High Mileage?

[AeroSynch]

I am so glad to bring along the ScanGaugeII since it has saved me from many DIIs with a crapload of codes. No lights on dash, but codes = douchebaggery indeed happened.

So far, I am only considering the 99 DII from the old lady; no codes and drove nice, just cosmetic issues. Although, I don't know what you guys think of this, but I told her that if possible we could take it to a Rover Shop to get it checked over and she kinda did mind because she thinks they will tinker with it and everything. I mean, that's the point no? To check if it is worth buying or about to blow up right? :sombrero:

 

[dcwhybrew]

True that I have found 2004 DIIs for $8K here in Miami, but as a college student I don't know if I want a car payment at this time, because let's say I put $3000 down (what I sold my Jeep for) and keep $500 for emergency repair or something, that would leave around $5K to finance, IF I don't haggle the price down.

I did the calculations and the 2004 DII would come out to around $180 a month for 36 months with that down payment and everything (taxes, etc). Now, it is $180 a month, plus other Rover things like gasoline, preventive maintenance, etc.

Feasible? I would like an 04 DII, I'm just scared about the 4.6 failures that have recently been going around. Nothing sucks more than paying monthly for a paper weight lol.

I still go back to my advice I gave in your original thread (having forgotten you were a college student in this thread), I would seriously advise you to put your rover dreams on hold until you graduate from college and get a job. Eventhough you can get a d2 for $3-5k, there are some repairs that will cost you $1000 or more. While you are in college, do yourself a favor and stick with something cheap and reliable. Then you can save money and continue researching Rovers until you graduate, get a job and buy something really worthwhile rather than something that could be a hassle on a limited budget.

 

[AeroSynch]

The Rover force is too much. I won't be able to hold for 2+ years in all seriousness. I have a Cherokee at the moment, and while it is cheap and reliable, it is BORING.

I am willing to take a risk and get a DII, and don't worry I will not let it affect my studies. As for repairs, all of us work on our own trucks; installed the suspension on my XJ with buddies, etc and I love to learn this way, so it could be a learning experience, whether good or bad.

I still go back to my advice I gave in your original thread (having forgotten you were a college student in this thread), I would seriously advise you to put your rover dreams on hold until you graduate from college and get a job. Eventhough you can get a d2 for $3-5k, there are some repairs that will cost you $1000 or more. While you are in college, do yourself a favor and stick with something cheap and reliable. Then you can save money and continue researching Rovers until you graduate, get a job and buy something really worthwhile rather than something that could be a hassle on a limited budget.

 

[dcwhybrew]

The Rover force is too much. I won't be able to hold for 2+ years in all seriousness. I have a Cherokee at the moment, and while it is cheap and reliable, it is BORING.

I am willing to take a risk and get a DII, and don't worry I will not let it affect my studies. As for repairs, all of us work on our own trucks; installed the suspension on my XJ with buddies, etc and I love to learn this way, so it could be a learning experience, whether good or bad.

You are very naive and very young. I am glad you have a passion for Rovers. That is very cool. However, to buy one just because you want one right now more than likely with out the means to properly maintain it and deal with certain issues, is not good judgement. Just because you "maintain" a 99 XJ and you installed a suspension doesnt mean that you will be able to deal with all of the issues. There are many issues where the Rover will require the use of a proprietary computer system (not the hand held scanner found at your favorite autoparts store), which will cost you $$. Keep your YJ or buy a used Toyota until you graduate and get a job. Trust me. Otherwise you will hate your rover and it will make you go broke. Rovers require a pretty decent amount of disposable income even for the do it yourselfers.

 

[AeroSynch]

I see your advice, trust me, but I do not want a DII just because. If you ask college students what their dream car is, many will say things like 458 Italia, Murcielago, S63 AMG, etc. I say Land Rover Discovery II. We are all a little crazy inside, and when it comes to Rovers, you really don't buy them for reliability do you? It is more about the feeling they give us that is completely different from say a Jeep or a Toyota. And to get that it is worth keeping up on maintenance and everything a DII needs, because then what is the point?

I have means and will find more for something that I truly want. It is not just a "transportation" anymore for college; a DII would become the dream truck and that changes the way I look at it.

Why can't I be this inspired when writing a paper dammit? :sombrero:

 

[LtFuzz]

You are very naive and very young. I am glad you have a passion for Rovers. That is very cool. However, to buy one just because you want one right now more than likely with out the means to properly maintain it and deal with certain issues, is not good judgement. Just because you "maintain" a 99 XJ and you installed a suspension doesnt mean that you will be able to deal with all of the issues. There are many issues where the Rover will require the use of a proprietary computer system (not the hand held scanner found at your favorite autoparts store), which will cost you $$. Keep your YJ or buy a used Toyota until you graduate and get a job. Trust me. Otherwise you will hate your rover and it will make you go broke. Rovers require a pretty decent amount of disposable income even for the do it yourselfers.

Go easy on him. A well maintained D2 with reasonable miles isn't necessarily the black hole you're making it out to be. There are thousands of blissfully ignorant non-enthusiasts that see their Rover as just a car and drive around fine for years.

I had a '96 D1 in college. It wasnt repairs that drove me into the red but the desire for modification! Parts are not particularly expensive and there is a giant aftermarket.

A Jeep or a Toyota isn't going to be lightyears cheaper than a Disco. The Rover aftermarket is incredible and if youre patient you can get a lift, bumper, and decent winch for under a grand.

Go for it Aero. Just get the best possible Rover you can get going in. Like others have said BE PATIENT. These are not rare trucks. There are thousands for sale at any given time.

