I'm new to this forum so please be gentile, not sure if this is the right place to post this.

I live in Denver, CO and am looking to buy an 02-03 Disco. I'm not concerned about the MPG and have done a little homework on what to expect when owning these. I do a little off-roading a few times a year and test drove a few of these last winter.

I'm wondering if there are any tips you seasoned owners could tell me. I'm nervous about reliability and very high repair bills. I make 50k and have little to no bills, so I don't mind a few expensive repairs a year.

Thank You

 

Have you read through the write up section yet?
How mechanical are you? can you do some of your own repairs?
Rule out '03's as a big batch of them came with bad engines from the factory.
Some '04's too.
We have had 6? '03's blow up and 2 '04's blow up on this forum so far.
So I would lean towards a '02 or older.
And besides, the less you pay for the truck the more money you have for repairs.

 

Thanks for your input.

I am in fact looking more at 01-02 model years right now.

I'm not very mechanical but I have no problem learning and paying a bit more to have these things serviced.

I'm more worried about it not running for me frequently. I don't have a big issue paying $$$ a few times a year for service and dumping a few grand into it after I get it to get it into good running shape. I guess I might want to look into getting an xterra or something else maybe?

 

It's not a Rover, it's a Romance...
You have to want it seriously enough to be happy to deal with the issues, kind of like being married. If you get one that has been looked after and maintained then it is worth it's weight in gold, if it has been neglected then you will have to put $$$ in to get it back to a good running order.

 

Keep in mind the 2000 has a lockable cdl.

Jeff

 

Thanks Bundu, I have to admit that you fans are a big part of the reason I want to get a rover.

I am just worried this will be a car that can't get me to work and back (6 miles total) for most of the year. I don't want to have to tinker with it every weekend. It sounds like a LR is not something you get if you're looking for reliability. Am i right?

 

They are more reliable than a lot of the domestic autos. The difference is that the domestics will deal with neglect. Neglected Rovers are unhappy. I have had mine for 4 years and 40K miles without any real trouble. I rebuilt the front propshaft after repeatedly driving through water hood deep for several years ( my road floods every spring). No unexpected expenses otherwise.

 

I bought my truck with 152,change on it, I am the second owner.
It now has 194,000 miles on it and I have spent less than $1500 in repairs but a untallied amount on maintenance.
My Rover is the second most reliable vehicle I have ever owned, the most reliable being a 2001 Mistubishi Montero that I bought brand new and put 100,000 miles on in 5 years and it was in the shop once and that was for a free oil change after I bought it.
I changed the timing belt at 60,000 miles as well as plugs and wires but other than fluid and filter changes it never once needed anything.
I would buy another in a heart beat.

 

I've owned 3 LRs (RRC, D90 & DII) and I've been through deserts where there is no gas or water for 100 miles - would I do that if I thought it was not reliable? Heck no...
Would I use it for a daily driver? Heck no... but that's just me, I think that's sacrilege I rebuilt the RRC and now I'm doing the same with the DII, the D90 was brand new. They are reliable vehicles and built tough, but like any machine they can break down, preventative maintenance is key to minimizing down time. My plan is to rebuild the DII and go through everything from front to back and get it to the point where I trust it with my life, in a couple of years I'm doing a trip to Death Valley and I wouldn't do that in something I don't think is reliable.

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback so far. This may be a stupid question, but what are your thoughts on me buying a 85-89 Range Rover as a 2nd car. I would assume they would require the same amount of repairs considering less things to go wrong and older parts?