Hi,
My name is Ryan. I live in the Bay area (California). I joined your forum because am interested in buying a Discovery 1. I currently own 3 BMWs. I have a 2001 M5, a 1987 325is, and a 1992 318ic. I would like to get rid of my 318ic and pick up a discovery. I enjoy my 318 a lot, and it gets great gas mileage, but I would like to get something that is more utilitarian.

Before I sell or trade my 318 to buy a discovery I have a few questions. How reliable are the Discovery’s? If properly maintained would you trust to drive yours great distances? What kind of mileage can I expect to see? I know it is not pretty but it’s something I need to know before I purchase. What are common problems? Common maintenance costs? I used to work for Lotus as a mechanic so I am very mechanically inclined. How reliable are the automatic transmissions? Are the electrical systems pretty stable, I would like to install a navigation system? Anything else I should know regarding these vehicles? Can someone post detailed interior pictures? I’m a sucker for interiors. Thank you!

 

as reliable as you make them...find a truck that's been maintained and keep up maintenance and you'll be fine. Avoid 03s in the bad VIN range.

Yes. 12-14 mpg

see the sticky about different years and common problems.

very reliable, one of the most reliable components on the disco.

just know that Discos are not as luxurious as you might think. they're pretty utilitarian. here are some pics. My Disco is an S, which is the base model.

 

I actually bought our Disco in the bay area and drove it back to the Chicago area on a 2 week family vacation (on the way home). I love the Bay area and N. California in general (was just there in fact). We hit several state and national parks, wheeled around Moab area, cruised several mountain passes, did the Black Hills of South Dakota and a whole lot more all with the wife and 4 year old (at the time). It was a blast! I'd do it again in a heartbeat. That was a couple yrs ago. The goal was to buy something to drive back and sell it when we got home. We sort of fell in love with the L/R and still have it. Now, last year we headed out to Yellowstone, Tetons, rafted on the rivers ...cruised around ID, and the most remote places in WY ..and a whole bunch of places in between. We definitely consumed mass quantities of fossil fuel. That trip was another blast. Never experienced any problems whatsoever and our rig has some miles on it. I have a tool kit and my scanner anyway, just in case. So to answer your question about long distance reliability, I haven't had any doubts and if I needed to head out to CA tomorrow, I wouldn't hesitate to jump in the Disco and go. I've done the usual maintenance and checked it all over thoroughly before each trip. Heck, I'm thinking of going out to Yellowstone (or nearby) again this summer, it was so fun!

As a BMW owner, I think you'll slide into L/R ownership pretty easily. Please note that these aren't performance vehicles in the sense that they corner and handle well. They're not made for that. They aren't very high-tech either. Actually, you might say they're kind of retro in their construction. They 'can' be higher maintenance, but the good news is they are great for working on yourself. Things are relatively easy to get at. If you don't have any mechanical capabilities, or interest in doing any work yourself, you need to be prepared to keep up on the small things. They can have the perception of nickle and timing ya to death. Speaking of that, some of the DII's have a few common failure points with the electrical that when they fail is costly. But once you address that (if it ever happens), you should be good to go. You didn't say what year or body style you were most interested in.

These are heavy rigs with V8's so don't expect great gas mileage ...or even good gas mileage. I personally don't drive mine every day, I drive a VW Jetta Diesel daily and reserve the Disco for periodic trips and fun weekend excursions. Otherwise driving the Disco on a daily basis would drink me dry. I like that my Jetta averages about 40mpg and will go two weeks on a fill-up. But it's no L/R. To put a number to disco gas mileage, on highway trips I'd get 16-17 mpg. It actually doesn't drop that much for daily driving for me. But then you're talking Premium gas too, which you should use.

If you like the 'cool factor' in a vehicle, you'll love the Disco. I bet you'll get more comments and questions than with your beemers. My suggestion is to go to a couple dealers and drive a couple. Take them out for an hour or so, not just a spin around the block. Pay attention to the ergonomics and see if you can get used to it (I bet you can really fast). Good luck with your decision...

 

as far as reliabilty they do not like it when u dont maintain them.its almost like they get mad at u lol.so maintain it proporly there are some great write-ups on here that can tell u when and how to do it.my 01 has 190k on it now and the only major component that i have replaced was the ps pump at 170k so i would say if u keep up on the maint then the truck wont get angry at u and will last for 250k easy

 

If theres anyone in the bay area that would be willing to give me a ride in a D1, I would be greatly appreciative.