I've read a lot of disconcerting things about the first gen. Discovery's. Are these things that are worth the $6-12k price jump between series I and II models? Or will a well-maintained 98 be as reliable as a 2001 with the same mileage?
Any knowledge or advice would help out a soon-to-be Rover owner!

 

I have a 96 disco. 130k on it and it is fine. Most of the stuff about the price is design changes. The other is the newer it is the more it costs. The most important this is to make sure all the maintanence have been done and documented. With a rover I don't think anything is more important. Once you have one, get on it and stay on it. It will save time and trouble in the long run. If you are not aware, repair parts, and repair(in shop) are expensive. solve little problems when they are little and you will not be as likely to have major ones. Hope this helps. take care, duboff

 

Yeah, What duboff said !

 

I have a 98 D1 and its has been great!

 

I have a 97 XD and I love it even with the 100,000 miles on it and hopefully a lot more. I would always choose D1's over the series II

 

I have a 1996 Discovery 300TDI with over 160,000 miles on the clock and it runs sweet as a nut. Most of the problems I've had with it are small annoying ****ly things such as problems with the electric window mechanisms, etc. Other than that the only work I've done on it has been to do with regular maintenance. I also have a 1992 Discovery 3.5 V8 which I've recently bought. It has 90K on the clock and it also runs sweet as a nut. I've got to do some minor welding on it for the MOT in the usual areas where DiscoveryIs have problems (sills, inner wings).

All in all I've found that as long as you treat your Discovery well it'll treat you well. The only time I had a break down was in my 300TDI when the fan belt snapped. This happened a couple of months after I bought it and I don't know when it had previously been changed, so I can't really blame the Discovery for that. Since then I've kept up all regular maintenance on it and haven't had a problem since.

Brian

 

Thanks for the words of wisdom, guys. I think I've made up my mind and now just have to wait for the right one to come along. Thanks again! Hope to be back soon with the Disco!

 

Just to add my little bit. I have a 98 Disco I.

Got it second hand. As the Engine looked good when I bought it, it's been good to me for the past 5 years. With the exception of a few minor glitches

 

When you go to see one, check it for rust under the sills, the inner wings, the front and rear bumpers, the chassis and the inner part of the passenger doors where the door latch is bolted.