So what should I look for at 10k dollars?

[scot]

Under my towing thread a 99/98 disco I was recommended as a good choice. I have been looking around and have found a few potential vehicles but had a few questions remaining.

Do any 99 disco 1s come with the dual sunroof setup? I haven't seen any so far, but that doesn't mean they dont exist of course.

I am a bit confused about CDL. It looks like the DII from 99 and 00 (and a few 01s) have the ability to easily add a CDL, but I am not so sure about the DIs. Do they have the provision to add CDL?

Can a DII be had for 10k? If so, I have heard of issues with the engines in the 99 range. Any truth to this rumor? Should I even care about a DII? The only thing that I know of in the DII I really like is the climate control system. I know its a small thing, but hey, I am the one making the purchase not anyone else! Its definitely not a deal killer, heck I would much rather have the short shifter look than the DII's tall (and ugly IMO) shifter.

Yes, I plan on taking it offroad at some point. It is not the main mission of the vehicle, but it will be an eventual activity.

Scot

 

[NVRover]

Scot, all D1s have the CDL. 99-01 D2s just need the linkage installed (I think that's correct) to utilize the CDL. There is plenty of info on here if you just do a search. There are some recent threads as well, so your search shouldn't be too hard.

If I understand you correctly, you're going to be towing with which ever disco you buy. If that's the case then I'd suggest that you try to get a D2. Their engines have a few more horses under the hood. I used my D1 to pull just an 18 foot ski boat and I could definitely tell it was back there. It only weight about 2500 lbs. Also, when going down hill, I wished I had a trailer with breaks. It definitely affected breaking, not so much that it caused a problem. That's something else you might want to consider.

I can't help you with the sunroofs in the D1, mine is a SD so I don't have sunroofs. Bottom line, if you're going to tow and you have the money to buy the D1 high/low range shifter and have it installed, then buy a good D2 that has all of the maintenance records. With $10K you probably won't be shopping at any of the dealers, but e-Bay and LRX.com might be options for you in addition to local news papers. Just be prepared to spend about $3-5k/year on maintenance.

Just my advice and experience.

 

[CurtisP]

I think your and idiot for using a Disco as a towing vehicle. It is one thing to have to tow every once in a while, but ANY other V8 powered truck is a better choice than a Disco for long distance towing. Look at an expedition or a tahoe. You will be much, much happier. You have to realize that people on this board are warped and think that their Disco's can do anything. Discos make horrible towing vehicles...they barley have the power to propel themselves forward let alone a trailer.

 

[scot]

Nice troll. Ok everyone please keep responses on topic and pay the troll no heed.

I will be towing a racing kart. We are talking about a TOTAL of 1000lbs including all equipment in the truck, and behind. Load a truck full of friends and equipment and its probably more weight than I will be towing in total so we can discount it as being an issue.

Onto the 3-5k a year for maintainence. That seems a bit extreme to me... I work on my own vehicles, and only use a local mechanic for specific items. I personally doubt the disco I purchase will ever see a true LR mechanic. I was hoping for <1k a year in maintainence costs on average over the course of 4-5 years.

Scot

 

[NVRover]

If you're that good mechanically then you might want to consider buying the diagnostic software. You can get Rovercomlite at RoversNorth.com and Testbook at AtlanticBritish.com. My opinion, having the diagnostic software is about the only way you can keep your costs as low as you anticipate.

However, I will say that <$1k/yr maintenance costs is a bit naive considering the year model you're looking for. I'm not mechanically inclined so I have to take mine to an independent LR master mechanic. I've spent $12k over the past two years on mine, and my estimates are that half of that is labor. So $6k is parts and assuming a 15% mark up (just guessing here) from the mechanic, so if I bought all the parts myself then I've spent $2500-2600/year on parts alone.

Not trying to be flippant, but if you want to spend <$1k/ year on maintenance I suggest you check out Toyota Landcruisers - though they may be a bit too pricey.

 

[Ronnie]

Scot, I don't know whether a Disco is a good tow vehicle or not but I can say unfortunately, it sounds like Chris got one of the bad ones. I've had my 99 D1 a little less than three years and I've probably spent less than $1500 on maintenace. If you get one that's been well taken care of and you continue to do the same, you should be fine.

 

[NVRover]

it sounds like Chris got one of the bad ones

Yeah, no kidding

Ronnie, is your avatar a picture of your driveway after that "little rainshower" you guys had the other day?

