Hello I am new here and thinking about buying a discovery.I have heard horror stories about problems with land rovers but have always wanted one and this will not be my daily driver.I am thinking about selling my jeep chereokee 4x4 and replacing it with discovery.I do most of my own work on the cherokee.Are there good years to purchase bad years to stay away from,discovery 1 or 2 any difference.Will be using to run around town and off road,thanks for any help in advance.

 

Personally, I'd get a 1996 or 1997 D1 without Advanced Evap. I don't like distributors, or I'd suggest 1994 and 1995 too.

If looking at D2, I'd get as early as possible, 1999-2000 without Secondary Air Injection.

If you just like the way the 2003-2004 D2 looks better (I do) and you like the bigger engine (I do) then you have to live with the poorer quality engines. Go for 2004 if possible.

 

i parted out my ridiculously overbuilt XJ and bought a 95 disco 1. i could not be happier. i wanted to downsize (capability wise) and get something more comfy.. hot damn does this thing make the XJ seem like a half assed POS as far as build quality. as long as you can turn a wrench (and use a multimeter) you'll be fine with a rover.

IMHO, i'd go D1 (94-99). less electronic doodads to fail, cheaper and more serviceable stuffs. parts are pretty easily available on ebay and arent as expensive as i originally imagined. i just added one size larger of a tire (245/75) trimmed the body work a bit and called it a day. the motor drinks more gas than a stock XJ and has about the same amount of power... but a stock XJ is almost 800lbs lighter. i prefer my 95 bc the dizzy seems less failure-prone than the later coil-on-pack computer controlled OBD2 stuff.

 

i have to agree with Jafir for a DII go early or late 04.

 

I ascribe to the KISS principle so my choice will always be a '94 or '95 DI. They are as simple as can be. The 3.9L is, to my mind, the best iteration of the Rover V8, especially the '94-'95 with the ten bolt heads. But, hey, what do I know? My favorite Rover was my carburetted '85 Range Rover. It was only a bit more complicated than my old '74 SIII.

 

Just remember there's no CDL nipple on 02's and 03's. If you want a lockable CDL on a D2 you need a 99-00-01 or 04

 

I saw that you are able to do your own work. If you buy any of the DII's and really want to be able to do the work you are going to need something along the lines of the Hawkeye for dealing with diagnostics. Otherwise, you'll be at a lose with proprietary codes.

Was your Cherokee OBDI or OBDII? If it was OBDI then you will know what I mean with regard to simplicity. There is little in an early DI to leave you stranded on the trail. The trucks and the engine management system have been around long enough that there are plenty of known workarounds and parts are still plentiful.

Now, '96-'99 DI's adopted the GEMS OBDII system. The engine performed better but certain shadetree mechanic abilities were removed. The DII had a Bosch system which took even more ability away from the average shadetree mechanic. Yes, there is plenty you're still able to do without proprietary diagnostic equipment but there's a hell of a lot more to leave you stranded, particularly on the trails.

 

Thanks for all the input,I am just a shade tree mechanic,and want something as easy as possible to work on.My jeep xj is a 96 and I would guess is OBD II,96 was a transitional year for the cherokee .Looks are not priority but dependability is certainly on the trail.I am glad I came to this forum I would have thought newer is better sounds like I was wrong.I don't care what year it is just as long as I can work on it myself,parts are cheap as possible,and easy to find.Are old range rovers better than discovery's,I just like the width and head room of the discovery's.I am open to any suggestions,I've always wanted one but know nothing about them.

 

Range Rover Classics and DI's are very much the same underneath. The problem with old Classics is two fold. First, it's getting harder to find Classics that haven't been ravaged by rust. Second, they are starting to enter that stage of collectibility where rust free versions are commanding higher and higher prices. The beauty of the DI is that they sold about three or four times as many as they did Classics so there are more on the road.

 

Does a 94-95 have less failure rate than 99 and below or just easier to work on.Why is distributor thought to be problem for 94-95 and 96-97 may be better choice.Is there a large difference working on 94-95 than 96-97.How did you find your range rover craigslist,car trader or are there any webs sights you might find better quality with service records and so on.