Hello, new member here so hello! I've had a 2019 4Runner, but some water decided to not like my engine and, the damn thing is totaled. If insurance comes through and covers it, cool I'll have some money, if not... not as much money. Question is, what do I wanna do. I've had many considerations, 80 series Landcruiser, for god's sake even a Jeep *shivers*. I have a friend who has a disco 2 and he loves it, some regular maintenance but he loves it. I'm 18, headed to Colorado in August for college, so yes reliability is a factor. But I've heard an even amount of people saying their Disco is great, and then others saying its a crapshoot. The reason I'm considering an older and cheaper car is that while it is a daily driver, it will see its fair share of off-road usage and really, I don't mind not having all the pushy fancy buttons in a newer car, not a snob. I wouldn't say I work on cars regularly, know my way around a shop and toolbox, but I'm sure there's enough articles out there to help out if an issue arises. I just would like to hear what the forum has to say since everyone on here knows 1000x times more than I could, seems like a great forum of knowledgeable people. Just some food for thought, please go ahead ad tell me if I'm a f*&kin idiot.

 

unless you have tools jacks and are willing to do a ton of maintenance and research on how to keep these things going ? Your getting yourself into a lot of money wasting trouble

now if you have the money and time and tools and patience and are willing to do mechanical work , your ok.
Just don’t expect it to be a reliable rig until you get all the basics out of the way

 

you already have the answer, "it's a crapshoot."

 

Colorado and Dll's go together like peanut butter and jelly.

There's a topic on here, where a potential buyer has done a ton of footwork...on what to look for and what questions to ask. Check it out, most of what you are asking has been answered there.

Folks can only past on advice based off their own presonal experenices...so...bare that in mind. Most of the "regulars" here make their own repairs and know these things inside and out...so...they will tend to say buy one. Which isn't all bad, advice wise...if...you are somewhat handy with a wrench and know full-well going into this that you're buying, at the bare minimum, a 16 year old vehicle. So, how it's been maintained...is paramount.

I've bought four Dll's. (I'm a mechanic by trade)

First one for my wife, 03 HSE, paid about the going price, didn't know much about them, nice couple/seemed honest. Got it home and over the next month started doing preventive maintenance, brakes, steering components, all fluids, etc. Well, after changing the engine oil it started knocking like a son of a gun. Whatever they had dumped in that engine to quiet it out...worked...because when l removed the engine and disassembled...it was trash inside. In all of my forty some years of building motors, l'd never seen a set of bearings grooved/worn to the point of these. Engine had been overheated, too, three cylinders had slipped liners (steam cleaned cylinders). Anyhow, l'm a "just move forward type of guy" and found an engine out of a wreck with same mileage and freshly gone over. Dropped it in and my wife has been driving it for the last four years, pretty much trouble free. She doesn't drive a ton of miles a year, so it's got about 30K on it since buying.



Number two, 01 SD, was my idea. While looking for my wife's Dll, we'd looked at a repairable (driveshaft went through trans) that a woman owned close by...but wife didn't like...so we left. Well, after we found my wife's 03 (but before finding engine issue)...l get this hair-brained idea that l would like to get one of these things too. Bought the 01, threw a trans, y-pipe and driveshaft on it and started building a camping/off road vehicle. It became my daily driver, put about 35K on it in two years, pretty much trouble free. Unfortunately, while wheeling with the Ohio LR group...l drowned it badly and really put a hurting on the engine. Still drove it for another six months, but she sounded like a diesel. Anyhow, barring that...she was awesome and ended up taking several camping trips with her.




Number three, 04 SE, non-runner, overheated. Just got it running the other day, been sitting for about 18 months. Was on the hunt for a replacement for my 01, when we looked at this one. I'd been dealing with a guy about a 03, dark gray (color l wanted), but things just weren't coming together on the deal. So, went and looked at this one, bought it although it was to nice, inside and out, to do what l had in mind, another off-roader build. I was walking away from the purchase, but my wife said...just buy it, it will make a nice back up someday. So, l wrangled the guy down on an agreeable price and trailered it home.



