Hello, I'm not an owner yet, but I'm looking at one, an '03 Disco2 S. I'm unclear as to the differences between the S and SE. So I am curious what I might be missing out on.

It has 103K, the 3rd owner bought it April '05 with 17k on it. Well, here is the ad:
Cars for Sale: 2003 Land Rover Discovery S in Claremore, OK 74017: Sport Utility Details - 337828963 - AutoTrader.com

The Carfax shows what appears to be regular service done at the LR dealer, various checks (Brakes checked, engine checked, window checked, etc.), and "recommended maintenance performed" without mileage listed. So this sounds promising to me. I'm thinking I'll contact the LR dealer to see if I can get more info on services done. Surely that wouldn't be hard to find out.

Link to Carfax:
CARFAX Vehicle History Report for this 2003 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY II S

However, an old friend of mine, a professional mechanic, cautioned me in no uncertain terms, to avoid the Discovery. I originally asked him about a Range Rover HSE. His exact words follow:
"Im hoping it shares little in common with one of my most despized vehicles, the Discovery. Despite a fine reliable problem-free aluminum v8 stolen from us yanks, the discovery is one of the biggest pieces of crap Ive ever worked on, and there have been a few. Anything plastic (cooling fans, anti-freeze reservoirs, vacuum lines, throttle body coolant pipes, etc) will become brittle and shatter. Wiring will get hot and fuse into clenched fists of copper and vinyl. Power steering pumps and hoses leak and they absolutely will not stop. ever. The second or third hand owners of the average 2000-2004 Discovery will ignore the chirping front driveshaft u-joints until they fail, at speed, beating a hole in the side of the transmission and smashing both cats - This requires 6 to 8 grand to fix and is more than they probably paid for the truck."

I have read about the issue with the front driveshaft u-joints, but as far as the rest, surely all this rancidity and hatred for the Disco has to be from one of even a few bad experiences, right? They can't really be all that bad, or they wouldn't have such a following of people who love them, right? I know that as a mechanic, he only sees cars when they are broken, and mostly that is his only dealing with them unless it is something he has actually owned.

I'm not a rich man, and as such have worked on almost every vehicle I/we have owned. So I do have some mechanical aptitude, and understand the importance of maintenance. I drive a Jeep Wrangler, and the Disco will be for my wife. She drives very little, and I mean maybe once a month, at the most. We live in the mountains, and the Disco will see some off road use. Our driveway requires 4WD this time of year.

We are going to drive another one tomorrow, just to make sure my wife likes a Land Rover in general, before we drive to the other dealer, about an hour and a half away. to try to make a deal.

So in short, or rather, not so short. Is my friend jaded by a few bad experiences due to neglect or am I looking at more work that I think I am? Any recommendations on what I should look for specific to the Disco2?

Thanks in advance, Chris

 

I did what you are doing and asked questions prior to purchasing this fine automobile...I was advised to have the vehicle looked over by a Rover shop, an Indy shop prior to buying which I did. Worth the money to have an idea of what you are about to get yourself into.

I searched and researched until I made a decision that I wanted an 04 only since it has the CDL and shifter to go along with it, plus I like the headlight/grille combo of the 03-04 but the 03 has no CDL at all so that was out.

I love my Hopper.

 

Oh and since I bought it I already experienced multiple issues lol. This morning my front prop shaft chirped on the way to work, it was more of a clunk than a chirp when I got on the gas while coasting, guess Ill be removing it until I get the replacement.

 

Your mechanic is spot on for some points, like the front prop shaft. Off base on the engine stolen comment, GM sold the rights to build the Buick Skylark engine to them. Yep, high underhood temperatures make the plastic parts age faster, so we replace some cheap vacuum lines. The black coolant jugs were prone to shatter. Power steering leaks are not unheard of, but can be fixed. Wiring is like other vehicles, works well as long as you keep the right fuses in it and don't add other equipment without concern for proper wiring size and extra fusing. Dexcool antifreeze did not do GM or Rover any favors.

Now, on my favorite soap box, coolant temp - GM made that aluminum engine and used a 180F thermostat. Along comes the pollution requirements, and the coolant temp was raised. Rover compounds the issue by designing a temp gauge that points at 50% mark from 135 to about 250 F, so a practical owner can't see coolant temp changes sneaking up. A scanner or Ultra Gauge is a nice thing.

 

I just checked out the link and noticed that its amigos are present. Could be something small or could be a costly fix. No matter what made them come on your traction control or abs will not work until the problem is fixed. Its very dangerous in hazardous conditions.

 

I think your mechanic is dead on but when they are running trouble free they're fun to drive....

 

The Discoveries are bad cars for the everyday person. But if you wrench, even just the slightest bit it puts you in a position to have a nice running, dare I say reliable truck.

Give it some TLC and it will love you back.

If I were to go Disco shopping again, if I didn't know the extensive history of the truck I would expect to do HG's, thermostat, and waterpump and you should be golden for a while. I'd argue those are the most important parts of the cooling system, and truck overall.(Except the driveshaft)

If it hasn't been overheated, skip machining the heads.


I say all this stuff but in a month or so Ill probably be complaining about some issue and how I hate my truck, but that's part of the rover experience.

 

Adrenalin, As a Senior Member here you should be aware that the driveline clunk is not the same as the chirp. The clunk is slop in the driveline and you can learn to drive in a manner to not make it happen. happens on sudden acceleration from coasting or sudden taking the foot completely off the gas during acceleration.

The chirp is a whole different thing caused by a failing U joint which continues until it craps.

Changing your front propshaft will not reduce the slack in the driveline.

My view on the Discovery is to do some wrenching yourself on the easier things, like brakes, shocks, etc, while keeping some cash in reserve for when the head gaskets go.

If I do spend $2k on head gaskets this year, that means I'm still driving what was once a $35,000 truck without a payment. I prefer to have the best possible vehicle and no payment.

 

Thank you everyone for your honesty. I'll be back, if we decide to jump in the Land Rover game.

Chris

 

I see what you did there

I was hoping it was driveline slack, but secretly scared that it was the chirp. My shaft looks good, feels good, and most importantly functions good. All pun intended.