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Cliff Davis
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 06:54 pm: | 
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I'm considering buying a new 2003 Discovery SE, and since this will be my 1st Land Rover product (1st British car of any type, for that matter), I thought I'd ask the experts what I'm about to get into. It will be my wife's primary car, and it will see little, if any, off road use.
I've heard a BUNCH of horror stories (reliability being the most common ones) about these trucks, but it seems as if the stories were directed more at the Range Rover than the Discovery. Furthermore, I've heard very few disappontments on the Defenders. Also, are the Series II's better (reliability) than the Series I's and are the new (2003's) better than their predecessors?
Anyway, I'm not a mechanic, and there's not a Land Rover dealer in my town (closest one is ~185 miles away) Am I going to be sorry I got her this truck or will it be our favorite car?......I know those of you on this site are Discovery enthusiasts, so I'm sure you have the answer. However, please be honest
Thanks,
DSP |
Pugsly (Pugsly)
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 07:04 pm: |
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Yes, it's a great vehicle. Where do you live, and are you sure there is not an independent mechanic closer? For any vehicle, not just a Land Rover, I would be concerned about having to go 400 miles round trip for service. |
Peter Matusov (Pmatusov)
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 07:35 pm: |
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Cliff, there are about 4 thousand Defenders in the U.S., and to the tune of several hundred thousand Discos. No wonder you don't hear too many complaints 
If you bear with some bugs and odds, it will be your favorite car.
peter |
Carter Simcoe (Carter)
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 07:42 pm: |
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yeah, just don't listen to Streak when he starts posting plugs for his stupid web site. |
Alan Yim (Alan)
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 07:46 pm: |
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Cliff,
As far as the LR product line, the 2003 Disco is definitely not a bad choice but you indicated
"It will be my wife's primary car, and it will see little, if any, off road use."
If this is the case, and it will be used to do a lot of daily driving, maybe the Freelander will be better suited if you want to go the Land Rover way. It is better suited for road driving, has better fuel mileage and should be able to handle any off-road driving that your requirements dictate.
Defenders and Series trucks have their share of problems too but probably not as widely reported. There are also a lot fewer of them too. They don't make Series trucks anymore and the Defenders are not for everyone. They are very much meant for off-roading or harsh use. Also, you can't by them (new I mean) in NA so harder to get your hands on them. The main difference is that they are easier to fix by what some of the folks on here who own them say and less costly to fix. Not to mention, they're very much a utilitarion vehicle. Not a lot of amenities in them like you find in the Disco's or RR's. They don't have any of the fancy electronics that the newer LR's have. But, they're much harder to get your hands on one.
You're going to hear a lot of different opinions but quite a few folks here take their trucks off-road and evaluate them from that perspective. So when you hear about problems, sometimes they're "recreationally" induced. But in your case where you're looking for basically a daily driver, the newer ones definitely perform better on the road and reliability has improved. But by the same token, can cost a lot more to fix when somethng goes wrong because of all the electronics in them. Like Puglsy asked, is there not a closer dealership or qualified mechanic? I think this would be your biggest concern. That's a long way to go for any problems you may have and if it needs to be towed (on a flatbed - can't tow LR's like other vehicles because of their 4WD system)....whoooweee! That'll be a big tow bill. I'm not saying this will happen, just looking at the scenarios that could happen. I own a 98 Disco and have had very few problems and I occasionally take mine off-road (every couple months or so) but this isn't a vehicle you neglect. You have to keep up on its maintenance.
Just one question; why are you looking at a LR if it will never be driven off-road? Maybe if it's going to be a daily driver, something with AWD, like an Audi might be better. If you're concerned about storage space, something like a Volvo wagon would easily do the trick and they come in AWD too. Not trying to discourage you in buying a LR but it seems that 99% of the time it won't be used in conditions that any decent car couldn't handle...I guess a lot of us on here could say that too. |
Steve (Steve2)
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 10:24 pm: |
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cliff
i have a friend with a x5 3.0. it has had more warranty work than my 99 disco 1. also the x5 has in intermittant 95% loss of power. step on the gas and it goes 5mph at full throttle.
another friend with a 2002 ml320 sport wants to lemon law the car for numerous faults.
another friend with a 98 ml320 has had pages more stuff replaced than my disco.
another friend has a trans problem in her 2003 audi a4 sport with the new ct trans. the car is two weeks old.
reliability seems to be an issue of perception.
i remember when the bmw 325i came out in 87-88 and they were piles - but owners did not want to complain as they did not want to look stupid for buying such an expensive car that was junk -
my 97 jeep cherokee had more problems than my disco and horrendous dealer service to match.
the worst car i can think of in recent times was the 92-93 mercedes s class - i worked in dealer service at the time - they should of all been recalled!!
do what makes you happy!!
life is short - live it!
steve |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 04, 2002 - 10:44 pm: |
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FWIW, my X5 4.4i has seen the dealer once in 12 months. I'm happy if my Disco2 makes it 3 months without needing a visit but I also like the Disco more and it gets used much more than the X5. I also own another 540i that has been to the dealer once in three years. But again the Disco gets the most use and abuse in my house. |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Thursday, December 05, 2002 - 08:23 am: |
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Just thought I would add...
This morning I woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground. We live in the Metro DC area but my wife and I grew up in New England so we're not strangers to driving in snow. My wife had to go into work for a few hours only about a mile down the road. She was pretty insistant on taking the Disco even though she normally drives the X5. She said she felt more comfortable driving the Discovery in the snow. This is just another example of how the Land Rover is used at my house. It's the work horse that even my wife won't give much credit to but it will be her first choice when something needs to get hauled or when the weather gets bad. |
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