Hi guys I'm new to the foums and new to the whole land rover community in general but my wife and I both agree its time for me to find a bigger cheaper vehicle to drive every day since I currently drive a 2006 mercedes C55 amg i'm putting too many miles on it causing too much regular damage to the car (rock chips and general wear and tear) I've always wanted a land rover discovery ever since i was a kid and at the time was told "NO" by my dad since he was buying my first car and had "heard" too many bad things about them but i've always had a connection with european cars despite what people say about them being "money pits" I've owned several BMW's, Mercedes, Audi's etc. and do most of my own maintenance myself i'm a decent mechanic not a pro but not a noob at the same time i work on my e36 m3 track car myself and have built it for the most part myself aside from major machine work or welding since i dont have the equipment. My wife drives an infiniti fx35 and its a nice SUV/wagon but i just dont enjoy driving japanese cars theres no real FUN factor to them. So long story short now that I am older and have the means to buy what i want I'm thinking this is my chance to fulfill that child hood dream of having one of these for a fun play car for part time daily driver, weekend camping & outdoor fun vehicle, trails, etc. I'm looking alot at the 03-04 Series II HSE's but no ZERO about them or the brand in general other that what i've read on edmunds and here. If you guys could please give me some input on them and you own personal experiences, common issues, what to look for, where to get parts, what to and what not to do with it. i would much appreciate it. thanks guys and i look forward to being apart of this awesome community.

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...-2003-a-40706/

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...scovery-21328/

 

I'm between either one 03 or 04 i have seen that people have said there are some differences between the years but i honestly myself dont know anything about either or land rovers in general.

 

Wow great thread! Thanks alot that is a great piece of information. do you personally own one of these in these years?

 

If you decide to get one I can come help check it out for you. I'm in Charlotte as well.

 

an 04 will already have a CDL from the factory, which would save you a ton of money.

Bodywise i dont think there is much, the roof rack is much larger and nicer on the 04 also.
imho

 

That would be awesome heres the actual link to the one i have in mind.
Cars for Sale: 2004 Land Rover Discovery Series II HSE in Charlotte, NC 28217: Sport Utility Details - 332979110 - AutoTrader.com

 

Oh nice I saw this one on craigslist not too long ago. It looks like it's in good shape but looks can be deceiving. Things to check would be the lights on the dash(3 amigos)

It's got 89k on it. So if it they haven't blown yet the head gaskets will probably be on the way out in the next 20k miles. However if you buy you will be changing your thermostat to a 180F in addition to a coolant flush(We believe this extends the life of our gaskets). Another thing to look for is if the drive shaft was rebuilt with 3 greasable u-joints. If not that's a $200 project that will have to be done.

Get whatever maintenance history you can. Also check to see if the headliner is sagging. When are you looking to take a look at this truck?

 

i'm thinking about either going tonight after i get out of the office or maybe sometime tomorrow it all really depends. the nice thing about this particular one is the lot itself is a buy here pay here place which helps in my current situation of purchasing a house so no hit on the credit! =) the thermostat i couldnt imagine would be a big deal to swap out but the head gaskets on these how hard is it to knock that out?

 

Well you seem way more seasoned than the plethora of newbs including myself who have done the head gaskets. It's not that bad and can be done a weekend. The tough part of the job is the stress of doing it right. The back corner head bolts can be a pain in the *** too. The Disco is a DIY vehicle for the most part, just because it has the LR tag doesn't mean it is crazy sophisticated.

I'm not saying your HG's will be failing soon but history shown that the 110k mark is when they start to fail. So you just want to be ready for it is all Im getting at. You should also consider a pre-purchase inspection. There's a guy on the forum here that has a rover shop, I think it's located near Rock Hill.