I know this post is pretty common here, and I’ve read a lot of them, but I still have questions.

I know that Discovery’s have a bad rap as a high maintenance vehicle. I currently own a ’97 Impreza that also has the same reputation. I do most of my own work, and it’s really not that bad. So I’m wondering, how bad the Discos are really? Also what years are especially bad? I’m looking at late 90’s series I, maaaybe an early series II. I’m trying to stay under $5k. Is there a certain mileage that everything that can go wrong has and it will be good to go?

Also I haven’t been able to find out witch years and models have a manual trany and cloth interior (call me old fashion, call me simple, it’s what I like).

I have seen there is a lot of support here and that is defiantly appealing. I am kinda looking for a project vehicle here, but I want it to still be reliable and don’t want it to sit most of the time while I try to get funs to fix it.
One other question, how are these trucks at long mileage towing (around a ton)?

 

Why on earth would you want a Discovery? Do you realize how much they demand financially? There is always something little that needs fixed. I'm just kidding. I have a 97 D1 that I love and wouldn't give it up for anything, except a Defender. A Discovery would definitely be a great project vehicle. That's what mine is as well as a second vehicle.

Manual transmissions quit coming to the states in 96 I believe and even prior to that they are rare. Most Discoveries have automatics with no problems. The Rover auto tranny is a pretty solid piece. I would recommend finding a 97-99 D1 for around $4000 and save the other $1000 in your budget to bring the maintenance up to date. Look for something in the 100,000 - 125,000 mile range and you should be good to go. I bought my 97 this past summer for $3700 with 108,000 miles. It has needed some work since I purchased it but I figure I now how the blue book value of the truck invested in it. I just recently had my head gaskets replaced because they were starting to leak at one corner and my water pump needed replaced at the time too.

From what I get from reading on the net cloth interiors are also rare on the Discoveries. Even most of the basic models have leather and heated, power seats. The leather is actually easier to clean up than cloth if you get mud or something on it out playing off-road.

Rovers get a bad rap on reliability for stupid reasons. Too much wind noise brings down the reliability rating. Your driving a brick on wheels, of course there is going to be wind noise. Crank up the tunes and enjoy the ride. Most owners of Rovers tend to let maintenance slide when the decide to get rid of the vehicle or decide it's too expensive. Immediately after you purchase find the 60K service list on the forum and get the parts needed to do it, regardless of mileage. As Spike likes to say, the Rover engine will last 300,000 miles, 200,000 if you abuse it.

The only year I would say to stay away from as a rule is 2003 but those are going to be out of your price range. But like all other rules, there are exceptions to that also.

 

only manual disco i've seen is this one

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/971132053.html

looks like he maintained it incredibly well, if I had cash I would be looking at buying this disco

 

Ak Rover, Lol, Thanks! Great post, good points on the trany and leather, I'll take it into consideration.

 

Did I forget to mention these things become an addiction? This is our support group for our addiction.

 

You MUST use premium gas.
The cruise control not working is a simple DIY fix.
The ABS light being on is common.
The Check Engine Light being on is also common and 98% of the time aGOOD tune up fixes the problem.
The sunroofs motors going bad is common, expensive to fix. Just leave it alone.
Just make sure the everything works, if it does not just ask us.
These trucks do get a bad rap, and like AK said, for no good reason.

 

Whats the problems associated with 2003 discovery's? Just curious....I have one...

 

The 2003 model year had a run of engines that were machined wrong and the it causes the oil pump to fail taking out the entire engine. The only fix is a new engine.

 

The 2003 Discos have oil pumps that had a high failure rate of failing, usually causing a motor replacement. There is a VIN range that is out there somewhere that shows which ones were involved. I too own a 2003 that is within that range. Can't worry about it too much now. I did a lot of research but somehow I missed the oil pump issue. I always wanted a D2, but never had a chance to buy one until recently, very happy with my purchase. By the way the truck has 58k miles.

 

Not all the VINs in the bad range will have problems.