I'm looking for a first car and it's between a jeep grand cherokee, a truck of some kind, or a Discovery II. I'm very heavily leaning towards the discovery. I like the styling and the interior and I love the 4x4 heritage. Loved the car since a bunch of them started showing up around my town. I have found a 2000 model with 70xxx miles on it for 6500. I think it's perfect for what I'm looking for but I need to convince my dad otherwise mainly regarding maintenance. What are the some of the major problems (like the "3 Amigos?), how far into the life of the car do they start happening, what is the overall reliability, and would this be a good first car?

Thanks!
Davis

http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/lan...r&distance=200

 

Fathers know best, a discovery is not a good first car. Unless you have a good job (or your father will pay) and are mechanically inclined I would stay away from Land Rovers. Sorry probably not what you want to hear.

 

No, thank you very much. I needed an honest answer. I appreciate it.

 

Bah humbug, lipad. My Disco was my first car and if I could go back I wouldn't change it. Big D, I'd recommend looking into a DI (94-99) though, rather than a DII. They're a lot simpler to work on. I'm sure Spike555 will agree with me. The maintenance is still more expensive than a little Honda or something but the Rover is well worth it. Especially when your friends crappy little cars slide all over the road as soon as it gets wet or snowy and they call you up to pull them out of the ditch

 

I had a 1999 Saturn as my first car. I had that until 2006. I don't recall having to replace anything but the tires (besides it being hit by buses on 3 separate occasions) not even a battery. My wife's old 1999 civic same deal ZERO repairs. I love my disco but unless you got the cash or love working on your vehicle it is not a good first vehicle.

Now if you want to get into doing your own maintenance and repairs then go for it. I teach 16 year olds and (no offense to the OP, you may be a very mature young person) generally they have no interest in such things, too much work.

 

Thank you guys!

 

Good luck in finding a different vehicle.

 

Would it be too much hassle to self-maintain the little stuff?

 

Don't forget about access to tools if you're going to do the maintenance yourself. After deciding to do the wrenching myself on my Discovery, I've been on a buying spree: basic Craftsman socket set, torque wrench, pumps, jack stands, a good jack, and all the extra little doo-dads I have to run to Autozone to buy for each step of Mike's 60K checklist. This stuff adds up pretty quickly, and is over and above the oil, lubricants, fluids, and parts you'd buy from Atlantic British or Rover's North.

Then again -- if your dad has a garage full of tools, you're set. Why? Because 1) he has the tools, and 2) he probably knows how to use them (even more helpful!!!).

Either way, good luck. I wish I'd learned to work on cars when I was 16... it'd be much easier now

Ed (RedAustinIX)

 

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

Read through that, I agree that a DI would be better for a first car, when things go wrong they are cheaper to fix.
You MUST use premium gas, and at $3.00 a gallon right now and you can expect to get 14 at best (just because you are a inexperienced driver), so can you afford gas?
These trucks are built like tanks, insurance is cheap and so are parts.
They are very easy to work on, they are built with the idea of working on them in the desert/savanna/jungle etc.
If you want to learn how to wrench a DI is perfect.
The DI and DII get the same MPG so rule that out.
As far as buying one with alot of miles on it, the more the merrier.
The more miles on it the more things that have been replaced by someone else.