 

[NVRover]

Scot, don't know if you found a D1 yet, but this might interest you depending on where you are located. Just happen to run across it.

http://catalog.roversnorth.com/wwwboard/w3bbrrframe.html

 

[LRWheelman]

I tow a light (1500-2000lb) trailer behind "my wifes" D1 regularly with no problems, although I will put brakes on the trailer eventually. Once again I enjoy the "simplicity" of the D1 over the D2, I also like the CDL. I do, @ this point, all of my own repairs, so I would lean more towards the 1500.00 yearly maintenance & modification amount. I have a 96, Great Truck, not perfect, but I am very satisfied with it. And for crying out loud, whatever You choose, don't buy a F*rd! Thank You! LRW.

 

[nosivad_bor]

i have a 1999 disco1 with dual roofs and heated seats.

no jump seats.

 

[skydiver]

I'd like to add something about the yearly maint $$'s.
I've owned 3 Discos - a 97 DI, a 98 DI, and a 2001 DII.
I can honestly tell you that the only money I've ever spent on maintaining them was for oil changes, tire rotations and the 'every 7.5k stuff' listed in the LR manual. I doubt I spent $500/yr on avg. I spent many times more on gas than on maintainance. Maybe I was just lucky.

I totaled my 97 DI, and I traded in the 98 DI for a minivan for my wife.
I've still got my 2001 DII, and I recently bought an 88 Range Rover as a 'toy'.

-Tommy

 

[NVRover]

I should clarify that I bought mine 2 years ago w/71k. Now it has 112k miles. It appears that most of you who spent very little bought new(er) discos. Scot mentioned that he only had $10k to spend, which mean he is pretty much looking for a 97-99 disco which are 5-7 years old - same age as the one that I bought. Therefore at that age they will more than likely have similar problems - fixing oil and other fluid leaks, replacing ancillary engine components, suspension, brakes, etc.

Scot, be sure you're comparing apples to apples when reading about people with low maint costs. I'm not ruling out the possibility that I got a "lemon", but you need to be aware that you're looking at mid to high mileage LR and they can be expensive - though not always. That's why you definitely want to find one with a well documented maintenance history.

 

[scot]

So I went and test drove a few discos yesterday. So now I have driven both DIs and a few DIIs so I can at least tell the difference between the two. The power difference is noticable, but not a huge deal. I wonder if polishing up the intake manifold and adding headers will get the same performance out of a D1 engine?

Otherwise I have noticed a few problems and wanted to see what people thought of them.

Out of the bunch, only one is in the "might purchase" pile. It does have a problem with a heatshield, but thats simple enough. One of the mount points has broken off and it rattles a bit, owner will get it fixed before selling. I didnt see any other major issues. Of course it does not have the dual sunroof setup, but I am not sure if that is a dealkiller or not. Good maintainence records.

The rest of them were either poorly priced, or had issues I dont like, or both. 2 of them had problems with opening the rear door. Even when unlocked, the door's handle would not open the latch for some reason. After playing for a bit it seemed to catch, but one of them would not open properly, the door seemed to be out of plumb (on a DII, 80k miles.) One of these also had a weird sound coming from the engine, no clue what it was but I dont like it. It wasnt a heat shield.

There is one that seems to be ok, no leaks slightly higher miles (85k I think) and overall in good condition, but the steering was "loose." Driving in a straight line you could really turn the wheel back and forth before getting the wheels to move. The transmission was also less than perfectly smooth.

So whats everyone think?

 

[Joey]

JMHO, but I wouldn't buy another Disco with Sunroofs, but that is just me. I have a '97 Disco and don't get me wrong the only leaks I have had is when the $20 nut and screw gets loose or falls out, but they do rattle unless the guides are in good shape, and when they have issues every source I have checked states that you must buy the whole thing to fix $300. Not my idea of fun. Both of mine rattle and show signs of needing replaced.

I just don't use them.

 

[NVRover]

Scot, regarding your D1 performance question...I recently replaced my exhaust system with a Flowmaster system. It's louder, but definitely an improvement in the performance department. So that may be one option to consider.

I'd be inclined to look at the D1 with all of the detailed records. In addition to showing you the mechanical soundness of the truck, they also indicate that the previous owner took care of the vehicle. Just my opinion.

 

[Ronnie]

Ronnie, is your avatar a picture of your driveway after that "little rainshower" you guys had the other day?

No, it's on some private land a little north of Birmingham but my backyard did look a lot like that. Here in Montgomery, we got about 12 inches of rain in about 12 hours. It took a while for it to go away. Some people still don't have power. I was lucky, I lost my telephone service but that's it.