I think the biggest problem is that for some reason Land Rover for years has had a bad reputation for reliability, because of this resale values are dirt cheap, people buy them because they are a really nice car and cheap, these people either don't or can't afford to have routine maintenance done on them so they break down thus perpetuating the reliability horror stories.
The great thing about older cars is that most all of the potential problems are known problems so very little should be a surprise.
Like I said, find one with good service records and buy it, I am pretty sure you will love it, I do at least! (I am keeping my Land Cruiser just in case though!)
Rusty

 

Thanks Rusty, I agree 100%. I know if I do pull the trigger I will need to baseline the car which is a priority and a have to do...

 

X1 in addition they own them for all the wrong reasons and drive them like 'sports cars' instead of 4x4's. In the UK they have a bad reliability record for the reasons you have stated and many have no appreciation of vehicle issues and would be better off with a standard FWD Ford or similar.

 

All very true statements. I got mine with 84k on it 6 years ago, and did the 100k mile service sticky on this forum. Well, got it to baseline after replacing the engine (due to previous owner neglect and quick lube service, but I knew that it needed an engine when I bought it).

Since then, I have put 58k miles on it, and pay close attention to new noises, vibrations, warning lights, and address them immediately. It is my daily driver. I can keep up with the guys who trailer their rigs to the offroad park, and would not hesitate driving it to either coast from the middle of the country.

 

LordMorheus, thanks for the insight... I have a 2003 w/ 113K on the clock that I am very interested in. It has a salvage title from a front fender bender but has been professionally repaired. We will see...

 

Are you in NC? Sounds like one for sale on CL here. As a reference point, I bought a pretty clean '03 with 145k on it for 4500 about year ago. Previously owned a '95 80 series and a '99 and '00 100 series. Got into these trucks mainly because of the bang for the buck factor, I could buy 3 Discos for the price of a Landcruiser of the same year. If you find the right truck and take care of it, they're really not bad at all.

 

Might want to look at this thread, or the longevity one:

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...e2/#post527624