i am interested in buying a used land rover discovery or range rover. i want one any year from 96 to 2000. i can only spend to about 8000 dollars. would i be better off getting a discovery or ranger rover. and what are the most common problems with discovery and range rover? i really need some advice. my family is teling me not to get any kind of land rover because they are hard to work on and they are a you know what to get fixed. i drive a 96 range rover now but as much as it would cost to get fixed, i could get another rover. i tell my family that there is nothing like a rover and that is all i will every drive. so which is the the better choice as far as cost, age, and reliablitity. and what you get for the money. discovery or range rover?[/align]

 

IF YOU ARE ON A TIGHT BUDGET A GOOD USED DISCOVERY 1 IS A GOOD CHIOCE.IT IS NOT EXTREMELY HARD TO WORK ON.PLUS NEW AND GOOD USED PARTS ARE FAIRLY MORE AVAILABLE THAN RR PARTS .D2S ARE A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED AND MORE ELECTRONIC DEPENDENT THOUGH HAVE A SLIGHT BETTER RIDE QUALITY.RANGE ROVERS ARE A VERY GOOD ,BUT SOPHISTICATED MACHINE WHICHHAS STILL MORE ELECTRONIC DEPENDENCEREQUIRING MORE DEALERINTERVENTION BECAUSE OF DIAGNOSTICS.IT IS TRUE THOUGH,THATTODAY A P38 RANGE ROVER IS A BITLESSPRICEY TO RUN DUE TO INDEPENDENT PARTS AVAILABILITY.STILL DO THINK FOR ANY REASON ANY ROVER WILL BE CHEAP TO MAINTAIN.ALL THESE GREAT VEHICLES REQUIRE MUCH ATENTION.HOPE THIS LETS YOU DECIDE.

 

I have a Discovery II and love it, but it is the most expensive vehicle to maintain and repair that I have ever owned. Land Rovers are known for very high customer satisfaction, but poor repair records in comparision toother brands.

Given your limited funds, I would recommend buying as low of mileDisco I or IIbecause you will be able to get less miles and a better condition vehicle for 8k than something comparable in a Range Rover. I like my Disco II better than my friends Disco I because of the many improvements made to the vehicle, including ride handling. Even though I enjoy the benefits of having the rear air suspension option and ACE (Active Control Enhancement) option on my Disco II, I would recommend staying away from these if your funds are limited because they can be expensive to fix.

In regards to repair, my Disco II is in the shop a couple of times a year getting things fixed. Most Land Rover owners I have talked with have the same experience and if you are not willing to put up with this inconvinience, or will not have the money to set aside each year for maintenance and repair (get estimates from edmunds.com and add at least20% by my experience), then look at other vehicles. I have owned my Disco II for six years now and some years I spend only on required maintenance, however other years I have spent up to 5k on one thing after another. My friends who are not Land Rover owners believe that I am crazy for putting up with such aproblematic vehicle, but I love driving it, so I am one of those highly satisfied customers that puts up with above average repairs. In regards to repairs, my understanding is that the Range Rovers are generally more expensive to maintain and repair due to the increased complexity. For example, the Range Rover has air suspension at all of the wheels where the Disco II has it at most on the 2 rear wheels.

If you arehandy (I don't have the time) the repairs will not be such a large financial strain as most mechanical repairs are easily accomplished. However, most of my repairs have been items better left for the dealer, such as finding the cause of an electrical fault that blew a fuse and locked the transmission in park when you stepped on the brake and for a week I had to: replace fuse, start vehicle, press brake and quickly [in less than 1 sec. ] move transmission out of park before the fuse blew and the park lock prevented putting the vehicle in gear, ... turn off the vehicle, put in park (to remove the key), remove blown fuse, insert new fuse and repeat above when I wanted to drive away.It took the dealer almost 10 hours to track it down to a faulty trailer wiring harness kit from Land Rover that was installed 2 years prior (the seal had broke and water got inside the box).

I hope this helps.

 

What are you planning on using the truck for, this would be a big factor in what to buy?

 

[/align]I can tell you right know, buying a Disco I or II WILL COST YOU and buying a Range Rover (MkII or MkIII) WILL COST YOU EVEN MORE! ...but is it worth it?, YA DAMN RIGHT!!! I have a '98 Range and eventhomy pockets take a beating trying to maintain/repair it, IWOULD NOT TRADEHER FOR ANY OTHERVEHICLE ON THE ROAD! You can get a decent Range for close to 10k and Disco for less, but your gonna need some EXTRA cash for repairs and such, so seeing-to-as you've already experienced the Range, try a Disco the second time around. Might i add, the Range has a MUCH BETTER feel, look, andhandle than the Discovery.