This x100.
Every time this guy posts I do a massive eye roll.
Good grief buddy.
Please talk me out of my irrational desire for a Disco
- Thread starter Longtallsally
- Start date
This x100.
Every time this guy posts I do a massive eye roll.
Good grief buddy.
TexasTJ
Climbing Nerd
All right this is the last post I'm going to make on this guys thread, I have only posted anything because I think my truck whoa's as Quite funny. This is the only Land Rover I have ever followed the buying rules on, in that I bought from a trusted member of the Texas LR community, Had Low Miles, with the complete service records. The truck was meticulously maintained by the PO, all at Land Rover Austin. And all that modification were done by Austin Rover Works (should have been a red flag as these guys don't know what they are doing) or the Dutch Safari Company. The fact that in 4 month this truck has stranded my more the my V8 or TDI Discos ever did, is I'm sorry just funny. I wont post about the truck any more if you guys done find it funny and will go back to trolling the dummy's on Land Rover owners group and the LR3/LR4 group on the FaceSpace.
Last edited:
Longtallsally
Adventurer
Eh guys I don't really care about all that stuff. I'm convinced ownership of a Rover is an act of dedication. Name a vehicle that folks are as passionate about (that doesn't cost as much as a house in the Bay Area)? I've heard folks talk junk about Wrangler Rubicons and that a Disco is better off road. By any empirical measurement, that's not true. Does it mean the Disco sucks? Of course not. When I dropped off my Disco at GBR yesterday, there was a customer vehicle there that was about to dump $12k in a brand new motor to be installed. That wasn't a typo. That is just plain passion to do something so silly from a cost/benefit analysis.
Rovers- as I am finding out- just have this indescribable “thing” about them making folks make financially irresponsible decisions. Many would say going off road or spending a lot of the money most folks around here do is unwise as well, so it's hard to fault anyone for something they are passionate about. Defenders going for $70k+? That's just plain stupid for a machine that can be duplicated in capability/functionality for a quarter that price.
My point with all this is that everyone that enjoys the Rover “thing” knows in their heart of hearts there could be better decisions made. But as I started the thread out with: they are just so darn COOL.
I think it just takes some time, effort, patience, and desire to own an older Rover. I enjoy watching mine drive away when my wife has it, and get excited when I see another Disco. Like most others, Defenders are also super cool and with retro and patina being all the rage, it's no surprise what they are going for- most of the time well outside their intended purpose, and despite machines like our G Wagen being an infinitely better machine.
I'm not one who gets all riled up about owning or being the coolest kid on the block with a thread I started. I just think it's funny to hear about all the quirks. At some point I might take some more pictures of mine and post them here just because others are as goofy as me for them.
Rovers- as I am finding out- just have this indescribable “thing” about them making folks make financially irresponsible decisions. Many would say going off road or spending a lot of the money most folks around here do is unwise as well, so it's hard to fault anyone for something they are passionate about. Defenders going for $70k+? That's just plain stupid for a machine that can be duplicated in capability/functionality for a quarter that price.
My point with all this is that everyone that enjoys the Rover “thing” knows in their heart of hearts there could be better decisions made. But as I started the thread out with: they are just so darn COOL.
I think it just takes some time, effort, patience, and desire to own an older Rover. I enjoy watching mine drive away when my wife has it, and get excited when I see another Disco. Like most others, Defenders are also super cool and with retro and patina being all the rage, it's no surprise what they are going for- most of the time well outside their intended purpose, and despite machines like our G Wagen being an infinitely better machine.
I'm not one who gets all riled up about owning or being the coolest kid on the block with a thread I started. I just think it's funny to hear about all the quirks. At some point I might take some more pictures of mine and post them here just because others are as goofy as me for them.
DiscoDavis
Explorer
If I went from a 300tdi to a NAS D3 and had issues I would be more than pissed too. If it was a 5 speed D1 I bet you would have kept it. Still sucks to hear you've got issues ongoing.
Ray_G
Explorer
I think that's the real kick in the junk; to go from a truck that had an engine swap to a different fuel to what is arguably the most reliable platform Rover has built-but get one that is snakebitten...is just unfortunate.
I have followed this thread with some amusement, I am new to Land Rovers having just recent purchased a 2004 D2, moving from a 97 R50 Pathfinder.
