First of all, thank all of you guys so much on the great info on my first post. I am still really torn between a '97 Land Cruiser and an '00-'02 Disco 2. My best friend said he'd NEVER LISTEN to me whine about vehicle problems EVER again if I buy a Disco 2.

He had a '99 Range Rover for about10 months, and spent an ton of money on it. I kinda think it was his fault to begin with, because he bought a '99 Range Rover in '04 for $12000. It only had 58K miles, and the engine and transmission blew and were both replaced by Land Rover. So, since the engine blew at 40K, he thought it was a great deal b/c the Rover only had 18K on a new engine and transmission. I'm not really superstitious, but a blown engine on that new of a vehicle seems like a bad omen to begin with.

He had the water pump, serpentine belt, and steering pump all go out simultaneously. He said that in 10 months, he had $7000 worth of repairs to a vehicle that was $12000.

Still yet, I really like 'em!

A few questions:

1. My buddy said that Land Rover is one of the only "production" vehicles that there are VERY FEW aftermarket parts for, and that parts are ridiculous. (ie. lug nut $18) Is this true?

2. Other than wheels, what are the differences in SD's and SE's? I know that the SE7 has the extra back seats, but what else?

3. Do most all of the Disco 2's ('00 to '02) come with class 3 receivers? What is the max towing capacity?

4. What's the deal with some having woodgrain all over the dash, and others not? Was this just a dealer option/add-on?

Thanks so much!

 

Hey,
I was in a similar situation a few years ago,so I'm going to pass on the same advice that was givin to me.
(1) If at all possible buy your preowned Discovery from a Land Rover Dealership,or from someone who can show you the service history.Don't even think about a used car lot or auction house.
(2) Try to find a 5 passenger without SLS or ACE. These options will give you problems.Almost all 7 passengers have SLS,and besides the 5 passeger has more storage space(do you really want 7 people in your car?think about it!)
(3) Try to avoid the dual sunroofs if you can.They almost always give you grief.
(4) Try to find a model with 16 inch wheels. The 18 inch look a little nicer,but tires are expensive and are not much use offroad.
(5) Try to find the lowest mileage possible.I know this is a givin,but you would not believe the number of folks who get suckered into the "it's all highway miles" line.Pay the extra thousand or two for the lower mileage truck,its a good investment.
(6) Ask to have the truck looked at by the local LR Dealer,and ask the service manager to let you inspect the underbody for damage from offroading(try to buy a mall crawler,grocery getter,or soccer Mom truck if you can,chances are these trucks have never had the snot drivin out of them offroad)
(7)The less electronic gadgets inside the better.These trucks are wired up like a space shuttle as it is,you don't need a bunch of electronic hoohaa to give you issues down the road.
(8) Try to avoid a Discovery that has been exposed to lots of salt.These trucks hate salt and have sensors everywhere.Salt eats sensors like they were cocktail shrimp.
These are the basic guidelines that were passed on to me,and I've had my 2001 Discovery SD for 3 years without a hitch.

 

X2 for the SLS, ditched mine for coils cause I didn't need the stress of the suspense of the next failure. The ACE system is very impressive in the way that it holds the vehicle staight around corners. If you maintain it good, it will last. As far as the sunroofs, The D2s sunroofsare much better than the D1s. Again it's a matter of maintenance. Keeping the tubes free of debries, the moving parts lubed and the seals cleaned and lubed will avoid trouble.

 

Although it's very possible, even likely, that you're going to throw some good money after bad with a LR, you're buddy's situation ($7,000 in 10 months) is pretty extreme. If you're pretty good mechanically, and find some good resources for both new and used parts, you should do okay.

I agree with everything that Newfoundlandrover listed in his post except the low-mileage part. When you're looking at a vehicle that's7 or8years old, I think that mileage can be double-edge sword. Obviously, high-mileage rigs have gotten a lot more use. However, that's not always a bad thing. Even though "highway miles" can be a BS sales pitch, if a vehicle has more-than-averageannual mileage, it's probably true. It's tough to rack up 20-30k per year driving around town. Along those lines, there are a lot of low-mileage vehicles out there that have been subjected to tons ofaround townabuse and/or neglect.

A neglected Disco with 50-60k on it could still fool youby seeming to run and drivepretty well. A neglected Disco with 100k on it is going to be a totalPOS.My point is, in some cases, ifyou find a 100k+ rig that runs really well, chances are, the previous ownerhas thrownsome money into it and kept up on things. Set aside Land Rover-specific mechanical issues, 75k is usually the starting point for a number of "wear and tear" repairswithanyvehicle make. So, you could pay a couple of grand more for low-mileage and have these types of repairs right around the corner. If you can find a high-mileage truck withgood service records, I wouldn't run away from it if the prices is right.

Ultimately, it sounds like you'd like to own a Land Rover. If that's true, I'd say go for it. Sounds likeeither vehicle (the LR or Toyota)would be about the same age. To that point, any car that's been on the road for 8 yearsor so could be a crap shoot.

Mechanically speaking, I'd say that the LR is going to be easier to work on for a do it yourselfer.....for what it's worth.

Best of luck either way.