Hey guys,

Recently sold my 2014 FJ Cruiser (absolutely loved this car) but now I'm looking to buy an 03-04 Disco. From my understanding, these vehicles are burdened with a ton of issues and having had an FJ with zero issues the entire period that I owned her, I'd like to get some help from you guys. I'm no mechanic here, maybe even mechanically challenged, but I'd love to own one of these and maybe try tackling some minor maintenance myself and learn along the way.

When I began looking at some of these Discos, what should I absolutely check for? Any advice would help and I look forward to getting to know all of you and your rigs soon.

-Mike

 

Hi Mike,
If you don’t know about Discos, honestly you want to take someone that knows about them with you,

 

Rust is most important, rear frame area. Get pics, post here. 2nd most important is more or less paint. Paint is expensive, and not easy to DIY. Short of those two, mileage is the biggest factor on value. They are all 20+ years old at this point. Slipped sleeves cause engine ticking, annoying but not fatal, near impossible to find a mechanic to fix it. Most prevelant on 03-04's. Head gaskets are needed on all of them as some point so the question is are they done or needing to be done. I am not convinced they can be prevented but meticulous care of cooling system and inline thermostat is a good start. Also, they are only going up in value at this point if you take care of them.

 

The most important thing you should check are the commas and zeros in your bank account .

 

You might look around your area to see if there are any independent LR shops... Not dealerships. Not Foreign cars A-Z. A real certified specialist. There is usually one or more in every major metro area... If you are super rural you may have to start watching YouTube Atlantic British DIY videos.

As mentioned, the bigger question is not can you afford the truck, it is can you afford the maintenance and operation of it. Or if married will your wife allow you to siphon off vacation money for Rover bits.

 

Regarding @Frank4’s comment, budget is a very important consideration.

Also, even not being mechanically inclined, they are simple enough to work on that if you are eager to learn, and have some time to devote to it AND have another car to driver (that’s the key!) then you’re budget doesn’t need too much more than the truck itself.

If you plan to take it to a shop for 90% of issues, I’d have a strong budget in addition to buying the truck.

Do a lot of reading and research on here and you can find one decent shape. Go into it assuming the PO did none of the required maintenance. If you can find one with no rust, no bad engines noises, and proof of the right maintenance items, snag that one. (And like @Extinct said, quality paint goes a long way.)

 

I’m about to buy my 3rd. I think I’m fairly versed in them at this point. Coming from a Toyota, be prepared. Prepared means understand the machine. Research it. Just start reading threads here and other places to learn about them. Change your entire expectation paradigm on what is acceptable.

Don’t ever buy into the cliche that these things are unreliable heaps of junk. There is a reason they are so beloved to this day. But it takes effort and time to learn to trust and understand them.

Owning a Disco is a relationship. If you are serious about one and keeping it and not just following the latest hipster fad, I’d start researching top to bottom and learn how to turn a wrench. Otherwise, you’ll go broke. They are heroin if you let them get into your life.

 

They are maintinace intensive. If you can do it yourself you are good. If you have to open your wallet you’ll be doing in often.

 

They do require more maintenance than a yota, always have. Poor business decision by LR but not sure they knew better. Anyway, you can learn to fix almost anything on these from youtube, the forums, and AB videos. Any DIY repair is cheaper than a shop trip even if you have to buy every single tool to do the job. The only question is do you make more than the going shop rates ($125-175/hr) and are you afraid to get dirty.

 

All the standard keep-the-Rover-running maintenance and costs aside, you should understand what you want to do with it, because that will probably figure into what you look for in your basic platform.
Is it going to be a daily driver? Are you planning to go overlanding? Rock crawling? Mud wallowing? Or are you going to drive it to the shops and hope that people will admire it in the parking lot? Because every one of those uses will have different needs (and associated costs).

Also, they're not "burdened with a ton of issues." Look after them and they're as reliable as a Volkswagen.