I read everything about the issues, head gaskets, over heating, drive shaft failures. in the end, where I am anything nearly as capable was far more money used and a potentially had the same possibilities of some sort of failure .
What I have discovered working on my Disco is bad owners are a big a problem as the vehicle itself - no reflection on any here.
I found a piece of wiring loom in the lower rad hose when I swapped out the thermostat, a cab water leak the PO neglected to mention to the dealer I bought from, and some misc minor trim issues
The Disco runs good, all the drive train bits work perfectly all and all I am happy.
Could it bite me in the *** sure, it is 13 years, almost 14 years old. But I am believe that as long as I take of the maintenance and look after the Disco it will get to where I am going and back home, and that is really all I ask.
So to the OP I don't think you are irrational - as long as you are happy with it and it does what you need who cares what anyone else thinks
I read everything about the issues, head gaskets, over heating, drive shaft failures. in the end, where I am anything nearly as capable was far more money used and a potentially had the same possibilities of some sort of failure .
What I have discovered working on my Disco is bad owners are a big a problem as the vehicle itself - no reflection on any here.
I found a piece of wiring loom in the lower rad hose when I swapped out the thermostat, a cab water leak the PO neglected to mention to the dealer I bought from, and some misc minor trim issues
The Disco runs good, all the drive train bits work perfectly all and all I am happy.
Could it bite me in the *** sure, it is 13 years, almost 14 years old. But I am believe that as long as I take of the maintenance and look after the Disco it will get to where I am going and back home, and that is really all I ask.
So to the OP I don't think you are irrational - as long as you are happy with it and it does what you need who cares what anyone else thinks
darien
Observer
Yeah, well, get over it. The surest cure for wanting a Land Rover is owning one. If you live in Europe, then you have access to tons of far more reliable LR diesels - they're a different critter altogether and can be made into a reliable truck. If you live here, and don't go through importing a 25+ year old truck, then all you can get are the gas models, and having been down that road all I can say is that it's a fantasy. I bought a 2000 and babied and it was NEVER reliable, was NOTHING but trouble, had to be towed on 6 separate occasions, every 6 months the check engine light would come on for some stupid reason costing me hundreds of dollars each time, and then finally at 165K miles the engine blew - the head cracked while I was driving to the shop to get work done on it so I could sell it to a guy for $2000. Not a bad price for a nearly $30,000 luxury SUV, right? He mainly wanted the roof rack and lights and all the other crap I had put on it. When the truck died on the interstate he bought it for $250. I was so disgusted I wanted to cry but never was I gladder to see a vehicle leave my life.
It's common to see people trying to sell their built Land Rovers - they'll list all the great things about, all the work they've had done to it...yadda yadda...and the first post will be "How much for roof rack?" Nobody wants the truck - they only want the bling off of it.
So, you go ahead and buy that dream Rover. I have 2 Land Cruisers and a Tacoma now...all I buy is filters and wiper blades and tires, and I would hop in the oldest one of them and drive to Alaska on 5 minutes notice.
Ray_G
Explorer
It is always interesting to have different brand loyalists pop in and offer commentary like this, admittedly I may be biased b/c I don't tend to troll the other marquee subforums though.
But since this is a thread in the Land Rover section, I'll offer a counter perspective. Having had 3 Tacomas (still have one), I too just buy filters/wipers/tires for them-and would drive to Alaska in it tomorrow, but the journey would be in a soulless and boring piece of equipment. Nothing wrong with it mind you, it is perfectly suitable transportation and very utilitarian.
As far as seeing people selling their vehicles; the for sale section here is a great illustration of the community and what the different elements value.
Admittedly quite a few Rover enthusiasts watch many jump into the brand, experience aspects that weed out others, and they prey on the detritus like vultures. It is unfortunate you had that experience with your Dii, but many of us would tell you that an 00 Dii was destined for such an experience. A D1 is a far different beast, and like your comment about driving to AK-I'd do the same in my D1 right now with no compunctions.
r-
Ray
David Harris
Expedition Leader
All good reasons to avoid a D2 and some of this is cutting corners on the mechanic's part as well. I myself stick with 1995 and earlier Rovers.
Longtallsally
Adventurer
What Ray said. If you read through the thread, mine hasn’t been too horrible. It’s a toy. It breaks or has some quirks at times. Meh. It is relatively cheap to fix and any heartache is overcome with the fun feeling when driving it. I got pissed off at it and put it in time out for a few months and even threatened to sell it. Now I’m glad I didn’t and am enjoying driving and using it again. If I get ticked off at it again, I’ll drive one of the other machines for a while. Again, it’s a toy so who cares.
