1996-2004 Land Rovers - Which would be best to buy for 16 yo Daughter?

[MTAA]

My Wife and I currently own a 2005 LR3 which we love and have had relatively good luck with. My daughter loves the LR3 but she ain't getting it! (we are looking at the under $5k vehicles and even prefer $3k if we can) I was thinking about finding a good Disco or something within the 96-04 range. What is scaring me is the whole engine casting issue I keep reading about, So my question is: Would it even be a good idea to pursue on of these for her? (as you probably know, they are pretty plentiful on Craigslist)

If so, would it be better to get an old low mileage one that might not have the more significant casting issue?

Just looking for opinions her since I know they are very knowledgeable people on this forum, which I love looking at on a daily basis!

Thanks in advance!

 

[vasily]

Maybe a freelander or a well sorted disco 2. Better yet, get her a 4runner. The best gift my in-laws got me was when they bought my wife a 4runner when she went to college!


- One life. Live it.

 

[Eniam17]

Unless you want to spend a lot of time fixing and maintaining your daughters daily driver , or having an open checkbook to bring it to a dealership all the time, I wouldn't even think of considering a 96-04 rover. Disco 1, disco2, and p38 will all have you In The scenario I described above .

 

[MTAA]

Thanks! I have actually been considering 4runners (newer than mine - 1988!) or Xterras and Freelanders. I think I know its not a good fit for her to dive into the Land Rover family, I was just hoping, maybe I was missing something and there was some magical secret great one out there!

 

[mires]

I can't think of a worse vehicle to get a 16 year old girl in my opinion. That being said, when I was 16, I was only interested in completely impractical and unreliable vehicles as well lol. If you're stuck on an SUV, I'm not sure what kind of 4runner you can get for under 5 grand unless it is 2wd. Even then, they sure are proud of them. I have a 2nd gen Xterra that I love to death which you can't really get into for that money either but people really seem to love the 1st generation models as well.

 

[zelatore]

Well, I wouldn't personally hand a teen any car - I'd make them work for the damn thing like my father made me do.

With that off my chest, I currently know a teen who's driving a DII as his only transport in his freshman year of school (NM Tech). He has no shortage of problems with it but he was brought up in a Rover family and knows his way around it quite well. He wheels the truck hard and often so that's part of it to be sure, but he's on the phone or forum looking for support nearly weekly. Currently he's home for Christmas break and just grauched a front Tom Woods driveshaft on the return from our weekend snow run on the Rubicon so he's down to driving the family's beater Prius. This is an 18 yo kid with more time behind the wheel of a Rover than most people twice his age and he still has lots of issues to work through.

So would I recommend one for a wife/daughter/etc? Even a 'nice' DII that isn't used off road much or hard? Maybe 1 time in 100 - I can't think of many girls or women who are willing and able to deal with a Discos needs. Actually, I can only think of one single woman who drives a DII, and she has a second car as well.

Beyond that if she's not part of a Rover family and attached to them beyond reason (as most of us are) then why on earth would you put her in any SUV? They are horrible vehicles - bad mileage (expensive), bad handling (unsafe), harder to park (big), expensive to insure, etc. A sedan does everything a 16 yo girl is likely to need far better than any SUV. I'm assuming most 16 yo girls aren't wheeling or towing a lot, just commuting to school and maybe a p/t job. I hate to say it, but I'd put her in a Civic. Maybe an E36 BMW if you wanted a little style at low cost. (I have a friend about to go the E36 route for his soon to be driving daughter).

 

[jymmiejamz]

Do not under any circumstance buy a Freelander. I can't even believe that anyone would consider buying one.

 

[MTAA]

Thanks again all for the replies. Again, as I assumed, a Rover for this application just doesn't make sense!

And zelatore, we are certainly not handing her any car, just assisting in her ultimate purchase which will be pre-approved by me so she doesn't just get into anything that would or could be problematic down the road as best as we can hope. Thanks for your thought however.

jymmiejamz, after looking into them a bit today, I concur, no-go for the Freelander!

