Buying a 1994 V8...

[sutherland_dunbar]

Hello all,

I am new to the group, but not to 4x4.
I have been the proud owner of a Lada Niva for the past 7 years and
have taken it to its limits and way past them! Great Fun! But I have
come to the conclusion that its time to move up and start playing
with the big boys

I have been trying to decide between Toyota Hilux, Defender 90,
Defender 110, Discovery... but I am fairly set on the Discovery at
the moment.

I was hoping to get some feedback from all of you...

-is it a problematic vehicle?

-trustworthy?

-I do most of my mechanical work myself...does fixing a Disco need
any specific Land Rover tools?

-easy to fix enough to limp home? (in 7 years with the Niva I never
needed a tow home, always managed to patch it together enough to limp
home somehow, and I consider this a very important feature of any
trustworthy 4x4! I think the Niva was so easy to fix was because it
is so low tech)

-expense of parts compared to other 4x4s?

-any recurring problems throughout all Discoveries?

-and what should I be look at when checking over this vehicle that I
am currently looking to buy? What are the problematic areas that I
should check seriously? (Its a 1994 V8 manual with ARB front and rear)

Thank you all in advance for any and all advice and input you might
have!!

Sutherland Dunbar

 

[joey]

Lots of questions.... First I would start by a good search of this site and maybe.. www.discoweb.org

Your going to hear everything from no issues, to LR's are the biggest garbage to leave a production plant.

I think it is completely up to how well it was taken care of, and how good are you at keeping it up.

Expense of parts varies from if you need it tomorrow and have to get from the dealer or if you can wait and order from aftermarket or research and find the part from another vehicle.

Limp home, I would say if you bought 10 of the same vehicles and drove them all hard one or two will not be drivable at the end of a hard off roading day. Why because not all parts are created equal.

My Disco has never left me stranded, but I have heard of some that have. Of course my 1992 Buick with over 210,000 miles has only left me standed once, and that was due to a fuel pump going bad.

By the way welcome to the forum.