them from consideration. I do like the idea of the larger V8 - I'm a firm believer in the "if some is good, more is better - and too much is just enough" school of thought When did that debut? And the various trim levels are somewhat confusing - is there a decent website or FAQ that breaks it down?

Budget-wise, I'd like to stay under $12K, but might go up to $14-15 for the right vehicle. Obviously, less is better

Thanks for any input...

 

These trucks are very unique if thats what your looking for. With your budget I would look at Discovery II's in the year range of 99-02. I bought mine with 89,000 on the clock for $8,000 and it was in great shape. The main thing you can do is look at a handful of them, do NOT fall in love with the first one until you compare it to a few more. I almost made an awful mistake and I am so glad I didn't. Test drive them, and before you buy bring it to a shop to have it looked over.

Know this, you may have to rehab the truck at bit, Im talking a major tune-up. Sometimes before these trucks are sold the regular upkeep is neglected because it is slightly more expensive since most everything is made in Jolly Ole England and they are a bit harder to work on for some shops. See if you have a Rover mechanic in you area, they are great to have around. Here is what I tell people, set aside $1000 for first time repairs. That might be to much, it might (hopefully wont be) to little. Once you have done that, anything extra you have left can be used to make the truck yours (brush bar, auxiliary lights, fuzzy steering wheel, ect..). Once you get past the early repairs these trucks are pretty reliable.

Once you get one of these you fall in love with it. There is nothing else like it, and they do everything you are looking for, including towing. If the road ever gets rough the rover will pull you through. I will never buy any other make of vehicle if it going to be used for recreation, towing, or off roading. If you get one, you will see why. Any other questions just shout.

 

Well, if you are looking for power you are looking at the wrong trk. 6,000lb trk being pulled by a 200hp V8.
The 4.6 came out in '03, '04's are the best Discovery by far.
http://www.robisonservice.com/servic...er_advice1.asp
This link will give you some insite.
You MUST use premium gas, no matter what Disco you buy. I dont know what gas is going for in Detroit, but right now here in GR it is $4, so take that into consideration. It will get better MPG than your Ford though.
16-18 on the exspressway and 12-14 in town.
About the same size as a Explorer, smaller than a Tahoe, you can tow your boat no problem.
If you are in the typical American mindset that bigger is better and more needs more than a Land Rover is not the truck for you.
If you want to do more with less, then this is the truck for you.
And just in case you didnt know, a Disco can drive out of the jungle and park downtown and still fit in. The English invented luxury.

 

The Exxon Valdez gets better mileage than my Ford Obviously I'm not looking for a race car (the wife's Caddy fills that need nicely) but as you noted, 200 hp in a 3 ton truck is not much, that's why I was looking for the 300 hp 4.6. I think I'll start looking for decent 04's online and see what's out there.

Funny thing about premium - it is still only $.20 more a gallon, generally, than regular. So, as gas prices rise, the upcharge for 93 octane actually falls. It is probably at or near historic lows in relation to the price of regular. Now that's some rationalization!

 

http://www.discoveryownersclub.org/tech/

This site has all the information you might need on the Disco II. It helped me to make my decision.

Cheers,

Pete

 

Awesome, thanks. My brother-in-law just sold a 2000 Disco, I've been picking his brain a bit. He loved the truck but driving a zillion miles a year drove him to picking up a Mini Cooper S.

 

The 2003 and the 2004 Disco II's with the 4.6L V8 have 217 hp and 300 lb-ft torque.NAS

The 1999.5> to 2002 Disco II's with the 4.0V8 had 185hp and 250 lb-ft torque. NAS

The 1994 to 1999.5< Disco I's with the 4.0l V8 had 182hp and 233 lb-ft torque NAS.

The LR3 that started in 2005 has a 4.4l v8 with 300 hp NAS
LR3's can be had for $15K to $21K starting out, with warr from a Dealer.
The LR3 fixed the problems that the Disco II's had as the Disco II's fixed the
Problems the Disco I's had,,,some of us feel that the "problems" of one model
where are not problems, so we stick with what we know.

 

Thanks for clearing that up - I know I read "300 hp" somewhere but got confuzzled along the line. I'm guessing that the 4.6 is a measurable improvement over the 4.0 (nee 3.9). My dilemma at this point is whether the truck will be a mainstream vehicle (in which case I'll likely go for a 2004) or an occasional use / offroad rig, which will point me to something cheaper, perhaps a 2002 or earlier.

 

If you are going to be looking for the 4.6 then look at 04's. The 2004, as spike mentioned, is probably the best disco. Along with the 4.6 engine and all the other cool gadgets a disco has, the 04 brought back CDL after being taken away in the 99-03 models. (some 99-00 have the hook-up for CDL but its not just ready to go, like in the 04's and disco I's) The 04 also has the updated headlamps.

04's are more expensive, so you might bust your budget a bit but I think in the long run it would be worth it, especially since you are going to be using it towing and recreation stuff, along with driving it more mainstream. If you do decide it wont be driven as much, I think 99-00 are good options since they have the option of CDL hook-up. Good luck and let us know what you are looking at!

 

........the 04's are the most capable. If you don't plan on ever going offroad, look at the right 03. If the VIN doesn't fall in the range(search), the engine is ok, and you can pick them up a lot cheaper. If you decide you want the CDL and the traction control isn't enough, you can pick up a transfer case from a wrecked 04 and swap for under $2k........

That said, if you are looking at price, the 99-early 01's are more than capable. I am trying to get a cheap 4.6 short block to drop in a 00 that my buddy blew up. Headlights would be the only difference then....