BTW, the same thing is happening with older Land Cruisers. FJ80 and FJ100 cars in good shape are not cheap. I predict it may happen to other cars/models with well-established aftermarket and fan-bases. You also should consider the fact that most new cars are packed with electronics and advanced features that are not easy to service. Basic Discos and Land Cruisers may be crude, but with right parts and care they'll run for a long time.

 

" I'd really like to hear how they came up with the asking price?"

My guess would be before these sellers posted the ebay listings a TON of this was going on.

 

Your memes of late are spot on. These people are out of their minds. And as far as these heaps of garbage being anywhere near Toyota prices, no way. Not on this planet. Toyota’s fetch the money they do because you can actually get 250k + miles and not have 15 near catastrophic engine failures along the way. If the Discovery had half the reliability as the Toyota we couldn’t afford them.

 

I have over $20k in mine, including the original purchase price of $5500, since purchasing less than two years ago. I have a mint interior with custom headliner, all sunroofs and windows work, excellent paint, a Turner motor, full suspension, HD driveshaft, new cooling system, new starter, new battery, new alternator, new tires, new brakes with new rear calipers, all new fluids, roof rack, ladder, no codes, no leaks but a minor transfer case drip, etc, etc, etc. Minor frame rust in the rear, which I plan to address next summer. I am not foolish enough to think I'd ever get $20k back out of it. I think my Disco is worth $12-13k all day long, even though I'd never sell it. It's a labor of love. If i had to do it all over, the only thing I'd do differently would be buy a very clean truck for under $3k that needed motor work, but was drivable. This is in hindsight after having the block crack six months ago. I would have saved on the initial truck cost and bought a Turner long block right off the bat. My point is these trucks can certainly be worth more than $3-5k depending whats been done to them. I think in clean stock form and running well, $5-6k is fair. For what its worth, in my area, near DC, Discos sell all day long for $5-7k in good condition. Location matters. With tophat motors and clean upgades, slightly over $10k isn't unreasonable. The more motor failures we see, the more used vehicles will hit the market with top hat motors in them. I have already seen a few on craigslist. It all depends on the vehicle itself. I'm not sure why we all wouldn't want to see their values increase. I'm all for it. Cheers!

 

Ok, you aren’t going to agree with this statement but your post kinda proves what I am saying. If the Land Rover Discovery was reliable or as reliable as a Toyota the level of entry could hit that $20k purchase price (used). But the opposite is true, you can get a Discovery for nothing then dump $15k in it and you have something that is more reliable than what you started with but it’s still no Toyota. Hell what vehicle couldn’t be brought back to life after throwing $15k at it?


Anyway, I’ve highjacked my own thread!!! Who knows these trucks? One or more owners has to be reading this thread.

 

A ton of Discos have ended up in junk yards or parted out. Clean examples are only going to get harder to find. I personally think the prices have started to turn. They will never come close to Defender or Series prices, but they will go up a bit. Most enthusiast owned Discos were fairly reliable for the first 80-100k miles. I have complete confidence in my truck now going 100k+ miles with just routine maintenance. Even an older Toyota is going to need thousands in replacement parts over the course of a few years. The major problem with our trucks has always been the motors and cooling system. Once those issues are addressed, which is a large cost, they are pretty stout otherwise. The reason old Land Cruisers command the prices they do is because of the money it has cost to keep them in the condition they are. I can buy a $6000 Land Cruiser or a $20k Land Cruiser. The latter being a much cleaner, more reliable, and overall better vehicle. You get what you pay for with older vehicles.

 

The 2003 for $10k has a bid. Looks like a nice set up for overlanding

 

When I'm selling a car I often over price it for a couple of weeks on the basis 'you only need one sucker to buy it' and they often do just that.

 

Not so long ago I saw someone posted on facebook some resources regarding statistics from dealership or something how many discovery's are left. If I could remember there are still 2700 to 2900 left that are still on the road. I am not sure what exact line are those thou. Cheers

 

Wow. That's not too many left. Interesting.