Hello, I am new to the forum. I want to buy a Land Rover Discovery. I don't know much about them, differences from year to year, what year is the best, what to look out for when purchasing, how is maintenance, price to fix, common problem, you know the deal. Maybe even tell me why i should buy a Land Rover. What is so great. They seem really nice and i love the look. Just looking for information so i can make an educated purchase. I don't know what year i will buy, i want to spend around 4 grand, possibly 5. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Harrison Cope.

 

The first thing is what are you going to use it for?
That will help us help you in what is needed in a Disco.

 

what do you plan on using the rover for? daily driver? off-roading? $5K will get you a '99 DII (first year of the series II) They made series I and II in '99. I bought a '99 DII with low miles for $6K but you can probably get one for $5k now. They drink a lot of gas, premium gas, and there's a good chance you'll be putting some money into it from the start (some say $1-2K) If you're not good at doing your own maintenance get the checkbook ready, parts and labor are very expensive.

 

Thank you for including your price range, that helps us alot.
For 4-5 thousand doolars you will be buying a DI (Discovery I), it is the first generation Discovery, that is what I drive.
They are from 1993-1999.5, 1999.5-2004 is the DII. (only 1995 is the first year in the US for the Disco)
All DI's are the same except for the engine, until '95 they had the 3.9L engine with a distribitor then then in '96 they went to the 4.0L engine and electronic ignition. The 3.9 and 4.0 are the same engine.
Things you will find are the check engine light being on, the ABS light on, the CDL level being stuck, really bad MPGand fluids overdue for being changed. Also the cruise control not working. All very easy fixes.
You can expect 12-14 mpg in town and 16-18 mpg on the expressway.
You MUST use premium gas, so take that into consideration.
Why buy one? Because you are not a Lemming and you dont follow the crowd, you want to beable to find your truck in the parking lot at the mall. Because you want the Best 4x4xfar.
Now keep in mind that these truck are not for everyone.
www.atlanticbritish.com will give you an idea of prices for parts. Also check out their tech page, it is on the home page on the left half way down.
AutoZone also has parts for LR's.
Dual airbags, 4 wheel 4 channel ABS, disc brakes on all corners, coil springs on all corners, 5,500 lb towing, up to 7 passengers, dual climate control, two sunroofs.
I dont know, these are the best trucks in the world. Go to youtube.com and search Land Rover Camel Trohpy.

 

I picked up my 97 Dicovery 1 for $3700 with 109000 miles on it. It had some minor imperfections, mainly the paint, but overall is a very solid truck. Since I plan to use my Disco for off-roading the paint issues don't really matter to me. These trucks tend not to hold their value which is great for buying them used, not so great if you're the one selling it. But I, like most on this forum, will have to have the keys physically ripped out of my hand before I would even consider selling.

Maintenance and parts is expensive and with purchasing used you will probably have to put some money into it right away to get it current on the maintenance. Once you have got it current then it will prove to be a reliable vehicle that should last well into the 300,000 mile range.

 

Daily driver. i will probably not go offroad often if at all. and i am mechanically inclined. I will try to do all my own repairs and maintenance. if possible. thanks for the quick replies. do they need a lot of repairs if maintained properly? I am kind of a freak about my vehicle maintenance. i like to take care of my vehicles. i drive a jeep cherokee right now, and i am wanting something nicer than that. i have taken care of it well since i got it. and i was thinking a discovery would be a nice upgrade with my new promotion. ??

 

Also, how easy are these to work on if you just have a garage with common tools. i guess i could rent some tools for projects but i don't have a lift or anything like that. am i going to be able to fix this truck if something needs to be fixed or will i have to take it in? i have heard that they are hard to work on.??? Thanks for the info, really helpful.

 

I got my 97 D1 LSE for 2,500 ..had 170,000 miles on it.. You have to do the 100,000 mile service Posted in here ,,,So if your a "freak about mantainence" you're looking at the right truck...The only way your getting my LRkey is to pry it from my dead body ...What a machine they are!!!!!

 

Disco I's are easier to work on 94 to 99.5 ,,,,,,,,96 to 99.5 are OBDII that makes things nice.
The Disco I was setup to fix it in the field more so than the Disco II's
( Disco II was a updated Disco I from BMW)

 

Once you get the initial issues worked out you shouldn't have many more that pop-up other than routine maintenancem, especially if you're not going to take it off road. The D1's are easier to work on than the D2's also. You can work on these in your garage with your common tools for the most part. The truck is built around being field serviceable, so they try to make it as easy as possible. Look into downloading the RAVE manual, and electronic version of the workshop manual. Between this site (and a couple others if so inclined) and the RAVE you have all the repair info you need. Once you find a truck you like post the pics and info and we can give more feedback. You may want to take a code reader when looking at trucks and post those too.