Hello, all. I've been lurking for a while and finally decided to register. You guys have an excellent forum here. Thanks for making all of this info available to all. Good stuff.

I could probably copy and paste the following sentences, since I'm sure there are loads of members with a similar experience. But, if you make the mistake of having a Newbie Introduction Forum, you're asking for it.

I have been in love with Land Rovers, specifically the Discovery since it was launched here (what, some 15 years ago now?). Call me a poser, but there's just something about that "I can go anywhere" look and feel, even if I will never truly max out it's potential. I remember visiting my wife's family in New Jersey about 10 years ago, and while we were there, NJ got absolutely walloped by a nasty snow storm. While everyone else in the house went off to play (hey, we were from Florida), I decided to be a good Samaritan and help a father and son push their van out of a snow embankment - - for 3 hours. In the midst of the pushing and digging, I looked up to see this beautiful white Discovery prancing by as if it was a summer day. It was the only car on the road that was moving. "Must. Have. One." I thought, not for the first time.

Fast forward to the present. Just recently, the stars have been aligning themselves to the point where the time is right to get one. Used Disco prices have tanked (thanks in part to gas prices, I supposed) to the point where this could be do-able for me. I've worked from home for the last 2 years, so we only had a need for one car - - hell, I barely leave the house during the week at all. My wife shuttles our two kiddos around in our 2007 Santa Fe. Great car for the money, by the way, compared to the CRV or whatever. So, we have our "reliable" car - - now it's time for daddy to get what he REALLY wanted all along.

I was within hours of pulling the trigger on a fantastic white 2001 SE7 this week, but I chickened out. It was at one of these tiny used car dealer lots, I couldn't take it where I really wanted to have it inspected (too far from the dealer), and I was just nervous in general. I guess I want to have a little more cash in reserves before I get into another car, especially one which can get expensive real fast if things go south. I know there will be others, but this one hurt because that is the model/color/kit I was looking for.

So, it was just last night that I decided to be patient. When I thought about it, I had never even met anyone who owned a Discovery. Why was I so obsessed? I was finally at peace with my decision to hold off for a while and take care of other priorities.

Driving back from a dentist appointment today (a rare weekday jaunt out into the real world) I noticed that the Valvoline Service Center was empty, so I dropped in to have the oil changed in my wife's car. While I wait, I call my wife to let her know I stopped off, but as I'm talking to her, another car rolls in. I tell my wife that she's never going to guess what pulled in to Bay 2, but she knew right away. I got up the nerve to ask the guy how he liked his Land Rover and we shot the breeze for a bit. He and his wife each had a Disco, so clearly, he was a fan. He had a really nice 50th Anniversary Discovery LSE, by the way.

And now I'm back to obsession. The guy could have done me a big favor by just telling me that his car was a turd on wheels. Would have sobered me right up. But alas, the hunt continues . . .

My apologies for the long post. I've been on other forums for years (actually a mod on a very well trafficked, non-car related forum), but this may be my longest post ever.

Alright, it's late. Off to bed; surely nightmares of "3 Amigos" will dance in my head.

Cheers, all.