Number four, 03 SE, two days after buying the white one...the guy with the gray one calls...and has finally given up on trying to get it running. Bought it, changed crank sensor, no go, checked fuse box and ignition relay fell into my hand when l touched it, pushed it in and she started up. Swapped all of my off-road stuff from the old 01 onto her and started daily driving. Everything went well, for about a month, then it was one thing after another. The frame was bad, but l'd planned on doing a rear section repair eventually...but after the third breakdown and countless difficulties...l scrapped her. Engine was the only good part, so pulled it out, rebuilt it and dropped it in the white 04.



So, that's my Dll story. After the gray one, l couldn't picture myself building another, so l switched gears and been messing with a 110.



Maybe someday...l'll build another Dll...they certainly have an appeal to them. Just look for one with a good frame...everything else can be repaired easily. Yeah, look for a well maintained one, sure, but the frame is the bones of the vehicle.

Brian.

 

Welcome to the forum. Not sure if my thread is the one The Deputy is referring to, but I’ve been doing similar research and have a long list of questions and several links to other posts on here for what to look for.

Thread is here, look at my last post in it: https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...-newbie-99647/

All that being said for being 18, headed off to college, I honestly would pass on a Disco based on what I’ve read. Unless your college provides you a heated garage and tools to do maintenance.

You’re going to be surrounded by people who want to go out and have fun, party, whatever — not to mention needing to focus on your studies — and owning anything this old and temperamental is not conducive to that environment. Your college experience can influence the rest of your life and career. Focus on that for four years. You can wrench later.

My situation is different. I’m twice your age. Work from home. Wife has a dead reliable Hyundai SUV so I have a second set of reliable wheels. Etc. Just pointing that out since it seems hypocritical for me to be pursuing a Disco but recommending against for you. I also had an unreliable/expensive to maintain vehicle in college and wish I hadn’t. Looking back on it I would’ve gotten a boring reliable car and waited to have my own place to wrench. But that’s just me.

Edit: then again if you had enough money to buy a 2019 4Runner — ?? — then you could probably afford to find a clean example and get really well acquainted with a local shop...

 

Totally agree with this. These trucks are rewarding to own, drive and work on, but this is a distraction you don't need when trying to earn a degree. The timesuck (for reasons both good and bad) isn't worth the reward. Get another Toyota and study hard on schoolwork instead of how to fix the Disco. Ever have two girlfriends at once? Similar conundrum.

 

If you aren't familiar with LR's I wouldn't even bother. First off finding a good well maintained and fully functional LR RRC/D1/D2 is like finding a needle in a haystack. Sure 1-3k examples are all over the place, but unless you're buying it for parts it's just cash you are tossing away!

If you want to get into LR's I'd find a local independent shop and see if they know anyone selling a RRC/D1/D2. That would be the only way of getting one with a good history. Besides that nah stick with a Toyota.

LR's are a passion, and they can be super reliable, but you MUST have a good one in the first place. Aftermarket alarms, DVD, stereo's, and people that just don't know what they're doing can take a perfectly good LR and turn it into a huge POS.

 

I'll add to the pile on... Unless you are a mechanic you can plan on averaging $2000 per year in maintenance over the long term with one of these, no matter the condition when you buy it. 13 years and 200k miles of experience tell me this.

As mentioned you can save money by doing the routine maintenance yourself but at college that could be problematic.

And like above, if you have parents with bottomless pockets who can hire you a personal mechanic then I'd go a different direction.

What you could do though is if you have any spare time during your schooling, check out the local LR SPECIFIC indy shops in your area and ask about any club activity, or even connect with some of the CO members on here and hang out, learn, experience, even help out others on their maintenance tasks. Then when you have your career settled, etc. you will be ready.

Best of luck!

 

All comes down to. How good of a friend do you have. ?? You said he’s got a disco 💃?
Maybe he’s all the help you need with knowledge and repairs

 

Thank you all for the responses, very solid advice. It's always better to hear it from folks on a knowledgeable forum rather than broader videos or guides. To answer some comments, no my parents do not have bottomless pockets, and neither do it. The 2019 4Runner was a steal, I was lucky to get it through a mixture of my payments, a trade-in, and a few good friends in the auto business. Thank you all again for the advice, it is very much appreciated! Cheers.