land rover discovery

[-BAMA-]

has anybody here ever owned one?? i'm thinking about buying a used one (pre 2003 model) because i cant fit a baby carseat t in my tacoma..

if you have had one or know someone who has... how do they stack up as far as reliability goes?? are they fairly off-road capable??

[wolverine_man]

They are a money pit so be prepared. Horribly unreliable. They are a very great off-road vehicle or for use as a third vehicle but not a primary means of transportation. My father owns a Land Rover Defender 90 (soft top) like the ones you see in safari advertisements. It is his recreational and hunting vehicle only. He has it tricked out with roof rack, driving lamps, etc for driving off road and he belongs in a local Land Rover group. You have to have a lot of time and money to keep up on Rovers. They are notoriously unreliable, at least the ones built before the FORD acquisition. What year Taco do you have? I've been wanting a 2003 or 2004 TRD Off Road for a while.


P.S. My uncle has two discos a 2002 and a 2004. He's very a very mechanical person but he has had them in worked on quite a bit - Mechanical and electrical issues.

[GaijinGolfer]

Land Rovers have very, very bad reliability reputations.

[-BAMA-]

my taco is a 2001 ext cab v6 5 speed 4x4 with trd package and e-locker in the rear...

are they seriously that bad?? what year did ford take them over?? i'm a very mechanical person, ive built severay jeeps from the ground up and i can fix most of the issues with the rovers, but i didnt realize they were that big of a money pit.

i'm looking at the 2003-04 models, they can be had for less than 9k, thats what's making me do some research on them cause that just seems way too cheap for a vehicle like this...

what kind of issues has your uncle had with them?? i'm guessing head gaskets, tcase, and hubs....

your dad is a lucky sumbish.. i would LOVE to have a defender 90....

appreciate it...

[sean_miller]

The last reliability data for all car makers I looked at was for 2000 to 2007 vehicles. Land Rover was by far the worst car maker - it wasn't even close - factor in the purchase price and buying one of these could be huge mistake. But then again, that's what Consumer Report says about every new Volkswagen and VDubophiles couldn't care less.

[wolverine_man]

Trust me, they are bad. My father has put thousands of dollars into his Defender - but expected that, can afford it, and believes it's worth it to driver a very rare vehicle. I know they are very rugged and appealing looking, but I would urge you to resist the temptation if it will be your daily driver. I mean, you talking about going from perhaps the most reliable truck (Tacoma) to the absolute least reliable (Land Rover). The reason why they are so inexpensive to purchase used, is because of their absolutely horrendous reliability. Trust me on this one. My uncle restores cars from the frame off and he is damn near fed up with his rovers. I would advise you to consider perhaps a used Nissan Xterra or 2005 or newer Tacoma.

Oh, one more thing, the Discovery averages 13 mpg and all Land Rovers require premium fuel.

[senorchipotle]

seriously, buying a rover is the single worst choice you can make when buying a car. their clientel are 99.9% status buyers, and .1% off road enthusiasts, and the off roaders generally buy used. they have by far the worst customer service in the history of customer service. why? because they can. it's rather masochistic, really. it's like the 6 foot tall dominatrix with fake breasts and long black hair you see in the window in amsterdam. you can't help but wanter cause she's such a bad woman, and everything you've ever fantasized about, but be prepared cause she'll end up making you her b*tch and you won't know what hit you.

[-BAMA-]

appreciate it everybody... the rovers have been scratched off my list.

after reading this thread i did some research on them and i have found nothing but negative reviews about the defenders...

only positive reviews i found were related to their off road capability... which is nice, i wish other manufacturers still made suv's with solid axles front and rear...

i'll most likely get a 4runner or another jeep, appreciate the comments, they were VERY VERY helpful.

[Clambake]

I have two anecdotal comments on Range Rovers. First comment: I drive by our local Range Rover dealer every day to and from work, and notice that there are always far more vehicles sitting waiting to get into the service bays each morning than are actually out on the sales lot. Second note is that my former boss had a fully loaded Range Rover, and in the first year of ownership, it was in the shop about 4 months. He took advantage of California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (a.k.a. "lemon law") and had them buy it back, and then under the optimistic hope that he just had bad luck with the first one he bought another. After it spent about 2 months in the shop in in his first 4 months of ownership, he again took got them to "lemon law" it back again. He then bought a Jaguar, and even though he's had issues with it he feels it's amazingly reliable compared to his horrendous experiences with the Range Rovers. I sort of think that tells it all about reliability - when someone thinks a Jag is a reliable car based on their experience with a Rover, that's seems pretty damning evidence that the Rover is just a total bucket of crap.

On the flip side, they do seem very off-road capable, as shown in a recent episode of Top Gear on BBC. But that's only if you can keep it running long enough to get off the pavement!

