I love 'em. But they ain't for everyone as the sticker says. If you don't do or like DIY maintenance and don't know what you're doing, it's the wrong truck for you unless you're loaded and can pay for the dealership to do all the work. I've been 'peddling' around in LR's for the best part of 45 years, seen it, done it and got the 'T' shirt when it comes to LR's and still have a lot to learn. 4x4's are what they are and the D2 TD5 I own has been pretty reliable as trucks go and only now at 121K and 11 years am I starting to update the mounts, suspension and bushes and that's a good return on capital I guess. I have an RRS, a D2 and an ancient 1995 Pajero and the D2 is probably the most reliable and fun with the Paj a close second. The RRS is great but as boring as hell. If you want a 4x4 LR that's totally reliable and 'does what it says on the tin' you need a good LR Series 3 with a 2.25 petrol engine and it'll go around the clock 2 or 3 times and probably has done so already. Of course if you want a motor to pop down to McDos for a burger a Toyota Prius is the car for you...........dead steady and all the celebs drive one.

 

Fair points. On the plus side I don't need to use a dealership as where I live there are a couple of guys who live and breathe LR's so labour costs aren't too bad and they are pragmatic. I bought mine (an ES 04 Disco 2) at auction with 130k on the clock. The bas****s who had the car must have stuffed the rear diff with very thick viscous oil as very soon after buying it, the rear diff started making really horrible sounds. One recon diff later plus rear hub as they had to destroy the old one to get it off. The old diff had one split gudgeon pin (is that the right term ?) and the other one had elongated the mounting points into ovals. New headlamp unit....the old one rusted up....miscellaneous bits to the aircon system...servicing naturally. Just had to have the XY selector switch replaced and now he tells me that the clunk I hear on take-up and overrun is a sign of the whole differential etc wearing out. Have to say not impressed though with these two guys in retrospect as I did ask them about the noise before and they just said it was normal for the vehicle. Now he's telling me that failure could be imminent.

There are plenty of other things that have had to be fixed. I've given up with trying to stop water coming into the passenger well. I must have dragged out a couple of pints, it's that bad.

So far to date I must have spent well over £2k which represents just under 1/3 of what I paid for the pile of junk. I would have had more fun mainlining that £2k.

Don;t get me wrong...the car is nice. If only I could have a new one please.

 

"I bought mine (an ES 04 Disco 2) at auction with 130k on the clock". definitely your first mistake.
dealers bring cars to auctions for a reason, the want to bail out of the vehicle and not worry about it come back.

 

All Discos turn into lemons when not properly maintained...gives them a bad name.

OK, so even when they are properly maintained, they're no Carolla. You either enjoy tinkering on them, or you want out.

 

Dusty: you amuse me.

 

Had a long talk with the other guy where I get my Disco maintained. He spoke a lot of sense and doesn't BS. I hadn't grasped just how expensive more modern cars were to repair especially Disco 3's and 4's....particularly from the cost of the parts perspective.

And told me several tales about other manufacturer's cars requiring very expensive work to be done.

So.....bottom line....I've invested so much already it makes sense to persevere. especially as he said mine was a pretty good car apart from the drive chain!

 

+1. A car goes to auction for a reason and many are because they wouldn't sell elsewhere on the open market. Countryman, I am really sorry to hear of your woes it sounds like you unfortunately picked a real 'bummer'. Buying at auctions is for real pros or the very lucky in this world. Auctions really need some research and knowledge when buying otherwise you can lose a truckload of cash, 'scuse the pun. It's a shame you never went to some of these guys online here first as they have seen most problems and got the T shirts. Don't let this put you off LR's as this could be any car, even a Prius.

 

yes, you could be looking at an $8k for new batteries in your prius

 

Dealers take cars to auctions for many reasons... many main dealers send all trade-ins to auction by default. Most of the cars for sale at independent car dealers were bought at auction, smartened up, had a few thousand added to the sticker price, and then put on the forecourt.

Of course buying at an auction can be a gamble, but it's worth remembering that many dealers make their entire living, and a good one, by doing so.

My 2004, bought on Ebay, has less problems than any of the ones I test drove locally, that were for sale by individuals.

 

PS, there is no such thing as a 2001 Jaguar XJ6.

XJ8? or older XJ6.