1998 disco
178 000 km
summer 'n' winter rubber
flawlesscosmetically and drives fine but whatdo i know... (bringing it to my mech. to look at)
new LR engine installed 25 k ago (by LR)

asking $ 3,500 - 3,900(can.)

i plan on using it for everyday missions... work, grocery's, off-roading...

do you guys think it's worth it??

 

Well, you should have pretty good bargaining power in today's economic climate and fuel prices. The price would be on the high side with the miles you stated if it was in average condition. If it's really as nice as you say, he's probably not too far off the mark. Then, it comes down to how motivated the seller is to move it down the road. If it's at a dealer, I'd offer $2,500. Some dealers aren't even taking in SUVs for trade-ins anymore.

If it's a private seller try to get as much previous maintenance history as you can. The more that was done, obviously, the less you should need to do. With 178k on the clock, you could conceivably end up sticking in another couple thousand, easily,in the next couple years. You need to be mentally prepared that you will have ongoing maintenance and repair costswith this vehicle, which will cost you money, and or time.They could minimal, or who knows?? If you don't think you're in for these costs, assess your own mechanical abilities and what, if any, work you might be willing to perform yourself. I'm not trying to scare you, it's just the reality of any vehicle with 178k mi.

Besides brakes, joints, suspension, exhaust and the obvous things, have the mechanic take off one valve cover. Some engines get super carbon'd up. It's common on Disco's, but some are really severe, as you may have seen on this site. Have them do a compression test to see they are pretty even across all cylinders. Oil leaks are really common on L/Rs so don't be supprised if you have some. Most are easily remedied. Some others here can provide a more comprehensive list, but that is some things to check.

One nice thing about the Disco I's is that they have less sophistocated electronics than Disco II's which is less to worry about.

My main overall message is get a good assessment of condition and if you decide to buy it, go into it with the mindframe (and pocketbook) that you will likely have to spend some money here and there to replace wear items. Once the most common wear items are replaced you should be good for a lot of troublefree and really fun miles. If you don't have this mindset coming into it, my fear is you may get disenfranchised and start feeling you bought a maintenance headache that gets lousy mileage.

Land Rovers are pretty easy to work on too. And these forums provide a lot of good information. Good luck