Hello all I am in the market for a Discovery II to play with and am looking for any advice on what to look for when test driving. I know all vehicles have "issues" so I figured what better place to ask than a forum? Also what is concidered "high miles?" I am looking at a couple now one has 150k and very clean for $2800. The other has 100k and is nearly mint for $3500.
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

While mileage is important, proper documented maintenance is a definite plus. Also what year are these Discos. Points to ponder, 2003 does not have CDL and have had some issues with faulty oil pumps. Head gaskets seem to be in need of replacement around 100000 miles. The most sought after year is probably 2004, when they brought back the CDL. No matter what you end up purchasing, read the stickies and find out the required(recommended) maintenance items are and do them, if you want a dependable ride.

 

If I were you, I would go for a 2004 model year. They look the most modern and have a fairly reliable and more powerful 4.6L engine (over the older 4.0L). But some people like the look of the older ones. And that's fine too.
Mileage is the best way to get the price down a bit because it doesn't really matter all that much on these cars (My head gaskets went at 30k). Just make sure that head gaskets have been done recently and you shouldn't have too many worries. Also make sure that the front drive shaft has been replaced or rebuilt.

 

Are you 'handy'? Will you be fixing it yourself? Would get expensive otherwise.

Go see a few before just picking between two. You need to get a feel for them. Kiss a few frogs etc......

 

To me mileage is just a number.... To many variables like highway or city, well maintained vs poorly maintained.

I've owned a total of 8 D1/D2's ranging from 52K to 224K, and honestly out of all of them my 02 Kalahari with the 224K is without a doubt the best one!!! Runs like new, and yep it's got high mileage, but if you didn't know how many it had you'd think it was under 100K for sure.

I had an 03 SE7 that was a LR Certified Vehicle that only had 25K on it, but apparently the 25K before I got it was from being a rental car........ it never felt as tight or solid as my 02 with 224K..

Maintenance records are great I agree, but besides the LR Certified Vehicle all of my LR's were on a test drive, talk to the owner basis. I got a 97 RR Vitesse once that had every single maintenance record since 12 miles (book was almost 4inches thick), and it was a superb LR, but all the others came with a key and an owners manual if I was lucky.

I saw my 224K 02 Kalahari for sale over several months on CL. It never sold so I figured it was a dog, and the ad only had one exterior pic, and a vague description just saying one of 150 ever made in 02 in yellow. Well one day I was curious so I contacted the owner who seemed very brief and busy. He sent a few poor quality pictures of it, and I decided on a weekend with nothing better to do than to go look at it. As I drove up it looked nearly new, but with a set of sagging springs. Owner came out said he hadn't cranked it in over a month. It fired up without a single knock or tick, and not a single CEL or pending code was present. I took it for a test drive and besides a rip in the drivers seat the interior was 100% mint. In fact the dash looked as if no one had ever even pressed a radio button. Drove great, no leaks, all electrics worked as they should.

I asked him about it's history, and he was the second owner and he got it with 160K on it. He said it came from one of those famous gas station turned car lots in Houston, TX off of Richmond Ave, but that the previous owner had taken it strictly to LR in Houston, and that once he bought it all service was performed at LR in North Houston.

I wouldn't have believed his story if I hadn't seen and driven the LR myself. I asked how long he'd been trying to sell it and he said 4 months. He said once people asked the mileage they typically hung up or offered him like 1K for it.

He said the previous owner had some sort of LR Related job and that the D2 basically was driven from LR Dealership to LR Dealership all over the US and that's why it had 160 on it in when he bought it in 08. Then he drove it back n forth to work everyday and on family vacations to FL and such.

He'd also never really got a chance to go off road, and the only issue it had was the transfer case wouldn't shift into N or 4Lo (I knew the interlock solenoid had failed).

I bought it and I went into high mileage service mode, but everything I serviced or checked had basically either been done, or wasn't needing replacement yet. It needed brake pads/rotors, new tires, but all the diff's had golden 80/90w, transfer box was full, and clean, engine oil was Rotella 15/40 with a larger oil filter. I slapped an 04 CDL linkage on it bypassed/removed the 02 solenoid interlock and used the 04 setup (being a late 01 sold as an early 02 meant I had the CDL Nipple). I also have an 04 SLABS unit waiting to go into it once I clear its fault codes.

Sorry for the long story, but when looking at a LR I'd honestly do a good walk around, crawl under it, look for any massive leaks (all LR's leak something or they're probably empty lol), test drive it, test as much electronics as you can, and just talk to the owner and get a history of it's use and maintenance. Records are fantastic, but I prefer getting a feel from the owner. If they seem shady or the vehicle looks glued together I'd run ASAP.

You can tell a LR that's been loved from a LR that's just been used and abused. Good luck with your LR purchase, and just go with your gut. I took a huge chance with the 224K 02 Kalahari, and it's truly my favorite LR with a cool history and I still keep the previous owner up to date on his LR. He was thrilled when I lifted it, and put on some larger tires (something he had wanted to do).

Personally I prefer 99-02's without SAI, (less complicated and more run under the hood) and they should have the CDL nipple (not late model 02's). If you like the 03/04 front end you can always install it. The 4.6L is nice, but I have no complaints with my 4.0L. It's not a sports car so if I leave a stop light a little slower or get to 70MPH 3 seconds slower it's not an issue.

Good luck on your LR search and if you have any ?'s feel free to message me.

 

Yes I would do most work myself. I don't like paying people to do work I can do myself

 

Great.

As best4x4 says, when you check out cars you are looking at, check out the owners just as much. I walked away from a couple that might have been fine, but something about the seller put me off. (Another one was clearly stolen). I looked at about 10-12 in all, ranging from a waste of my time looking, to one that was consuming (gulping) coolant, to one I felt was dangerous driving, to the perfect vehicle the seller wouldn't lower the price on.

If I had my time again I would buy an UltraGuage and take it along. Plug it in on the test drive and monitor the temperatures and voltages. Leave it idling, see what the temps are. The dash gauge is an ornament.

If they say HGs have been done you need the papers to prove it. Same with front drive shaft.

Do you care about a CDL?

 

I would also personally prefer to have a non-SAI truck.

 

Noted. From what I have read I do want the CDL model.

 

Late 02's won't have the CDL and neither will 03 models. 99-01 should and of coarse the 04 model will.

I took my scanguage II with me on my last few LR purchases including my Kalahari. Temps were 183-193F, and when I inspected the drive shaft it had a brand new LR sticker on it.

Yep getting a feel of the owner can tell a great deal on how the vehicle was taken care of. The guy I got the Kalahari from was sad he was selling it, and when he talked about it, he showed the same passion I have for LR's so I knew it had been well taken care of.