Hello everybody! This is my first post and visit to this forum. As you may have gathered from the subject of the thread, I am considering buying a Land Rover; Specifically, the Discovery I or II series.

I have always very much enjoyed looking at Discovery's, and I am almost certain that I am going to buy one before long. The thing is, I currently own a 99 Jeep Cherokee, and it is a beautiful vehicle, in almost every aspect- not the least of which, is its 4.0L inline-six engine, that has a remarkable habit of lasting for several hundred thousand miles.

Which brings me to my question- is the Discovery series as plagued with mechanical problems as some of the online reviews that I'm reading say it is? Are they extremely expensive to repair should something break?

And finally, is there a specific year / package I should look for? What about mileage? My Jeep has 60,000 miles on it, and I don't even consider that broke in for the thing. I have looked at a couple Discovery's, years from 95 - 97, with around 75,000 miles. Is this high mileage for one of these things? Do they last forever? Is it true that they have aluminum bodies, and cannot rust?

I am not in the least concerned about gas mileage, or anything of that nature. I only want a rugged, beautiful, tactical vehicle that can truly master any element this earth can conjure up.

Thank you fellas,

Pat

 

Regarding the rust, DI 94 - 98 have Steel roof, and 99 - 2003 DIIhave also Steel F&R doors. I have not seen too much rust here in So.Cal.
It will be up to you to decide. I also had 4.0 6L Jeep. Liked it a lot, but it was not a Land Rover. [sm=smiley20.gif]

 

Discovery IIs are not all that capable off road until you tweak them a bit. Nothing major, but plan on dumping $2000 in springs, shocks, tires, wheels and other smaller bits to get it moderatly capable off road. That alone makes a massive difference.

As for reliable - they are not. Expensive to repair? Yes. Once you buy in, you start researching and realize there's a whole world of mechanical failures waiting to happen. I bought a pretty well cared for '02 with 50k. In less than a year I've spent $5000+ in mods and mostly repairs including:

- Replaced head gasket
- Replaced shocks/springs (sagging and old)
- Replaced 18" wheels for 16" wheels for better off roading as well as new tires
- Replaced all four brakes
- Replaced various belts and pulleys
- Currently replacing CV joints, U joints and hoping the drive shafts are fine
- Currently trying to track down a leaking cooling system as I now have "the sloshing" sound in my glove box.
- Repaired rear wheel speed sensor that triggered the three dash lights for ABS/HDC/TC
- Probably need to replace my O2 sensors soon.
- Fiddled repeatedly with my rear sunroof as it sticks
- Fiddled repeatedly to silence some squeeky rattle somewhere in the rear of the vehicle. Lots of those.

All very common problems. I'm sure I'll continue to have more. Love the vehicle, but all in all it really sucks for reliability. I've had Wranglers in the past and most were very reliable with some failures. My 2000 Toyota 4runner rules by a long shot for reliability. I owned that for 4 years. Changed fluids, filters and tires but that's it. One failure in 66,000 miles...a door lock.

 

They are pretty maintenance intensive but I think the discos are the best mid size SUV out there. You won't find another that is as roomy and drives as well as these trucks do. You'll want to learn some repairs to save some cash. Do theevery 30kservices and it will decrease alot of your maintenance worrys. You can search on here for 60k services for a laundry list.

 

This forum is more of a help forum so you will see more
problems here than anywhere else.

Most people that have LR's do one of two things when they
have a problem fix it or sell it.

If you can work on your own trucks great if not money maybe
the biggest problem asparts are high and finding someone that
knows what they ars doing is not cheap.

Disco I's are easier to work on for a DIY'ers .

 

As far as maintenance, you can expect to pay alot when something goes wrong, consider that when buying. Also, you will want to have a "check-up" when you buy it, this can cost $1000+ but is very necessary and it will work out all the kinks the truck may have. Unfortunately when something big does break, it costs alot too. Do some research and see if you have an independent rover mechanic in your area.

When it comes to model, the DI is a bit more rugged and you can throw it around a little more. BUT the DII has some great features that I personally really enjoy. Like some people said, the DII might need a little bit of upgrades to make it a better off-road truck. The 2004 Disco II is by far its best year (for series II), but the cost shows that. I would avoid 1999 DII's and 2003 DII's just because for some reason they seem to have the most problems (some others can go more in-depth on that.) I have a 2000 DII and so far I LOVE it.

I would def. go for a Disco, depending on your budget you can find lots of great trucks. But dont jump on one to fast, do lots of research and test drive a few. I did and it really paid off, I almost bought one with 100,000+ miles and a dent, then I found mine for the SAME price with 89,000 miles in nearly PERFECT condition! So happy hunting! Let us know what you end up doing! Trust me you will LOVE the disco!

 

2003's get a bad rap because the earlier ones got fitted with a faulty oil pump that would cause engine failure. They later fixed the problem but a few people have lost engines when the oil stopped flowing. Most2003 ownersI see posting here love theirs, and I love mine, too. It's been very reliable over the year and a half I've owned it.

The one thing I would definitely caution anybody about is that 2003's don't have CDL capability, so if you are wanting to doheavy off-roading, then you may want to search fora modelequipped with CDL.

 

The all wheel drive is nice on wet and icy roads.

Willie

 

I think the XJ is the best all around SUV you can buy.
In-line 6, solid axles, You can drive it anywhere in comfort..
Take it off-road. Do the hard stuff, skip the chicken routes,
and drive it home. I know I have done it. They are a lot more
practical than a DI or DII. Buy parts for them anyhwere. Have them
worked on at any garage.
But I drive a Land Rover. Rovers are just cool! You dont see one at
every stop light. Parts are high and you cant just take it anywhere to
have it worked on.

Mike

 

I just sold my 99XJ a few months back and picked up a an '03 SE7 and I LOVE IT. It all depends what you want the truck for, mine will never see any serious off-road (i got the out of my system with the XJ . . . sort of) as a dailhy driver I love mine, but parts/repairs are MUCH more expensive, with the XJ you could fix most every thing for $200-500, these you're looking at $1000 for your typicals . . .
Also mileage sux and they take premium, but it's all worth it, I can't say enough good things about my DII! It's a completely different vehicle the ride, the handling, amazing!