Discovery Pitfalls

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more rust, leaky power steering boxes, clunky manual boxes, cylinder head problems, the list can go on and on but get a good one and it'll serve you well, get a bad one and you'll just keep spending.
 
Im in the same position. I recently bought an 03 Discovery TD5 Auto. I must say up to the minute I'm really pleased with it. The torque even in the standard box is unbeleivable. It's a really comfortable vehicle to drive. I do however have a few concerns, this is the first ever automatic car I have owned. I find sometimes it holds a gear longer than you would if you were driving a manual vehicle. Although from what i can tell it is changing up and down alright and selecting all the gears. I got a friend of mine who's a LandRover mechanic to check it out and he says not to worry everything seems fine. I have however inherited the leaking steering box. It's not that much and from what im told it's about £250 to replace. I'll hold off untill it get worse...... All in all I'm pleased with my purchase...... Good luck with yours.......
 
I've had a few discos, none later than '94, and I haven't had a leaky steering box yet. Rust is the main lookout. Other than that it can be a miriad of little jobs that can add up to a fair few quids worth.
 
check for rust mostly.

Inner wings at the front, inner and outer sills and the rear arches inside, the body is aluminium so can hide many sins under it. Check the front inners by looking under the bonnet. if its a 5 door check the rear inners by opening the rear doors and checking by the rear seat belt anchor points, they usually start to go there first. check the bottom of the rear arch by the mudflap mounts. All my discos have been old ones and all have needed welding.
Rear body mountings around the rear bumper go as well. oh and the boot floor.

just about everywhere that land rover used mild steel in fact....apart from that i love em
 
Dont worry about leaking steering box mine's been leaking slightly for 2 years and hasent got any worse in 20k miles
 
Leaking steering boxes are an MOT fail. I didn't know that before I took my old RRC for the MOT first time around and for such a simple looking thing, it can be a pig to swap.

Now if I'd given it a good clean and dried it off just before taking it, I'd have saved myself a lot of trouble....;)
 
matey,i don,t wish to put you off but after owning 3 disco,s my current been a 98v8i i,ll tell you what i tell every other potential owners.unless your handy with a set of spanners or have a bottomless money pit-FORGET IT.btw anyone mentioned leaky sunroofs:)
 
Oh I don't know, it depends what your comparing it with. Compared to a modern rep-mobile you'll need to spend more on repairs. Then again, I managed to get through 7 grand fixing one thing after another on that bloody Frontera I used to have. (Yes, I was being a prat. I let stubborness overide common sense :doh:)

Compared to that, my Disco is as cheap as chips to keep on the road. My advice would be don't rush in. There's loads about, take your time to find a solid one.

Leaky sunroofs, good point, that's a favorite.
 
The one I've got now doesn't have a leaky sunroof. That's because it doesn't have a sunroof at all. Buy one that's been owned by an enthusiast or has plenty of history with it and you'll find it to be pretty reliable. They don't let you down very often but can be a bit of fun at MOT time.
 
Has anyone mentioned RUST yet?

Rusty inner front wings

Rusty rear inner arches

Rusty boot floor

Rusty boot door

Rusty floorpan

Rusty inner sills

Rusty outer sills

Rust where the door pillars meet the roof

Rust around the windscreen

Siezed transfer boxes

More rust

Cylinder head problems

Some more rust

Smokey turbos

A bit more rust

Gunked up inlet manifolds

And some more rust

Glow plugs that snap

And a bit more rust here

Milking / laminating of the windscreens

Yet more rust

Italian style electrics

Oh, and i've just found some more rust.





DON'T FORGET RUST!




And pretty poor fuel econamy.........





But on saying all of that it is a car with a loveable charactor. I've owned well over 20 vehicles, most of which have been raved about by those motoring journos in the know. But this 13 year old, 176'000 mile Disco remains strangely one of the best :)
 
To be honest it puzzles me slightly as to why people think Land Rovers, and discos in particular, are unreliable. Yes they can be a bit rusty but we're talking old vehicles here. Most cars over 12 or 15 years old are in china now being turned into railway track or ak47s or something. I've owned 4 discos now and they've all been great. Even the rustiest most knackered looking one that had been a boat launcher never broke down in the six months or so that I had it. Granted the MOT can be a bit of an issue but would be with any old vehicle. I reckon it's a big thumbs up to Land Rover for making reliable motors that can be kept going on a shoestring with basic tools by even the most half arsed home mechanic.
 
what i did forget to mention is although after owning 3 disco,s and had numerous amounts of problems,headaches and gave it the old i,m never having one of these again etc im currently looking at changing my 98v8i for, you,ll never guess,another DISCo_Once you,ve drove one theres no going back:)
 
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