I have never owned a LR but have always been attracted to them. I have been a SUV fan a long time. I owned a few chevy SUVs back in the day then graduated to jeeps of which i had 4. Currently have a 2007 grand cherokee with a hemi, but i mostly drive 2001 cherokee. i dont off road at all. just prefer the look, height and ride of an suv. i am open to doing some off roading though. i used to two track back into deer camp up in northern MI but that was about it.

So my main question here which model and which year should i be looking at?
I like really like them all but think im leaning more toward a comfy road ride than the best off roader.

People who dont know these cars always scare you off by saying they are expensive to fix and break down all the time. i have learned from the jeep forums its all about knowledge.

I am capable of some repairs. I have done of number of repairs on my cherokee with forum help.

I am kind of partial to the older range rover but im interested to hear your feedback. I know your the experts so tell me the good bad and ugly.

Thanks

 

Kind of a newbie here myself, picked up a 97 Land Rover Discovery that needed a fuel pump. Except the fuel pump is OK... still searching for the gremlin but the truck rides great down the road and appears to be quite the off road vehicle from the quick shots I have done so far off road. Mostly across the yard and a little in the rough. Looking forward to some serious off roading in the future.

 

that's why I named mine Yoshimi

 

most lr's are pretty comfy, minus the classics. that is one of the big reasons that I no longer have a jeep in the drive.
you will have pros and cons to any vehicle. if looking for rangie,a lot warn to stay away from the p38 due to the cons. I like the discos, personally, and i would not worry so much with the year but more the miles and maintenance and of course what is personally desired aesthetically (color/interior and such)
lr3 are great and more comfy, but I feel they look like too much of a grocery getter for the wife, imo.
that is only my opinion on there appearance.
brand new super charged would be a decent choice, if you are in to dropping a butt ton of money on an suv

 

I know it's off-topic, but...

It sounds like you are prepared for a battle of the Pink Robots, not an attack by Gremlins . IIRC, you need a blender to fight Gremlins!

But, maybe Yoshimi can help you defend against pink Jeeps? I don't know what's up lately with all the strange Jeep colors, but they're pretty poor choices, especially that bizarre lime green ! LOL. What look is Chrysler going for exactly? I have no clue .

 

to stay off topic, so I'm stereotyping. robots, gremlins, diodes, and gizmos...they are all the same to me.
and I am confused on the target audience with those colors.
that chartreuse and the burnt orange are crazy. I generally do not care what people think, but I would be too embarrassed to drive one.

 

Apology for still being off-topic, but...

Now, I can follow your profiling train of thought. Funny that you added Gizmo, the most famous Mogwai . Robots and diodes...that could range from Herman Munster to the current attack of LEDs installed on every machine with a motor . LOL. But, I laughed when you mentioned the burnt orange Jeep color! I definitely don't care what other people think, and I've seen my share of orange in Flyer country, but too embarrassed to drive that one is an understatement ! All I can think of is that it's a cheap Jeep lease, and the target audience figures that the lease will expire before he/she gets sick of the color. Or, maybe those colors will sell really cheap off-lease, and a new owner can justify the much-needed paint job? But, I am consistent; I don't like the orange Land Rovers either.

Sorry for temporary threadjack...

 

ok maybe its a LR thing but not familiar with your lingo.
Are you referring to the bull**** electrical and mechanical problems that show up?
Dusty gave some decent feedback. thank you sir. its seems many prefer the discos.
for the record im looking at older used, nothing new. I dont have a "butt ton of money".

Also my jeep is old, 2001 and plain white so i agree no clue who or why people are buying those funky colors but real bad finance move. they will drop in value like a rock.

Then again have you seen the "new" cherokee model? they clearly have many different customer segments that are going after down to the nearly hybrid compass that would get stuck in a mud puddle and is not for the "perceived" jeep crowd.

They just want to sell cars, any type to anyone.

 

not referring to anything in particular with LR, just the the occasional hard to diagnose problems ....it happens with any 10- 15yr old truck....they are really rather quite straight forward

 

Sorry, stimpy, for confusion on "lingo". My bad b/c I went off-topic . I tend to do that when frustrated regarding LR repairs. This is often the case b/c, for whatever reason (and you'll get tons of different answers on that), it's hard to find mechanics to fix LRs correctly. So, many owners become DIYs.

To explain lingo briefly and move on, dusty1 said his Dscvry is named Yoshimi, which he said helps fight off gremlins. That post made me think of the song Battle of the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips. Dusty1 included gremlins and gizmos in his post, which made me think of the movie Gremlins, in which Gizmo is a Mogwai (a.k.a. Gremlin). Pink Robots made me think of the unusual colors of Jeeps, as if LRs battling Jeeps. Since I mentioned Robots, dusty1 said he was referring to all "diodes", but I was kidding that "diode" was too broad for me; it could mean anode/cathode
terminals (IIRC in Herman Munster's neck) or LEDs (light emitting diodes) which are being sold lately everywhere as the "must-have" color accessory to every motor vehicle, esp motorcycles. We got way off-topic (I apologize ), but some LRs do have "gremlins"...or problems that owners can't seem to fix.

Opinions will vary, but I love my 1997 Dscvry, and it seems that other owners on this Forum who own early years of Dscvry (Series I...I think 1995-1998?) seem to feel the same way. IMO, it's b/c the early Dscvry years didn't have as many electronic components that could malfunction, esp the 3 amigos. Plus, something changed at the dealership level as Dscvry Series II's rolled out. I bought my Dscvry new and paid it off over time. It has 192,500+ miles. But, when it was under warranty, the dealer pretty much fixed everything that was either recalled or documented in TSBs. I'd bring it in for maintenance, and things got fixed. As time went on, it seems like repairs that LR knew should be done on vehicles, just weren't done, unless customers really complained, or the vehicle wouldn't move. Everything at dealer had to be a "sound" or a trouble code, or they won't fix it. You basically need to have/be another mechanic to get a LR dealership to fix anything. Not sure when that change happened, but it seems to me around the time of Dscvry Series II...maybe 2000? So, my point is that older LRs had less electronics to break and were better repaired at dealer by original owners for factory defects. Also, if you buy a later year, you are tied to the dealer for some of your current repairs (especially electronic components) b/c the diagnostic equipment is so expensive for indy mechanics to purchase. Not to mention that dealerships make it difficult for indy mechanics to get parts or make obtaining parts a very slow process. Not good when you need your vehicle back, and the indy mechanic needs your LR gone b/c it takes up a lot of space !

If you ask most drivers of LRs (just random that you meet in parking lots, etc), a lot of them are mechanics. They buy and fix the LRs themselves and love LRs for their families b/c of the safety. For the average guy, though, who is paying for repairs, it's expensive and hard to find a good mechanic.

But, if you can find and travel to a good indy LR mechanic, the vehicles can last for 200,000+ miles...and they are a lot of fun to drive and still look great when old. People cannot believe when I tell them mine is a 1997! A mechanic who I know owns a 1987 classic Range Rover, 1995 Range Rover, and a 2005 Range Rover. He loves all of them, but fixes them himself. He chose the 2005 b/c I believe it has a BMW engine; due to ownership changes, it's also important to research what auto company owned LR, so you know what engine you are buying. That mechanic doesn't have a "butt ton of money" either, but the vehicles last long, are safe, and he can fix them himself. I think that it's important for you to find a mechanic to fix LRs before you buy one, and also hire that mechanic to do a pre-purchase inspection for you. You should find a mechanic who you can trust; you will be working together for a long time, until you can DIY. But, I think it's worth it .

Hope that helps to get you started !