1994 Land Rover Discovery for my 16 y.o. daughter

[Hardball442]

I'm completely new to Land Rovers and don't know much about them except that I've always thought they looked great. I'm considering buying a '94 Discovery for my daughter who is about to get her license. I've found one with 160K miles on it and seems to be in good shape. The guy wants $3900. We live in a pretty small town and most of her driving (for a year or so anyway) will be limited to around town, back and forth to school, athletics, etc. Should I be wary of the miles on it? What kind of things can I expect to break down at that mileage? I want her in something big and safe but am not interested in the standard Chevy's and Ford's. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Paul

[ArmyRover]

u joints should be done right off the bat. Check for rust and working or non-working electrical parts. Electrical gremlins can be fun to track down.

Rover motors when taken care of are pretty damn durable along with the tranny transfer case etc.

I don't know where you located but for my area that's alot for a 14 year old disco unless it's in perfect shape.

Make sure to take the time with your daughter to make sure she understands that this thing does not corner fast or hard.

Also tell her to get a part time job now for gas

Make sure she has a cell phone for the unexpected

[Roverdude]

As far as safety is concerned, for passive safety, the Disco is a tank. For active safety, it's not so good. Mediocre braking, handling, and terrifying emergency maneuvering can make it a poor choice for a teenage girl. That being said, if you take the time to explain to her how the dynamics of the truck vary in comparison to her drivers ed POS, then it could also make her a safer driver in the long run. Driving the disco will help her appreciate stopping and following distances, as well as being smooth on the throttle, brakes, and steering. But are you and her prepared to handle the consequences of stupidity in a disco? It has a minuscule margin of error. If you push it too hard, it will let go, and it will do so quickly w/ little warning to an inexperienced driver.

[Rovin4life]

get her a cheap car so when it blows up from her not changing stuff or doing something stupid it wont affect your insurance or your pocketbook.

besides you cant afford the gas in a discovery.

she will eat thru gallons of gas just idling and it will cost you alot of money.

plus she will have friends in the vehicle or others without you knowing thus putting her at a higher risk for accident.

at 16 she doesnt need a vehicle she needs to learn responsibility. Let her drive your vehicle on occasions to really get an idea of what she does.

you will be surprised how dangerous teens really are behind the wheel when their parents aren't paying attention. hook up a black box and watch her speeds and lack of seat belt use skyrocket.

two years ago, five teenage girls were killed in a head on collision with a semi truck. the driver a teen with her license for a few short weeks had two many kids in the car at night and tried to pass a vehicle without paying attention and was also using her cellphone.

This happened in Western NY.

National Teen Driving Statistics
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
16-year-olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers.
3,490 drivers age 15-20 died in car crashes in 2006, up slightly from 2005.
Drivers age 15-20 accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes in 2006.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates the economic impact of auto accidents involving 15-20 year old drivers is over $40 billion.
A recent report by AAA estimates the cost of crashes involving 15-17 year olds to be $34 billion.
Graduated drivers license programs appear to be making a difference. Fatal crashes involving 15- to 20-year olds in 2005 were down 6.5 percent from 7,979 in 1995, to the lowest level in ten years.
Fewer 16-year-olds are driving. In 2006 only 30 percent of 16-year-olds had their driver's licenses compared to 40% in 1998 according to the Federal Highway Administration.

According to a 2005 survey of 1,000 people ages 15 and 17, conducted by the Allstate Foundation
More than half (56 percent) of young drivers use cell phones while driving,
69 percent said that they speed to keep up with traffic
64 percent said they speed to go through a yellow light.
47 percent said that passengers sometimes distract them.
Nearly half said they believed that most crashes involving teens result from drunk driving.
31 percent of teen drivers killed in 2006 had been drinking, according to NHTSA. 25 percent had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

Statistics show that 16 and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger (IIHS).
Colorado Teen Driving Statistics
Sources: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) , Colorado Department of Revenue

Colorado's first graduated driver licensing laws began in 1999.
Preliminary data from CDOT show that 43 people age 16-20 died in Colorado car crashes during 2007, a steep drop from previous years.
Sixty-two 16-20 year-olds died on Colorado roadways in 2006; 79 died in 2005, and 96 died in 2004.
Of the 62 teens killed in Colorado in 2006, 42 (nearly 68 percent) were not wearing seat belts.
In 2006, 80 percent of teen passengers who died in car crashes in Colorado were riding with teen drivers
Teen drivers represent nearly six percent of licensed Colorado drivers, but they account for more than eleven percent of all traffic deaths in the state.
28 percent of Colorado's 16-year-olds got drivers licenses in 2006 compared to 60 percent in 1999. That translates to 19,000 16-year-old drivers in 2006 down from 36,000 in 1999.
Colorado drivers age 19 and younger totaled 150,000 in 2006 compared to 178,000 in 1995.

[Eclipsed013]

jesus scare the guy more why dont you

[rmuller]

He was asking for car advice, not a lesson on parenting.

~$4k for a '94 w/ 160k is a bit high, there are 99/00 Discovery II's, which will be a lot more comfortable for her, going for around that price.

[apbtpetey]

Rovinforlife: a few quick things, one you nor do any of us know if he/his daughter can afford gas for the disco, nor do you or any of us know how well she'll take of the car. All the other things such as idling having to many people in the car, etc. again you have no clue and all that stuff has very little with if a disco is right for her.

Now back on topic: Price is on the high side (at least to me it is). Take it out and see how it runs look it over good, better yet take it to a rover dealer/shop and have them go over it. Use what they find as a starting point to making an offer on it if it's in decent shape. Let your daughter drive it as well and see if she is comfortable in it. Yes it is a suv and chances of flipping are higher, but as long as your not a idiot with it, you'll/she'll be just fine. I never had an issue with brakes on my 97 Disco, in fact the brakes were very good on mine.

[ArmyRover]

I'll add to that this thread is about a month old and the guy posted it and never came back so it really doesn't matter