[quote=Shane83;169860]

There are thousand or probably millions or other owners who are not on forums and who have absolutely no problems with their vehicles!

Surely you jest, there may be a few thousand that fall into this category, but MILLIONS who have had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS with a ROVER?

Optomism is one thing, but cmon.

Apparently math was not your strong suit in school.

 

Thank you all for all of the input... It's been very helpful

I guess the way I was looking at the whole thing/project is exactly what Shane83 said. I already know of all of the problems and issues that are there OR will happen. I think $1000 is a very good price to start, especially that the overheating/head gasket problems seem to be a normal thing on $3000-6000 Discos as well...

I was thinking that if I will address all of the maintenance issues/problems, put some money into $1000 Disco vs $3000 Disco and invest time OR more money into mechanic - after all, I will have a $3500-$5000 car, that will reliable and potentially "issue free" Rover...

My whole idea is to have a fun road trip/camping ready car. With that in mind, I need to make sure that when I am in a middle of no where, I will not get stuck because of some vehicle problem...

I guess I need to spend more time weighting all of the option. Time being one of them. I don't mind doing the work myself, and I am sure I should be pretty capable of it - but being self-employed, especially in this economy, takes most of my time in a week....

Going back to the drawing board...

Thanks again for the help...

 

Enjoy your Rovers

 

[quote=Danny Lee 97 Disco;169870]

Agreed my friends, agreed!! LOL but none the less, you get the point right??

Thanks!!

 

Yes, I get the point. They can certainly be a lot of fun, but I would be willing to bet that at least half of all Rovers ever made DO NOT still survive to this day. I wonder if that statistic is available. I wonder what percentage actually does survive.

Lots of people walk away from them eventually. Lots more sit damaged or wounded, awaiting someone to take them off their current owners hands.

Do a search for "Rover" on Craig's list, there are usually several available.

One of the guys in our local FPLRG got his Disco I from a salvage yard after the owner had it quit on him on the PA Turnpike. The owner was wealthy so he merely pulled over and called A&L Land Rover, Jaguar, BMW dealer in Monroeville outside Pittsburgh and told them to send someone to pick him up in a new Range Rover Sport. He told a local tow truck driver to come get the Disco and keep it in exchange for the tow. The tow truck guy patched it up and sold it to Disco Bill cheap. But not very many people I know are in the position to replace one in that manner.

Just don't flip your rover over.

 

Have someone look it over that can give a good assessment of the vehicle. There are a lot of cues that let you know how well an owner took care of a vehicle. If it mostly checks out good and you can get a better deal on it ...and you enter into L/R ownership with that frame of mind you noted (and don't freak out everytime you have to spend a few bucks on it (or a small fortune) on it), you will be ok. I personally don't subscribe to the philosophy of "If you start with Junk, you'll end with Junk." You have to be careful of broad statements like this. If the transmission was replaced, hopefully with a new one, then that's not a detraction, it's a huge bonus - NEW TRANNY!

Best case scanerio, you change the head gaskets yourself ($500-600). Worst case scenario, you have a local mechanic install a good, used motor (~$2,300). As far as oil leaks go, that's hard to quantify. To some people, a huge leak is a vehicle that drips a spot on their garage overnight. To others, it's a matter of adding a quart a week. If you take out, or put in an engine, make sure to install a new front and rear main seal while it's out. ...maybe a new oil pan gasket. If you don't take yours out, degrease the motor as best you can. A decent mechanic should be able to track down the leak pretty easily.

Don't let people scare you about the engine being a 40 year old Buick design. It's true that is the genesis, but L/R made a lot of improvements to the design initially and over the years. These motors generally run for a long time. GM discontinued it mainly b/c at the time they had perfected a new casting method that allowed them to build a much lighter cast iron small block than before which had a lot fewer casting rejections. Given the high volume of engines GM was producing and the new lighter weight engines, one could argue it made sense to divert focus away from the Aluminum engine, invest in tooling for the cast engines. Rover was shrewed to buy it from GM. L/R was more used to working with AL and figured out the casting issues. Reportedly, GM later wanted to buy it back, but L/R wouldn't sell. BTW, the chevy small block and Ford small block also had their genesis to engines back in the late 50's early 60's. Same with the AMC straight 6 which powered Jeeps up until just a couple years ago. These engines are bullitproof. Our Jeep G/C has 220k mi and still counting. Doesn't burn any oil either. Its a tried and true motor.