Buying a 1998 Discovery 1 Tomorrow!!!!!!!

[JeremyT101]

YEP. Just heard back from him. The rear brakes are toast, the front wheel bearings either are badly adjusted or are toast, the windshield needs to be replaced/repaired, Wonderful. Back to the market it goes.

 

[Douglas S.]

My Dad's RRC only has about 150,000 km's on it and it has had all kinds of problems so don't get complacent.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

I wouldn't get rid of it over that. You could all that stuff yourself except the windshield. That'd be a nice trail rig

 

[Howski]

As has been mentioned, these things are all relatively simple to fix (with exception of the windshield) with some hand tools, jack and jackstands and a breaker bar in an afternoon or so. Since you're going to ditch this and your current vehicle I would highly suggest having your next vehicle looked at before purchasing it, instead of just taking the word of the PO, so you don't end up in a similar situation.

 

[JeremyT101]

As has been mentioned, these things are all relatively simple to fix (with exception of the windshield) with some hand tools, jack and jackstands and a breaker bar in an afternoon or so. Since you're going to ditch this and your current vehicle I would highly suggest having your next vehicle looked at before purchasing it, instead of just taking the word of the PO, so you don't end up in a similar situation.

I wish it were that simple mate. I don't really have any of the tools, even jack stands required for working on a car like this. It was something that was going to be slowly accumulated. I have taken it to two mechanics now, and the second echoed the first. Basically that i made a ridiculous choice and that i should get out of it asap before everything goes wrong. There is a LR mechanic guy who is near me, so I'm going to take it to him to see what can be done about the brakes/front wheels/electrical stuff, and then hopefully get a cheap windshield put in for ~300$ or so. I guess the tough part is reading all here and on other forums how much people love their land rovers, where they have taken them, watching the camel trophy stuff, and all that, and then to hear from everyone else woah dumb choice. At least it passed the emissions test, if it hadn't, honestly it would probably be sold off for scrap.

 

[Frank]

Get on forums and such and find people in the local area that are willing to lend a hand. You will find quickly that there are plenty of people who will help for a pizza and a case of beer.

Dont give up that easy...

 

[jpc1818]

nice rig

I have the exact same rig (interior & exterior colors), owned it since 19k miles and 2 years old.
The truck has never let me down and is awesome.

I would suggest buying some tools and showing that truck some love.

I just had my windshield replaced and it was $275.

Bearings & brakes would take a super novice just one day.

I do however understand your frustration.

Hit me up if you need some help, i have done the brakes, bearings, etc.

Cheers

 

[JeremyT101]

Yeah. I frankly feel a bit stuck. I had a guy come look at it yesterday. We were going to take it to his mechanic today or whatnot, but I'm assuming he called him and told him nope run away from LR, so he had a 'change of heart'. Have another guy coming to look tomorrow, and a few other small bites. Everyone seems to just get scared off. In Ontario to register a car you NEED this safety certificate, and so a car is really hard to sell without one unless you are selling it to an idiot (such as me). i only have another 14 days to sell it before it legally can't be driven anymore until i get that piece of paper.

I understand everyone's opinions on buying tools and and fixing it myself, but the cost of the tools + parts and I'm right back where I started anyhow. If time runs out, and it still isn't sold, I realllllly don't know what I'm going to do. If it doesn't at least get some serious interest by this weekend I will have to think about fixing it out of necessity I guess.

 

[jwlester]

I stand by what I said before, but also agree with the positive comments made. I think the prudent thing to do would be get some help from "the community" and get the thing in sellable condition. You should be able to get your money back out of it while learning a lot about land rovers and cars in general. You will recover your money, make new friends, learn to work on the truck, and know what to look for on a future purchase when you have the cash and time available. Its not the outcome you were looking for when you got into this mess, but its certainly the closest thing I can think of to turning a bad situation into a good learning experience.

The land rover family is just that, a family. I'm sure there are some guys locally that would love to pass on their knowledge for the price of beer and a genuine thank you.

Again, I think its the responsible thing to do to walk away from this one and find a better time and deal in the future, but there is no reason you can't turn this into a learning experience and salvage what you have in. I guarantee you will be hooked by the end. Goodluck and think logically.

