Okay, so maybe Clarkson telling me to buy a Rover is a bit of a stretch. His voice does play in my head every time I imagine owning one, so why am I here?

I'm an adventure and landscape photographer who works in the film/tv production industry who is in need of a reliable 4x4. About few months ago, my journey to source and build a capable off-road vehicle began. I managed the Mint 400 in Vegas last week and I am involved in the production side of off-road racing. Naturally, I was inclined to find a pickup as a base for a rig.

Who am I kidding? I don't have time to build a truck to run time trials. I just want a high torque machine that will take me wherever I want to go. Me and my old man make this into a project to find a sub-$10k off-road vehicle. He shoots me an email yesterday with an add for a Land Rover Discovery.

Why was Land Rover completely left off my list!

Now that I've had a moment to look into it, why wouldn't I buy a Land Rover? Aside from the obvious gas mileage, weight, and maintenance costs, what else should I be looking out for? What SHOULD I be looking for in a Discovery?

My goal is lightly outfit my vehicle for trail use. I'm not looking for a rock crawler, or or race machine. I just need something that I can drive into the wilds of North America with my camera equipment, and come back alive from. I've driven much stupider things off-road, and I am very mechanically inclined. I figure if I can swap a driveshaft and fly wheel off a diesel Ford F-150, I can handle the nuances of a British designed sport utility.

Lay it on me. What should my checklist be when buying a used Land Rover Discovery?