I have been in the market for an 03/04 Disco as a dialy driver for my wife... came accross one for sale in So. Cal for about $13k (2003 HSE7 w/ 90k mi) at a used car dealer. The dealer has put in about $2500 worth of work, O2 sensors, valve cover gaskets, rebuilt front drive shaft, hoses, belts, fluid changes, new tires, etc.

The truck is in great shape and drives well. No visible sign of head gasket issues and no sign of current oil leaks. After reading the threads on this site, I noticed that the VIN does fall within the potential "troubled" range for that year of oil pump failures. So my question is, if the truck was to have an issue with the oil pump, should it have happened by now or am I crazy for even considering an 03? Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for responding.

 

If you shop out of state, you can buy a nice 03 in the $8000 range.

 

im with mike. start shopping outside of Cali. for some reason in So Cal and Washington the prices are a lot higher than anywhere else in the country. I would steer away from the 03's within the VIN range but others may tell you different.

 

if your going to dump 13K into a disco you can find a nice 04 with less miles, Please keep shopping it might involve a roadtrip, but seriously nicer trucks for less cash are popping up frequently, try using craigspal for a search of craigslist you will find many trucks.
Also try to buy a truck from an owner not a dealer they like to tack on lots of extras.

 

i use searchtempest.com it works well.

 

to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "Run Away, Run Away" you can almost buy a LR3 for that price. If you are just looking for a daily driver, the LR3 has a much more reliable, much more refined ride and will still perform well on the trail. On the other hand, if a Discovery is what you are looking for, you are paying about double what you should. As for the VIN issue, you are likely going to have issues whatever year you buy, why buy one that you know will give you problems and that you will take a hit on when you try to sell it. For whatever reason, the prices in So Cal have popped up on the DIIs in the last few months, surprising given gas prices at $3.30 a gallon. Keep shopping you can still find good DIIs with similar miles for $4500 to $6000 almost everyday. Be picky, get one that has had the head gaskets already done and that does not have dash lights glowing. Good hunting. Phil

 

I paid 8k for my 03. Out of the vin range. 89k miles from an independant dealer. When I was in the market looking out of state you could find a fair amount of 03's for around 9k. I never really saw any cheaper unless they were super high mileage

 

Thanks everyone for the info. Will continue with the hunt and keep you posted. We like the styling of the Disco over LR3 but may look further into to the LR3 as suggested for the daily driver. Thanks again!

 

Thank you. I had never heard of that one. RS

 

$13k should get you a NICE 04.