Hem, We don't have diesels here either!!!
I just got my first Disco at the end of last december. I had been dreaming of this vehicle ever since I laid my eyes on one approx 10 years ago. I studied the possibility of buying one almost every year ever since, and finally decided to go ahead and get a 2000 SE7 as a christmas present to myself.
I live in Ottawa, and all I can say is avoid SLS like the plague. My compressor died on me last febuary. Our winters up here are way too cold and humid for the SLS compressor to handle. Even the air bags don't like winter up here. We might not get a fraction of the snow they get in northern states like Colorado, but it sure gets a lot colder here. Don't get me wrong.... If you want the 7 pass. option, you'll have to get a Disco with SLS. Just be ready to convert to coils next winter, unless you are lucky enough to get one who's owner has already done the convertion.
As far as ACE goes, it's pretty noisy, see anoyingly noisy, but it makes the Disco handle turns like a sports car. It's a pretty reliable device as long as you check oil level on a regular basis, and I suggest that you change the fluid on a yearly basis( that's what I'll do, and I've already done it to mine along with a complete flush of the brake fluid).
Other than that, those trucks leak like baskets. So far I've had the: intake,valve,front, and oil pan gaskets changed by Ottawa Land Rover, which by the way does not fit in the reputation of Land Rover Stealerships. The service manager ( TED) is a member of the Ottawa Valley Land Rover Club and is very helpfull. As an example, when my SLS pump died on me, he temporarily installed another one until I made up my mind as to how I was going to address the problem. He strongly suggested I converted to coils , which I did by getting a complete Old Man Emu suspension for only a couple of hundred dollars more than a factory coil conversion.
So.......I would say that most Discos are for sale because the owners had money to spend on them and did not want to bite the bullet. So expect to have to spend a couple of thousands right off the bat.
Therefore, I say go ahead and get one because they are great vehicles to drive and own ( once all is fixed), but get a 2000-2001 for heck of a lot cheaper than a 2003. If you like the headlights so much, you can convert for about $1000.00 This way you can add the CDL wich I have, and can spend those dollars to fix it and end up with a perfect Disco for still alot less than a 2003 in which you most likely would have to come up with the same amount of money to fix.
Up here, head gaskets a very, very rare thing unless your Disco has very very high miles ( confirmed by the dealer). How this was explained to me is that up here, the technicians are paid by the hour and not by the job. Therefore they do not get paid more for head gasket jobs than for intake gasket jobs. And apparently down in the States, stealerships quote head gasket jobs whenever an intake gasket leaks.
Good luck,
Steph.
