Want D2 badly but broke college student! *HELP*
#1
08-12-2018, 07:45 AM
Want D2 badly but broke college student! *HELP*
Hi all 
As the title suggests, I want a D2 badly. I want the 03-04 D2 with 4.6L V8 that's white in color and has biege interior. The only issue is that I don't have much money for repairs..I've been looking heavily into wrecked D2s on copart and also was going to ask my dealer friend to get me access to a local dealer-only auction.
Some of the D2s that I've seen for sale locally are pretty overpriced, reaching up to 15k for a decent looking one.
Some of the positives of my situation is that I have access to a dirt cheap labor and I can invest up to 6k to start off (painfully saved on college lunches LOL); and I won't be driving that much, maybe 5k miles a year or less.
Anyone with 4.6L D2 from 03-04 that can share his/her experience? Is it really as bad and unreliable as people say it is? Will I be waking up to the car not starting, pulling over at the side of the highway, and calling AAA all the time LOL?
As the title suggests, I want a D2 badly. I want the 03-04 D2 with 4.6L V8 that's white in color and has biege interior. The only issue is that I don't have much money for repairs..I've been looking heavily into wrecked D2s on copart and also was going to ask my dealer friend to get me access to a local dealer-only auction.
Some of the D2s that I've seen for sale locally are pretty overpriced, reaching up to 15k for a decent looking one.
Some of the positives of my situation is that I have access to a dirt cheap labor and I can invest up to 6k to start off (painfully saved on college lunches LOL); and I won't be driving that much, maybe 5k miles a year or less.
Anyone with 4.6L D2 from 03-04 that can share his/her experience? Is it really as bad and unreliable as people say it is? Will I be waking up to the car not starting, pulling over at the side of the highway, and calling AAA all the time LOL?
#2
08-12-2018, 07:52 AM
#3
08-12-2018, 08:15 AM
IDK, generally "broke", "college", and "D2" don't go well together.
That said, if all I had was $6K, I would forget about particular colors and interiors and spend $500-$600 on a clean truck with engine issues and rebuild as necessary using your dirt cheap labor.
Will this be a second vehicle?
That said, if all I had was $6K, I would forget about particular colors and interiors and spend $500-$600 on a clean truck with engine issues and rebuild as necessary using your dirt cheap labor.
Will this be a second vehicle?
#4
08-12-2018, 08:45 AM
Super Moderator
6k budget is great, but DO NOT rush into it, look for a well maintained D1/D2 from a fellow LR enthusiast. DO NOT go for one with low miles, IMHO one with higher miles means it’s been maintained vs just sitting around broken. I understand you want a certain color combo (took me nearly 3 years to finally stumble across my Kalahari), but I’d really concentrate on it’s condition vs color.
You want a rust free D2, with a clean interior/exterior, one that doesn’t have any crappy aftermarket alarm or entertainment crap (people tend to mess up wiring on LR’s not knowing what their doing!!), and you want one that runs & drives. DO NOT fall for the “it just needs a water pump, a tune up, or a radiator...” that is a pack of lies covering up an engine with a problem!! If it was so easy & cheap trust me someone would have done it already! Paint wise sometimes you find good ones sometimes the paint is jacked, but on a LR paint is the least of your worries & you can get it painted cheap.
Take a scantool like an ultragauge or scangauge II, monitor temps, test all electronics, test 4hi/N/4lo operation, inspect the front drive shaft, listen for any knocking/ticks, and if it runs cool 193-210 (If equipped with 195F thermostat) or 188-205F (If equipped with 180F thermostat) you should be good to go.
You want a rust free D2, with a clean interior/exterior, one that doesn’t have any crappy aftermarket alarm or entertainment crap (people tend to mess up wiring on LR’s not knowing what their doing!!), and you want one that runs & drives. DO NOT fall for the “it just needs a water pump, a tune up, or a radiator...” that is a pack of lies covering up an engine with a problem!! If it was so easy & cheap trust me someone would have done it already! Paint wise sometimes you find good ones sometimes the paint is jacked, but on a LR paint is the least of your worries & you can get it painted cheap.
Take a scantool like an ultragauge or scangauge II, monitor temps, test all electronics, test 4hi/N/4lo operation, inspect the front drive shaft, listen for any knocking/ticks, and if it runs cool 193-210 (If equipped with 195F thermostat) or 188-205F (If equipped with 180F thermostat) you should be good to go.
#6
08-12-2018, 09:25 AM
Super Moderator
#7
08-12-2018, 09:57 AM
Pro Wrench
#8
08-12-2018, 10:03 AM
Super Moderator
You can do it on a budget, but you MUST find a good well taken care of D2 to start with that is absolutely critical.
If they were absolute money pits there is no way I could afford to own 4 D2’s and an LR3! It all depends on what you get. I see great D2’s for sale all the time that need TLC and maybe paint, but are mechanically solid & they take forever to sell vs the D2 that looks fantastic but is a total mechanical nightmare!!! Stick with mechanically solid vs cosmetic.
If they were absolute money pits there is no way I could afford to own 4 D2’s and an LR3! It all depends on what you get. I see great D2’s for sale all the time that need TLC and maybe paint, but are mechanically solid & they take forever to sell vs the D2 that looks fantastic but is a total mechanical nightmare!!! Stick with mechanically solid vs cosmetic.
#9
08-12-2018, 10:50 AM
Pro Wrench
You can do it on a budget, but you MUST find a good well taken care of D2 to start with that is absolutely critical.
If they were absolute money pits there is no way I could afford to own 4 D2’s and an LR3! It all depends on what you get. I see great D2’s for sale all the time that need TLC and maybe paint, but are mechanically solid & they take forever to sell vs the D2 that looks fantastic but is a total mechanical nightmare!!! Stick with mechanically solid vs cosmetic.
If they were absolute money pits there is no way I could afford to own 4 D2’s and an LR3! It all depends on what you get. I see great D2’s for sale all the time that need TLC and maybe paint, but are mechanically solid & they take forever to sell vs the D2 that looks fantastic but is a total mechanical nightmare!!! Stick with mechanically solid vs cosmetic.
#10
08-12-2018, 11:01 AM
Super Moderator
Any used vehicle would be a roll of the dice if you aren’t mechanically inclined no matter who makes it. Plenty of salvage, flood, stolen Honda’s & Toyota’s out there for sale, and if you aren’t mechanically inclined you’ll also end up with a POS.
My brother in law had a 2008 Honda Pilot & was taken time & time again by shops because he wasn’t mechanically inclined. When all it needed was a new set of plugs, and one new coil. Instead he blew 1200.00 on all kinds of BS at independent Honda shops & they never actually fixed it.
So let me put it this way then, if you think blinker fluid is real, and there is such a thing as a muffler bearing you’re screwed no matter what you’re driving......
My advice would be find a local Independent LR shop or a shop you trust & take whatever you are interested in & have them perform a pre-purchase inspection, and go from there now knowing what is wrong with it.
Last edited by Best4x4; 08-12-2018 at 11:07 AM.