I am a prospective owner of a 1995-2004 Land Rover Discovery/Range Rover.

I was wondering if someone could help me out with some of the myths I have heard about Land Rovers.

1- Land Rovers have to run on Premium gas

2- It will cost you an arm and a leg to maintain your land rover such as $160.00 wiper blades



Also here are some other general qustions I have but I have not neccisarily heard as myths

Can I get the oil changed at a Quicky lube place?

Is there anything else I should know before I purchase a Used Land Rover?

Thanks,

 

Also are these trucks easy to work on? I am a shade tree mechanic and had an 1988 Dodge Ramcharger I worked on a few easy things, but I am not an expert mechanic.

 

Well...the first thing you have to do is decide what you want.1995-2004 Range/Discovery needs to get narrowed down a tad. There is a huge margin there,both in vehicle quality and price.Do some more research...test drive a few different models and years and decide what you want to spend. Narrow your search to a specific model and start scouring the forums for info.

 

I would reaally love a 1999-2004 Disco II but it all depends on price and availiblity. I have my eyes on a 2001 right now but I am still in the early stages of looking. I test drove a 2003? last year and liked it but I still need to do some research. I just showed my wife a picture of the Disco II and her first comment was " we can not afford to fix it if it breaks" Help me out I need some ammunition for this fight..

 

They arn't the cheapest to fix, but it is do-able! I'd be very careful about the '03 Disco, do a search for exploding oil pump, driveshaft problems, etc..

As for your myths:

1) Yes run premium. If you price it out, it is not that much more expensive to run premium than regular, and even if you run regular, the costs of repairs from bad gas will greatly outweigh your savings.

2) Never seen $160 wiper blades, but they better make you breakfast at that price. Buy a nice set of PIAA wipers, don't by LR parts from the dealer for expendables like wipers.

3) Yea you can get the oil changed a quick lube, but as with any quick lube, don't blindly trust their work. A quick google search will return horror stories of forgetting to put in oil, putting in wrong kind, seizing motors..etc..just check up on their job. The only problem with my Range Rover is that it needs 6 quarts, and the quick lube places charge a whole lot more for that extra quart it seems...I've never had any problems with my local Snappy Lube.

4) One tip: Look into local independent LR service shops before you purchase. LR Dealers tend to have 2 week + wait times to get in for an appointment for service, on top of sometimes outrageous dealer prices, IE suspension replacement at dealer= $2400, indy shop $1800.


Good luck with your search! Any promising canidates?

 

My best candidate now is a black 2001 disco II series II about 200 miles away. I just have to do a lot of research to see if i can afford one. I just got on edmunds reviews and most of them were negative, so I have to explore alot and see if it is just angry people or what is going on. thanks for all of the help and advice.