Salutations- I am THE Thorton Samuel Winterbottom III, my friends call me Jinxie and I am here to... Kidding just plain old John. New to the forum, not new to buying vehicles that others sometimes fear to own. My wife, an amazing woman, has always wanted a Discovery as it reminds her of weird times as a child in Central and South America- Her dad was essentially what was that country's version of the US supreme court and her gramps was an ambassador (Conservative side) then on her mom's (socialist) side she is the niece of Edén Atanacio Pastora Gómez or Comandante Cero and one of the first Sandinistas (ugghh) Anyhow-Land Rovers I guess remind her of happier times being shuttled around by body guards <yikes> we now live in SF Bay area and she ran across a Land Rover that she really likes. I thought that for an 18th Wedding Anniversary present and since she hasn't yet had me assassinated I'd get her one to drive around.

I am just a former active duty Marine and current head of global financial and cyber crime investigations for a financial institution- that no one has ever heard of and doesn't move billions of dollar around the world daily- nope not us. I do hate communist though.

As I mentioned I am no stranger to buying and working on vehicles that normal people/mentally stable cringe at and I think there is some deep rooted need in me to fix things. Some people want to fix broken people/boyfriends/girlfriends I like to fix vehicles that leave me stranded on the side of the road As proof of my dedication I'd like to point out that I car two duplicate sets of tools. 1 to throw in a blind range and 1 to actually fix things. I generally leave things in better shape then when I found them except when I accidentally catch it on fire and absent-mindedly squirt fire extinguisher stuff down the carb (1 Ford F150- 1 72 Ford Bronco) or put a rather large drill bit through my thigh (not going to talk about that) i will say that the day you have to consider either reversing the drill bit out of your thigh OR removing the drill and going to the ER with the bit in your leg is a bad day. Unfortunately I have been hurt worse.

Anyhow, the Discovery she like is a 2004 Black on Black with nice roof rack lots of lights on it but no winch. It is 50 dollars less than 16K 110K miles newly with nice wheels and new tires apparently no rust and actually looks fairly pristine inside and out. This is the part I am most concerned about because I know it could be good or really bad so looking for best guesses considering none of you good folks are seeing it in person. Its says:

"Fully rebuilt Top Hat engine with Brand new Crower torque cam, New ARP head studs, new oil pump, new water pump, new low temperature thermostat, all new cooling system hoses, new belt, etc etc- completely resealed with no leaks-" In my mind I am thinking what happened to the old motor did it fail catastrophically while cruising at 150 mph or did it just let go backing out of the driveway- In other words- did the motor fail and harm other stuff or was the owner smart and fixed it before it caused other issues. In looking at the care of the vehicle I am thinking he/she did the right thing? Who knows!?

Are those words describing the motor with (500 miles on it) seem good or just fluff? They sound like it is probably at least 600 horsepower and a ton of torque with around 50 mpg in the city but they are just words.

I don't want to post a link but if folks are interested in a picture being worth a thousand words you can find it on Car gurus and it is in Martinez CA. I was hoping to find a 2003 for more money and in worse condition because it is my understanding that those can be very frustrating and often lead to public embarrassment both of which are side hobbies of mine.

Anyhow, I have looked around the forum and have read a ton of stuff and I will buy a Land Rover because I like it here you guys seem like fun. And I am boring so I need fun... Actually, I adore my beautiful wife and she wants one so I'll get her one. Immediate plans to upgrade involve a lot of stickers and possibly GPS Navigation OR one of those round ball compasses that stick on your dash.

PS grammar is not my friend and is actually my 4th language so I not so good at it. And I am a bit weird but in a friendly, I will wait until I really know you before I sneak in to your house and steal your socks kind of way.

PSS if it looks like I am overstating I probably am- when I overstate for the sake of amusement I try to make it obvious- For example I realize a 2004 discovery isn't going 150 mph.
-John