Hello Everyone,
I am a new member and currently in the market for an off-road toy. I have had 4x4's in the past and the itch to be in the woods on trails is getting to strong to ignore. With used car prices through the roof at the moment and with the increase in popularity to "overland" searching for a good used trail rig has become a more daunting task than I anticipated. My searches have lead me to looking at Land Rovers as they seem to be appropriately priced. I have only known one person to own a Disco II and it was a beast off-road. Stock. suspension and radial tires and he went everywhere my Jeep went with a lift and mud terrains. I've heard all the horror stories of the dependability issues but they just looks darn good and they preform!!!

So, to my question, Why should I buy a Discovery? Is it a life sentence to fall in love with something that will never love me back? Is it more of a shade tree mechanic hobby than an off-roading hobby? Are they the best thing since sliced bread and will consistently get me where I want to go with basic maintenance and a little care? Aftermarket products seems to be cheap-ish and plentiful. The following seems to be nearly as loyal as Jeeper's and the dreaded Toyota Guys so they must be fun. What are your opinions as owners and drivers? Is it the best bang for my buck to get out and do some adventures? This won't be a daily driver. Just something fun on the weekends and maybe around town when I feel like it. So if some repairs are needed I won't be stuck not getting around town.

Thanks for any input y'all can provide and I have enjoyed reading some of the threads so far. Ive learned a few things and seen some amazing rigs. I hope you all have a blessed day and thank you for reading.

 

i have always picked cars based on how the looks, if i dont like the way it looks i dont care what it can do, do you like the look of a disco ?? if yes buy one, not sure how cheap they are in your area but they are not cheap if they are well maintained, you will need a bit more than basic maintenance and little care ? nope you will need lots of care, but if its just a toy than buy it, what u got to loose

 

The D1/D2 is a great base platform for a trail rig as the price great if you can find a reasonably maintained vehicle. The caveat with a Land Rover is that you need to be willing to perform most if not all of your own repairs unless you have money to burn. They can be very reliable once you get everything sorted out and by following some of the lessons learned here over the years. The biggest issue with with the D2 is the engine (mostly due to running to hot), water ingress in the cabin on electric components and chassis rust.

 

I ended up with a D2 following the same path as you more or less, my old R50 Pathfinder was becoming a money pit, just age related issues. The wife said go buy a new truck, Jeeps , Toyota's were all massively over priced (IMO) and all the Xterra's I found were 2wd which is just bizarre or beaters.

I ended up with the Disco by fluke and so far it has been great. Maintenance is really no worse than any other 18+ year old vehicle with the caveat they will leak fluids oil, transfer case being the most common. It is a huge engine bay with lots of room to work, and push rod v8's are dead simple no matter how much BMW tried to complicate it.
I did have to do head gaskets but that was a driveway job, took me a bit, but it was January and snowing.

The major issue is finding one in decent mechanical shape with no rust,and then be willing to do your own maintenance.

Cooling is a big one, these are aluminum engines any overheat can cost you a head gasket, severely overheated head or a cracked block. Oil changes are 3000-5000 miles and you need a good amount ZDDP due to the engine design which can be hard to find in modern oils.

I have never been worried about going 200 plus miles into the back country alone in mine, with minimal VHF and no cell service

 

Great input. Thanks.

I live in the south so rust isn't much of a worry around here. Mechanically sound on the other hand.... Most of the Discovery's around here and grocery getter and have been pampered as a luxury vehicle. So the bodies are straight and the interiors are clean but have 150,000 miles or more. Higher mileage lends a cheaper price point but at what cost???

I don't mind doing maintenance but knowing what im getting is going to be important it sounds like. I don't particularly want to buy a vehicle then instantly spend a ton of money on neglected maintenance. It'd much more fun to buy some suspension and tires right???

Do you feel like they take the beatings of off-load abuse pretty well? I know from experience a Jeep can take it pretty hard before you are worrying about breaking things. Does your DII give you that bulletproof feeling out on the trail?

Thanks for the time spent responding. I really appreciate it.

 

Is there any tell tell signs of the engine being run hot in the past that would help me to figure out if im purchasing a time bomb?

I would be inclined to do a whole coolant system switch on anything I purchased but would rather not.

 

@Whoknows1129 As to overheat not really if you get a cheap bluetooth ODB reader and torque for android you can check the running temps and codes always a good idea. You end up in a trust situation but if the head gaskets are done or there is another engine related cooling issue they tend to either over pressure, blow white after a few minutes in warm temps and never stop or run hot 220 +.

You can also pull spark plugs and check.

When my head gaskets went my temps were fine but I over pressured and got coolant out of the overflow line.
3 amigo's are a problem, not terrible to fix but you do not want to start there - that is an abs fault

As to durability the only thing I have have damaged is the rear bumper and right quarter panel dropped her on a big rock.

This typical in my club we do not run to abuse the trucks but we do some gnarly trails. You need to remember parts are not cheap and you may not find anything at a wrecker so that is a consideration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZTiHo0dA8k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXrFFHEG_g8&t=1s

 

Why did I buy a D2? I was looking for a new 4x4 SUV four years ago. Toyotas were three times as expensive. Jeeps have not enough cargo space for me. A Sprinter 4x4 was out of reach. There were several D2s offered in my area and they sold very slowly. I ignored the warnings about reliability, got my D2 and it broke on our first trip. I had it in the shop for $1,800 before, but they didn't bother to look at the front drive shaft although they removed it. I started to take these things into my own hands and do all the repairs myself. That's the only way to maintain it economically and it has the advantage of replacing parts before they brake. It requires some level of paranoia and constant study of the topic. This forum is a great resource and I couldn't do without it. Still, some things broke on trips, but I am always able to continue the trip. I can judge myself how serious it is and fix it when necessary. I wouldn't have gotten this experience and knowledge with reliable cars.

 

@Whoknows1129 as far a durability on the trail goes, they’re as solid as any other body on frame solid axle truck would be. The basics of the chassis and suspension go back to the D1, Range Rover classic, and Defender. Pretty beefy from that perspective.

100% avoid any DII that is overpressurizing the cooling system, overheating, has white smoke coming from the exhaust, orany combination of those items. Check the rear frame, even living in the south. They made tons of these and plenty of northern trucks have been sold to owners in the south.

Ultimately maintenance is probably the same as any 20 year old vehicle, the key being Discos will tend to punish you more than other comparable vehicles when maintenance is neglected.

If you like DII’s then do tons of research and buy the most well maintained one you can find. Mileage is leas importance than consistent maintenance and service records.

I like DII’s because no modern cars have the looks of the DII or the rugged simplicity of the chassis, suspension, and drivetrain.