Why I love my Land Rover

[LtFuzz]

i like mine really for shutting up the land rover haters.

I've had a different experience -- people frequently make fun of the perceived unreliability of Land Rovers, but I've run into very few people on the 'net or on the trail that have seriously disputed the off-road capability of RRCs, D1s/DIIs, or Defenders.

Even in the hardcore Jeep crowd (like Pirate4x4) they'll talk ********** about LR owners being "rich" or something, but very rarely will you come across someone with any knowledge or experience that says "Rovers suck off road." And when they do, more experienced Jeepers are usually quick to correct them. Plenty will say "Rovers suck" but usually for a number of other reasons, most of which we discuss here and troubleshoot day in and day out.

Land Rovers, quite frankly, have a legendary reputation. Legendary in the most literal sense -- it may or may not be fiction. :sombrero:

Most people I've spoken to with no 4x4 experience or knowledge say things like "I feel like I'm going on a safari" or "So these are really good in the snow, right?" when they climb into my Disco(s).

 

[dcarr1971]

...Even in the hardcore Jeep crowd (like Pirate4x4) they'll talk ********** about LR owners being "rich" or something, but very rarely will you come across someone with any knowledge or experience that says "Rovers suck off road." And when they do, more experienced Jeepers are usually quick to correct them. Plenty will say "Rovers suck" but usually for a number of other reasons, most of which we discuss here and troubleshoot day in and day out...

x2 I occasionally do off-road runs with my local 4x4 group since our local Rover group doesn't get out much. Invariably I am always the only Rover in a mass of heavily modified Wranglers, XJ's, Toyota's, Nissan's, and few odd balls (i.e.- Int'l Scouts, Suzuki Samarai's, etc...).

Never once has anyone questioned my D2's off-road ability. They may bust my chops for driving such a 'soft' truck, or over reliability, but they never question it's ability to go anywhere the other modified trucks can...

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

This is my second D2.

Hey! I recognize that / her

Good to see you this past weekend.


Cheers,

KAA

 

[ExpoScout]

Sometimes I forget why I love them, but after I get in one after its been out in my shop for a month or more and I smell the land rover smells and experience the British "feel" of it I quickly remember. Probably sounds stupid, but I'm sure most of you get it. People who don't haven't had a rover.

 

[Rocket Ship]

What exactly is a "Land Rover smell"? Probably leaking 75W90 mixed with mold from the wet carpets.

 

[Howski]

What exactly is a "Land Rover smell"? Probably leaking 75W90 mixed with mold from the wet carpets.

Don't forget the sweet smell of burning anti-freeze. Luckily I have not been subject to any of these sweet aromas lately

 

[LtFuzz]

What exactly is a "Land Rover smell"? Probably leaking 75W90 mixed with mold from the wet carpets.

LR leather seats definitely have a distinct smell

 

[dstuder]

Hey! I recognize that / her

Good to see you this past weekend.


Cheers,

KAA

It was good to meet/see you this past weekend as well. We had a really good time.

David

 

[Repo503]

I've had a 98 DII and an 03 Range Rover and they were the worst vehicles I've ever owned as far as reliability. The Range Rover spent nearly 3 of the 8 months I owned it in the dealers service department (air suspension mostly) and I lost my *** when I sold it.

That being said I loved driving those rigs. There's just something about Land Rovers that just speaks to me. I would never recommend one to a friend (unless that friend is a mechanic or not much of a friend)...yet somehow I've found myself at the dealer checking out the LR4 more than once lately. I don't even need a new truck...yet that appeal is undeniable.

 

[overlander]

My 110 aside, I loved my 95' D1 and my wifes DII is growing on me. Whenever we do family road trips up to CT or FL, we take my wifes car. It is such a damn good road car. I don't know why Land Rover's always take a hit on ergonomics, because I had to use my father in law's Lexus for a few weeks here and there when I was replacing my engine head on my 110, and I find the DII so much more comfortable for long trips than that Lexus. I can't say that was purely objective, because I'm insufferably biased, but I'm pretty sure most of the biased was controlled in that statement.

I actually do 90% of the maintenance on my wifes car, and using the Rave, and with the right tools, I have to say the DII is pretty easy to work on. I just overhauled the ABS modulator to get rid of the 3 amigos, and it was pretty damn easy; about an hour in the garage.

