Hello Everyone- Purchasing a Disco

[EJB90]

Hello everyone, I am a newbie here. My name is Eric and I am from Connecticut.

I am 16 and will be getting my drivers license soon. This summer my parents are expecting me to get a job so that means I will need a car. My neighbor has a 1996 Land Rover Discovery SE with 140,000 miles on it and she's moving to California. I have always loved Land Rovers so I though I would hop on the opportunity. Its in very good condition on the outside, the interior is good too (no stains, rips, and very little wear on the seats) but there is just sand and leaves and twigs (???) inside. Its in the in a pretty rare color- its blueish-green. Its not the navy blue, or the deep green, or the light green, or teal. Its tasteful, its the original paint but I have only seen one another one in the same color. Strangely it is the SE but it has no sunroofs but it does have working power seats. It also has the 7-Seater package. She wants ~$2750 which seems like quite a steal. It also has tires with only 5,000 miles on them. She has serviced it at the Land Rover dealer for most of its life. For a while she said she had it serviced at another shop but she didn't trust them so she switched back to the dealer.

As for repairs, my mom consulted an independent repair shop which seems quite respectable. They fix "anything from a 1960 to a 2007 Bentley". Its a clean garage and has Wi-Fi for customers. Additionally, my dad when he was in his 20's owned a 1960's Land Rover Series and an MG MGB and he repaired them himself so he does have some background with British cars.

Known Issues:
1) The antenna broke off, my neighbor tried to fix it (she had no idea what she was doing) and the wire fell into the chassis so basically it needs a new antenna. I found a replacement one for 2x.00. Does anyone know how hard it is to reinstall the antenna. I know that you have to take out the glove compartment and open up the wheel well.

2) The A/C does not blow cold. My neighbor claims it needs new Freon. Hopefully she is right and isn't mistaken the problem for the A/C Compressor or Condenser. Are there any other common causes for this problem

3) It needs new front brakes soon (it just got new rears). How much do they cost?

4) The paint on the hinges of the rear door have cracked off and are beginning to rust- what do you do about this
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What else should I look for in terms of problems. I don't believe there are any warning lights on the dashboard. The transfer case I am positive is stuck in 4wd High because the lady I may be buying this from would never know to put it in 4wd Low or lock the CDL. There isn't any major rust on the bumpers put I think the coating is cracking. Is there an easy fix (repainting) or do you have to buy entirely new bumpers.

Thanks.

[Disco Mike]

Send me your tele number and I would be glad to answer your questions.
Mike

[Funrover]

They make great first cars......... Talk to Rovertrain. He bought his when he got his licence!

If you take care of the rust now...You will be fine.. Antenns...easy fix.... brake pads easy fix, try www.atlanticbritish.com www.roversnorth.com for an idea on price.

The price is great..... Talk to Mike..He knows his stuff!!

[pavel]

That's a very good price.... Are you mechanically inclined & are you willing to learn? Do you have a place to work on this truck and do you have time and some disposable income? Don't forget this is not an economy vehicle or a 'hot rod' and you'll probably get about 12-15 mpg. If you are a 'good fit' for this type of vehicle, you'll love it. Think it over carefully. The other way to get access to this vehicle, is to get your Mom or Dad to buy it! Then you get a $500 Honda Civic/Toyota Tercel to use for the work commute but enjoy the LR on weekends.... Cheers!

[EJB90]

Originally Posted by pavel

That's a very good price.... Are you mechanically inclined & are you willing to learn? Do you have a place to work on this truck and do you have time and some disposable income? Don't forget this is not an economy vehicle or a 'hot rod' and you'll probably get about 12-15 mpg. If you are a 'good fit' for this type of vehicle, you'll love it. Think it over carefully. The other way to get access to this vehicle, is to get your Mom or Dad to buy it! Then you get a $500 Honda Civic/Toyota Tercel to use for the work commute but enjoy the LR on weekends.... Cheers!

I though the price was pretty good too. Yes, my parents will be buying it for me. They were about to buy me a pretty much loaded 2002 Grand Cherokee until the dealer salesmen tried playing price games with them. Then this opportunity arose. We have a 3 car garage so there is plenty of room to work. My parents pay for the repairs and the gas for my sisters jeep so I they're gonna do the same for me. They are aware of the high repair costs but my parents think this is a good deal. I know this is not a hot rod- farrrr from it- thats what my next moms car is for (she's getting an Infiniti G35x). Gas mileage is about the same as my dad's suburban. I would NEVER want to drive a civic/tercel. A. They look like crap B. I hate driving tiny cars.


Does anyone have any suggestions to those problems though?

BTW I think its funny that Disco Mike, Rovertain, and funrover all live in the same neighborhood. There are 2 other rover owners in my neighborhood- 2005 Range Rover HSE in burgundy (yuk) and a 2003/2004 Discovery HSE in gilverney green or w/e its called.

Oh yea I forgot to mention my friends dad is the manager for Mitchell Auto Group which includes a Land Rover dealer. Maybe that can help with defraying the cost of repairs.

