I am a 20 yr old college studentand thinking about purchasing a 1998 LR discovery LSE that is for sale. The asking price is $5000(negotiable) and it has 73000 miles on it. I went and looked at it once already and itseems to bein excellent shape. Unfortunately I know very little about this type of car. The only thing that I do know is that Land Rover gets a bad wrap for its maintenance problems. I am going to look/test driveit in a couple of days and was needing some help. What do I need to look out for, and what types of questions should I ask the owner? Also, what type of upkeep is necessary for this type of vehicle? Is the 98 disco reliable? I dogo outdoors fairly often, but I will primarily use this car as a means of transportation. Lastly, the owner did tell me that she has not had and serious problems with it and is selling because she bought a newer model. Thanks for the help

 

Sounds like you may have a good Disco. Ignore what people say about reliability. If you maintain them well they last forever. 300,000+ miles is not uncommon for a well maintained Disco of any year. Maintenance isn't even that expensive if you can do some of it yourself.

Anyway, before you even sit in it take a look underneath. Look for leaks and rot on the frame. Get in it and drive it for no less than an hour or so. If the owner doesn't want you to, offer them a half a tank of gas (they require premium), or tell them you'll walk. Check that every little thing in it works. Lights, cruise control, CDL lever, etc etc. Check for any lights on the dash on, then let us know what you find. Don't be afraid if some of these things don't work, as most of the common issues (especially on DIs) are very easy, cheap fixes. If it is well maintained $5000 would be a great price for a great truck.

Good luck

 

hazlett already covered alot of it.
You MUST use premium gas, just make sure that everything works.
If the cruise doesnt work, not a big deal. If the check engine light is on, also not a big deal.
Make sure it drives good. They are VERY reliable trucks, easy to work on.
You can expect 12-14mpg around town and 16-18 on the expressway.
If you want to learn how to work on your own car this is a good car to learn on.
You can get it for cheaper than $5,000 though.

 

What the other 2 gentleman already mentioned is absolutely correct. $5000 for only 73000 is a decent price. I would offer them $4000 at the most to start your negotiations. I bought my 97 LSE for $3700. The Land Rovers are built to be easily maintained. If you decide to make the purchase the first thing you need to get is a repair manual. I carry a Haynes manual everywhere with me but most on this forum will recommend the Rave CD manual. Doesn't matter what you go with, just make sure you get a manual. LRs don't really require any upkeep out of the ordinary oil changes, filter and the such.

 

Nobody mentioned it yet, but chicks dig Land Rovers. I don't know why, exactly,but it's true. I think it has to do with the aura of an adventurous African Safari. Driving mine around, women always seem to be the one to ask what it is ..or say it looks cool. Hardly ever guys. My wife noticed it first. I never hearthat in an Explorer or Jeep. Given that you're 20, it might be a plus.

From a maintenance standpoint, one thing is, if you can do most orall your own maintenance, you'll be in good shape. If you have to rely on a dealer to do ALL the work, there may be a day it'll begin to nickle and dime you to death. What seems to happen with these vehicles is by the time they get to the 2nd and 3rd owners and up to about 80k-100k miles small things start giving problems, not unlike any other vehicle 4x4. Some owners get problems fixed right away, others let the problems pile up and complain about reliability. Then, it gets expensive to fix everything. Also, if you have to go toa dealer every time, it could be more expensive just because not too many dealers work on these often, other than land rover dealers.

When I bought my Disco 1, it had been reposessed. The previous owners didn't (or couldn't affor to) repair the small things. So, it had a bunch of deferred maintenance. One thing is that the radio didn't work. Well, it turned out to be a $15 relay. The brakes needed complete replacement (other than the calipers). That would have been expensive at a brake shop. But an afternoon later I had it finished. Some other interior problems, but again pretty easy to resolve. I don't think this is an uncommon thing having looked at several L/R's. If yourswas well maintained it's worth spendng a little more on.

The engine is a GM designed aluminum engine (back in early 60's) that they sold the tooling to Land Rover. They've refined it over the years and it's a good little unit. These vehicles are heavy and weight and gas mileage don't blend well. Mine doesn't get the best fuel economy but it seems to be in the 15-16mpg range. I didn't drive it much at $4 gas, but now it gets out a little more.

As for parts (if you do your own work), a lot of common things are available atlike Autozone. Other items you will find are Land Rover only items which price-wise can be all over the map in terms of price.Some thing are suprisingly cheap, others astonishingly expensive.There are online options ...or ebay for those things.

There are some quirks to these rigs, but you could alsoargu they're special personality traits. We also have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and have driven Blazers and Explorers. The L/R is heavier and you sit a lot higher, which is nice.The L/Rhas nice, solid and comfy seats, great for long distance driving. But for daily driving, the jeep I feel has much better ergonomics, especially if you have kids (more back seat leg room). And the Jeep always turns out 20mpg (average) which isn't too bad. But, there's no denying the L/R is a lot cooler and it's fun to drive. You gotta remember that these rigs are in the Land Cruiser category and those don't get good gas mileage either. Off road, I can't honestly say the L/R performed any better than our Jeep or other vehicles I've taken to Moab or the Rockies. Maybe slightly worse, in fact,because it is heavier. Guys can flame me, but I'm just being honest (in my experience), not disrespectful to the brand.

On the plus side,that weight is good for something. Ihad to pull my wife's Jeep G/Cout of a ditch lastspring in which she ended up (due to a wet snowstorm) going overan embankment into a corn field swamp in thick mud goo right up to (or over)the axles. No way was it going to go anywhere on its own. I was going to walk to a nearby farmer and ask if he could pull us out with a tractor ..but for the heck of it I hooked up the Disco I. We were on a snow-covered road and to both our amazement, the Disco walked the Jeep right out w/o even spinning the tires! I continued to pull it right up the steep embankment (it was pretty long) and onto the road like it wasn't even back there. Nuff said.

Well, good luck,

 

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. It is very helpful. I previously drove a f150 and did all my tuneups (oil, filters, and minor tuneups) but am handing it down to my younger brothers who are about to drive. I just didn't want to get myself into a bad investment. I will defintely take notes when I go check it out again and get back to ya'll. Thanks