Hi guys. New to the forum, but have been doing a bit of research here recently. I'm interested in a Discovery ll SE7 That I found for under 8k. It has 93k on it. I checked it out today and the engine didn't tick, no sign of oil or seepage around the gaskets, undercarriage doesn't show signs of anything leaking either. The body needs a bit of work (dings, front bumper is a little rough) and the interior looks ok except for the worn "suede" panel on the drivers side. On our test drive I noticed a front end suspension squeak over larger bumps like the curb into the lot. I still need to check the undercarriage fully for signs of rust, but none seen on the exterior. Lastly the drivers door hinge slightly clicks when swung wide open. I don't mind working on the cosmetic stuff over time and I love doing preventative maintenance, but I don't want a car that is poised for failure. I currently have a mint CLS 55 AMG, so I'm not foreign to higher maintenance costs, nor do I mind them as long as I can keep away from major repairs. I really want the vehicle to have some longevity left under the hood as a daily driver that can deal with Chicago potholes and snow. Any advice/feelings on this particular Discovery is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

It will do great in the Chicago snow. We just got a 2003 right before Xmas and drove up to Chicago from southern Illinois the next day. My 03 had 98 k on it and I got it for 5000. Its in good shape but we leek some oil

 

ANy indication that the head gaskets have been done? If the heads don't look shiny new then they may not have ever been done, in which case you will need to add about $2500 on to your list of things to do.

The front end could be shocks/springs... Thats about $400 in parts depending on the quality level of replacement you choose.

Adjust price accordingly. 8k is probably too much to pay if you don't have a documented maintenance history.

Two things when buying a rover... Pay to have a Land Rover specialist do a pre purchase inspection... Take a code reading OBDII scanner and read the codes if any.

 

If all the electric door locks are working for the moment, then you are good to go.

Make sure the drive shaft is greased.

Buy it and enjoy it.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I actually may have found one in slightly better shape a couple of hours ago. Almost identical price and mileage, but it looks almost new. They just had it traded in and are replacing the power steering pump, but I'm excited to take a look at this one next week. I'll take some pics of the engine and vehicle. Good advice on the pre purchase inspection. I'll keep you posted.

 

So I checked out another 2004 Disco SE7. It has 101K on it and they are asking a little over 7K for it. It's in good shape other than both bumpers having small cracks and there being a dime sized rust spot on the driver's side corner of the roof. The undercarriage has some rust (but I figure I can have that treated and proofed). I took it to a shop for an inspection and the diff lock was stuck, but they were able to loosen it from underneath and now it works with no warning light. The dealer also had the car's steering pump replaced as well as the cam (was told it was worn and the car was smoking upon trade in). The engine didn't show signs of oil leaks around any gaskets. There was a small pool of coolant on the head bolt area under the throttle body (no visible leak), but I'm wondering if that was left over from the engine work done to replace the cam. Ran great, other than the small lag that felt like higher torque converter stall when starting from a stop (I'm thinking it was because of the diff being locked)? If this stuff seems reasonable or normal operation, I'd be interested in purchasing the vehicle. Any advice is really appreciated. Thanks again guys. BTW, I love the fact that this forum gives great technical advice. The Mercedes forums aren't useful at all, unless the advise you are looking for is "take to the dealer".

 

The coolant leak is likely from the TB heater plate...a common failure point and not expensive. However, sounds like there's a lot of things wrong. Rust, leaks, diff lock, cam (were the lifters replaced with the cam?? If not, they probably need to be done), lag...too many variables but maybe you could use that as a bargaining chip.

 

Thanks for the reply. I think I might take it to a local Land Rover dealer for an inspection as well. I figure they can give me an in depth list of things that are wrong with it (things they would like to fix). I figure that will be a "worst case" list of repairs.

 

I would fly to California and get a rust free one or to Portland or Seattle if you can.
Chicago can really hammer a rover.
But then flying to somewhere is a risk as you can't really know what you are in for.
I once flew to Seattle to buy a Saab and it turned out very well.

 

As Dave03s said earlier, the most common major issue with these trucks are the head gaskets. They tend to fail around 100k miles. So if I were buying one of these trucks, I'd have to know if the HG were done already. If not, be prepared to address them in the near future, and it isn't cheap. It's just a sad truth about these trucks.

Mine have never been replaced, and at 111k miles I recently had one fail for absolutely no reason. No overheating, no low coolant, nothing that should have caused a problem.

That said, I do love my truck. There's just nothing I have found that has the same driving experience as my Disco. But the maintenance issues are part of the deal.

BTW, the camshaft issue is likely because they were running the wrong oil. Flat tappet cams need a different type of oil, and the easiest way to meet that need with modern oil is to use a diesel engine oil.