I am debating on whether or not to get on the LR bandwagon or not.

Let me tell you a bit about my situation. I am currently driving an 07 wrangler, 2.5 inch ome lift, 33 tires, the whole 9 yards.

But I cant help my self as far as the looks of a defender or a Discovery series landrover - I got to say, they are probably the nicest looking suv on the market. Of course the defender 90 is a bit out of my range as far as $ goes lol ..... they had one for 43k I think it was.

This Saturday I am going to my local LR dealer to test drive a 2004 landrover discovery with 31k miles and a clean carfax - $16,999.

I am wanting a vehicle that will stay with me for 200k+ miles, maybe even the 300k if it will be up to the challenge lol. I acutally think the Jeep to be more a 150-200k vehicle, the new V6 defiantly is not up to as much as the Inline 6.

I drive 40 miles one way each day to work but my Jeep is getting about 16 mpg gallon im assuming the LR would not be much worse than that.............. so mpg does not really matter to me - I am mainly looking for reliability and looks.

Since there is obviously alot of people on this forum who have put a few miles on them, what can you tell me as far as Keep the jeep or go Discovery. Maybe add a few notes as to what it cost to maintian the things and/or upkeep as far as basic oil changes( I do my own in my jeep - so like $10 every 3-4kmiles lol)

 

Well a LR will last 300,000 miles, if you abuse the hell out of it it will only last 200,000 or so.
You MUST use premium gas, you cna expect 12-14mpg in town and 16-18 expressway. You will get your best MPG around 65mph.
They hold 6 qts of oil, most of us use full synthetic and changeit every 5,000 miles.
They are full time four wheel drive, NOT all wheel drive or part time four wheel drive like your Jeep.
You MUST get the front driveshaft rebuilt using greasable u-joints, if you dont and they fail the driveshaft will take out your $7,000 transmission.
The SLS (self leveling suspension) will go bad around 100k, you can fix it or replace it with springs.
You MUST replace the coolant every 2 years, same with the brake fluid.
The "three amigos" will come up every once and awhile, do a search on here and read up an them.
If you are a DIY'er these truck cost no more to maintain than your Jeep.
www.atlanticbritish.com has anything and everything that you may ever want or need for the Rover, and sometines the dealer is cheaper, sometimes not.
Rovers have persnonallity, they look good and can go everywhere your lifted Jeep can without mods.

 

As far as that price goes, if you decide to go the rover route, you can talk that down a bit. AtLEAST to $15,000, or more depending on how good you are! With a 2004 I would use the "There is a guy up the street with an 04 for $15,000, so unless you can talk me out of that, I buying his..." HAHA I did that with mine got the price from $10,000 to $8,000. SOLD!

As for MPG, as you know it wont be good, about the same as your jeep. But as spike said Premium is a MUST!

You will have minor issues to deal with at first. I wont lie to you and say you wont. Some previous owners dont take care of them as they should. Some LR dealers cover the minor problems, but something is bound to come up. Just know, the first few months may have you fixing her up more than usual. I always tell people to set aside $1000 for early repairs. If you dont use it, then you've got $1000 bucks to work with.

Some parts are more expensive, but thats to expect with any european manunfacturer.

If you like the looks, thats only the beginning! The LR family is HUGE, you will become an instant enthusiast after owning a disco for a while. They are AMAZING off road stock, and even better when you put your own touch on it. Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions you have.

 

Thanks for the reply. That sounds good to me(300k miles). I am planning on being pretty easy on the Rover, plus I am very picky about the maintenance of my vehicles. I change oil and maintain them like my ride to work depends on it lol.

Not a problem for me, but just curious, why the prem gas? Will the LRs not run on Regular like my Jeep?

I know the U joints on the drive shafts on my jeep is crap, which is why I was beginning to think about replacing them with some heavier duty ones due to the different pinion angle from doing the lift.......... after about 10k miles though I think the jeep would do fine for quite a while on the stock drive shafts(I have been wheeling it really hard actually and keeping an eye on them)..... is this a similar case on the LR(if you lift) or is it just the stock Drive shafts arent built to last?
I plan on keep the LR stock with the exception of maybe some M/T or aggressive A/T tires. and I want to keep it, like I said pretty much for my lifetime. I dont plan on doing alot of offroading in it, maybe when its nesscary (for camping trips, etc) or the occasional 'lets see what she can do" but I have no doubt in my mind that I will maintain and baby it like no other.

Im not to sure what you mean about the SLS suspension without springs? The one I was looking at had solid axles with coil springs/shocks.