 

[LtFuzz]

Sorry it didn't work out for you bud, but I will admit I had a bit of a chuckle as your new-Rover-owner enthusiasm was smashed on the rocks of actual-Rover-ownership reality in the space of a few posts

Theyre not for everyone and I hope you have better luck on the next go around!

 

[dcwhybrew]

So, how much is it going to cost to fix it and do you have the money? Im not trying to sound mean, but you seem to be making another emotional decison. The interior appeared to be in perfect shape. I was really impressed. Usually discos of that age are trashed. Just do what is necessary to get it passed inspection. You may get lucky and that is all it will need. Otherwise you can sort the issues out over time. How did it drive on the way home? If it drove really well for the distance that you drove, I would surmise that it's probably in good mechanical condition with the exeption of the issues you mentioned.

Get those inspection issues sorted out, change all the fluids and drive it. Again, it sounds as if you're making an emotional decision again (the first being when you found it and jumped on it with out checking it out). I understand that, I have done that with previous (and current) Rovers. Just take a deep breath, step back and fix the inspection issues first. Drive it, then let time help you with your decision. Besides, knowing what you know, you'll unlikely sell it for what you bought it for. Then you'll be out more money.

The stalk that is missing is easy to replace. There are two really small screws the cowl that surrounds the steering column. You have to turn the steering wheel ninety degrees to access them. Once the cowl is off, the stalks are held in place by small screws. It's pretty intuitive.

Go for it.

 

[ebg18t]

Honestly I think you will be hard pressed to find one perfect. These trucks need a lot of maintenance and just part of being a rover owner.

 

[hochung]

Ah yes, the first of the two most exciting days of Rover ownership!:elkgrin:

So damn accurate.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

I've never bought a used car that didn't need something done to it. I've had a few Ford's, Jeep's, Toyota's, Dodge's, and now my Land Rover. It just comes with the territory. If you don't have tools and can't buy them you might be better off renting instead of buying, or buying new. Payments may suck but sometimes it's easier to make payments than to pay for repairs. You make not get cool points in a Kia but you need to find the happy medium of need vs wants.

 

[JeremyT101]

Well, as of now a week and a half, the Rover still sits in my driveway. The first of my two ten day temporary registration stickers it up today so its gotta sit for now. My main goal is getting the safety certificate and emissions test in order for my other car so that one can be moved. I have potentially found a guy that does work on Land Rovers about 60km away from me. I went and checked out his shop on sunday and there is a bunch of discos/real 'rover' cars outside, so I'm going to call him tomorrow to see what's up with that. I have been trying to convince my dad to help me work on the truck, but he is Emphatic that I 'lack the skills to fix the brakes, and that when hurtling at 120km/h on the 401 highway he would rather pay an extra 2-300$ for someone who's work is guaranteed rather then whatever i could hack together'. That being said in the future I still plan to buy a jack/stands and tools to be able to do the work myself.

I have read and re-read over everyone's comments here and I value all of them. It was guys like you who allowed me to believe that a dream of owning one of the most capable stock SUV's ever made could be possible. That is still slightly counterbalanced by the numerous lectures on my stupidity, and why in the hell would I ever buy a LR I have received from the mechanics I have had look at it. To be honest once the Focus goes, which should happen quickly once i get these two pieces of paper, the Rover may just have to sit until the summer time. Not the ideal situation, especially after I got used to having a car over the almost three years I owned the Focus, I think my GF is pretty pissed (even if she denies it). I want to fix it and still take it on the big trip, but with how much money I lost here, that might be off anyways.

If nothing else I can say this experience really changed me. Maybe you guys think im just being young and immature, along with a few other adults i have talked to about how I feel now, but I feel as though I should just sell both cars and ride bikes (bicycle) everywhere. I used to work as a mechanic in a shop for a while on them and I can completely strip and rebuild them at home. I am still undecided what to do with the Rover yet, I'm going to call this guy tomorrow, try to get some quotes from him and go from there I guess.

Thanks for all the support guys, its been amazing. You guys are the only ones who don't call me a stupid idiot and tell me just to wreck it.