Best year(s) for the Discovery

[NewDisco]

Hello everyone,

At the moment I am facing the expiration my my lease (worst mistake I ever made). I have been considering purchasing a used Discovery. But being new and rather uninformed on the vehicle, I wanted to get a straight answer from the people who would know.

What years were the best (most reliable) for the discovery. I will not buy anything new, so I can avoid the whole Ford debacle. And I am not getting stick so I can avoid the exploding clutch thing. But Between series I and series II what were soem of the good year, that gave the lucky converts at that time the most trouble free Rovering experience.

Also, I am paid milage of what ever vehicle I choose, so that is not the worst worry if you all thought I was crazy for even looking at a vehicle like that right now.

Thank you all for any help you can provide me.


~j

[Funrover]

All I have really heard is to becareful of the 1996 discos..... the 99 and on are the best from what I have heard!!

[Choqiees]

Hi,

first welcome to the board!

now you shouldn't compare LR to Honda/Yota for reliability, but for Discos, I'd say avoid the early years, I heard some are have problems with them,very few don't.

whichever you are going with, good luck and get her dirty!

[FelixLockhart]

If you're getting a truck for off-roading, get a '95. If you're getting one for street use, get like a 2000.

[p76rangie]

What country are you in. The TD5 Disco II, is a good choice. Try and get a year that has a transfer case with a centre diff lock in it. Not sure what years they left the CDL out, but the others on this forum can.

Ian

[Funrover]

forgot to say WELCOME!!!

[Adam in NYC USA]

I own a 1996 Disco and it works fine by me.....

Do your basic research. You got three themes of Discovery, carb , OBD 1 and OBD 2. The old stuff works and the new stuff works. Listen to what the guys here have to say and do your homework. Get the books so you can choose the year and the look. For example, You can upgrade a D1 headlights to a D2 but hey that is your business.

Make sure you know what you are getting into. In the US, you are dealing with an import truck and the price on parts and good work done is a premium.

You got quite a few here that sell good parts for great prices.

There are a lot of shoemakers out there that say they are good. But you gotta listen to the satified customers.

Good luck and welcome to the site and ask ask ask.

Adam in NYC

[roverX]

I also own a 96 and it works fine. In fact, most of the people I know with a 96 have had more reliability that everyone else I know. If you are going to do alot of stuff with water, stay away from the 94/95 years as the old Bosch does not like water. 96 and on has the GEMS. IMHO, the best Disco to get is the 99 D1 - in 99 they made both D1 and D2. Make sure to get the D1. Less electronics. But, on the other hand, like Felix said, if it is only for street use - as in little to no offroading, get a newer D2. Good luck!

[Funrover]

Everyone I know with a 96 loves them and has few probs....Why are tey known as being bad? Just curious!!

[NewDisco]

WOW!

Might I say that you guys rule. This has been the best by far response time to anything I have ever posted anywhere.

Thank you all so much for the tips. You have all been a huge help.

I have also heard the "issues" with the '96 version. But I was surprised to also hear good things. So I will do more digging to see what I can figure out.

Yes I am located in the US. So Cal. actually. There are some good prices on used Disco's so that has been fueling my budding desire to have one.

Now, I hate to admit, that yes this car will be more for street use. Like may I have delusions of grandeur of going off-roading all the time, but I am also practical and know myself a little to well to know that is not going to happen anywhere as much as I would like. Although with the way the country is going these days, and the inevitable "Zombie Apocalypse" I may be putting the off-roading features and the cattle catcher to much more work in the near future. (as i escape from LA).

I am not scared away by the foreign car /parts thing since I also have a '71 mercedes 280c and am no stranger to the parts and labor issue. You can always find a good guy to help you out, especially though the forums and word or mouth.

I know that taking on a Disco is not just taking on a vehicle, it is taking on a culture. And I am ready for that.

Thank you all so much, and any more info you can provide will be greatly appreciated. I will continue to dig, but the more informed I am the better.

Some guy already tried to sucker me on a terrible deal for a '97 today.

Thank you.

[NewDisco]

WOW... excuse the typos. I was excitedly typing away and did not bother to proof read my post.

[AAXD]

My only experience has been with US discoveries so sorry I can't speak for different countries. I owned a 96 Discovery SD that was put through hell and had over 215k miles on it. It was on its second motor, second transmission and second transfer case. The oil was rarely changed before I got it and it had loads of rust in the floors. It was a steal at $1200 an it drove fine(after having the transmission rebuilt) and for daily driving it was a perfectly acceptable car. I think had it been taken better care of in it's earlier days it might still be driving around today. My current Discovery is a 97 and personally there are a few little differences that give my nod toward the later Discovery 1's. The 96's were prone to peeling dash pads and can be an annoyance to live with. My 96 was all peeled up and looked like hell. You can get a kit consisting of brackets and screws to fix this however it is a pain to install. The 96's also had a different airbag setup consisting of 2 crash sensors in the front corners and a third sensor under the center console. I'm not sure how the system was set up on earlier Disco's but from 97 on they used a single crash sensor. The old system needed 2 of the three sensors to trip in order to deploy the airbag. On the later system the single sensor in theory, would be more likely to deploy the airbags in case of a crash. My 97 is an XD model and so came with a proper U-joint on the rear driveshaft where it meets the differential. This feature was not added to production discoveries until 99. In my opinion the best Disco model is the 99 SE or LSE. They are just as posh as a range rover with leather seats and wood trim, and they are the newest Discovery 1's. Parts are more plentiful and cheaper for Discovery 1's, and if looked after they can be a wonderful truck to own.

[Funrover]

SWEET.. I love the old Benz.. I have a 71 220 diesel!!! Also because you are in cali try www.lrrforums.com

[roverX]

NewDisco - seeing that you are from SoCal (NorCAl myself) get ahold of the SCRC - SoCal Rover Club and see if any of their members have anything for sale. They have a web site SCRC.com or something like that. Also, PM DiscoMike on this board - he lives there (he is moving to CO soon though) and maybe he can point you in the direction of a few good ones to look at.

[Bene]

it's the SCLR, X.

www.sclr.org

a while back I went wheeling with some of those guys. some cool dudes.

by the way, what part of SoCal?