Realiability of Landroover Discovery? And other 4x4

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crystalclear

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Hi All

I bought an older type Landrover discovery, N reg a few years back in order to tow. It has given me grief most of the time I have had it and luckily I have had a mechanic in the family, phew! I got it because of its towing capacity but its had problems with starting, problems with the temperature thing, was off loads last year repairing lots of rust and more recently the head gasket went as I was towing on a super busy road!! So needless to say we're not getting on at the moment. The positive is all its faults have been fixed. It's currently at the garage. It's going to be back on the road sometime but do I:

a) Keep it as I know its good/bad points
b) Get a different 4x4 but then risk not knowing its faults
c) Don't fix the landrover and sell on...I think it's better to repair as I say a family member is a mechanic so won't cost as expensive but just another option.

My landrovers a 3 dr with alloys so apparently a 'rare-ish' one...

If I do buy a new one, what to buy? Been looking at lots of threads on here and various 4x4's including the Hilux, Land cruiser, pajero, l200, landcruiser...but just unsure which to buy if I do decide to buy one. Budget is around £3,500 max. I need a good towing weight as I have a 510, a 450kg ish cob and a TB I would like to tow. I have my B+E test.

The cost of the 4x4 and my beautiful 510 trailer could mean I could buy a lorry but with no hardstanding where I am this is my problem. Is it cheaper to get a lorry than 4x4 as a general run around each day and trailer?

Thanks in advance for all your help
 
We have an old land rover defender 110 and it is great. I have been looking at a Volvo XC70, they have a great reputation for being good runners and can tow a good weight
 
I also used to own an N reg Disco and while I didn't use it to tow (nae trailer), it gave me no shortage of grief. There were a bunch of things on it that didn't work very well but I tolerated, but then it had bigger issues, like a tendency to develop leaks in the coolant system and overheat in awkward places, and then the final straw was when I had to be towed back to Glasgow from Aviemore and then Kingussie on two consecutive weekends, because in both instances it would not start. After it was towed back from Kingussie and I got a definitive diagnosis, I could have spent lots of money and got the car back on the road. But the way the car was going, it was only a matter of time before it broke down again. So I sold it as a non-runner on ebay and bought a Hyundai. Far more reliable!
 
These are harsh stories to hear (and I feel your pain) but it is nice to hear people are going through similar things to what I had with a Land rover Discovery and also hearing other peoples stories is good to know I'm not alone.

Breaking down on a hill of a dual carriage way towing back a new pony was not great, it's put me off!
 
We have a T reg Disco, and again have had shed loads of issues with it, however - better the devil you know so to speak. Why don't you spend the money on doing the disco up and then you will know that everything that could have been done will have been done and you will end up with a perfect truck.
We have virtually rebuilt ours from the bottom up every time something goes wrong and have spent about 4 grand so far on fixing it up and doing little bits ourself (don't have the luxury of a family mechanic ;-) lol), but at least we know what we have had done to it and we a relatively safe in the knowledge that most of it is ok now .........
A decent disco can still get a price of about 3k for that age so if you did it up and then decide to get a different one, then you can get a better price for it too
 
That's a good point - loads of mine had lots of welding and floor rebuilt and (I don't ask too many questions) but apparently I need to get rid of it within the next year. I never like it when they say things like that! Ha, so whilst I'd like to do that, its not potentially going to be woth while. So whilst it might b good for the next year or two, do I continue or re-sell...and I'd prefer not to continually keep putting money into it, as it broke down that time we're not seeing eye to eye at the moment either :)


Foxy O - I've heard Defenders are good? Is it just the 110 or what are the 90s like? Its amazing how one landrover may be ok but another model isn't?
 
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I had an N reg Disco and loved it - it was very reliable and my OH could work on it. Unfortunately someone hit it and wrote it off so I bought a Disco 3. I have had no end of problems with this one and would look at getting something else next time.
 
My brother-in-law is a pretty good DIY mechanic and did one up for sister-in-law, lots of welding, lots of rebuilding its innards. And the damned thing still required lots of work. He eventually got fed up with spending far too much of his time underneath that car and they sold it and bought a Nissan X-Trail.

I'm pleased with my Hyundai Santa Fe. It even passed its MOT the first time through. I was shocked. After the test, the mechanic said, "That's you done." And all I could say was, "What?? You mean it PASSED?" That's what five years of owning a Discovery does to you!
 
I have a t reg disco. Have probably bought it 2 or 3 times over with the money we have ploughed into it, but I love her and will have her until she goes to the disco yard in the sky. Am fortunate that OH is a pretty good DIY mechanic, and she is very easy to work on.
 
I wouldn't touch a disco with a barge pole! Parents used to have a p reg back when P wasn't that old and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Then a friend bought a newer style one and it got a £2500 repair bill when it was just out of warranty. I am onto my third nissan terrano which I tow a 510 with touch wood they are pretty good as far as reliability goes and they are great if you're on a budget.
 
I have two R reg Discos and think they're great! I'd much rather spend not a lot on a motor and then spend money sorting it, than spend all my budget on a newer model and have no money for repairs. My OH is a mechanic and engineer and actually seems to enjoy fixing things... and with a bit of research parts can be picked up very cheaply. The last disco I bought only cost £300 because the garage frightened the life out of its previous owners by telling them how much the repairs were likely to cost... it's cost me about £100 in parts and some grovelling to the OH!
 
weebarney said:
I wouldn't touch a disco with a barge pole! Parents used to have a p reg back when P wasn't that old and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Then a friend bought a newer style one and it got a £2500 repair bill when it was just out of warranty. I am onto my third nissan terrano which I tow a 510 with touch wood they are pretty good as far as reliability goes and they are great if you're on a budget.
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I have a Nissan Terrano too (LWB 3ltr diesel) and it is the best of both worlds - drives like a decent car and tows well. I did look at a couple of Discos before I bought it, you guys have cheered me up that I probably made the right choice?
 
My H reg disco was fab until someone smashed into me & wrote it off :( I then bought a W reg & hate it with a passion. It never works, there's always something wrong with it & its cost me a bomb in repairs.

I've just bought an old S reg Landcruiser & love it to bits. It was £2700, has got high mileage but has a full service history & only 2 previous owners xx
 
Forgot to add I have the use of my name Terrano (when the disco was broke) & loved it that much I bought one myself. However after 4 days the turbo went on it :( the garage repaired it but couldn't guarantee the engine wasn't damaged so gave me my money back, which then bought the Landcruiser
 
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