Another 4x4 Q Post, 1997 Land Rover Discoveries Yay or Nay ???

[treacle86]

Have heard mostly Good things about Land rover Discoveries , heard some horror stories too , head gaskets can blow , engine can go bang , and gearbox can be dodgy ???

But then all cars can have problems so ....

Have friends who have had discos that have gone on until like 250,000 miles and the like so think they can certainly be reliable , esp if well looked after .

We had an old Isuzu Trooper , but was petrol so bit too gutsy .

Some people have recommended the newer ish ,P reg onwards Isuzus and a diesel , but then again others have had soem that have gone BANG too .

Have been offered by a friend their Disco 1996 reg, With years mot as a swap for our big old van , that doesnt do well in this weather and isnt the best for towing ponies , but has been very reliable ,and is reasonably low mileage , so swithering whether to do swap as they are looking for a decent van for work and we would like a decent Disco , so ...

Anyone have good and bad Reviews of Discos around about this age or any advice , what to look out for ?

Are discos permanent 4 wheel drive and what kind of fuel economy ?? Do they have very very high road tax with new law that came out for 4x4s??

I think a manual would be best bet as if manual gearbox was to go wrong it would be slightly cheaper to fix than an auto ????

any help be great xxxxx

 

[hadfos]

I have a 99 and when things go wrong hell you know about it

costs a damn fortune,autos are better for towing etc and are a dream,ours has a leaky gearbox (we bought some stuff from america and it isnt leaking now

,however guy at garage just said top it up every 6 mnths and it be fine

)
tax for that age is same as a 2l car,fuel,mine does 40 mile on a tenner

However i love the beast and it tows like a dream,cost me a fortune upto now,but jobs are being done,so wont need doing again for a long time,lol,but she is worth it!!

 

[spacefaer]

The 380R gearbox has a weakness - an oil feed problem - which they ironed out in later models - check whether it has been fixed already as to rebuild the gearbox would be £400-600

apart from that, good vehicles

They're perm 4WD

fuel economy should be about 28-32 mpg (depending on driving style!)
road tax is £104 for 6 months

manual gearboxes give better fuel consumption (about 2mpg) than autos and are cheaper to fix.

Hope this helps!

 

[Carsmore]

had a disco and had no end of very expensive bother with it. then got an older isuzu trooper which we had for 6 years and it was a proper workhorse! apparently the older 3.1 engine is the one that is brill but then they messed about with it after R reg, made it 3 litre and then they kept going bang! sold my isuzu in the summer when I bought a wagon but wish I had it now!!

 

[treacle86]

Thanks guys , I have heard good things about both , both are said to be excellent towers !!!! I suppose when things go badly wrong with any vehicle they can be expensive regardless of model sometimes, I know a couple of good mechanics, they have had plenty work form me over the past few years sometimes from cars that havent really been as useful as a good 4x4 could be .

Think i will look into both .
thanks xxxx

 

[0ldmare]

I had an old style trooper which was fab (other than being thirsty!)
Sold it to some friends and its now done over 200k miles and still
had nothing wrong with it. I replaced it with a newer trooper and it
was pants. The fuel injectors kept failing, even the modified ones
they fitted. Would not recommend it! Sold it and got a new style
Discovery which I love. My brother had the same model Disco you are
considering and it did 200k odd relatively trouble free until his wife
pursuaded him to get rid of it. How to make a grown man cry lol

 

[Colleen_Miss_Tom]

We have a 97 300tdi discovery called larry might I add

, He happily and with no bother, pulled out a nissan navara that got stuck in the field

I think that was the selling point for my brother in law who was wanting a jeep .
He did our job brilliantly, never gave any bother, hes now being used by our brother in law who is taking him off our hands, as we now have a 2001 td5 discovery which is automatic, Great for towing with, Is alot more thirsty on the diesel but I love it .

Col x

 

[horseriderdeb]

I have an S reg 3.9 automatic petrol disco and love it. Have had it gas converted so it is cheaper to run. I really use it as a work horse at the yard and it is great for pulling my big horse trailer.

 

[blackhorse09]

Is it a Series 1 or Series 2 Discovery? If it's a Series 2 with a TD5 then it's probably the better vehicle, they are unmatched for towing. Our ex-army Defender has a Disco 2 TD5 engine and tows like a dream. We bought a 2001 Automatic Disco but still revert to the old faithful in tough conditions.

It should be permanent 4WD [handy for towing out other stranded road users in the snow].

Personally I'd go for the Landrover every time but I'll admit they can be unreliable, however, as with all cars, it's mostly luck!

Good luck with your choice =]

 

[dorani]

[ QUOTE ]
I have an S reg 3.9 automatic petrol disco and love it. Have had it gas converted so it is cheaper to run. I really use it as a work horse at the yard and it is great for pulling my big horse trailer.

[/ QUOTE ]
Now these are truly great

sadly mine had trouble with the LPG system and was too expensive and elusive to fix. But it was a great car.

 

[horseriderdeb]

I love it and its a 50th anniversary edition so got all the extras as standard. They didn't make many.

 

[Angua2]

I have a 1998 s reg, and it is just starting to cost money! it has 138,000 miles on the clock and I think we have just had to plate some rot underneath, and replace parts of the stearing rack and a new clutch. Lots of little things but they don't half mount up... thank god for a fabulous dad. On the up side the parts are really easy to get hold of and are reasonable price if you hunt about. I was so glad to get it back as I have been driving my dads transit van, which is great, but not the best in this weather!

 

[treacle86]

Thank everybody , It def sounds as though A Discovery is the way forward !!!!! any vehicle can go wrong and be costly when It does , but their pros i think would make up for the cons of being a bit costly to fix , fingers crossed !!!!

Oldmare , I could just imagine him crying over his lovely jeep !!!

I think when you get a good car , whether its a disco or a fiesta or whatever , if you get a good one , its really good and you love it and they can go on forever !!!

I love our big trundling van , and just hope whatever we get will be as good and as reliable and have as good a heater !!!!lol

thanks guysxxx