Here are some pics: (The lady works as a teaching assistant at my school)

(this one is old)


(below are recent)

(check out the hinges for the trunk door^^^)


(A bit of rust on the front passenger side of the bumper)


(Power seat switch cover broke off)


(the crap on the headliner is actually dirt stuck in cobwebs)




I would make a few initial mods to this car:
1) Removal of "Smith College" bumper sticker on window (all women's school notorious for having strange students)
2) I would get rid of those horrendous wheels and get the stock Deep Dish wheels, TWR from the range rover classic, or the Boost alloy
3) Brush guard (maybe)

[Muddy Oval]

Looks average- price is better than average. At it's age, it won't be trouble free. Brakes are a PITA on a DI to change, but the parts are only $300 for rotors and pads all around- don't buy generic stuff though. If you have to save a buck and buy generics, skip the 'house brand' at Rovers North and just get some cheapos from the local parts store- it's the same thing.
Even if maintained well, there could be signicficant issues on it- best bet is having it looked at by a tech who knows Rovers. If it needs a CV or new swivels, that can get expensive. There's lots of little 'gotchas' that can hide on them- just have it looked at. It appears to be a very good deal.

[Badger1]

Get it and also get yourself a LR repair manual. While your at it go buy yourself some tools too. When you do your own wrenching(or at least most of it), that cuts down on the cost of owning a LR. Take a look under the truck and see how bad the rust is, I am sure there is plenty hiding under the carpets and foam padding underneath. Also see how bad and what is leaking underneath of the truck. Plan on changing out ALL of the fluids once you take ownership of the vehicle, that way you'll have a starting point on some of the basic maintenance. Pop the swivels open too, they may need topping up on grease.

[96owner]

A disco is a great first car im 16 to and i love having it. if your into off roading it will the best thing to get. Also i picked this for a first car becasue it would keep me out of trouble i can have all the fun off road but what a truck i wont be tempted to drive like a boy racer otherwise. any yea having some one to get you parts at dealer prices is a great help.

[CaptainRuss]

If your parents are going to help pay for fuel and repairs do you think they might want to adopt me? You could use a big brother right?

C'mon, we can go wheelin' together in our Disco's out in Western Mass and then I can show you how to get in trouble with all the weird girls at Smith College when your old enough.

Seriously though, (sorta'), listen to the guys here on the boards, they have a pantload of experience and can be invaluable when you need them the most. The truck looks great overall and I think you'll have a lot of fun with it as long as you're not afraid of getting a little dirty, are patient, and have a good sense of humor. Good luck with it.

[EJB90]

Thanks everyone for your help so far.

Could anyone tell me the best way to check for rust underneath the carpet. Do you have to rip it up? Can you just feel it underneath the carpet? Can you see it from underneath? I am almost positive there is no rust in the door jams. I looked at the car briefly at school the other day when I took the pictures and I don't remember seeing any rust.

My dad has tons of tools, literally. His father worked for a tool making company (Blackhawk and New Britain, anyone) so thats pretty much is what started it all. In our basement, about 1,500 square feet of it is a workshop packed with all sorts of tools, including metric stuff which I assume I will be needing.

The lady has no records of the maintenance except for the sticker on her windshield telling her she needs to change her oil soon. However, it has been serviced at the Rovership for most of its life (for a while she went to an independent who might have the records). I would assume the dealer being a dealer would have the records available.

As for a mechanic checking out the car. I can pay $50 at an independent place to have them check it out "bumper to bumper". (This is the shop I mentioned before). I was wondering if I could maybe save myself this money by just by taking the Rover to get an oil change. I know with most dealers they want your money so they'll tell you if something needs to be replaced. What should I do, Independent, Dealer, or both.

[96owner]

over all i would look through some past posts in the disco section and see whats most comon that poepele complain about that way check for them and you will be set. as long is it had had oil changes it sould be fine as i told you online 200,000 miles on my truck and i havent had a mojor problem yet (knock on wood). but if you feel safer go for the bumper to bumper check up for 50 i mean paying 2750 im sure you could come up with the extra 50 to make sure theres no problems you will have down the road

[Muddy Oval]

If you bring it to my shop, i'll have my shop foreman give it a bumper to bumper list of anything and everything- free. No BS, no sales pitch- just a list of everything it needs and ranked by importance. We're in Springfield VT-dont know how far of a trek that is for ya, but the price is right.

I've seen a lot of people get shafted on bad used trucks- also seen some people who found gems for next to nothing. A bad one will bleed you dry.

[EJB90]

Originally Posted by Muddy Oval

If you bring it to my shop, i'll have my shop foreman give it a bumper to bumper list of anything and everything- free. No BS, no sales pitch- just a list of everything it needs and ranked by importance. We're in Springfield VT-dont know how far of a trek that is for ya, but the price is right.

I've seen a lot of people get shafted on bad used trucks- also seen some people who found gems for next to nothing. A bad one will bleed you dry.

Thanks for the offer but that is kinda far away, at least a couple hours. I've got a few loose connections to my "local" (as in 40 min away) rover dealer.

The lady is at some funeral in NY, but she should be back tuesday. I'll have to inspect a little more closely this time.

[Beluga96]

Looks like a clean car. As far as the "cracking" of the paint at the rear door, that's normal as this car rusts in the strange way - in to out...but yes, spreading can be postponed for years. 96's are great, especially when you have those tornado wheels on them (matter of preference I guess), and also, the 4.0 is a good engine overall with only certain things like minor seal problems and valves that get lots of carbon on them and act up every few years.

Also, '96 means a first year OBDII, so you can get a handy code scanner for about $50 and find out what's going on in your engine if your "service engine" light ever comes on.

The car is definitely for someone who doesn't let small things and repairs get to them. The overall experience is really rare to compare to other cars to - truly unique. Good luck!

P.S. As far as the secondary $500 shitbox tercel...sounds like a good idea I think (for us older guys), but insurance might still be up there for you

[Funrover]

Nice rig...Hell of a price!