Is a 2004 more reliable than a 2003? i've read that some of the issues w/ previous Discos were eliminated in the 04.

 

The 2004 is widely considered the best year of the Disco. Most of the issues from 03 were fixed and it has stock CDL. Some will argue that it has too many electronics, but I still think its the best year Disco you can buy. However, just like with any LR, there is always a chance it will have its issues and the 04 is certainly not problem free. It just tends to have less go wrong.

 

MT,

IMO, the "reliability" of a Land Rover has to be taken on a case-by-case basis. It would be hard to say something like "all 2001's are reliable, but all 2002's are not." All Rovers are reliable out of the gate (*'03's excluded), but they have to be taken care of properly, which isn't always the case.

You HAVE to use premium gas, you HAVE to change the oil on time, you HAVE to flush the coolant, etc. This forum is a great place to figure out how to and why to do those things.

But with the current economic state and high gas prices you can pick up a Rover for cheap! Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

i have a 04 SE with 56,000 miles.

only issues i have run into are the passenger window regulator turning itself into a pretzel.

i change the oil at 5k with mobile 1 high mileage and fresh filter. have done a coolant flush, rebuilt front shaft, new brake pads, new diff fluid., need to do tranny and Tcase. magnacores and ngk iridiums.

clean and condition the leather every 3 months. lube the locks and hinges often.

it runs and drives well. gets ok mileage.

its a rover. it does everything well.

 

I bought a disco with all the service records, followed all the service tips on the forum, and still have managed to blow the engine and cost myself a minimum of $4000 since my may 09 purchase. That's just parts, the biggest portion being a used engine of course. This is for a vehicle I have driven less than 800 miles since I bought it! (weekend toy) Even with that being the case, it still would buy another because i do enjoy it when it runs and there is nothing else like it. But just don't buy one to save money : )

 

I read on this forum to stay away from vins bet/w 3a771801-3a808362

I called and they gave me a VIN of salty16443882480. does that sound right? not sure what to make out of those numbers.

Thanks again

 

Check this out guys.... Its kinda funny, I have the BEST and the WORST.... get a little bit of a kick out of it...

http://usat.me?83931

Let me know what you think....

 

correction...

I misread the vin, it is " 3A824807...what exactly does that mean for me as i am a newbie when it comes to LRs. The dealer is emailing me a carfax. Should that have all the maintenace/service assuming done by a professional? I've always bought new cars, but have loved the Disco since i first saw one.

Thanks again

 

check out my club site under the tech section and read 2003 vins

 

A lot of owners here get Discos that are 2nd and 3rd owner vehicles. The cost to repair is pretty high. So, there is a lot of deferred maintenance that comes with many used Discoverys ...and that translates into high costs for people that come to this board. In other words, they may be repairing a bunch of issues previous owners SHOULD have addressed. I personally haven't had many high costs on mine and now that I have fixed all of the little boogers that existed when I bought it, mine hasn't been overly maintenance intensive. I do my own service like a lot of guys on this board and that keeps costs down. Overall, the vehicles are relatively solid and well built. The engineering and ergonomics does not compare to that of Toyota, so you should expect to see a lot of strange quirks. OTOH, that is part of the charm of these vehicles in the first place. And, part of what makes them last a long time. Much of the quality materials and steel beefiness hasn't been engineered out and replaced with pressed sheet metal (the Toyota way) in place of cast brackets ..and radio ***** that just about crumble in your fingers. Plus they are constructed in a way that many of the wear parts can be continually be rebuilt. That's nice too. Servicing is really easy too.

I don't think the ergonomics of these Discos are as good as the 4Runner either, especially if you are on the taller side. I have an older Toyota truck and, while I love it, its not like it hasn't seen its fair share of maintenance and repairs either. We've taken our L/R across country twice and never had any major issues. Nor was I concerned that we would, even at 145k. In fact, on the last vacation, we drove into remote areas of Wyoming (Hole in the Wall - Butch Cassidy and Sundance kids) which is one of the most remote places. All day on trails and rough roads. It never entered my mind that the good ole Disco would let me down. Mine is a 1998 and there seem to be way less electronic issues with the older ones from what I gather on this board. I have to tell you also that I only drive the Disco occasionally from a daily driving standpoint. Out of economics I drive a VW Jetta TDI Diesel. I get 40mpg or more between tankfulls and that saves a bunch of $$. Driving the Disco everyday would put me in the poorhouse.

You are not going to like this next part (being a Toyota fan), but if you are looking for another SUV, and a L/R isn't in your cards, a Jeep (there, I said it) Cherokee or Grand Cherokee is a great low-cost vehicle that you can get a lot of miles out of. Our Grand Cherokee has probably been one of the cheapest to own vehicles I've had. We have over 220,000 miles on a 1995 with the straight 6 and it gets 19-20 MPG all the time (city/hwy driving) between fill-ups and with the Select-Trac (avoid QuadraTrac on a used Jeep) it is as good in the snow as our Disco IMO. Parts are readily available and much cheaper than LR parts, although I have never had to replace any major assembly on the Jeep other than the expected brakes, starter, water pump. I just stuck new brushes in the Alt for $5. Salvage yards are full of them, so are aftermarket modification catalogs. I have driven our stock Disco on Colorado mountain trails and Trails in/around Moab. From a wheeling perspective, it did fine but I wouldn't not say it was exemplary in any way. In fact, it's a heavy vehicle and was bouncing all over the place and would come down on rocks and ruts pretty hard. I had to be carefull to prevent damage. I've driven Jeep Grand Cherokees and Chevy Blazers on these same trails and my opinion is, in stock form, they actually performed better due to less weight and more suspension articulation (except the Blazer that has very low-hung frame siderails). Easier climbing too. Plus, the Disco could hardly make it's way going up mountain interstate roads. I was being passed by every Ford Focus', Explorer and trucks towing long campers. That was odd and frustrating. But in spite of all this, I still really like our Discovery 1 and don't have any plans to get rid of it. I'm not beating it up, just pointing out realities that I've experienced.

Another option if you don't want to consider Jeep, is something like a used Montero. These have horrible resale which is good for you, and are pretty decent vehicles. I think the engineering and ergonomics are there. There is the Montero sport and the bigger one. I would be tempted with the bigger Montero. But nobody is ever going to stop you and say, "Wow, is THAT a Montero?!" like they will with a Land Rover. Another option is to get a run-of-the-mill 1/2 ton pick-up. They are generally cheap to own. I drive the Jetta TDI cause it really does save $$.

Good luck on the new job search. Hope you get your feet on the ground quickly.