| Author |
Message |
    
Dr. Dirt (Ryansuth)
| | Posted on Friday, May 03, 2002 - 08:02 pm: | 
|
Help, I am a new land rover owner who is being initiated into the world of discovery ownership. My 1997 has 64,000 miles on it and I have owned it exactly one week and the following items have malfunctioned/broken...
1. 70 miles out from the dealership the oil light came on and..turns out the "pick up" was bad in the oil bad. $400 to remove and clean/service. Expensive oil change basically. They also replaced the brakes and found a cracked left manifold.
2. About 200 miles later the rear view mirror exploded and dripped oil onto my console. Supposedly this costs about $300 to fix.
3. The next day the fuel gauge started to act very odd. Sometimes it would read empty when I had just filled it up with gas. Other times it would be about half full. And still other times it functions normally. The dealer assured me that it was the fuel pump needed to be replaced and that would run about $500.
4. About two days after that the battery light came on and then I noticed the tach and spedo where out. I checked the fuses and nothing was burned. I tried to drive home and about 50 miles later the car died and would not start. It sounded like "tick-tick-tick" when I tried to turn the engine on. Occasionly during my trip I noticed that the spedo would periodically start to work then quit. It sounded like a bad alternator to me any ideas from the experts. All of the fuses are ok.
Keep in mind folks I have owned this vehicle about 1 week and all of this is gone wrong. I am one scared LR owner. (What have I got myself into.) I assume I'll just have to take it to the LR dealer and "take it like a man."
Sorry for the rambling but I am really pissed and in shock. I have really read a lot about these cars and have been wanting one for a long time but now that I have it, I feel like it is trying to bankrupt me.
Does any body have in suggestions, words of encouragment, etc? What should I do? |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Friday, May 03, 2002 - 08:20 pm: |
|
You got yourself into a dishonest dealer. I'd bet solid money they knew about all these issues but passed them on to an unsuspecting owner.
I've gto a few suggestions but they require faith. First, promise yourself to never set foot in that dealers lot again. Ever. Cut the strings. Second, buy a shop manual for your truck. This will become your best friend in ownership. Third, use this resource to get assistance before opening your wallet. It will save you thousands.
Ok, no on to your problems.
1. You got bent over and screwed with no vaseline. Dropping the oil pan and cleaning the pickup could be done by a 10 year old in 2 hours. Water under the bridge now.
2. There are any number of quality places to get genuine parts. However, you'll find that LR parts aren't always the best parts, and even when they are, you can often get them at significant discounts to dealer pricing. I generally pay 1/3 to 1/2 dealer prices for parts. My best advice is to go to an autopart store and buy a $15 mirror and call it a day. You can get a LR one but this will only happen again down the road and you will have paid a kings ransom.
3. Sounds like a fuel sender. The pump can be had for under $100 and the sender alone is much cheaper. Budget a couple hours and $50-75 and you should be set.
4. Sounds like the alternator is shot. The dealer where I got mine did the same thing to me. Sold me a truck with a weak alternator. I had mine completely rebuilt for $48 at a local shop. Prices typically range from $50-150 for a quality rebuild.
Don't feel bad. This happens to a LOT of people. Those who roll up their sleeves, get onto a board like this, and don't mind getting a little dirt under their nails generally become happy owners with a great knowledge and appreciation of their purchase. Those who run to the dealer, particularly dealers like yours, end up bitter and add to the problem of rumors that these are terrible trucks and cost a fortune to run.
It'll take you about 4-6 months to weed out any previous owner/crappy dealer issues, and then things should settle down considerably. Stick around, read through the archives here, read through the threads, and you'll do fine.
-Perrone |
doug james (Dgj95lwb)
| | Posted on Friday, May 03, 2002 - 08:27 pm: |
|
Yeah, just what he said..... !
Happy Rovering, yet to come...really !
best regards; doug 95 lwb @ 100k, all smiles, yessiree. |
Dr. Dirt (Ryansuth)
| | Posted on Friday, May 03, 2002 - 08:59 pm: |
|
Thanks perrone and doug, your input is much appreciated.
Would you guys know where I could get my hands on one of those shop manuals? The "dealer" told me that LR doesn't produce them for the general public. I am sure this is probably more B.S., right?
"I generally pay 1/3 to 1/2 dealer prices for parts"
Where Do you buy your parts? On-line? WWW.?
Thanks again,
ryan |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Friday, May 03, 2002 - 09:14 pm: |
|
Yep,
More BS. Although many will disagree, you should probably make friends with either British Pacific if you're in the west, or Rovers North if you are in the east. These are two of the premiere LR parts suppliers in the country. There is also Atlantic British but I tend to use them more for accessories. However they have the best catalog in the business for Range Rover and Disco owners. Take note, these are *not* the places to get cheap parts, but when you just have to have something they can probably get if for you when others can't. Both of them stock the manuals. Keep in mind that there are three common LR manuals for your truck. The shop manual which is the primary service manual. There is the parts manual which gives exploded diagrams of every part on your vehicle. There is also the Electronic Troubleshooting Manual, which gives diagrams of every electrical connection in the truck as well as troubleshooting techniques.
As for parts discounters, many here have used the services of Discount Rovers. Both proprieters are regular contributors here. I tend to order the bulk of my parts from England. Specifically Mansfield Motors. Discount rovers has similar prices without the shipping costs, but Mansfield stocks damn near everything and are such a pleasure to deal with.
Here are the pertinent links for you
Rovers North:
www.roversnorth.com
Atlantic British
www.roverparts.com
British Pacific:
http://www.britishpacific.com/
Mansfield Motors
www.mansfield-motors.com
Discount Rovers
http://www.discountrovers.com/
Holler back if you have any more questions or need anything else.
-P |
bender2033
| | Posted on Saturday, May 04, 2002 - 09:30 am: |
|
Wow! What a great source of information! I too just acquired my first Rover - a 1996 Disco with 81k miles. I hope to get a service manual soon. THanks for the EXCELLENT information Perrone!
Cheers!
-bender2033 |
David Dryden (David914)
| | Posted on Saturday, May 04, 2002 - 10:14 am: |
|
Ryan,
Sounds like you definitely got the shaft from the dealer. Was it an actual LR dealership? If so, sounds like you didn't get a "certified" vehicle. I'm not that familiar with all of this (I'm new to Disco ownership too, bought our '97 a year ago), but I thought that LR dealerships only sold "certified" vehicles (and therefore are sold at a "premium").
When we purchased ours last year, the first place we looked was our local LR dealership. They had several nice '96-'98 Discoverys, but all were in then $24K+ price range. They were all certified and came with warranties. We ended up finding our truck (in our price range) at another non-LR dealership that had been turned in on a lease. While we've been fairly fortunate, the truck has had a couple of issues; rust at the bottom of the C-pillars and the Alpine windows that I didn't notice prior to purchase (didn't expect to find rust on a relatively new vehicle - welcome to British car ownership!), and a few small "annoyances" like the anti-lock light coming on all the time (fixed by re-seating the sensors), and the rear w/s washer not working (turned out to be a leaking anti-siphon valve behind the washer reservoir).
Anyway, sorry to be so "chatty", but the short of it is, follow Perrone's advice. This website is a great resource. The regulars that hang out here have experienced just about any problem that you may run into, and are willing to help. I am personally grateful for all of the help that I have received. I'd still be looking at that annoying "Anti-Lock" warning light if it wasn't for DiscoWeb.
David |
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page