$2000 sounds right, especially if they doing valve stem seals (maybe even grinding the valves) and certainly surfacing the head. The kit should come with injector o-rings too, I'd replace those as they are a pretty common cause of lean codes.

Also, there are almost NO disco 2 that you could consider an "investment"

 

I bought my 2001 disco about 2 months ago and am surprised how much I like it. I have a 2013 F150 that I just spent 40 grand on with every bell and whistle Ford sells and I now prefer driving my rover with 135,000 miles on it. I will say that if I had to rely on it as my only car I'd have some anxiety about it. But being a weekend fun car, if it breaks down and is out of commission a few weeks, who cares?

 

Haha, I am going to follow this thread as wife was discussing that maybe we should get a land cruiser since they seem more reliable (will see what is discussed here). As a matter of fact we talked yesterday, see below....
Well, I don't know, but at least the Disco comes with automatic anti rust protection from typical oil leaks... Like this week the transmission cooler leak that dumped tranny oil out (JB weld stick steel fix didn't work as I thought), left wife 1 hour from home, but tow truck, used transmission oil cooler, local indy repair man, and should be back up and going.

I've done quite a bit of repairs to mine, but I've always felt with any European vehicle if maintenance is not followed, that is scheduled maintenance, you are at risk. If you are handy, most things can be done/worked on by you.

Buddy has had two Land Cruisers and really likes them, but they are quite a bit more in cost, do appear to have some more shoulder room. I'm not sure about his maintenance cost.
You should be able to find a decent Disco 2 with CDL feature ('99 to some '01s, look for nipple on transfer case or 2004 has it).

Seems like there are plenty of parts, used and new, for Discos.. Just some thoughts.

 

Land cruisers are great vehicles. I'm too poor to own one.

And they are kind of ugly.

 

When I was looking, I really wanted a 96 or 97 LC, but the cost was over $10k. Found my 01 Disco with only 58k miles for $5800. I think I still would prefer a 97 LC with the factory lockers on it.

 

I agree with others on here. Only, don't look for an '04 for the CDl's sake.


Your main concern here is to get one with RECORDS and in the best shape you can. For me, it was a '99 with full records (gaskets recently done). It was $5k for 99k miles. Sure, a bit pricer, but all I really had to do was a T-stat and front driveshaft. Easy.


It's been reliable for me (knock on wood) for nearly a year and 6,000 miles. I'm buying cooling system components for preventative maintenance, not because I have to.

Remember, all '99 have CDL. I believe all '00 do, and some '01, I can't remember the cutoff. It only costs $100 +/- and a weekend to install a D1 CDL shifter and have Hummer H1 Traction Control (stock on D2) with Traction Control.


Depending on vehicles you are looking at, a well kept, CDL-tcased '99 or '00 may be significantly cheaper than finding a similar '04.


And yes you DO want CDL if you go off-road. My Jeep ZJ had one front tire spinning once because of the un-locked stupid viscous coupling transfer case. Dumbest thing ever on an off-roader. If you off-road, get the CDL...

 

A lot of rovers go over 100,000 miles without blowing a head gasket, I have 130k on mine and its running amazingly. The problem is, people don't to maintenance, Its like me not changing the oil for an entire year than scratching my head when my engine seizes, and instead of blaming myself because it was my fault, I blame faulty engineering and call the Land Rover a ****ty car. Now, Land Rover has some faults, like any car, but if you maintain it and change anything that needs to be changed or is broken you'll love it.


Dane.

 

73% of Land Rovers ever made are still on the road today...that's a staggering # that Toyota can't claim. Having said that, if you can imagine yourself owning anything else, don't buy a Disco. If you can't, prepare to get your hands dirty or your wallet emptied. Personally, I enjoy tinkering on it and it's FAR easier to work on than a Land Cruiser. Many things are engineered upsidedown/backwards from normal, (which is why some shops won't work on them), but it's not complicated.

I have the most expensive, sought after low mileage DII ever made, but it cost me $12K (18 mo ago)+ $6K for a top hat engine to get a reliable daily driver. This was worth it to me and I went in knowing what I'd spend. So it really depends on what you're going to be using it for. For comparable $, I could have had an 05 Land Cruiser with 50K mi that I would have liked a lot, but not loved.

Bang-4-$, a 96-98 4.0L with good service records would be though to beat. They're cheap to buy, easier/cheaper to work on, and agruably as capable. They also ditch the Lucas electronics and are OBD-II compliant. Downside = less hp, but that can be tweaked with a hotter cam, electric fan and exhaust upgrades.