Hey everyone, I've got a 2003 Disco with about 114k miles on it. It was in an accident and needs a new radiator support, bumper, grill, and headlight. It runs and drives alright, the paint is in good shape (minus the bumper), the interior is beautiful and looks new. Judging from the condition of the engine, and other components, it seems like it had very good owners.

I presently have a 96 RR that I've had for a few years now and it has never let me down, but it is aging and I am thinking about getting into something newer. I also have a 98 Jaguar XJ8 that is pretty solid, and my trustee DD 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe that I've had for 6 years and is a great rig, but I'm getting tired of it (kinda boring).

If I were to keep the Disco and fix it, the Santa Fe and RR would both have to go. The catch is, the Disco has a salvage title. Which is odd, cause it is drive able and there is no frame damage. I'm tempted to just sell it and save for an LR3, but it is a nice Disco and it wouldn't be a bad rig. The vin does fall within the oil pump tsb range, but from what I've read it can be remedied by replacing the timing cover with a modified one that re-aligns the oil pump.

So what do you think? Should it stay or go? I've got about $3200 into it now, and estimate I'll have about a little under 5k or so after the repairs. I realize this is an odd post, but any advice is appreciated. I'm on the fence and just need some advice to push me onto one side or the other . Thanks all in advanced!

 

Salvage title - in your state can it get a tag without a safety inspection or such?

That said, I have a friend who drove his new Subaru, while out splashing on the first weekend of owneship, into a puddle. A 12 foot deep puddle. Insurance totaled it, he bought salavge title for $1200, washed it out, and put 150,000 on it by the time he sold it. Always called it his Scuba-ru.

 

It all depends on what you expect out of the truck and what you'll want to use it for... With a salvage title, it won't ever be worth much (I mean, it will be worth significantly less than these D2's are typically valued at). As a rule of thumb, assuming book value is relatively accurate, you can deduct 40% from the lowest (rough condition) $$$ value shown in the book (i.e.- NADA, KBB, etc.) for any title branding (R, Salvage, TMU, etc.).

So if you fixed it and drove it you would have to plan to run it until you feel that you've gotten your full $8200 ($3200 + the ~$5k for repairs) before you decide to dispose of it. (IMO, putting $5k into a salvage titled truck is a bad investment given that you'll be putting more $$$ into maintaining it too.)

Now, if you're right about it needing $5k worth of repairs on top of having a Salvage title and you really want a D2, then I'd consider finding one with a blown motor (~$1500) and swapping the good parts of the salvage truck (i.e.- engine, tranny, interior, etc.) to it myself, then parting the rest of the salvage truck out. I'm willing to bet you could get out for less than the $8200 (as I've calculated above) if you go this route and do the work yourself...especially if you can recoup some $$$ by parting out the '03 with the Salvage title.

All of the above said, if you can't or don't want to do the work yourself, dumping this D2 and saving for the LR3 might be your best course of action...

 

Yeah, I didn't word that properly. I have 3200 into it now and estimate it will cost a little less than 2k to fix. So I'll have paid 5k or so total for it after the repairs. , Haha nice!

 

it still gets you the same place for $5000 you can get a well running Disco with out a salvage title. Sell the Disco, RR and Hyunda take the money and go looking for a LR3.

 

OK...that changes things completely...I'd fix it and drive it.

 

I would keep it and use it for off roading only!

 

Fix it and drive it, there are plenty of DII's out there with blown engines or transmissions that people just want gone, buy one of those and use it for parts, then part out the rest or just scrap it.

 

So... how much u want for the rangie?

 

Thanks for the responses. I'm leaning towards keeping the Disco, its in good shape minus the front of course, and seems like it has a lot of life left in it. The santa fe will be the first to go since its worth the most. I'll probably use the RR and Jag as DDs for a month or so before I repaired the Disco repaired. After that, it will be time to let the RR go, which will be very sad for me. Its been such a good rig... I've seen a lot of RRs around here go for a lot more than usual for some reason. I'll probably start the listing at around 4k or so.