Looking for some insight, I have been a Land Cruiser owner for 10+ years. I can turn wrenches and have no issues trying to do my own maintenance (brakes, rebuilding axles, alternators, etc, etc...). I am considering trading my '92 Series 80 Land Cruiser for a '03 Discovery with 113K on the clock. I have heard a lot of the negative comments regarding reliability, etc, etc... Not concerned about that IF this is a vehicle that can be maintained by me.

Any insight with regards to this? I have owned Saabs in the past and they had a bad rap as well. I maintained them myself and had no problems.

Thank in Advance, Jake

 

First, what are you planning to us the 03 for, are you aware the 03 does not have a locking t/case which will limit your off road abilities with out some mods.
Overall, the D2's are great vehicles, they are a little touchy, parts can be pricy, but if well maintained they are great vehicle.

 

Thanks Mike, I appreciate the insight! Not planning on any technical offloading just some basic trail riding. I don't have lockers on my LandCruiser and I have been fine w/ that. I am planning on doing all or most of the maintenance myself and hoping that a forum like this will be helpful.

Cheers, Jake

 

I came to LR from a 96 Jeep Cherokee that was a piece of cake to work on. I was a bit daunted as i'm not that adventurous, but the Disco really isn't much more to consider.

This is my thread of my hunt for the right car. https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...ee-03-a-69086/

I went to see about 10 all said. I chatted to more owners than that and discounted a few. I overpaid probably, but I found in my area there simply wasnt a lower price option without the vehicle being a wreck. I wanted something that was a good footing from the start. I looked into the option of buying from out of area, but before long the right thing turned up and i threw my hat in the ring.

From looking around, every one i saw that was with some kind of dealer had major issues. Not always obvious. But after spending 30-40 mins with a car, and knowing what to look for something always came up. Only decent vehicles I saw were through private sellers, with 1 or 2 owners.

Ive found it to be more than reliable. If something does go, there is more than enough documentation on here how to get it sorted.

How much do you know about the 03 you are thinking about? my advice would be to read around here a lot. See a few. Dont jump in. There are a few things to look for which will save you buying a nail.

Does it tick?
Is the 03 in a certain Vin range that some like to avoid.
Have the HGs been done? If they havnt at 113k they are about 5 minutes away.

There is tons more, from reading around.

Anyway, welcome.

 

If you are used to monitoring things discos can be perfectly reliable vehicles to own u just have to maintain them and catch a problem before it becomes a breakdown, open the bonnet once a week and look around, in the morning on the way to work take a glance under the front of the truck and look for leaks. Change your thermostat with a genuine gray unit and monitor the temps with a quality scan tool because the guage is really no more than an idiot light. Other than having to replace the head gaskets at around 100k there are really no other inherent major driveline failures to contend with exclusive to the disco, notwithstanding the oil pump and "slipped liner" issues which seem to plague the later discos. I take mine on extended weekend trips all the time around New England with no hesitation, and before I got the truck it was not maintained well at all.

 

I too am new to Land Rovers, have been driving Land Cruisers as well for about 20 years (2 FJ62's and 3 FZJ80's, current one for 6 years and will never sell it)
Have always loved the Discovery's but have been scared off by the horror stories about reliability issues so have stayed away until a couple months ago when I found a 2002 at a salvage auction with only 25,000 miles so I decided to take the plunge thinking I should have about 50,000 trouble free miles before worrying about things.
The Discovery was hit in the front end and I did the repair work myself, which included radiator, water pump, etc. which helped familiarize me with some of the mechanicals.
Anyway, long story short, the I6 in the Land Cruiser is pretty simple and many things are quite easy to work on but it also has it's fair share of difficult parts to get to and not everything is exactly easy.
Serpentine belt on the Discovery is great, replacing all the belts on the Land Cruiser is a pain.
All things considered it doesn't appear the Discovery is going to be any harder to work on then the Land Cruiser.
Land Cruisers also have a bit of a history of head gasket problems, albeit at higher miles but it too has been known to be an issue (fortunately I have never had a problem)
Good news for the Land Rovers is even though new parts are pretty expensive (Toyota is pretty proud of their parts too) I bought an entire parts car to repair mine for only $800.
As far as driving, I love the Discovery! Night and day difference in comfort between it and the Land Cruiser, although we are comparing a 2002 to a 97 in my case, I am sure the comfort of a 2002 Land Cruiser would be at least as good as the Discovery if not better but I am not as big of a fan of the 100 series Land Cruisers.
I, like you, did the research and came to the conclusion that if taken care of the Discovery's can be quite reliable cars.
Find one with good service records and enjoy like I am doing!
Rusty

 

Rusty, big thanks for the feedback... I am sure I am caught up in the negative speak w/ regards to these trucks. I love the look of them! I am so familiar with the LandCruiser that it makes it difficult to part with. A change could be good though...

 

Hi Jake,
I just bought a 2003 Discovery with about 122K on it. I bought it planning to do all the maintenance myself too. So far I have not found anything that has been too difficult to get to or work on. I did find that the drain plug on the transfer case is blocked by a cross member. I just siphoned from the fill plug and will modify a 1/2" extension to fit for the next time.
I have not yet done a brake job yet but plan to, but after looking at the layout I do not see anything more difficult than any other car. I will be replacing the valve cover gaskets in a couple of weeks due to a small leak. This looks to be a bit of a challenge due to the locations of a couple of bolts, but again not overwhelming.
Good luck with yours, I will be servicing the transmission this weekend and hope to make an adaptor for the steering line to help with flushing and filling. Not that the bleeder for the steering is hard to get at, but I think I might have an easier way.

Strikker

 

Strikker, I appreciate the feedback and insight... I am getting close to pulling the trigger now.

 

I recommend taking the time to find a good example, but that goes for any vehicle purchase. I've heard the horror stories about these trucks, too. Been wanting one since they first came out for MY99. Finally pulled the trigger last November after a couple of months of searching. After nearly 20k miles in the last 7.5 months, the most I've had to contend with are an intermittent 3 amigos, and a few other minor quibbles.

As others have said, stay on top of maintenance, catch problems early, and it'll be a fairly reliable ride.