Nightmare trying to sell my Discovery II in San Diego CA area
 

All,
I have a love affair mostly with my Discovery II.
I bought it from a fantastic owner in Boulder CO.

Did the cylinder heads in the parking lot at work and really really enjoyed fixing it.

Changed the O2 sensors.

Flushed the transmission several times.

So, I put an ad in San Diego on Craigslist for $5,800.

Have shown it to 8 parties now.
More often than not - people ask me to take the Discovery II
to a garage.

This guy today - OH, I want to take it to Pepboys.

I am like "Pepboys will not know a thing about a Discovery".
Then the guy says "I'll take it to a Land Rover Dealer".
He is like "Can you take a day off of work and do this"?

I say NO way. Simply NO.

I say - does not matter what the Dealership says.
Price stays the same.

And I documented the heck out of it with videos in the Craigslist ad.

2001 Land Rover Discovery II all records low miles

Flickr: Landroverdude2's Photostream

Not really sure I want to sell it.
Runs like a top.

People get all flipped out about brakes.. It is like $150 to change pads your self or less. No big deal.

Transfer case seeps. I say - it does not go down in level.
I show the guy the garage where I park the rover.
I have had cardboard down in the floor for 6 months.
Maybe 60 drops on the card board total.

And it is like - wow, this truck needs to go into the garage for a full exam.

My only beef with my Discovery is filling it with gas and using it to commute back and forth to work.

Seems I am slowly and surely killing off the Discovery commuting in it.
Should be saved for special trips to the mountains or vacation.

I would hate to be a used car salesman.

Guy says first - oh yes, I am bringing cash.
Then I get an email about Carfax.
Then that checks out.

And I tell him - even used car dealers will not usually let a car go off the lot to a mechanic to see the car all day..

Oh well.
I guess I am meant to keep the Discovery II.

That's interesting. I've never had anybody be that big of a pain in the ass when buying a vehicle.

But I haven't sold a Land Rover yet.

And I think we'd all agree there's two types of Rover owners - dudes like us who want a badass truck with leather seats, and soccer moms (or their male equivalents) who want to impress their friends with a Rover. Those less informed/less mechanical types are bound to be more of a PITA to sell to because they can't just look and listen to it and know it's a good running truck. It's not their fault, they just need an 'expert' opinion.

And taking it a to Pepboys is a joke. I just had them put tires on my truck an I was worried they'd screw something up.

I will say that I personally don't respond well to very long craiglist ads. It just seems like overkill. You might try cutting the ad down to the essentials, and then if someone's interested send them all the info.

When I bought my disco I took it for a 30 min test drive and went over the service history. Bought it from the 2nd owner who had it since it was a year old and he took good care of it. Paid in cash. 1 hour total. Still friends on Facebook too.

Lots of people like to look an have no intention of buying yours...

Also I think he said it was on the internet for like 2 months. Lots of people are intimidated by land rover horror stories.

Best of luck with whatever you choose to do!

When I swapped out my tires they lost my land rover valve stem caps

I'm about to be in the same boat -- selling our 2003 Discovery SE and nervous about having a similar experience! I agree with the other comment that you might be offering too much information in your ad. Also, you might want to replace the windshield -- it's only about $250-300 to replace, and a cracked windshield (in my opinion) gives the appearance of neglect.

Finally, and this is one that I'm struggling with also... $5800 is probably too much to expect, unless you're willing to wait a long time for that one special buyer.

Good luck,
RedAustinIX (Ed)

They want yours for $3000, or maybe they have been reading this forum....

I bought my disco from one of those shady used car places in Dallas. They had no problem with me taking it to lr Dallas. It was gone all day.

Of course. They came back with things like. Ash tray doesn't work and similar related non sense.

They failed to note the coolant was ancient, heads were shot, and a host of other items.

Needless to say, I had to dispute the credit card charge because of they failed to inspect anything they said they were going to inspect.

"LOST" in their pockets...


As far as people wanting to get a full inspection. If I were to buy another, I guarantee you I'd be doing the same thing. Too many things people can Hide if they want to. On the other hand, when I sell mine, because I know it's pristine, I'm going to be frustrated when others want to take mine through the inspection. But, I don't blame them either. It's just another part of owning one of these unique vehicles.


EDIT: I'd also like to say that your engine compartment is VERY clean, like mine! When I was looking, mine was the ONLY one I saw this clean. I'm impressed, yours is two years older and looks about as clean as mine.

Way too much info IMHO. List it for 6500 and say it runs great. Let buyer talk you down to 5800...

I also think 5k will be most you'll get, it is 12 years old and I'm guessing not the most popular color. Just being honest, not saying it isn't a nice truck. Good luck

Thanks guys for all your input.
I was probably too harsh on this guy about taking it to a garage.

I just don't want to miss work.

Since I know the truck very well and was very up front with my ad - I am like - what the heck.

Agreed on the Windshield. I need to get it replaced.
Any brand of windshield come to mind?

It is heated and there is no way anyone will pay $1,000 to replace it with an OEM heated windshield.

I can put White Shepard into the transfer case to stop the slow slow leak.

I guess I really don't care if the transfer case leaks a little.
I just put cardboard in the garage.
As long as it is full of 90W lube. Perhaps I need to care to sell it.

If people want a new Land Rover well - I think they still sell them new :D