damnskippy
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2008
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I need to hear some good, positive, happy Disco owner stories- assuming they exist!
Saw a local Jackson Hole car dealer yesterday, seems like everyone in the valley has a vehicle from him except me. He must be doing pretty well, he is retiring in another month or 2 at age 53 after being in used car business for 20 years. I went to his lot to look at an Xterra he had advertised but it had just been sold and was gone. I saw he had a '04Touareg on the lot which looked nice but I don't know anything about them, and they may be prone to problems of their own...he didn't aim me towards it.
I told him what I really wanted was an '04 Disco and he literally said I was nuts, he says he sees them at dealer auctions all the time for about $8000.00 (so that should give me a clue to how they hold their resale value he said) and he hasn't bought them because they are are so untrustworthy for his customers.
The truth is ever since I've seen one, I've always wanted one and I normally am a very conservative person with my money- I don't go buying lot's of stuff I want- the Disco would be the exception to this pattern.
I told him I realize some Discos can be prone to trouble and that I was trying to do all the research I can before I buy one and he was just like "well, you are throwning your money away". Now it was interesting, he was not trying to steer me towards anything else on his lot...he was just like, "well sounds like your mind is made up and that's too bad". He said Discos were "squirrley" 4 x 4's in the snow at best (I found that hard to believe) and just went on and on how bad they were. He talked about one he had years ago where the ABS breaks went out while it was being trailored (?) costing him $4000.00 to fix.
I explained the fact I was trying to educate myself the best I could before my purchase, reading these forums, talking with other owners, talking with local mechanics, planning to get the RAVE CD and try to do all the fluid checks and basics the best I could myself. I told him as far as buying one, I was going to find one with less than 50 K still under original factory warranty and then get an extended warranty ("make sure you get roadside assistance with that, you'll need it!!" he said), run a CARFAX, etc. I said I will be looking for an '04 that has an up to date service record that has hopefully had one owner and most all required work done at a Land Rover dealer. I told him I was planning to keep my '94 Toyota 4x4 truck as a back up. Again, he just said I was crazy but didn't try to sell me on anything he had there in lot...there were other people there looking to buy so I just got in my toyota and left... he waved bye to me and said "you'll be sorry, big mistake"!
I came back here and started reading these forums again, you know you gotta read the good with the bad...I was reading more about Powerchip that Joey spoke about and also reading more about "the 3 amigos", I thought I would print some of that information out and take it to my local trusty LR mechanic, some of the stuff Chongo had posted, etc. If those reading my posts for first time, there are some really high, mountain passes around here I have to drive over to get to either Idaho or other parts of Wyoming.
I want the '04 Discovery to be my primary everyday vehicle, use it to drive clients around if necessary (am an interior designer), want to drive my crated dog (he is used to jumping around in current Toyota but in the Disco it'll be crate travel only) around in it to some cool trails, take long drives in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, 4x4 it to get to some great camping spots and being here in Jackson Hole, I'm in 4X4 about 5 months out of 12 anyway because of snow, oh and maybe pull a small camper or boat.
Am I just being an idiot to get a Discovery? Even with the best precautions I am trying to take? I know there are no guarentees with any used car but I'm attempting to do the best I can...Is this all a waste of my time? Are the odds truly against me and am I fooling myself? Again, I am a complete novice but want to learn whatever I can to make the Disco happy and trying to get one with the best prior record of ownership and service I can find. Unfortunately I don't have a husband or best friend that's a mechanic. As I've stated in previous posts, closest LR dealership is 4+ hours away.
And if not a Discovery, than what? It will have to be some other brand, I can't afford an
LR2 or LR3.
If you've been bitten by the newer model '03 or '04 "Disco Fever", made the jump and been extremely happy, please let me know about it and any secrets or tips you have.
Thanks again all! A.J.
Saw a local Jackson Hole car dealer yesterday, seems like everyone in the valley has a vehicle from him except me. He must be doing pretty well, he is retiring in another month or 2 at age 53 after being in used car business for 20 years. I went to his lot to look at an Xterra he had advertised but it had just been sold and was gone. I saw he had a '04Touareg on the lot which looked nice but I don't know anything about them, and they may be prone to problems of their own...he didn't aim me towards it.
I told him what I really wanted was an '04 Disco and he literally said I was nuts, he says he sees them at dealer auctions all the time for about $8000.00 (so that should give me a clue to how they hold their resale value he said) and he hasn't bought them because they are are so untrustworthy for his customers.
The truth is ever since I've seen one, I've always wanted one and I normally am a very conservative person with my money- I don't go buying lot's of stuff I want- the Disco would be the exception to this pattern.
I told him I realize some Discos can be prone to trouble and that I was trying to do all the research I can before I buy one and he was just like "well, you are throwning your money away". Now it was interesting, he was not trying to steer me towards anything else on his lot...he was just like, "well sounds like your mind is made up and that's too bad". He said Discos were "squirrley" 4 x 4's in the snow at best (I found that hard to believe) and just went on and on how bad they were. He talked about one he had years ago where the ABS breaks went out while it was being trailored (?) costing him $4000.00 to fix.
I explained the fact I was trying to educate myself the best I could before my purchase, reading these forums, talking with other owners, talking with local mechanics, planning to get the RAVE CD and try to do all the fluid checks and basics the best I could myself. I told him as far as buying one, I was going to find one with less than 50 K still under original factory warranty and then get an extended warranty ("make sure you get roadside assistance with that, you'll need it!!" he said), run a CARFAX, etc. I said I will be looking for an '04 that has an up to date service record that has hopefully had one owner and most all required work done at a Land Rover dealer. I told him I was planning to keep my '94 Toyota 4x4 truck as a back up. Again, he just said I was crazy but didn't try to sell me on anything he had there in lot...there were other people there looking to buy so I just got in my toyota and left... he waved bye to me and said "you'll be sorry, big mistake"!
I came back here and started reading these forums again, you know you gotta read the good with the bad...I was reading more about Powerchip that Joey spoke about and also reading more about "the 3 amigos", I thought I would print some of that information out and take it to my local trusty LR mechanic, some of the stuff Chongo had posted, etc. If those reading my posts for first time, there are some really high, mountain passes around here I have to drive over to get to either Idaho or other parts of Wyoming.
I want the '04 Discovery to be my primary everyday vehicle, use it to drive clients around if necessary (am an interior designer), want to drive my crated dog (he is used to jumping around in current Toyota but in the Disco it'll be crate travel only) around in it to some cool trails, take long drives in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, 4x4 it to get to some great camping spots and being here in Jackson Hole, I'm in 4X4 about 5 months out of 12 anyway because of snow, oh and maybe pull a small camper or boat.
Am I just being an idiot to get a Discovery? Even with the best precautions I am trying to take? I know there are no guarentees with any used car but I'm attempting to do the best I can...Is this all a waste of my time? Are the odds truly against me and am I fooling myself? Again, I am a complete novice but want to learn whatever I can to make the Disco happy and trying to get one with the best prior record of ownership and service I can find. Unfortunately I don't have a husband or best friend that's a mechanic. As I've stated in previous posts, closest LR dealership is 4+ hours away.
And if not a Discovery, than what? It will have to be some other brand, I can't afford an
LR2 or LR3.
If you've been bitten by the newer model '03 or '04 "Disco Fever", made the jump and been extremely happy, please let me know about it and any secrets or tips you have.
Thanks again all! A.J.
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