 

[b jeepin]

I guess I'll chime in my .02. I'm surprised to see everyone jumping immediately away from all the rover options. If your looking at a 3k and less budget and are looking specifically at 4x4 suv there are earlier discos that may be the best value for the money. Catch is you need to be really picky buyer going this route to pick a good one, as rover relationships can be love/hate. You didn't get into specific wants or needs but in general I would say you want a generic 4 door gm ford car, cheaper on insurance, better fuel economy, parts available everywhere and cheaper.

I used to own used car dealership, sold allot of cars in my day. You really need to weigh out wants vs needs. Wants always cost you more!
As for rovers..... I currently own 4 of the 94-02 discos and have had several others that came and went. I've had better luck personally with older vintage 3.9 and 4.2. I drove regularly a 95 which I've had not for 6+ years. I maintain primarily myself and average about 500/yr in maintenance and repairs. I used to keep 100% maintenance logs and I'd say that was around average for many vehicles I kept for at least 2-3 years jeep gm ford suv/trucks. Cars were a bit better but only used for commuting/ pleasure, trucks tow and see time off-road.
One thing I would suggest as an alternate option would be a reasonable mileage jeep Cherokee. Can be had for good price in suv class just avoid anything rotted out.

Happy shopping!

 

[Howski]

So my question is: Would it even be a good idea to pursue on of these for her? (as you probably know, they are pretty plentiful on Craigslist)

If so, would it be better to get an old low mileage one that might not have the more significant casting issue?

A. Unless you or her are willing to wrench regularly or drop coin at the local shop, no. Even with my mechanical skills I'm not sure I would've been patient or mature enough to own a Rover at 16. You have to be committed to keeping it maintained and well-running or it could turn into a headache that ends up back on Craigslist in 6 months.

2. I assume the casting issue you're referring to is the oil pump issue on the 03 Discovery 2. This was limited to that year and model. In other model years I'd consider mileage somewhat irrelevant - consider maintenance items such as if the head gaskets have been replaced or drive shaft fitted with greaseable universal joints.

D. For God's sake do not get a Freelander. They are regarded as by far the least reliable, worst built line of vehicles in the Rover community (which says a lot).

 

[Ray_G]

Concur with most of what the folks have posted, particularly Don, Jimmy, and Howski.
-Casting issue is rather overblown, but I'd still avoid Dii's for the most part
-Freelanders are to be avoided at all costs, even more than a P38.

Realistically I think the issue is that finding a nice D1 (or even Dii if thats your flavor) and then throwing a 16yr old into isn't a good choice, finding a good D1 for a 15yr old and then spending a year getting to know it as a family would be a better option. I've considered, from time to time, letting my 14yr old have Coyote as her first vehicle but that's b/c I know it inside and out and have been driving it regularly since 2011. I'm extremely reluctant to consider getting her an unknown Rover and then hoping for the best.

In the end I am more likely to consider a Tacoma (or a 4Runner as others have mentioned) than a Rover, as much as it pains me. Of course my first car was a 97 Tacoma so its not like I don't have a foot in that world too (and we still own an 02 Tacoma). For a new driver it just makes sense unless they really like fixing little things, esp if it is that new to you reality of an older Rover.
r-
Ray

 

[MTAA]

Have looked at a couple of 2000 Nissan Xterras today. Look pretty reasonable with high miles and in the 3-4k price range. Any thoughts on their reliability?

 

[XJLI]

The only thing to watch with those is the timing chain service on the 3.3 V6. Its a huge pain in the *** apparently.

 

[nwoods]

Faced with a similar decision and budget, my son's now driving a 98 Montero. Size is similar to the Disco, but a heck of a lot more reliable. Slow is good.

 

[calicamper]

Unless you want to spend a lot of time fixing and maintaining your daughters daily driver , or having an open checkbook to bring it to a dealership all the time, I wouldn't even think of considering a 96-04 rover. Disco 1, disco2, and p38 will all have you In The scenario I described above .

Lol no kidding. Put her in a Camry if she needs awd put her in a Legacy. She'd need to hit a curb while drifting it at speed to put it on the lid vs simply swerving to avoid the neighbors dog doing 30mph. Watched three new drivers this fall put brand new SUVs and a New 4dr Wrangler Rubicon on their lids on a 35mph 2lanes each way street just because they clipped the center divider curb. The kid up the street living in a house worth nearly 2million just got a cherry 89 Lincolin Town car. I bet he keeps it right side up.