Thanks for that link to for the rover parts I checked it out and it does seem to have everything.

 

Well if you do not use premium gas your MPG will drop, you will bake the motor oil inside the valley pan and heads.
LR's do not use a EGR valve so combustion temps are hot and just bake the hell out of the oil, the engine will sludge up and you will be rebuilding it at 150,000 miles, but you will have done lifters and rockers twice by then.
LR requires premium gas, even says so in the owners manual.

The problem with the front driveshaft is the double cardon joint, it does NOT have grease zerks and the grease inside the u-joints bakes and the u-joints fail and the double cardon flies apart, and because it is right next to the transmission it will punch a fist sized hole in the side of the transmission. So be proactive on that one, $300 to have it done at a shop.
The front driveshaft is only 1" from the passenger side catalitic convertor.

All LR's have solid axles front and rear, well, DI's, DII's, Defenders, RRC's and P-38's anyway. Freelanders, LR2's and LR3's have indy suspension.
But the SLS is the sir ride suspension on the rear axle, some have it, some do not. All 7-pass models do.
When it fails you can fix it, or do a coil spring converstion.

Read the tech tips on AB's site too, home page, left side, half way down.

 

i HAD a 06' rubicon for about a year sold it last year and a month ago bought my 04 DII.

it is stock for stock the best off road machine you can buy. it is the best looking suv ever made. it is a joy to drive and if you are some what skilled easy to work on.

i do not regret being a convert from jeep land. owning a rover is awesome and it is a excellent off road tool. it is not fast. it does not stop on a dime. it does not even turn well. but once off road it is PERFECT!!!

also test at a dealer if you need to get familiar, but buy PP or otherwise. LR dealers have tons of overhead and thus upcharge their machines 3-5k over what you can get the same vehicle for otherwise.


enjoy

 

also as was stated above instead of putting a larger down payment on my rig i set aside money for little things that i found after purchase. i did the front driveshaft. fixed a passenger window regulator. did a oil change and air filter change. and had a sirius radio installed. also bought a rook rack and some recovery gear. i set another $300 aside for the 60k mile service, but i am only at 51k miles and an doing some of the service here and there. next is brakes and then plugs and wires. then tranny and gear oil. etc etc etc. basically making a big job many small jobs and spreading out the time and cost.

also gives me some garage time

they are loads of fun and other rover people wave. well at least the ones who also have racks and stuff on their roofs.

 

I agree with you on the new V6 in the Jeep. It really is crap compared to the 4.0L Straight six. I had a Cherokee with that motor and it never let me down.

As far as Rovers go the 2004 Discovery is the best of them all. I have the SLS rear air suspension and it has been very good to me going on 150K miles now especially if you are planning to tow a decent load someday. Take care of your rig and it will take really good care of you. She does like to be taken care of though. I am on my third Rover and have been happy with all.

Fred

 

The Jeep 4.0 Straight-6 is in my top ten of all time best engines. They really are bulletproof. Another favorite is the Ford 4.9 Straight-6. I guess I just have a thing for low horsepower, high torque motors. The Rover engines fit in that category also. The 2004 models with the 4.6L instead of the 4.0 of 2002 and earlier got help in the horsepower department but it is still underpowered for a 5000 pound vehicle. Put the Rover V-8s in a lighter vehicle and I bet they would prove to be powerful, efficient engines.

The attraction to the Discovery compared to the Jeep is that you can have a classy vehicle which fits in at any high class restaurant and still have incredible ability when the pavement ends, or the snow flies. I have driven friends' Jeeps and enjoyed it but they just don't compare to the Discovery, in my opinion. In stock form a Jeep, with possible exception of a Rubicon, will not go where a stock Rover will. I feel that I should not have to sacrifice comfort and convenience just to go play off road. The Jeep Wranglers I have driven have always felt very basic and utilitarian compared to the Discovery.

I bought my Discovery as a second with the intention of turning it in to an off road toy. A Jeep Wrangler, or even a Cherokee, would have been suitable also for my needs but I couldn't touch a Jeep near as nice for the amount I spent. Plus, I have always liked the looks of the Discovery. You really can't confused the Discovery roof line with any other SUV that I am aware of.

 

Thanks for all of the replies.

I am defiantly leaning very hard toward the LR.

What about oil leaks, anyone experienced this?

I basically would like an ideal of what its gonna cost me to get this Rover with 31k miles up to date to were if I keep maintaining it it will last me forever......... according to the dealer, when they got it they did all service on it, that is required.

Seems to be the thing to do at this point. Seems like the rover would grow on me, and be a companion for years to come.