Hello, I was thinking of getting my wife a discovery. We are going to have a baby and she really likes them. Looks like an amazing family vehicle. I have a 2006 ford f150 right now and after reading some of the issues with the discovery im not sure its a good idea to sell my truck and get a LR. Do you fellas think a 2003 discovery with about 50,000 miles would be a good vehicle for everyday use. like driving to work and the occasional 1,200 mile trip home to visit family? Any replies would be helpful because my wife is crazy about the looks of them and all the gadgets they have. Thanks......

 

Avoid the '03 D2's as they have oil pump issues within a certain VIN range
The '04 is widely considered the best year with a bigger engine, newer headlamps, updated brakes, and CDL hooked up to the t-case
You MUST use premium gas
Expect to spend $1000-$2000 to fix the PO's neglect
Do a search for the 60K service, 3 amigos, head gaskets, and CDL
You MUST also get the front drive shaft rebuilt, do a search for that too


Those are the major upfront issues when looking for a D2. Once you get those issues under control and keep up with the maintenance you'll have a great dependable truck.

 

Well I'm going to start off on a bad note, but don't let this turn you away. 2003's are known for a catastrophic oil pump failure-see below. But other than that these trucks really are amazing. They'll take anything you can throw at them in stride. DII's (1999-2004) need to have the front drive shaft double cardon rebuilt with greasable U joints, and all discovery's require premium gas. Forget what people say about reliability and electrical issues. Most of that is from people that neglect their cars, thinking that they can just gas and go like it's a Civic. If you keep on top of your regular maintenances it'll last well into the 300,000 mile range. And they are quite nice on the eyes

Edit-Here's the info on the oil pump failure

VIN Range 3A771801 – 3A808362
Situation Oil pump failures on 2003 Discovery Series II vehicles may be the result of a manufacturing error. Locating dowel pins may be slightly misaligned permitting assembly of the oil pump to the engine block, but placing stress on the pump housing which can ultimately lead to leakage or failure. Resolution Whenever an oil pump failure is encountered on vehicles within the above VIN range the only effective repair currently available is replacement of the complete engine assembly including the front cover/oil pump manufactured to the latest tolerances. Use the following components to affect a repair: • LBB112301 4.6 Engine assembly LEV • LBB111461 4.6 Engine assembly NON-LEV

 

Well, they are an excellent family vehicle when the kids are old enough to get in and buckle up. But when you have a baby in a carrier or when they're a little older and you need to buckle them up in the back seat, Disco's can be a pain in the butt. The rear door opening is way too narrow to do anything comfortably and your clean clothes will be dirty from the door jamb. But security wise, they are a very smart vehicle to carry your family in. Just consider yourself warned

 

Not to mention that if you are vertically challenged like I am it is extra hard to buckle the kids in the back seat.
You will have to lift your kids into the truck everytime.
But they are VERY safe trucks. Built like a tank.
The thing that you need to remember is that you need to stay ontop of the little things before they get to be big things.

 

You don't have to avoid the '03's altogether... Just be caution on the low mileage one's that have not had the failure - I have yet to find one that has happened over 45k miles... I have an'03 in the VIN range it it has 57k on it and didn't have the failure... You can always have the VIN run by the dealer for free to verify the service and history by Land Rover. But if something else has been done by someone other than the dealer, it won't be in their system...

I suggest going with the '04 though, due to the locking CDL... If it's for a family vehicle, get a loaded SE7 or a HSE7.

How much is that '03 w/50k miles?

Jonathan

 

Wow, I didn't know about the 03 Discos having oil pump failures. I double checked my VIN and discovered that it is in that VIN range. I had a carfax report done on it and also found out that the Dealership had records (wouldn't share it all though) of maintenance. No mention of major mechanical issues. The Disco now has 81k miles. Any chance that I should be worried about it?

 

If you go to the dealer with proof of ownership they should have no problem letting you see the history of the truck.
But it is one of those things where you need to be there with proof kind of thing...idenity theft and all.
Anybody can write down a VIN# in a parking lot at the mall and make a phone call.

 

At 81K you're probably safe with regards to your oil pump. If you get the full service records you'll know for sure though, assuming all the work was done at LR.

 

at that mileage you should be in the clear. just to play it safe, if you get any red blinking lights on the dash shut down the car ASAP. Should be good to go though.