would you purchase a discovery?

[chester rides again]

i'm in love and having a blast with my '68 109. my '06 toyota sienna's lease is about up and i need to replace it. i love the space that the minivan has, but hate that it's a minivan.

one of the requirements my wife and i are talking about is the ability to handle 6 people - the two of us, our young kids and their friends - as we go around town or on longer trips.

i'm considering a ford excursion, but they are HUGE, however it solves the NOT A MINIVAN syndrome i'm currently facing. there are many "SUV" type vehicles out that have the little 3rd row of seats. i think they are pretty much a joke, but they should probably be considered.

another real option is a disco - i don't have much of an idea about them, but see that they depreciate fairly quickly so i'm a bit concerned. i'm not looking for something in great condition or that expensive - i'll let the wife have her dream car as i already have mine...

[TCapelle]

The Disco purchase

Chester

You will probably get feedback on both sides of the aisle.

I own 3 series vehicles, a RRC and a 98 Disco

Our Disco is the "family" truck. It is a very affordable SUV that if you buy them right (meaning one that was taken care of ) you'll find you get a lot of truck for the money....

I think the 2 adults, 2 kids is no problem- 6 people is a bit tight though - you woudl need to get the "7 seater" which has the jump seats in the back for the kids (you decide iif that is safe or not)

Anyways I really like my Disco - its a good fit for us- and affordable (again I am sure some have had more isues with their Disco than I have)

I am a bigger fan of the Disco 1 (98 an older) vs disco 2.....

[BackInA88]

I have a 2001 DII and love it!
It is very capitable off road and rides good on the hiway even with a 2" lift.
Gas mileage sucks.
And if you don't do your own vehicle work it can drive you to the poor house.



Steve

[leafsprung]

-Last in reliability surveys every year
-very expensive to repair and maintain
-terrible resale values
-use a 40+ year old drivetrain that wasn't even that good then
-awful gas mileage
-worst fit and finish in the industry
-couldn't rust any faster if they were bare metal
-a rich history of catching fire and burning to the ground

But . . .people love them. There's a lot of them still on the roads. They are cheap to buy, make a fair dual purpose vehicle. They have some character (compared to a minivan). They are fairly comfortable and there are a lot of used parts available.

[jp-]

Leaf,

Does all of that apply to a 1996 RR HSE? I'm looking at one of those.

(Would do the Coil Spring conversion myself.)

[leafsprung]

RR

pretty much all of them, some dont catch fire quite as badly. Every coilsprung land rover suffers from these issues except the utility models which have better resale.

[jp-]

What exactly catches fire?

Also, any news on the NV4500 adapter to the Rover t-case?

[bmohan55]

We love our 04 Disco, and it's been pretty reliable! Need jump seats to get more than 5 people in them though. With the tall roof line and ample glass it feel like there is more room than there really is. Mileage averages 14-15... premuim fuel. Lots of more pratical vehicles out there but none more fun.

[Les Parker]

I resisted for the longest time, (being a Range Rover Classic fan, I own 4 of them), however when a local ad. was seen with a 97 4.0 SD manual Discovery, I could hold back, nah more ! I laid the $1700.00 down and drove it away.
The dogs (Border Collie and Jack Russel) much prefer the access on the Discovery and the better vantage point from the folded down rear seats, is a real positive.
Other than the rear windows not going down, something to do with dog slobber on the rear window switches, the car has been ultra reliable nad still returns 18-20 MPG.
So, in short, yes I would buy another, though my wife would prefer an auto, as she works in town and the manual is awkward in traffic.

2p

[SafeAirOne]

the car has been ultra reliable nad still returns 18-20 MPG.

Wow! ours with the auto box only got 13-15 on it's best day.

[leafsprung]

JP

Im not sure what catches fire (Ive never owned a RR). It may be the oil cooler lines like the defenders (which also burn to the ground frequently) Theres a few videos on youtube of RRs burning (apparently the p38s like to burn too) Heres one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=448Zt1CmPtE

and of course Ive actually had a few friends who have had their RRCs burn to the ground.

As for the NV4500 adaptors, Im not sure where they are at now in terms of productions (Its not me thats making them)

[Eric W S]

What exactly catches fire?

Also, any news on the NV4500 adapter to the Rover t-case?

Don't know about the Disco's, but Defender Oil Cooler lines catch fire right away. If they burst, they spray right onto a hot manifold...

ECR has great info on their site about it and I think? they still offer a kit for Defenders...

Gotta agree with Ike. I sold my Defender to buy a mostly restored 1966 SWB. The difference in pricing for parts is amazing. I feel like I am always getting a discount.

[thixon]

I've never owned a discovery or RR, so take this for what its worth. I'm gonna stay away from the fire issues, and just give you my opinion on functionality as a family vehicle based on my own observations.

Plenty of my nieghbors have RR and Discos, LR3's etc. All are cramped if you have two or more kids. By the time you pack in the family, and add all the stuff you have to haul along, forget about it. Six people isnt even an option. It seems they're always in for service as well.

When we go somewhere with another family (who has one of the afore mentioned vehicles), it seems we always end up driving because everyone can fit in our truck. I have three kids, and had always bought tahoes. This last time we switched up to an expedition. Its been great. It has a third row seat, and you can remove the center section of the middle seat for easy access to the back. The interior isn't nearly as nice as the RR or even a Disco, but it also doesn't tear up as easily.

If a kid truck is what you're after, my vote would be a tahoe or expedition (again, based on my own experience). The excursion is just too big.

Good luck!

[I Leak Oil]

I haven't read anything that isn't true in this thread so far. But I'm in the minority with my ownership experience. I had a '96 and put well over 100K miles on it. Changed the oil as usual, did the brakes once, tires, but that's really it. I sold it for $4K in 2004 because I got the feeling I would be looking at an altenator, steering box, radiator, complete exhaust, sunroof repairs, more brakes, etc. and rust if I lifted up the carpets. Even if I did keep it it really would be too small for me now as the kids are getting bigger and the camping trips longer.

It was a good vehicle for me and was fun to own. I do miss it now and then.
Jason T.

[scott]

my wife has the lr3 (disco iii) it's nice. has 3rd row, seats 7, i'm 5'10" and was comfortible sitting in the way back on long road trips. cruises great on the hwy. in town it feels more like a truck, a little wobblely. hse model has quite a few ammenities. mileage sucks, 14 mpg in town never more that 21 hwy and as low as 17 while cruis'n into a strong headwind.

seen some nicely tricked out older discos here in albuquerque. guy named rob builds 'em up for his clients.