Greetings everyone-
I'm here like many, to ask the experts, about a possible purchase. I'm looking at an 03-04 Discovery. I don't have an exact budget to work with but I'm flexible within reason. Like others, I'm somewhat considering the LR3 but don't want to spend the additional money and quite frankly, I like the styling better on the Discovery.
My main reason for this vehicle is simply to commute. A daily driver. My drive to and from work is about 38 miles. I realize that the gas bill will kick my between the legs but hey, price of oil is coming down so that's a plus! I know, I'm probably asking for more trouble I guess and certainly not utilizing it for what it was perhaps intended for but I've always had a fondness for these vehicles. And who knows, maybe I'll be tempted to take a few trails off the beaten path.
So I've owned German cars before, BMW's specifically, and my last 5-series had me spending roughly 8-10K in nearly 7 years of ownership on maintenance, so I'm no stranger to opening my pocket. I don't work on cars. At all. I'm the antithesis of the handy man. But here is what I'm thinking: spend XXX amount to purchase Disco or LR3 and keep roughly $3K on hand for upcoming repairs. An alternative would be to buy an old but reliable "something" that gets good gas mileage and spend only 2-3K on it and drive that a few days a week. But I don't like that plan very much but something about it makes some sense.
As for the Disco or LR3...I've heard that the LR3 is much more refined and better for on road while the Disco "might" be more capable off road. Is it totally nonsensical to want the Disco over the LR3? Is there a huge disadvantage in ride quality/dynamics that I would be missing out on?
So am I crazy for wanting this car for primarily daily driving? I bought a GTI a year ago as a result of trading in my aging 5 series and while it is a lovely little car, it's simply not me. I figure if I can get out of my loan for break even'ish and get into an 8-10K Disco or whatever, I can utilize the extra money I'm not spending on a car payment for a repair fund.
Lastly, there are a few clean looking Disco's available at PCH Auto Sports (not sure what the rules are on posting links and such but if you google this plus inventory, you should be able to find them. They have three Discos from 2003-2004. They look really nice but the price is between 10-12K. They are all less than 100K. Is this grossly over valued? I read some reviews on these guys and it doesn't sound like they negotiate the price at all.
Anyways, I'd appreciate your input everyone. Thanks for bearing with me.
I'm here like many, to ask the experts, about a possible purchase. I'm looking at an 03-04 Discovery. I don't have an exact budget to work with but I'm flexible within reason. Like others, I'm somewhat considering the LR3 but don't want to spend the additional money and quite frankly, I like the styling better on the Discovery.
My main reason for this vehicle is simply to commute. A daily driver. My drive to and from work is about 38 miles. I realize that the gas bill will kick my between the legs but hey, price of oil is coming down so that's a plus! I know, I'm probably asking for more trouble I guess and certainly not utilizing it for what it was perhaps intended for but I've always had a fondness for these vehicles. And who knows, maybe I'll be tempted to take a few trails off the beaten path.
So I've owned German cars before, BMW's specifically, and my last 5-series had me spending roughly 8-10K in nearly 7 years of ownership on maintenance, so I'm no stranger to opening my pocket. I don't work on cars. At all. I'm the antithesis of the handy man. But here is what I'm thinking: spend XXX amount to purchase Disco or LR3 and keep roughly $3K on hand for upcoming repairs. An alternative would be to buy an old but reliable "something" that gets good gas mileage and spend only 2-3K on it and drive that a few days a week. But I don't like that plan very much but something about it makes some sense.
As for the Disco or LR3...I've heard that the LR3 is much more refined and better for on road while the Disco "might" be more capable off road. Is it totally nonsensical to want the Disco over the LR3? Is there a huge disadvantage in ride quality/dynamics that I would be missing out on?
So am I crazy for wanting this car for primarily daily driving? I bought a GTI a year ago as a result of trading in my aging 5 series and while it is a lovely little car, it's simply not me. I figure if I can get out of my loan for break even'ish and get into an 8-10K Disco or whatever, I can utilize the extra money I'm not spending on a car payment for a repair fund.
Lastly, there are a few clean looking Disco's available at PCH Auto Sports (not sure what the rules are on posting links and such but if you google this plus inventory, you should be able to find them. They have three Discos from 2003-2004. They look really nice but the price is between 10-12K. They are all less than 100K. Is this grossly over valued? I read some reviews on these guys and it doesn't sound like they negotiate the price at all.
Anyways, I'd appreciate your input everyone. Thanks for bearing with me.
