Hi,

My wife and I are about to buy a 1998 Discovery LSE with 79,000 miles on it, for US$10,500. The dealer has no manual, and will not provide a dealer warranty, but is offering an extended warranty for $1495. I know NOTHING about Discoveries, not much about cars in general. I have 2 questions:

1) Should we get the warranty? I can't find repair costs for these vehicles anywhere. We don't want this car as a hobby, we want it because we live at the top of a hill that is commonly snowed in for 2-4 weeks every winter, and we need a good off-road vehicle to get to work/school/show off how cool we are ;-)

Mostly, we just have an emotional thing for these cars. We really like the look and feel, plus all the light in the vehicle and the amenities - and it does seem like a solid performer as a snowy hill-climber. Neither of us has a big commute - we would most likely put 10/20 miles on the vehicle per day, if that. We do live in the country and have a boat to tow, so all these factors make the Discovery really appealing - plus we're major Anglophiles nad have both always felt a certain longing for a Land Rover.

2) But should we really get the car? The power steering seems to have a little bit of a leak, and the engine clearly leaks a little bit of oil, but the engine sounds good and has good pickup. The interior is not great but is OK - the wooden center panel is bowing up a little, but otherwise cosmetics are OK. I'm just a little freaked about all the reliability problems I keep hearing about with these things.

Thanks in advance,

Than

 

I bought a 2001 Disco SE7 in December of '04 with 40,322 miles on it. In January I purchased a 4 year 40,000 mile extended warranty. I haven't had to use the warranty yet. My feeling is that you should check what is covered in the warranty they're offering. Also compare extended warranties. Is the one they're offering you bumper to bumper? How many miles/years? It's a good price if it's an extensive warranty.

 

Than,

The key things that bother me most with your questions are this:

1. The dealer doesn't have an owners manual

2. Your considering not getting the extended waranty


My questions to you is:

Are you dealing with a landrover dealership?

I'm not 100% on this but any LR dealership has to ensure that any used rover meets the requirements stipulated by LR for it's used vehciles. They are supposed to do a complete inspection of the vehicle and then repaire the defects with that vehicle before they are allowed to sell it . I don't know if this by law or just a company policy.

With regard to your extending the waranty, DO IT!
No matter what you buy unless it's new an exteded waranty will provide you with peice of mind and also a solid foundation if something does go wrong with your vehicle. One of my best frieds has a 1997 Disco LE and he bought the warenty and has had to use it 4 times already. If he would not have had it , the total cost of the reparis would have been over 12 thousand CDN. The 1800 he paid for the extension has paid for it's self nearly 7 times.

If you do buy the disco, you'll be very happy. Living in Canada and knowing just what winters are like I am determined to buy used Range Rover here next year.

Good luck to you and if you any questions let me know and I'll use my knowledge base to find them out for you, or refer you to one of the Rover Gods here in the forum.

tech870

 

In the UK a Land Rover dealer does not have to sell the vehicle with a warranty.. you have the front forecourt which will have used vehicles with warranties included in the price and round the back you will have the sold as seen selection, normally these last a week or so and then shipped off to an auction or a deal is done with an independant to take them on. If you try to get a warranty then the vehicle will be given the once over before the garage will offer one, as they will have to ensure the vehicle meets the standards of the warranty company.

 

LR dealers in the States have to sell Certified used vehicles. This usually adds $1 K US to the price. It's bumper to bumper for the first year with A $100 deductible per visit. Second year is only major components. Still, it's well worth it.

Remember, your purchasing A Luxury SUV. Expect higher than normal upkeep costs. Many consider owning A LR A hobby. On the other hand, nothing comes close to LR's off road/snow capabilities.

 

I did not know that the UK dealers wern't required to have the LR cert that we have in North Amercia. I feel sorry for you folks because you don't have that kind of consumer protection. Then again nothing is ever truely equal.

For example:

A rover compared to any other SUV

 

It is the same in the UK, though we expect roughly £1000 on the price of the vehicles compared to the ones round the back. My own 90 came as a sold as seen, it is a risk you take, and makes sense if you can do the work to the Landie yourself. For peace of mind though buying off the front of the forecourt with the warranty is the way to go, but read the small print. Also I think you will find that the warranty system is run by another company on behalf of Land Rover, again, to be found in the small print. At least it is over here.