I'm looking at an '04 discovery. 132,000 miles. Head gaskets replaced at 106,000 miles. I have a checklist that I made on what to look for when we test drive from my research here on the forums. It's had 8 owners which makes me a little nervous, but it looks to be in great shape (we saw it while they were closed so couldn't drive it yet)

My question is do you think with that kind of mileage it could reliably drive cross country (1,000 miles one way) once a year and through the mountains with gear overhead and a light trailer with camping gear? We have property in Colorado and it's all dirt roads so I thought a smaller 4x4 would be a ton of fun. With 6 kids a jeep is out of the question and a Land Cruiser is out of the budget. We typically put 6,000 miles on our vehicles per year.

I'm a little nervous to bite the bullet after reading how much work they seem to need. We have an Excursion so we are used to older vehicles and random $800 repair bills every 18 months or so, but have never been stranded on the side of the road. With all these issues everyone talks about are you ending up stranded or is it issues that you notice and have time to fix???

 

If you are doing proper maintenance you are unlikely to be left on the side of the road. In the end it is a 13 year old SUV so break downs do happen though.

I have taken my Rovers all over America. I'm also the guy that buys one based on pictures and flys out to drive it home 7-800 miles So I might be the wrong guy to ask.

 

I think nowadays people who are getting Discovery's are very willing to take the chance of maintaining and fixing the truck themselves. If you would like to get one and not fix it yourself, $800.00 in 18 mos might not be enough. Like ArmyRover mentioned that its a 13 year old car and with that mileage, theres more repairs to come. Its smaller than an Excursion and you have 6 kids. The most you can fit in there is 7 in an SE7 or an HSE7 and its tight plus a roof rack with goodies, it will slow you down. I have one with 185K miles on it and I'll drive it anytime cross country. Cross country having the original factory tires for more relaxing trips. We drove to nj to florida almost every year and once we used a disco with larger tires and lifted, that was a pain. We probably seen all the rest stops along the way.
Anyway, Discos are fun to drive. My wife never returned my truck since she borrowed it. She got her own stories how people loved and liked the disco when she goes to the pump gas.

 

My 2003 Disco 2 is great fun off-road (really, these are offroad kings!), but I have no idea about long road trips and the seating capacity maxes out at 7 so you+wife+ 6 kids would not seem to be a good fit for using one as a road warrior.

To me, Disco 2s make more sense for wrenchers and off-roaders. Decent crash protection for a family of just 7, but the gas mileage is abysmal.

I need new O2 sensors. With the old sensors I'm just getting 9 (nine) miles per gallon...without pulling a trailer.

OK, the above said, drive it and make certain there are no wobbles/vibrations and the alignment is straight. Make certain that it doesn't overheat. Listen for bird chirping sounds that could be coming from your front driveshaft. Test your cruise control. Check the engine codes with a cheap OBD2 scanner connected under the steering wheel/knee bolster.

Get dirty. Lay on your back underneath the parked Disco 2 to briefly scan for any signs of massive rust or wreck re-welding repairs.

While underneath, count the grease fittings on the front drive shaft (3+ is good). You're going to be greasing that front drive shaft at each oil change...or replacing it if it has fewer than 3 grease "zerk" fittings.

Pop the hood. Check the oil. Milky is bad. Clear brown is good. Open the coolant reservoir cap. Does it smell like exhaust (bad)?

Adjust offer/price accordingly.

 

Thanks for the replies! I guess I should have specified that my oldest would drive himself if he goes, lol, he's 18. So we are looking at 7 seaters.

My husband used to work on fighter jets in the military so I think he would be just fine doing repairs himself or have his friend who is a car mechanic help. I have been pricing parts online for some of the common problems and the parts themselves don't scare me. It's how people seem to say they are so unreliable.

Our Excursion has over 200,000 miles on it and is still going strong. We bought it with 175,000 miles so we are used to high mileage maintenance. We plan on still keeping that one, we actually just sold our second excursion a couple months ago so the disco would be a replacement second vehicle. I want something smaller because I feel like I'm driving a boat anywhere I go. Tiny parking lots are awful. I usually find the furthest spot and just walk, but I still want to be able to drive to our property, we actually couldn't get up the hill 2 years ago when it was raining in the excursion even with the 4 wheel drive activated so 4 wheel drive is a must.

 

I think you passed the written test. Go ahead and get your Disco! Lol! Youll enjoy it. Plus, this forum will get you to most difficult problems with rovers. Cheers

 

Lucky8 for any parts!
Their prices are the same, or less, than domestic or Japanese vehicles! New LR part prices are obscene everywhere else!

And guys, they drive Excursions.
So Disco gas mileage is gonna be awesome!
Friend of mine had a gas engine, V10, it got......
6 mpg! Lol!
The diesels will get you 16-22 mpg, so huge gain.

 

I've also worked on most everything domestic and Japanese.
The D2 was a big suprise. As it is probably the easiest vehicle I have ever seen to work on.
Not only is it a very simple design, but you can tell that there was a consious effort made to make it easy to work on. Nobody designs cars to be worked on!

 

Thanks guys! We do get 9-10mpg city/ 13-14 hwy so yes gas mileage is already crappy, LMAO! Our diesel excursion was way better on gas mileage, but we owned the V10 outright so that's why we sold the other. I think I am reassured. My only issue now is the salesman is saying that another salesman is trying to buy it out from under me!!! Waiting to hear back after he talks to the manager. If it doesn't work out with that one I will find another one. I definitely want a disco.

 

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