'01 Disco II = Money Pit ??

[hockeyshrink]

I am not sure if I am at the point of "no return" with my poor 2001 Disco II SE(76K miles), so I thought I'd ask. After many years of nearly flawless performance - under service agreement of course, I am now seeming to have no end of multi-thousand dollar problems.

The biggest headache has been a constant leak of coolant. LR service has performed 2 head gasket replacements, and also replaced coils and wiring while they were at it. It is still leaking coolant, and now I am looking at a new water pump.

All cars eventually need service, right? My question to the board is: Am I to expect that this is the beginning of a never-ending saga of service needs?

Service aside, I also need a third row, and I understand it is impossible to do an aftermarket installation of any kind of jump seats on a Disco II...I just don't believe that.

To sell or not to sell...THAT is the question!!!

 

[islander007us]

Sell...There is no liking your Rover. One can either Hate or Love a Rover. Come to find out I was at that same stage last year with my Disco. Perfect performance until...well..it became sort of a cancer. Yet like a sick family member, you don't get rid of them when they are ill. In the case of a Rover...terminally ill. One can just treat the symptoms and enjoy their company while they are with us. Or...like a pain in butt cousin, who continues to drive the family through hell, one can always "rid" of them...pull a "Soprano" on him or her. I'm kidding of course.

I have learned that if not prepared to deal with the psychological stress of continuously having to fix something on your Rover, along with the financial burden, then you must rid of your rig and never...and I repeat NEVER, sucumb to the yearning you'll feel of buying another one. It will be tough to part from your Disco. Like recovering from a ****** addiction, you will suffer a great deal of discomfort while growing used to one's demotion of driving anything other than a Rover. You will probably fail and fall of the wagon. The odds are against you.

You will need support during the withdrawal symptoms. Know that you can always resort to this forum. You can always resort to us for reaffirmation that you are a Rover "*****" like most of us and that we will accept you regardless of what your wife, or your significant other, says about you when you roll up the driveway with next "money pit".

I hope this observation helps you some in determining whether you part with your rig or stick through these hard and confusing times. Enjoy the few smooth, mechanically-incident-free periods your get with your Disco, because they will just that...a few.

Good Luck.

 

[hockeyshrink]

Thank you, Islander, for being compassionate. I do love my Rover, but I can no longer afford to financially support his (Salty) expensive habits. Maybe we are codependent.

Diagnosis from LR Service: 1. the front timing cover gasket blew, mixing coolant with oil in the oil pan and circulating it throughout the engine 2. water pump about to fail. Estimate: USD$2,000. That makes about USD$7,000 I have put into repairs in the last 6 months, USD$10,000 in the last year.

Yes, it will be very difficult to part. I have enjoyed being a Disco driver...no other LR would do (except maybe a Defender, but now now when I have 4 little ones to shuttle about). My S.O. is really pushing me to sell it, complaining that British cars are not reliable. It has been a wonderful relationship. Yes, I can easily see myself falling off the wagon...I do not have a lot of discipline. That 8 cyl purr and humm of the ACE when I drive like a truck should be driven was music to my ears. It never let me down in snow, mud, or rugged terrain...only on the parkway.

I am soo sad. I feel like I have lost a good friend.

 

[discoIImurf]

Wow, reading threads like this makes me want to reconsider my upcoming purchase of my Dad's '99 Disco II! We have a verbal agreement, but no money has changed hands and I don't have the truck yet. Although he has had relatively few problems over the past 4 years, it sounds like it will be a money-pit sooner or later.

I hate boring cars. I drive a '92 Camry, which is reliable as can be, but not much fun to own. My summer toy is a 1965 Mini Cooper that I imported from Australia. It's super fun to drive, not exactly reliable, but not a daily driver for my wife and children either. The Disco would be.

My justification for getting the Rover has been that the Camry has 192k miles on it and will need some suspension work done soon. The rover (at 94k miles) is a good deal and (I tell myself) will probably last longer than the Camry.
... Maybe the Camry will still outlast the Rover even though it has 100k more on the clock.

Then there are the questions of having a fun to drive vehicle vs a practical and affordable one.

I don't want to hate the Rover, and I don't want it to suck my wallet dry. Perhaps I should reconsider.

 

[hyintegrity]

Is your coolant leaking coming from around the water pump? If it is check the gasket of the timing cover. That was what went bad and I had replaced the water pump and then had to replace that gasket. Lots of extra work.

 

[hockeyshrink]

Is your coolant leaking coming from around the water pump? If it is check the gasket of the timing cover. That was what went bad and I had replaced the water pump and then had to replace that gasket. Lots of extra work.

That was my last and final repair on my Disco, to the tune of US$2,000.00. I am now a Toyota 4Runner owner.

'Bye Land Rover. It was sweet in the beginning, but became unbearable and costly...sort of like my marriage!