Guess I'll have to paint the Rover....

 

LOL. So close, so close. If only our Volvo was black.

 

I searched for months for a vehicle. My common sense was telling me to go with a sedan that gets 30+ mpg. I've always wanted a Disco...they are THE field vehicle for archaeologists in my humble opinion. But I always thought they were out of my league. I looked at a Disco 1 here in town, but something about the transfer case/driveline was shot and even though the rest of it was in good shape for the price, it was only getting power to the front 2 wheels (or something to that effect). Then I went online and happened to come across my Disco II. No one wants v8s right now, so she was a pretty good deal!

I don't drive a lot...I got close to 20 mpg on my trip to Vegas two weeks ago. I'm slowly learning what speeds are more economical. Mine runs fabulous between 75 and 80 mph. Anything higher guzzles gas. Yeah, not the best, but not really any worse than the 93 Camry I was driving.

I'm one that doesn't do a lot of off-roading, but I do want to in the future. I love the idea I can sleep in my truck at a campground instead of renting a hotel room (did that on my Vegas trip). And if I ever go back into archaeology, I know I'll be the one who gets out of all the tight places that my coworkers pick-ups will get stuck ;o)

Although the whole temperature thing in Celsius really gets me...haha...

 

Annie, all you had to do was ask.
http://www.roverparts.com/TechTips/T..._C_to_F_D2.cfm
Print this page and keep it in the glove box, if you ever replace the battery you will need to do this again.

 

For anyone considering a more fuel efficient automobile, go to www.fueleconomy.gov and use their vehicle comparison page. You can input how many miles you drive, mpg, and fuel cost. This will show you how many years it would take to make up the price difference between the Rover you currently own and that little Japanese fuel sipper that just passed you on the highway.

I considered a Prius (the shame!) and my 2000 Disco II. After surfing used car prices and comparing both EPA mileage and what I would probably get driving them, I realized it would take over four years to break even on the cost difference. This is different for every person but it does go to show that you should look at hard numbers before making a switch. Factor in the money lost selling the Rover and the interest paid on a loan only makes it look worse.

I think it is better to keep and take care of what you have than switching because of the petrol prices or going green. Building a new car can't be any better for mother nature than taking care of the one you have.

Happy Roving,

Pete

 

Pete I agree with you to a point.
If you are spending $200 per month in gas AND making a $200 truck payment then it would be cost effective to sell the Rover and buy a more fuel efficent car. Providing that the new car payment is $200 and you cut your gas spending in half.

The best way to do it is to drive the Rover as the second car after it is paid for. It is free to sit in the driveway,and you use the more fuel efficent car for daily driveing.

 

I really enjoy driving the rover, I was never thinking about trading it in for a more fuel efficient car. I already have a compact car that gets 25-28mpg that I owned before I bought the rover. I was just trying to think of reasons to justify driving the rover instead of the compact.

annie, 20mpg doing 75-80mph..thats great! Do you know what plugs/wires you are using?

 

This is exactly why I'm considering buying a motorcycle. Rover's been paid off for a while, so it wouldn't be cost effective (or fun effective, can't take a Civic off road) for me to get a little car. So if I got a bike, I could be getting 50+mpg, and still have the fun. Just a different kind of fun.

 

I grew up riding dirt bikes off-road and would like to get an enduro bike that I could take on the road, but I cant bring myself to do it because of the accident risk. Everybody I know that rides motorcycles on the highway has a story about a car pulling out in front of them and them going down. There are just too many bad drivers on cellphones driving 5K+lbs SUVs.

 

I had an 02 Ford Ranger...standard cab....no room. I bought it new, paid it off and was happy...with everything except the size of it. With a 2 year old, I felt like I had to have something bigger. The first car lot I stopped at to browse had an 02 Disco...I have always liked Rovers, just thought I could never afford one. I thought maybe I could trade my truck and very little cash. My wife talked me out of doing anything that day. The following weekend I went and test drove a Grand Cherokee and an Expedition. I loved the Cherokee, they wanted too much cash for it. I drove the Expedition and it had something wrong with the rear end. At this point I was not sure about the Disco, I had been online reading some about them...bad MPG, expensive to fix, bad MPG, expensive to fix....that is about all I could find about them...oh yeah....bad MPG

Well, I went and drove the first car I had looked at and 30 minutes later it was mine for my Ranger and $1000...I thought that was a good deal. It came with a service engine light and the 3 amigos....but it runs good. I think my problems are sensor related.

I love the vehicle so far. Everyone I work with likes it too...it looks cool at work. There is only 2 of them at my place of work. My burgundy one and somebody drives a white one....the white ones are sweet! I will keep it till it won't run anymore I would still like to get a small economical car for everyday driving and keep the Rover for weekend fun