I ran across this forum yesterday after looking at a 2004 Discovery on Saturday evening and thought I'd see what you guys have to say. The Disco has 107k miles on it and started/ran like a champ on a test drive. I ran the Carfax this morning and found out that it has a NJ manufacturer buyback/lemon title dated July 2007. At the time of the buyback it had 42k miles. It was listed for sale shortly thereafter and has only had one owner since. I called Land Rover this morning and had them check the VIN to see if they could give me any details. All she was able to find in the records was that it was related to the cooling and electrical systems, but the records show that all issues were resolved before it was listed for sale again.

If this was to be my daily driver I think I would run away. However, this is a fourth vehicle for us (two "fun" cars that suck in the snow and two trucks). The fact that it has been 65k mi since the buyback with nothing really in the service records but routine stuff makes me think this is probably worth jumping on. Any input is appreciated!

 

I would consider the lemon title to be the same as a salvage in which case it is worth precisely jack. If you can't find any faults with it after thorough inspection and it's not going to be a daily driver then I wouldn't be afraid of buying it, but I wouldn't pay more than $1500 or so.

 

i agree with that. It will be great to have fun with but it will never recoup any money more would it have any value due to that title

 

That year + that mileage is likely either 1 of two things:
1. Motor replacement - long story short, bad front cover caused some oil issues and blew some motors up
2. Front driveshaft failure - Lack of fully greasable driveshaft causes bearing failure which usually snaps at high speed and slams into your tranny, blowing that up.

Either of the two scenario's would have to be completely fixed for the vehicle to be drive-able. My opinion (not an expert) is to search for the "things to note when buying a land rover". There's a specific site that lists all the things that go wrong with each series of vehicle and what to look for when buying.

I to was in your same shoes when it came to buying one of these.

You mainly want to check for leaks in the engine bay (oil and coolant - EVERYWHERE your eyes can see). Bring a flashlight, bring a spotlight, bring a flare lol these likely lead to head gasket failure (motors can last a while before head gasket goes, but it will eventually give out (60K-140K))

Also check for driveshaft grease zerks - if its not fully greasable, you'll be buying another. They typically last about 60K

Also, DiscoMike over here has one h*ll of a write up on your service needs. 60K miles is a big one (so is 120K). Either way, you're on the apex of both. It's simple stuff... Coolant, fluids, hubs, bearings, grease this, etc...

If you can get it for 2000-3000 its one amazing vehicle to use as a snow plow / toy. I love mine (lifted 4-5", set for full off road)

Cheers

 

Probably had the front cover dowel pin issue. That was about the mileage mine had it. In my case they swapped in a new engine for free. I could see some owners not going for that though, LRNA probably ate more than one!!

 

It's an older LR which means it's not worth all that much anyways. If it was sold after it was repaired and it had only one owner afterwards I think it's probably safe to say the issues were addressed.

Now the big question is how much is it? An 04 in mint condition should be in the 5k to 9k range depending on the area. As long as it mechanically checks out I see no reason to run away from it.

I've owned brand new vehicles that sucked right off the showroom floor & then I've bought 1.5k to 3k D1/D2's that have been the most reliable vehicles so new doesn't always mean perfect IMHO.

 

Based on what we have been reading, the motor issue was my guess after speaking with Land Rover this morning. My husband checked the engine bay and was underneath it with a flashlight on Saturday and didn't see anything of concern.

We are in the near west Chicago 'burbs, and they've got it listed at $3950. It has some minor cosmetic body damage, but nothing big, and the interior is in really impressive shape, given its age. (Door ding, crack in the front bumper.) At this price point I am certainly not expecting to get anything out of it money wise down the road. This is a dog hauler/snow driver/camping truck that will maybe see 5k mi/year.

 

Manufacturered Buyback/ Lemon title.

Every single one of those cars get sent back to the Manufacturer's engineering department. They get fixed and resold, with the title being forever branded. If they can't be fixed, they are destroyed. So they fact it was resold, means they fixed it.
Will you every get your money back , due to the negative press the term "lemon" has on a title, probably not.

Another factory to consider is a lot of people get cars bought back sometimes when they can't afford it. I work for the corporate dealer of a German Manufacturer. I'll never forget this car because of the hours we put into this car. Woman comes in complaining her car keeps stalling. No codes, no events in the system. We tore this car apart, tested the harness, wire by wire, put 2k miles on it, replaced multiple components as per engineering in USA and Germany. And she kept complaining it kept stalling. Eventually bought the car back. Sales ran her credit to put her in another vehicle, from the time she financed the "stalling car" to the time we bought it back, he credit had tanked and had high limits on everything. She couldn't afford it, so she came up with the perfect story.

 

if the title wasn't scarred, that would probably be a reasonable price tag with some negotiation room. However, if for any reason you ever decided to sell it in a similar condition, you would loose your ***. IF it is in fact very nice inside and out and it was lemonized due to the oil pump issue, then i might justify 2k for it, but I would have a very hard time convincing myself to pay twice or three times what something is worth. Not to mention, these are only 12-17 years old now, they have another 5-10 years or depreciation before they hit rock bottom value.

 

There's an 04 SE7 (7 seater) that just went up on craigslist in Richmond, Indiana. 104K miles, all original reciepts + service records, no blemishes, non smoker. All for 5K obo

You could likely get that for $3,750 and be golden

Should be an easy choice now lol

PS - it has a clear title hahaha