Dont get me wrong, I hear what youre saying DC. But you CAN do the Rover thing on a budget.

ExPo cant help you with gas prices though. If you DD a D2 as a college kid living on $1500-2000 a month, it's gonna kill you. And youre gonna want to drive it cuz it's awesome.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

I agree that there are plenty of college kids that have had Daddy go out and buy a plain jane DII and they drive it every day ... and it is just transportation to them. It is funny - but the range of thought from the non - enthusiast (rover layman) ranges from folks that think driving a DII is a luxury auto and some think it is "just a truck".
The one tidbit of wisdom I CAN tell you as someone approaching 50. Don't be in a huge rush. There are thousands of trucks out there- and just when you think you missed the truck of your dreams, ... another more awesome better priced truck will pop up.

When that "once in a lifetime" deal comes along, ... you'll know it.

D

 

[AeroSynch]

ExPo cant help you with gas prices though. If you DD a D2 as a college kid living on $1500-2000 a month, it's gonna kill you. And youre gonna want to drive it cuz it's awesome.

Haha yea I know this, especially since my XJ only gets 200 miles to the tank (~11 MPG).

I agree that there are plenty of college kids that have had Daddy go out and buy a plain jane DII and they drive it every day ... and it is just transportation to them. It is funny - but the range of thought from the non - enthusiast (rover layman) ranges from folks that think driving a DII is a luxury auto and some think it is "just a truck".
The one tidbit of wisdom I CAN tell you as someone approaching 50. Don't be in a huge rush. There are thousands of trucks out there- and just when you think you missed the truck of your dreams, ... another more awesome better priced truck will pop up.

When that "once in a lifetime" deal comes along, ... you'll know it.

D

Yea I know what you mean. So many have come and gone, but there is only one that I am considering, but yet I am still looking without a rush.


You know what sucks though? When you are going to see a DII and you are all excited because the ad was nice, price is right, and mileage is right, etc, BUT when you show up the DII is all jacked up with double the miles than the ad says, christmas tree on the dash, etc etc. I'm like, really?

 

[dcwhybrew]

I see your advice, trust me, but I do not want a DII just because. If you ask college students what their dream car is, many will say things like 458 Italia, Murcielago, S63 AMG, etc. I say Land Rover Discovery II. We are all a little crazy inside, and when it comes to Rovers, you really don't buy them for reliability do you? It is more about the feeling they give us that is completely different from say a Jeep or a Toyota. And to get that it is worth keeping up on maintenance and everything a DII needs, because then what is the point?

I have means and will find more for something that I truly want. It is not just a "transportation" anymore for college; a DII would become the dream truck and that changes the way I look at it.

Why can't I be this inspired when writing a paper dammit? :sombrero:

Well only you know if you have the means or not, and you wont accurately know if you have the means until you actually experience the cost of ownership. I disagree with Dendy and "LtFuzz." I wont say go for it. I have owned two DIIs and they were almost as expensive to maintain as my D1. Ask yourself this, other than routine maintenance (oil and brakes), can you drop $2-3k per year in the car? You dont have to answer that or justify it, I am just saying that so you can ask yourself. To me, college is not the time to buy your dream car, whether its a LR or Lamborghini, Porsche or whatever.

As far as being able to focus on term papers similarly, cant help you there, but i understand. When i got my first rover I would spend hours at night reading Discoweb. So dont let your passion get in the way. Get out of college first.

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

If you read back, I tried to push him to a DI because of the ease of repair (94 or 94 model- a clean well-maintained one).
But he seems headstrong on a DII.
DI's are a disposable price these days and super cheap for parts.
D

 

[Dendy Jarrett]

Ehem- Good looking truck and a fair price:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Land...ars_Trucks&hash=item27bdfb64e6#ht_40931wt_845

ps: no affiliation what so ever.

 

[66rover99]

In reply to your original post, a well maintained (like Larry said a couple of pages back, preventive maintenance keeping the unexpected repairs to a minimum) can take you a lot of miles. I purchased my 1999 D2 at 85,000 miles, and it now has 217,000 miles on it. In that time, it's undergone a bunch of repairs, which were easy enough to do myself with a little expert knowledge, mostly provided by Discoweb. And, I use it seriously for off-roading -- it's been through Mackenzie Trail and many other tough trails on a regular basis, and competed with it twice in the Northwest Challenge, all of which is tough on parts.

Here's a list of what I've had to do over the past 6 years:

Head Gaskets (twice, just did again recently)
weld exhaust Y pipe
coil packs
right front hub (ABS sensor problem)
left rear ABS harness
rotoflex (x2)
front driveshaft
waterpump
straightened track rod
replaced transfer case (used, $185 recently)

...and several sets of tires and brake pads, as well as regular fluid changes. In Canada here the odometer is showing just under 350,000 KM and I'm aiming to get it to 500,000 KM before retiring it.

If a D2 is really what you want (I know it definitely works for us) then check it out thoroughly, but it can be a practical, long lasting investment if you get the right one and maintain it.

cheers, Dave

 

[AeroSynch]

I'll let you guys know my decision in these two weeks when I get paid for my Jeep and what I actually end up buying.

 

[Roverhound]

I always hear this "2 to 3k a year" stuff and I don't get it. I have 2 D2's and they don't require anywhere near that amount of maintenance. Do you people just buy junk or something?
Even doing head gaskets will cost you way short of a grand if you do it yourself.

 

[Rovertrader]

Let me know your budget, and I will see if I can get my 5 spd D-II to it by removing the biggies like lockers, gears, axles, winch, etc. 60k miles and complete service done. If it was in doubt, I replaced it!!!