So I'm headed to North Dakota for work and decided I wanted to buy another 4X4. I was leaning towards a 99-01 Dodge Ram SLT, which I owned in the past and loved it. Great Truck all the way around. So in my research I thought well, I'll be doing a lot of driving, California to Arizona to North Dakota and possibly over to North Carolina and back. A few times over the next year. Maybe I'll get a Volvo XC70 I started to think, good gas mileage, AWD...Unfortunately I'm not willing to give up the space I currently have in my Dodge Grand Caravan. More and more, as I started weighing out my wants and needs, and hundreds of ads later and a few articles on particular vehicles, the conclusion is I'm looking for a 2001 to 2004 Discovery ll.

I've come across several in the 4500-$7000 range that are really nice! Some need a few things, such as; window regulator, new bumper(broken plastics), master brake cylinder. All easy parts for me to buy and install myself.

Any thoughts on the year ranges (01'-04') of a Disco I'm looking at buying?

What about the 2003 Disco S with the 2.5 L 5 cylinder motor? I came across one for under 5 thousand that looks really nice! Any thoughts on the 2.5?

I'll be in the desert, the snow, the mountains and a lot of highway driving.

I'm interested in lifting it, only about 2-4" because the Disco will see a lot of highway time so nothing crazy. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance and I look forward to any and all thoughts!

 

2.5L in the US of A?

 

I doubt that.
What ever you buy, first take it to a good Rover shop and have them do a pre-purchase inspection, less a compression test.
If you are wanting to ply off road, stay away from the 03 and 03 years as they do not have locking t/cases.

 

Yeah, supposedly the Rover has a 2.5. I emailed the seller because it's a few hours away to verify that it's a 2.5 and not a 4.0 or 4.6, so far no response.

Disco Mike, I noticed you mentioned stay away from the 03' and 03'. Did you mean 03' and 04' or a 03' and a different year? I will be roaming around off road here and there, nothing really hardcore but basic off road fun most likely while exploring some of the new areas I will be working in.

 

Sorry, I met to say 02 and 03, these don't have locking t/case where the rest do giving them a good 50% more traction when needed.

 

Great to know! Thank you.

 

You heading to the bakken? .....

 

This is a bad bad bad truck for reliability...great as a toy though. You should read my thread on how to prepare for a road trip!

https://landroverforums.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=59765

Between that and the gas-yardage, it's really a nitch market. If you do decide to take the plunge, a god pre-inspection is worth it's weight in gold!

 

Yeah, I believe so, headed up and over to Lignite to do some building.

 

Dan7, thank you for the link to your thread! I look forward to reading it.

Well figure gas mileage can't be much different than my old 89' F-350 with a Douglas utility bed and a 460 guzzler, completely loaded down. Not great for long distance but nothing I haven't experienced before I'm okay with that. And I won't be hauling a ton of tools, basic power tools that will fit in a bucket or two.

Reliability, understandable; Fortunately my brother is a certified mechanic and my children's god-parents own a mechanic shop that's been in the family for over 25 years, hopefully we find something mechanically sound. Plus I do a lot of my own work on my vehicles and don't mind getting my hands dirty and knuckles busted up with some preventative maintenance. Also I downloaded a hit list of service bulletins for the 2004 Disco that I'll inspect and fix if needed once I decide which one I'm gonna purchase. I'm hoping that informative tool will be a big help; and I've been doing a lot of research and noticing the common problems with this particular year and will definitely be paying attention to certain things upon purchase and ownership. I'm having faith that with good preventative maintenance I'll have minimal and minor issues if any. I'm walking into the ownership of a Rover Disco with Big Faith, hahaha. I have noticed though that in all the reviews I have read and ones I'm still coming across, I would say that despite the negatives, and there are some really negative ones that I've heard and read. Positives out way them enough in the overall reviews I believe, I would say about 75-80% positive reviews.

Realistically, for me, I figure it's like any car, pay attention to it, take care of it and fix it accordingly and the vehicle will take care of you. I'm definitely hoping to read more and any advice, tips and tricks for the 2004 from anyone who is willing to share. I'm hoping to be the owner of one by this time next month, if not much sooner

Having Big Faith!!!