[wolverine_man]

I agree with all of that above, especially the part I wrote. My dad prays that he doesn't break anything every time he goes off road. He breaks something about 50 percent of the time and it usually costs a grand, sometimes more.

To the OP, why don't you get a newer gen tacoma and do a SAS (single axel swap), add an ARB bull bar and a winch, and throw on some old man emus? That'd be sweet. You'd still have the Toyota reliable V6 to boot!

[wolverine_man]

I have two anecdotal comments on Range Rovers. First comment: I drive by our local Range Rover dealer every day to and from work, and notice that there are always far more vehicles sitting waiting to get into the service bays each morning than are actually out on the sales lot. Second note is that my former boss had a fully loaded Range Rover, and in the first year of ownership, it was in the shop about 4 months. He took advantage of California's Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (a.k.a. "lemon law") and had them buy it back, and then under the optimistic hope that he just had bad luck with the first one he bought another. After it spent about 2 months in the shop in in his first 4 months of ownership, he again took got them to "lemon law" it back again. He then bought a Jaguar, and even though he's had issues with it he feels it's amazingly reliable compared to his horrendous experiences with the Range Rovers. I sort of think that tells it all about reliability - when someone thinks a Jag is a reliable car based on their experience with a Rover, that's seems pretty damning evidence that the Rover is just a total bucket of crap.

As soon as I saw the word Jaguar, I started thinking oh no, this guy is a glutten for punishment. There's also a reason why jags are cheap used too - horribly unreliable. Ditto for VWs. Owned a mint 1993 Corrado VR-6 and I finally had to part with it because of the exorbinent electrical, mechanical problems which cost me an arm and leg. Loved that car to death but not practical as a daily driver.

[-BAMA-]

I agree with all of that above, especially the part I wrote.

i did a SAS on my 2nd gen 4 runner and it was a pain in the hind end.... its easier when they come from the factory set up for a solid front axle when you're using it as a DD/weekend warrior...

i agree with you on the old man emu springs and shocks.. i had some on my old TJ with a long arm conversion and i swear it rode better than a caddilac, even with 36" swamper tsl's... sent you a pm.. i want to see pics of your dad's defender, they're the sexiest vehicle ever made...

[wolverine_man]

PM'd. Check out Great Lakes Land Rover Club http://gllrc.com/







Again, it is only used as a recreational and hunting vehicle. Things can break off-road and with a rover, it aint cheap.

[michaeljames92]

If you have the money get a toyota landcruiser. we have owned both and had nothing but troubles with our discovery about 8 years ago. we now own the 200 series landcruiser and that is fun to drive.

[GaijinGolfer]

Id buy a 4Runner or a Ford Explorer. Both are solid rigs.
Id also scratch a Jeep off your list. Jeeps have pretty terrible reliability reputations too. They have transmission problems (like most any Chrysler), t-case problems and the overall level of quality is very low.

[wolverine_man]

I owned a brand new 2007 Wrangler exactly 11 months before I got rid of it under the lemon law.

[GaijinGolfer]

Im not sure Id even buy another Toyota anymore with all the problems they are having. Toyota used to make a great product, but they have lost their way when it comes to quality. So much so, infact, that yesterday Toyota announced that they would be suspending sales and production of 8 of their models until they figure out why the accelerators are sticking.
I used to love Toyota for how well-made and reliable they vehicles were, but nowdays I wouldnt own one. Their quality isnt any better than GM or Ford and the parts are still more expensive.

[-BAMA-]

Im not sure Id even buy another Toyota anymore with all the problems they are having. Toyota used to make a great product, but they have lost their way when it comes to quality. So much so, infact, that yesterday Toyota announced that they would be suspending sales and production of 8 of their models until they figure out why the accelerators are sticking.

although my tacoma ia a 01 model.. i swear its the toughest vehicle out there. i've taken it to summertown and grayrock off road parks and the local stomping grounds out here and she's taken a licking and kept on ticking...

my wife has an 08 camry sport and we've put almost 40k miles on it since we bought it a little over a year and half ago... never had a problem with the pedals sticking. we did get a recall note in the mail and we will fix it once they figure out what the prioblem is... but other than that non-existing problem her car has been nothing but solid. only problem ive found with her car is it has some weird annoying rattle coming from behind the dash, but we dont notice it with the radio on. i wouldnt heistate buying another toyota vehicle... i'm sure the recall is just a minor problem that will be sorted out soon. nobody makes a perfect car. i'm most likely just gonna get another 4runner. i cant find anything else as reliable or as capable as them. thanks for the input everybody.. i really appreciate it. oh yeah.. about the landcruiser... way out of my price range, especially for what i plan to use it for, but they're very nice trucks regardless...