I have an OBD reader and the ABS Amigo, and there isn't anything the computer can throw that I can't diagnose and fix pretty cheaply and easily. My wife wants a MKIII when the cost of repair gets beyond a car payment. She's at 120k, and just doesn't make sense yet financially to replace, because the DII is so cheap and easy still to work on. Doing a proactive head gasket replacement at 60k according to service made all the difference in the world in reliability and cutting known issues off at the pass.

She loves her DII. I love my 110. What can I say.

 

[The Rover Shop]

why a Land Rover you ask..????

Well I was bitten by the Land Rover bug when I started working for them back in the 80's in Australia, absolutely loved them but were out of my price range... as the years moved on and I worked my way around the world I decided that I wanted to get back into the Land Rover field so I opened up The Rover Shop in Ft Lauderdale...I have had just about all of the models there is to have and currently own one of the baddest 1997 Xd disco's that I just converted to 300 TDi and stick shift...was building it to travel the world and then I had the opportunity to buy an original camel 110 truck...am currently kitting that out to drive around the world in.. It is going to break my heart to sell my Diesel XD and my stock XD and my zebra 93 LWB range which I converted to 4.6 and stick shift as well as my 76 101FC and my zebra disco1 stick shift and my 1969 series 2a I am just about finished restoring as well as my other land rovers... so you ask....why do we drive Land Rovers...it's like that old line says...IF YOU HAVE TO ASK WHY...YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND...my love for the product has seen me in litigation for the last 3 years with the ************ Land Rover lawyers and it STILL makes it worthwhile...the corporate land Rover guys just don't understand we do it for the love of the product...definitely not the money...if we wanted the money with no love we would have became ************ lawyers...

 

[ColoDisco]

Why?
I bought my 95 Disco for $700 in January of '09. I was just looking for a good cheap 4x4. Being a Audi technician I figured I could fix up a cheap vehicle. What I was not expecting is just how much I was going to end up loving my Disco. Since I have bought her I have done alot.. and i mean ALOT of maintenance. It was all worth it. She has taken me on 25 different trails in Colorado and Moab Utah. I have seen sights I never knew existed. And in the 2 1/2 years I have owned her I have only had 1, thats right 1 trail breakdown. I had the pressure hose on the power steering blow out. What could I expect from a vehicle with 185,000 miles? She still drove me home even though she bled a little along the way. I kept topping her up and fixed the hose the next day. That my fellow rover enthusiasts is priceless. I am already planning on more upgrades for her including a lift and a new motor just because the old one is tired. I honestly don't think I will ever sell her. If I roll her I will just put a new body on and keep going.
In all her glory at the top of Twin Cone in Colorado:

 

[xCSx]

Have any of you ever sold a perfectly good car to switch to an old land rover with all its quirks?

I currently drive a 2010 mazda 3 2.5 GT i bought new and I have about 40k on the clock and still owe about 10k on it. It drives great, I have no problem keeping this vehicle, but... I love land rover discoveries, there is a certain fascination about them, I think they are the nicest vehicle on the road. I really want one. Would it be entirely unreasonable to sell my mazda and get one? I would probably lose 8k just from selling the vehicle (OUCH!). Has anyone done that? regrets? I would get a second car, but I have no room to keep it...

Either that or I am going to wait another few years and maybe get it then if I have moved elsewhere or somehow created a bigger driveway...

 

[David Harris]

Have any of you ever sold a perfectly good car to switch to an old land rover with all its quirks?

I currently drive a 2010 mazda 3 2.5 GT i bought new and I have about 40k on the clock and still owe about 10k on it. It drives great, I have no problem keeping this vehicle, but... I love land rover discoveries, there is a certain fascination about them, I think they are the nicest vehicle on the road. I really want one. Would it be entirely unreasonable to sell my mazda and get one? I would probably lose 8k just from selling the vehicle (OUCH!). Has anyone done that? regrets? I would get a second car, but I have no room to keep it...

Either that or I am going to wait another few years and maybe get it then if I have moved elsewhere or somehow created a bigger driveway...

I would say that you should keep the Mazda and get a Discovery as a project when you have the time/space. The vehicles are getting old if your talking about a D1 or 2. Most likely the one you get will require time and money to get into reliable shape, and will be off the road for short periods while you do this. I own/drive British cars exclusively at this time, but I have three of them, so when I have to do something on one, I have the others to drive. All three cost me far less than one newer vehicle too. There are so many other things to consider here as well . . . taking a big hit on fuel mileage (10-15 mpg for a Disco), your mechanical knowledge and desire/ability to work on your own vehicles, or money reserves to have someone else repair and maintain it, etc.

David

 

[xCSx]

yes agreed, for now i'll just continue to admire them from afar...