I had a '99 528i with 230k, hands down best car I have owned. I could slam the door shut and you could feel the pressure in your ears change. It doesn't have the Discos appeal however, and I must a have screw loose because I DD my pig everywhere and love it. Having never owned a vehicle from new, is it somewhat sad to see them significantly age over the 10 years of ownership?
As a side note a really want an e28 M5 but owning a Land Rover is enough punishment.

 

I've had 10 different Audi's and 5 BMW's. I had a BMW E34 525 Touring that I converted to a 5 speed that had 275k miles on the original engine and trans when I swapped it. Most reliable car I've ever owned, and didn't leak a drop, plus the original owner had basically done nothing with the car over it's lifespan, but the thing refused to die. I'd still be driving it if it hadn't have been totaled by a drunk driver/cop car colliding into it in front of my house. BMW's are easy to work on and parts are cheap...of course even Audi parts are cheap compared to Land Rover...holy crap!
No matter what though, you'd be hard pressed to find another four wheel drive that has the capability of a Disco with the awesome character of the thing. But for sure the Disco is not a car for the non mechanic.

 

It's a tough call.

Ultimately, if I was sick of turning wrenches, I'd sell the Disco and buy a Nissan.

But if I was just worried about drivetrain failure, I'd keep driving it.

But I'd stop towing.

 

The problem is not so much the cost of the parts it's that I'm getting tired of spannering these days and as fast as I sort one issue another arises. Yep, I suppose I could get a garage to fix the problems but they take an eternity here and charge a small fortune as well. Worse than that they are invariably incompetent sloppy workers at what they do.

Reading the national press it's not uncommon for them to quote say €200-300 for a job and say 2 days to complete and after 3-6 months (an actual article on one womans French Renault car clutch) with the vehicle in pieces they still haven't sorted it and the bill has escalated to €800 or even €1500 without consulting you . If I said some were worse than useless I'd would say I was being polite!!!

Sometimes I actually enjoy spannering as a hobby/pastime and find it therapeutic and often a rewarding achievement but not when the tasks just keep mounting up faster than I can rectify them. Trouble is, when I've done all the outstanding tasks for which I've already bought the parts it's worth keeping the truck because I know the true history and it's not a crock of someone elses junk and bad servicing. It's a real quandary.