Help on Decision - 97 Disco

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vandermeulen

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Hello all, I am a total newbie to the Land Rover world. I joined because I have always loved them and want a true 4x4. (I used to do a fair bit in the Canadian Rockies and Foothills). I've been checking out these vehicles for a while and have been looking in my area for a Discovery. I found a 97' Disco at a local dealer and it seems to be in great shape. It started, shifted and made no unusual sounds without any probs. The windows, a/c, lights etc.....all work. The only issue I have is that the vehicle has 207000 km (128000 miles) on it. The abs light and check engine light are also on. (I heard this is common on Disco's). The dealer is giving me a 2 year powertrain (engine, tranny, 4x4) warranty and has all up to date service records. The vehicle seems extremely clean (no major rust anywhere - even underneath). Any opinions or things I should be looking more closely at? I want to use this as a daily driver as well as a recreation vehicle for now. Thanks!
 

Slam

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How much are they asking? Do you really want a vehicle with that many miles on it? I would be looking for one with lower miles because I love to drive my 97' and I tend to put a LOT of miles on it.
 
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vandermeulen

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They want about $9000.00 (canadian). It doesn't seem to be a bad price but the mileage does concern me abit. I'm mechanically inclined but don't really want a vehicle I have to fix everyday. Another dealer up the steet has a 96' with half the mileage ($2000 more), but it seemed to have a lot of electrical problems. ie. windows went down but wouldn't go up; rear defroster not operative; lights flickered etc....they said they would fix all these but I've heard with Disco's that you either get a good one or a lemon...nothing inbetween. The higher mileage one didn't seem to have any of these problems. I realize all used cars (or new) are not perfect. So I'm not sure what I should be expecting.
 

Moose

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Offer them $1500 less for the 97, and spend the $1500 on new diff fluid, tranny fluid, oil, p.s. fluid, and all the little things you need to do at 100K. There will be money left over for protection and/or suspension lift :biggrin:
 

Slam

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What is $9000 in canadian?
 
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vandermeulen

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Thanks for the info. $9000 Canadian is approx. $5500 U.S.
I just spoke with the other dealership that has a 96' SE7 they are willing to drop their price a little more and guarantee the vehicle will be flawless upon delivery and are extending their warranty to 2 years. Does this seem like a good deal to anyone who has experience with Disco's. What kind of problems do most of you guys run into? I have to make a cross country trip in a month and will be taking a more northern route where parts for Rovers may be hard to find. Any opinions would be appreciated.
 

tmiller1

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I have purchased 2 Discovery’s in the past 3 years (not because anything broke, I just love newer and better - just being honest). If you are looking for something that has less POTENTIAL for problems, I would look a little longer. It sounds like both have some very large drawbacks (high mileage & possible lemon problems). You may be able to find a 2000 for just a little more that has none of these problems. My 2000 ran excellent and I did not have a single mechanical problem with it. I did puncture a tire on a fairly benign dirt road though. If you look in my gallery, you can see that I even used my 2000 Discovery in Moab, and still kept it looking new.

On the other hand, if the dealer is willing to extend the warranty to 2 years on the potential “lemon”, it may be worth it. I would just be aware that you may be spending a lot of time at the dealership (if it is a “Land Rover Centre”, this can be a good thing – the customer service is usually impeccable). If you don’t mind this time element, I would probably go for it over the high-mileage vehicle, especially if you plan on modifying and/or doing some serious off-roading (as your heart beat is less erratic when you scratch or smack into something while on the trail).
 
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vandermeulen

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Great points. Thanks for the info. Up here the 2000's are about twice the price of the Disco 1's and since I do want to do some mod's (lift kit) and some off-roading, I'm not sure if paying double would be worth it or not. On the other hand lower mileage and potentially less problems is worth considering as well. The "time element" is a bit of an issue with me as I don't want a vehicle I can never drive. Right now I'm kinda leaning towards the 96' with half the mileage, 2 year warranty etc.....any main concerns with the 96's. I'm going back to the dealer tonight to take another look.
 

Slam

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96 and 97 are pretty much in the same boat. I think you will like the d1 a lot.
 
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vandermeulen

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Thanks - I hope to enjoy it! Is there anything I should really be going over when I check it out again? Hidden things I should be aware of etc....
 

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