OK, after considerable research and a fair amount of shopping around I bought a 1998 Discovery LE at a sleazy little chop shop in Northridge, CA. The VIN was clean--owned by a little old lady in Westlake Village, sold at auction on 8/17. The car is immaculate--a few oddities related to the bumper end caps, and a minor gouge on the side. But otherwise clean, clean, clean. Virtually no wear inside or out. 108,000 miles.

Test drove for about 20 minutes--fast, slow, high and low. Ran like a champ. Only two concerns--a slight ticking that I assumed to be lifter noise. And a puddle of coolant on the manifold area just below the radiator hose--which looked brand new. Maybe not on tight enough?

So anyhow, I gave the salesman a cashier's check and signed the paperwork. The Auto Trader price was below blue book--an error, or so the salesman told me. But they would honor the advertised price. I paid the $75 required by California State law to allow me to return the car within two days if I am unhappy with it. (Plus a $175 restock fee.)

And wouldn't you know it but the Rover starts to overheat about 25 minutes away from the car lot. The needle slowly drifts over the halfway point for a while, then BOOM! It pegs at H. And the oil pressure light starts to flicker. I parked under a shady tree, let the Rover cool. Walk to a filling station and buy some coolant to replace that which boiled out. With the car cooled down I drove to the first mechanic I could find. He was kind enough to squeeze me in. He said the thermostat looked to be brand new (I don't know how he could tell this.) Did a pressure test on the radiator and a few other things. His conclusion? He surmised that someone put on new head gaskets...and put them on upside down so that the gaskets are preventing coolant from circulating in the block.

I let the Rover cool down again, tried to drive it back to the car lot. Things looked good for about 15 minutes but then the needle suddenly pegged and the oil pressure light started glowing. After much hassle I got the Rover towed the rest of the way to the car lot. Now the car lot has my car and my money. I have to wait until Tuesday to get my cashier's check back. Meanwhile I've been on the phone with an attorney friend.

What an adventure! Ye gods.

So. Does the head gasket diagnosis sound correct? Am I right in assuming there could be some significant engine damage involved? Or might I be overlooking something ridiculously simple (the mechanic said the cooling fans seemed to be operational).

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1998 Discovery LE, 4.0 108,000 miles. Sudden overheating under load. (Not at idle apparently.)

 

Too bad you had such bad luck, Sounds like you are in Ca., did the selling dealer state the vehicle had gone thru their used car inspection and was OK, if so you have them. If they keep playing games, I would suggest you get in touch with the local city attorneys office and The Bueara of Atuomotive repair as well as the BBB, make life misserable for them.
Mike

 

The dealer did not say anything about an inspection and the Rover was being sold "as is." California does have a two day "cooling off" period, which I opted for, and paid for.

Future reference for any other Californian's who run into a dirty dealer, here is a list of agencies to help resolve used car issues: http://www.dca.ca.gov/acp/usedcars_issue.htm

Mike, I'll be sure to arm myself with phone numbers of the organizations you mentioned. If the dealer doesn't have my check waiting for me on Tuesday with a big pretty bow on it, then I'm camping in their office and filing reports--starting with the fraud division of the Northridge police.

 

in response to phoutz,

Darn good thing you opted for the cooling off period. It sounds to me like this Discovery had a major overheat in it's recent past. Someone put head gaskets on, and it was then found out that it had a engine block problem. In this scenario-- it will usually idle and may even drive at low speeds for a few minutes without seeing the needle climb. But as soon as the vehicle is placed under a true load, the needle will shoot towards max. I write about this at http://www.eurotekapg.com/ptrain.html

Anyway...I suspect they then decided to dump it rather than put another $3-4K in replacing the engine. This is why I have always stressed the importance of not buying one of these vehicles used unless you have a complete service history to look through before making a buying decision.

Regards,

Geoman

www.eurotekapg.com