I’m not brand loyal, I’m model loyal. If I find something I like, I’m all in- warts and all. It’s been my experience that once you learn and either accept, or know how to resolve, the indiosyncrasies of a machine it is just fine. Part of getting what was sold as an expensive vehicle at the time that is now dirt cheap is that you have to overcome the gaps in service and care from owners who didn’t know how to properly do so. So as with most things, you either roll the dice and buy one with iffy back ground, or get one that was taken care of properly with less risk. Either way, they are getting old and as such, stuff wears out and engineering misses become more evident. So what? They are so cheap now that if you buy one for a reasonable price and double that investment, it still is a good machine. You’ll never get that back out of it, but that is the case with any used cars. And Toyota’s in particular are stupid expensive used based on the hammer reliability (and style too) so it almost becomes a wash financially speaking and the only thing you lose with a Rover is the time spent sorting the issues.
Ray_G
Explorer
I honestly believe if you never threaten to sell your Rover you clearly don't love it enough!
I've had kind of a different experience. We bought our ‘01 D2 in 2007 with 50k miles on it. It was in excellent condition at the time and over the following 10 years and 100k miles it has never left me stranded and always made it home. I had the usual throttle body heater leaks (finally just deleted it) front driveshaft rebuild, rear air springs replaced, 3 amigos (fixed with bypass wiring) and a head gasket leak at 100k mile point. I redid the heads and ditched the Dexcool. After a particularly grueling 2000 mile trek through Utah and back I began experiencing overheating whenever I had to climb a hill. Maybe it was a head gasket but at 180k I figured it was time to do more than just replace gaskets so I bought a used 4.6 liter engine that had 80k miles on it and did a swap last summer and intend to do a complete rebuild on my original motor. I also got an extra 4.6 crank and rod set with the deal so I can upgrade my motor. Another thing I did was to enable the center diff lock by installing the shift lever from a D1. So far the used engine (that I got for $1100 with the extra crank set) has been running like a top and everything else on the truck continues to work right down to the rear A/C and heated seats. I've also never had any trouble with the sunroofs or ACE system and believe it or not neither of my engines ever leaked a drop of oil.
So I don't know, maybe there were an inordinate number of lemons in the run and no, I have not put half a million maintenance free miles on the truck but overall I'm happy with it and haven't had a hard time keeping up with everything it's thrown at me. I still love driving the thing. Something about the high seating position and the short wheelbase makes it a joy both on and off road.
So I don't know, maybe there were an inordinate number of lemons in the run and no, I have not put half a million maintenance free miles on the truck but overall I'm happy with it and haven't had a hard time keeping up with everything it's thrown at me. I still love driving the thing. Something about the high seating position and the short wheelbase makes it a joy both on and off road.
Longtallsally
Adventurer
Well I'm back to really enjoying it again. I just picked it up this afternoon and everything but the P1117 code was fixed. Tom from GBR wants to do that himself and he's really behind so I'll take it back probably after Turkey Day and let him sort it. The best part is that the shop is only a couple miles from my offic, so it's really easy to drop off.
But I now have both driveshafts fully rebuilt, cruise control that is fully functioning and even a horn! I'm officially a good bit over budget now, but with how smooth it is, my wife will really start to push to drive it from time to time as she does enjoy it.
Bottom line, I'm really having fun again and will probably even drive it to the office for a bit in lieu of the train, just to have some fun (despite driving literally doubling my commute expense).
The next big leap will be to determine if I want to enhance its capability off road at all. First step would be to add the CDL, and then probably at least a winch bumper. But I dunno, it's not gained THAT much trust just yet.
But I now have both driveshafts fully rebuilt, cruise control that is fully functioning and even a horn! I'm officially a good bit over budget now, but with how smooth it is, my wife will really start to push to drive it from time to time as she does enjoy it.
Bottom line, I'm really having fun again and will probably even drive it to the office for a bit in lieu of the train, just to have some fun (despite driving literally doubling my commute expense).
The next big leap will be to determine if I want to enhance its capability off road at all. First step would be to add the CDL, and then probably at least a winch bumper. But I dunno, it's not gained THAT much trust just yet.