Hey, I'm brand new here, but a car guy.
Buddy is trying to sell me a 97 Discovery, needs a few things. I was going to buy and turn. But stopped by my buddy's house and he told me how great these vehicles are and I may just bite, he got me excited. It needs brakes-the little seals between the master cylinder and resevoir, where can I get those. It needs front shocks and 3 window motors. Buddy said the 4.0 is a BMW V-8, is this true, and is it a good motor, motor and driveline is best part of this car, and good tires. All 3 check engine, ABS and the other light are on, but he has a new computer for the car. Driver seat is ripped, power seats don't work, all fuses are good. He wants $1500 for the car, and worst case I can part it for far more than that. What should I really check before buying at this price. It has 135K miles on it, but was used pretty hard. Body is OK, red car, white drivers door that doesn't match fender, rocker is broken off, good off roader or hunting/fun truck. No rust at all, not even surface rust, too much leaking fluids protecting it, lol.
Thanks for any input.

 

The motor is an aluminum V-8 made by Land Rover, from a 1960's Buick design. You have a $500 -$700 vehicle there. BMW owned Rover from 94 to 2000, but this engine is not what you find under the hood of an autobahn speedster.

It will need a lot more than what you have listed here. Computer won't fix those lights or he would have swapped already or reset codes. Code reader will tell you some of the other stuff that is broken.

Take a look at our tech section, you'll find lists of things to check, things that will need repair, and how to do common repairs. You can download the whole shop manuals set below for free, called the RAVE.

You can get parts at most any auto parts store, a variety of on-line sources, some Rover focused. Also there are guys who dismantle these for a living, and have done hundreds.

You can use www.statewidelist.com to search for all Rovers in your state, grouped by city, for an idea of what is out there.

Do a little more research before you buy this rolling project from your buddy.

 

Thanks Buzz.
I have no issues working on cars, I have 8, lol. 99 Vette, 90 454 SS truck, 70 Lemans Sport, 66 GTO, and a few more. So this would be a toy, not a DD.
The guy sells insurance and golfs, he isn't turning a wrench or swapping out a computer, bought it as a project.
Body is there, no dent's, just nasty clear coat. I did drive it, ran strong, excellerated real good, no miss. So this motor isn't the BMW or have the bad oil pump issue. I bleed the brakes for him and blocked off the rear brakes, as the seal is leaking terrible. He drove it and said that's the best brakes he's had since he owned it, he had to pump 3 times to have any, and still drove it. I drove it after bleeding and it was dead at the floor but did slow the truck down, god help us these people are on the road. At 15 mph I drove it, tranny shifted fine, no moans or groans from the driveline. It's AWD, so the transfer case sounded alright. I dont' need the truck, just got excited about it. But, if it's going to $100 me to death, I'd rather leave it alone, as I don't need a 4X4. Thanks for all imputs.
Or part it out and make a few bucks, that's good also. The way my buddy was talking if I have a good motor, tranny, transfer case, front and rear axles I could get about $3K.. That's profit in my book.

 

Don't think you'll snag quite that miuch profit. Take a look a prices from salvage yards, they post on their web sites. May get a little more, but how much is anyone's guess. These are great toys, but they are high maintenance, will eat a lot of shop time.

 

So, 1 hour of fun costs 8 hours in the shop. I heard they are high maintenance. You talked me down, lol. I am not so into it anymore. I know what works on it, engine, tranny, and so on. If I knew that stuff wouldn't be an issue and break, then the other stuff I can fix with no problem. But, if the good is going to break, then that's a dif story, or the check engine is real, and there are real issues, I can walk away happy. I was thinking it's just like a CJ-7 or YJ with a good suspension, but if it's a finnicky bitch, that's another story.